Eliminating the 12th Grade

Would eliminating the twelfth grade in Utah affect seniors? Currently Senator Buttars says it will save money for schools if senior year was to be eliminated. I believe that the Utah state legislation should not eliminate the twelfth grade because there are classes that you have to take senior year, catch up, and preparation for college. Firstly, I think the Utah legislation should not eliminate the twelfth grade because there are classes that you can only take your senior year. These days we have four years of english and science. It would be a bummer if we as students have to take those classes again in college. Also some students need the credits to graduate. Without those two or three credits then how will they graduate? Then the rest of the year could be enjoyable. Secondly it gives them time to catch up on classes they may have failed in previous years. I know it would be terrible, but retaking those classes would really help, especially when you failed the past years. Other than just making up the class up with packets, it would be easier for you. Also it would give others a second chance to be someone. Thirdly, seniors won’t be as prepared for college as they should be. If this is so, then we coming up seniors won’t be able to have the knowledge for what is in store in college. If we go to college without all the knowledge that we have from high school, then what is the use of going? It would also drop motivation for the upcoming, knowing that the twelfth grade won’t be able to be taken anymore. Also bringing down students dreams of being what they want to be when they grow up. It would be a disappointment to see that students won’t be able to fulfill their dreams. However some students think the twelfth grade should be eliminated because some students don’t go to their classes. On the contrary they are wrong because there are some students that come to class and care about their grades. In conclusion, I still believe the twelfth grade should not be eliminated because some classes have to be taken senior year, they won’t have to play catch up and they will be prepared for college. Now ask yourself, ‘Am I ready for college?’

Case Study Part 1 Pinnacle Essay

Cash Ratio: cash and marketable securities/ current liabilities: 6,714,156/25,926,158 =0.03 (2009) 6,369,431/17,605,301 = 0.36 (2008) 7,014,387/16,340,517 = 0.43 (2007) Current Ratio: cash +marketable securities+ net account receivables/ current liabilities: 6,714,156+9,601,883/25,926,158 = 0.63 (2009) 6,369,431+7,495,528/17,605,301 = 0.79 (2008) 7,014,387+6,901,225/16,340,517 =0.85 (2007) Current Ratio: current assets/ current liabilities: 44,497,169/25,926,158 = 1.72 (2009) 36,195,745/17,605,301 = 2.06 (2008) 36,005,390/16,340,517 = 2.20 (2007) Accounts receivable turnover: net sales/ average gross receivables: (9,601,883 + 866,330) + (7,495,528+948,679) + (6,901,225 +862,690) = 26,676,335/3 = 8,892,111.7: average gross receivables 149,245,176/8,892,111.7 = 16.79 (2009) 137,579,664/8,892,111.7 = 15.47 (2008) 125,814,272/8,892,111.7 = 14.15 (2007) Days to collect receivables: 365/accounts receivable turnover 365/16.79 = 21.74 days (2009) 365/15.47 = 23.59 days (2008) 365/14.15 = 25.80 days (2007) Inventory turnover: cost of goods sold/average inventory (28,031,323 +22,206,259 + 21,975,220) = 72,212,802 / 3 = 24,070,934: average inventory 104,807,966/24,070,934 = 4.35 (2009) 96,595,908/24,070,934 = 4.01 (2008) 88,685,361/24,070,934 = 3.68 (2007) Days to sell inventory: 365/inventory turnover 365/4.35 = 83.91 days (2009) 365/4.01 = 91.02 days (2008) 365/3.68 = 99.18 days (2007) Debt to equity: total liabilities/total equity 25,926,158/55,825,756 = 0.46 (2009) 17,605,301/52,758,726 = 0.33 (2008) 16,340,517/50,872,536 = 0.32 (2007) Times interest earned: operating income/interest expense 6,171,502/1,897,346 = 3.25 (2009) 5,998,463/2,128,905 = 2.82 (2008) 4,745,339/2,085,177 = 2.28 (2007) Earning per share: net income/average common shares outstanding 3,260,411/1,000,000 = 3.26 (2009) 2,470,557/1,000,000 = 2.47 (2008) 1,493,609/1,000,000 = .1.49 (2007) Gross profit percent: net sales –cost of goods sold/net sales (149,245,176- 104,807,966)/149,245,176 =29.77% (137,579,664 – 96,595,908)/137,579,664 =29.79% (125,814,272 – 88,685,361)/125,814,272 =29.51% Profit Margin: operating income/net sales 6,171,502/149,245,176 =0.04 5,998,463/137,579,664 =0.04 4,745,339/125,814,272 =0.04 Return on assets: income before taxes/average total assets (102,968,775 + 89,791,858 + 86,673,853)=279374486/3 =93,124,828.7: average total assets 4,274,156/93,124,828.7= 0.05 3,869,558/93,124,828.7=0.04 2,660,162/93,124,828.7=0.03 Return on common equity: income before taxes- preferred dividends/average stock holder equity (55,825,756+52,758,726+50,872,536)=189,457,018/3 =63,152,339.3: average stock holder equity (4,274,156-0)/63,152,339.3 =0.07 (3,869,558 -0)/63,152,339.3 =0.06 (2,660,162 -0) / 63,152,339.3 =0.04 B) Based on your calculations, assess the likelihood (high, medium, or low) that Pinnacle is likely to fail financially in the next 12 months. When reviewing the ratio calculations, it is apparent that the company’s likelihood of failing financially in the next 12 months is low. This is because it is apparent that the short-term debt paying ratios are down from the previous years. For example, the current ratio has decreased from the preceding year concluding that the current assets can cover the current liabilities successfully. Also looking at days to collect receivables is also lowered which presents that it takes less days for the company to collect their receivables implying that the monies owed to them are coming in more quickly. Lastly, in order for a company to succeed they need to have a good turnover rate for the inventory which is just what Pinnacle company has. The inventory turnover ratio is low indicating that it is taking fewer  days than before to sell invent ory. C and D) are on the Excel Spreadsheet labeled Pinnacle Case Study Common-Size Income Statement C) Account Balance Estimate of $ of Potential Misstatement Training37,621 Miscellaneous expenses74,791 Rent125,115 Legal Fees232,798 Miscellaneous office expenses211,874 D) Account BalanceEstimate of $ of Potential Misstatement Welburn Division: Training26,928 Depreciation880,286 Executive salaries174,362 Solar-Electro Division: Legal fees234,669 Miscellaneous office expense202,331 Machine-Tech Division: Depreciation66,596 E) Explain whether you believe the information in requirement c or d provides the most useful data for evaluating the potential for misstatements. Explain why.  I believe that the information in requirement d provides the most useful data for evaluating the potential for misstatements because you can see exactly what each division is claiming in each sub-category. When using the information in requirement c, you are getting an overview of what all the divisions have done and cannot tell which division each misstatement is coming from. Also, by using information from requirement d, the auditor has a better chance of depicting the misstatements because you are focused on one specific division instead of trying to figure out which division the misstatement might have been from. Requirement d is more informative than  using requirement c.

