Darkness descends on Wellington

Last night a weather that dropped snow on Otago and Southland moved and soaked Wellington with cold driving rain.  This morning, temperatures were around 7 deg C, there was a 9 metre swell and wind gusts of 122km/h. In literature, and movies this is not a good sign. indeed the ascension of Narnia's ice-queen might well be heralded similar weather. But the ice-queen is fiction, however the agents of darkness visiting Wellington are far from products of a creative imagination.

Following on the theme, it seemed sensible to say with a smile "With crap weather like this, there must be Anadarko executives in town." While shopping, few a people responded well to this comment, it seems Wellingtonians are well informed on the issues surrounding deep ocean drilling, Deep-Water Horizon.

Later this month Anadarko expects to start drilling in the Pegasus basin some 40Km from the southern cost of Wellington/Wairarapa. This week Anadarko executes will be having a summit with government officials in preparing for drilling.  Or is it for delivery of the final instalments on the bribes to John Key. Who can really be sure?

Much as the chill in today's weather was uncomfortable it not as uncomfortable as silence that will be created if changes to Resource Management Act are inacted to make drilling non-notifiable.  Protestors today visited parliament with noise makers and wearing tape over their mouths. The tape symbolized the silence of the public that will be created the amendments that the government is aiming to pass.

While some point to the far future and the effects on climate, there are far more immediate concerns. Exploration is the dangerous phase of extraction, indeed Deep-water Horizon was an exploratory well when it blew out. In short, when sit down to home made fish pie, fish fingers or terakihi fillet, it would be rather desirable for it to not taste like shit. If you have got a whiff of crude oil, you know that is what smells like, and will taste like. Better than that I'm pretty firm on the idea that collapsing and having seizures as a result of eating contaminated sea food is really something I'd rather avoid. Sadly, many American's have not been so fortunate. Lessions have appeared on gulf sea life, and in the people that have consumed it. Some lessions appearing in brain tissue causing seizures after swimming in gulf water.

We don't need this here.


See Also
    Today's protest for protesting - 3news