Role of Education in the Modernization of Japan Assignment

Role of Education in the Modernization of Japan - Assignment Example Loss of people’s faith in religious institutions is also a parcel of modernity. This paper analyzes the role of education in the modernization of Japan. Today, Japan is one of the most developed and advanced countries in terms of industry and technology. It is well-connected with the rest of the world through trade and education. The delivery of scientific education has played a huge role in maximizing the elements of modernity in the Japanese society. Education has become a necessity rather than a choice or option in Japan since it is a prerequisite for becoming a professional, getting a job, and contributing to the economy of the country. The role of education in the modernization of Japan cannot be overemphasized. Japan opened its door to modernity around the 1860s. Particularly, the period from 1868 to 1899 is very important in terms of the role of education in the modernization of Japan. The Japanese showed enthusiasm in an effective adaptation from other countries in the course of the Meiji Era. One of the most popular sports in Japan is baseball. Japan formed its first baseball team in 1873. Horace Wilson, a Christian missionary teacher taught the students how to play baseball at Tokyo University. A Japanese team challenged an American team in 1891 to a game in Yokohama.  Overwhelmed with its own superiority and overconfidence being the masters of an American game, the Americans granted the Japanese team the challenge offer after five years of wait. As the Japanese team entered the Club where it was not previously granted the permission to enter, it was booed at to which the Japanese team did not show any reaction. However, their performance and astounding victory shocked the Americans a nd the Japanese team won another rematch held later.

Management dissertation 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management dissertation 1 - Essay Example The policies and the practices within the organizational framework depend highly on its ability to adapt itself within an intensified competitive environment. (Dragun, n.d) In this research, a definite identical step has been taken forward in order to establish Sainsbury’s customer service taking in view both theoretical and its practical implications. Literally speaking on the prompt customer services (Heller, 2005) provided by different organizations largely depends on the motivation of the entities within the organization. (Xu, 2007) (Thomas, 2004) Management at Sainsbury has been on a constant lookout for maintaining quality and price in the various food products. (Analysis on the key factors affecting motivation of the staff at Sainsbury’s and the effect it has upon customer service, n.d) (Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign on behalf of Sainsbury’s, 2010) Both go hand-in-hand for better customer satisfaction. Customer needs (Heller, 2005) and speci fications are taken into consideration in formulating quality and price. This has invariably shown in their consistent sales performance with total sales reaching higher than 20K mark in the 2009 fiscal. (Annual Report and Financial Statements, 2009) Before carrying out a steady study on the stated issue it becomes important to have a review of the literature on such topic for consideration. (Corporate Objectives, 2009) Therefore, the following paper would lead to a sincere effort of understanding and verifying in fulfilling the objectives the paper is up to. The literature review discussion is followed by methodology, findings and analysis. Finally a summary of the whole study with a conclusion is stated. The main aim is to identify the managerial implementation in terms of marketing, selling, advertising and service standards communicated to potential customers at Sainsbury. In short, Service Quality (SERVQUAL) is

Personal Development Plan Portfolio Report Essay

Personal Development Plan Portfolio Report - Essay Example The assessment includes reading, writing, and oral communication, alongside with team work, problem solving, personal effectiveness, numeracy, and information technology. The section in which I scored the lowest marks was oral communication. The section in which I scored the highest was personal effectiveness. The second diagnostic which is used was ‘Rough & Ready Reckoner’. This diagnostic was particularly interesting as it measured preference for one’s learning style. The diagnostic concluded that I am an activist who wants public appreciation and who is always looking for new and fresh experiences. This particular diagnostic also revealed a number of shortcomings of my personality which were scarily accurate. It showed that I am a risk taker however, these risks are often unwarranted. Other weaknesses like impulsiveness and lack of concentration were revealed from the diagnostic. The third diagnostic that helped me understand my learning needs was VAK self asse ssment. The diagnostic concluded that I prefer an auditory learning style. According to the diagnostic, I am more inclined to learn from listening to other people and using my auditory senses. I prefer learning from concentrating on what is being said rather than other learning through physical experience and visual learning. In accordance with the diagnostic, the first goal I have set for myself is to improve my oral communication skills. I have always encountered problems in expressing my point of view, and therefore the first goal I have set is to work on my verbal communication skills. This goal is also in line with the information I received from diagnostic test. Effective communication will help increase my chances of getting desirable employment opportunities in future because it is the most basic skill all employers are looking for in prospective employees (Bridgstock, 2009). This is why setting the goal of improving oral communication is justified. The second development go al that I have set is to negotiate and persuade other group members in the team. The diagnostics told me that I am an activist that is looking for appreciation. This sometimes leads me to give in to the opinions of other people even when I do not wholly agree with them. This is something which, I believe, is hindering development and, therefore, I have decided to set this development goal to improve my team working and group working skills. The third development goat that I have set is to improve my research skills while completing my academic assignments and reports. This goal will help me improve my academic performance to a great degree, and is expected to lead me to long term academic success (Kramer, 2002). The diagnostic informed me that I have difficulty in concentrating on one thing. This is why I have set this particular academic development goal. Progress Review The use of the three diagnostic methods mentioned above helped me a lot in understanding my strengths and weakne ss both at personal and academic level. These diagnostic tests revealed important information for me that helped me develop my development goals. The tests revealed that I lack good oral communication skills, which is why I am not able to express myself. The reality was bitter however, it helped me identify areas of improvement. With regards to team working skills, I thought I always had an edge because I really like working in teams. Diagnostic methods helped me understand that I like appreciation of people and this was the reason why I was a

Marketing Proposals for Jones Lang LaSalle Essay

Marketing Proposals for Jones Lang LaSalle - Essay Example In a global environment that is constantly changing, Jones Lang LaSalle hopes to deliver and create value services for its shareholders, clients and its employees (Jones LangLaSalle). There are indications of economic opportunities coming from the growing interest in corporate rentals, investments and government housing priorities in Hong Kong that is a sign of rebound of its economy. In this context, it is proposed to take this opportunity to maintain its leadership in the real estate business and strategic proposals are presented to implement this decision. In my earlier study about this company, I have found out that the corporate rentals in Hong Kong show promising opportunity and it is an area where Jones LaSalle should act speedily. Competition is putting JLL in a difficult situation as it is getting a big share of the market. Competitively, JLL is financially strong, it has expertise and capable of handling a project of this magnitude. However, there are certain areas that bother its operation such as responding to the environmental laws and regulations of the government. The immediate plan is to respond to the interests of multinationals to establish offices in Hong Kong. Second is to support the government’s housing project for the locals. ... In my earlier study about this company, I have found out that the corporate rentals in Hong Kong show promising opportunity and it is an area where Jones LaSalle should act speedily. Competition is putting JLL in a difficult situation as it is getting a big share of the market. Competitively, JLL is financially strong, it has expertise and capable of handling a project of this magnitude. However, there are certain areas that bother its operation such as responding to the environmental laws and regulations of the government. The immediate plan is to respond to the interests of multinationals to establish offices in Hong Kong. Second is to support the government’s housing project for the locals. JLL is managing properties that could easily be used as corporate offices and be offered to multinationals. On the housing project, partnership with government is an ideal set up to get the project off from the drawing board. Marketing Proposals for JLL 1. Introduction A marketing plan i s proposed in order to take action on the opportunity to increase sales and revenue of Jones LangLaSalle. My previous study confirmed the interests of foreign companies in doing business in Hong Kong and in renting office spaces. Another business opportunity comes from Hong Kong government policy in providing affordable houses to its citizens. Taking this into account, a proposal is presented to address the opportunities present. As an evidence of foreign confidence to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Financial Secretary, in a speech delivered at a seminar on office development, reported that the city of Victoria in Hong Kong has 6,500 foreign companies that give employment to 350,000 people

Law enforcement and counter-terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Law enforcement and counter-terrorism - Essay Example Knowing what terrorists' aims and objectives will enable Americans to be prepared of possible future targets of terror especially in New York City. By using various research already done on the nature of terrorism and their targets, this paper intends to examine probable future targets of terrorism in New York City. This paper will first investigate why the terrorist attacked the WTC, why they like to attack New York City, Their aims and objectives, and possible next targets. It all started with an explosion that occurred on Friday, February 26, 1993 which devastated the public parking area of the World Trade Center located in New York City. The resulting blast killed 6 persons and dealt injury to not more than 1,000 others. This was considered by the N.Y.P.D. as one of the biggest crime scene they have ever encountered and the estimated damage was estimated at over half a billion dollars. Law enforcement agencies in and out of New York dubbed this as "the case of the century". This put N.Y. City in a grip of fear and panics ("The World Trade Center Bombing", 2006). This incident sparked a brand new trend in terrorism, one that involves the random and haphazard killing of civilians Dwyer et al, 1994; Myroie, 1996). 1, 042 people were reported to be injured in a more accurate account, and crime analysis has speculated that the terrorists aimed to kill more than 6 people at that time. It is also believed that the terrorist encountered several complications in the execution of the plan, and the damage could have been much worse if the circumstances were right (Parachini, 1993).The terror did not stop from that incident. History repeated itself on September 11, 2003 (now referred to as "9/11") when 2 large passenger aircraft were hi-jacked and collided with the Twin Towers again located in New York. The collision resulted in a massive fire and heavy collateral damage to the Twin Towers and other structures in the surroundings. Four of the nearby buildings in the WTC compound suffered irreparable damage and were eventually demolished. The next 8 and half months were spent on 24-hour cleanup involving thousands of voluntary workers. The effects of 9/11 is still being felt up to today, as a matter of fact as of 2005 a total of 2,749 death certificates related to 9/11 had been filed. The following statistics showed the grim and horrible results of 9/11: There were 13 survivors of 9/11, but they eventually succumbed to their injuries. The o ther attacks made on the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania resulted in 3 more deaths in different States, one death each for Massachusetts, Missouri, and New Jersey. A total of 2, 749 people died due to 9/11, 77% were males (2,117) and 23% were females (632). Around 1,588 (58% of the casualties) of corpses examined were identified based on dental records, jewelry and other identification methods. The average age for the victims is 39 years old based on data that the average age was 38 years for females (range: 2-81 years) and 39 years for males (range: 3-85 years). Three victims were under the age of 5 while 3 others were over the age of 80 years old ("World Trade Center", 2006). This goes to show that terrorist will go to any length to sow terror in men's heart.

Risk incidence occurrence solution Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk incidence occurrence solution - Article Example Inadequate flow of information is one of the major incidences that pose a major risk in the provision of quality health care.Inadequate information flow impairs reliable and timely communication of important test results, hinders coordination of treatment or medication orders at points of transfer of care, and impedes the availability of critical information or data when required to influence the physician’s prescription decisions.In addition, poor information flow may result in improper patient identification, inadequate control and organization of the workforce, and improper documentation.Information flow is important in any health care facility because it ensure smooth communication between different departments and between patients and service providers. Lack of adequate information flow may result in numerous medical errors that may jeopardize the provision of quality health care. As such, there should be an appropriate system design that would ensure optimal and smooth f low of information between persons and departments within the health care institution.Solution In order to reduce medical error as a result of inadequate flow of information, the best solution is to develop an anonymous database that de-identifies datasets of identifiable health data and altering or removing specific elements of given information.In addition, anonymous database is aimed at enhancing information security ... The anonymous database system, which is based on administration database and reporting system, ensures successful daily management of data reviews, collection and coding. The web management tool deals with complex tasks of directing data, communicating work assignments and tracking each report or relayed information. The follow up process for private and confidential information is guided by a browser based data collection screens that provide for direct data entry and direct data collection (Hoffer &McFadden, 2002). Breakdown of responsibility The overall head of information system and database management will be the information systems manager. Although the information systems and database management policies will be developed by the top management of the health care institution, the operation policies and criteria for running the system will be conducted by the information system manager. The information system and database management will be controlled by the information manageme nt department (Bommel,2005). The information systems department will coordinate the communication of critical information between different departments. The main departments of the health care institutions are the finance department, sales and marketing department, procurement department, security department, pharmacy, healthcare management department, and the top management. All information will pass through the information systems department to ensure that they are stored securely in the database and adhere to HIPAA (The health insurance portability and accountability act).All members of staff in the information management department will have access to all information and will provide both physical and technical assistance to the Information

Lab exercise Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lab exercise - Coursework Example In this process, the colonies are placed on plates and then for each dilution the number of counting units are determined by counting the units on the plates. The count should be between 30 and 800. The counted values are then recorded in a table in excel spreadsheet. In cases where the numbers of the CFUs is greater than 1000, then the value is recorded as TNTC i.e. Too Numerous to Count. In cases where the count is less than 10, the value is recorded but it is not utilized in the final calculation. The results are recorded in a table just like the one shown below Sterile transfer technique used in the transformation of bacteria from one location to another. This ensures no additional bacteria contaminates the one (bacteria) in transit. Also, this technique is used to prevent the bacteria from escaping and infecting the environment. The success of the sterile technique is dependent on several factors. The factors that facilitates the success of sterile transfer experiments are as highlighted below; ii) All the ends of loops and all the transfer loops must be flamed. Also, caution should be taken such that the tubes are kept open only in the minimum amount of time possible. When the tubes are open, they should be inclined at 45

Microscopy and the Metric System Essay Example for Free

Microscopy and the Metric System Essay 1. List the components of the compound microscope and their function. 2. determine the total magnification given that you are using a compound microscope with the following objectives: 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x 3. what is meant by the depth of field? 4. what is meant by the field of view? 5. describe the process of making a wet mount. ________________________________________________________________________________ 1. -Focal adjustment; used to adjust height of stand to adjust closer too or farther from slide. -eyepiece; used to look into to see what is on the slide closer -arm; hold when carrying, also used to -objective lenses; must use smallest objective lens, they have different levels of magnification -stand; used to hold up the microscope. -light source; needs to be turned on to be able to see. -base; hold when carrying, also used for standing up microscope. 2. 4x=40x , 10x=100x , 40x=400x , 100x=1000x 3. Depth of field is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that give an image its focus in a camera. 4. Field of view is the area that is visible. 5. Mix sample to make sure it is properly suspended. Take dropper to pick up sample material. Put a small amount on the glass slide. Take a cover glass by the corners with tweezers to not get any finger prints. Put cover from corner down to avoid air bubbles. If too much water use a tissue or filter paper to suck up remaining water. Part B: 1. Linear measurements: measure the width of your textbook in cm and then convert to mm. 2. Conversions: convert 100 grams to mg and then ug 3. Weight measurements: using your scale, record the mass of an object in grams and include the name of the object you have measured. Once you have recorded your measurements in grams, please convert the measurement to mg and then ug. 4. Volume measurements: define meniscus and describe how you would read the volume of a liquid in a gradulated cylinder. 5. Temperature measurements: Record the temperature of your skin and of the room in celsius. ________________________________________________________________________________ 1. 22.4 cm is equal to 224 mm 2. 100g is equal to 100,000mg which is equal to 100ÃŽ ¼g 3. A pencil weighs 9g which is equal to 9,000mg which is equal to 9ÃŽ ¼g 4. A meniscus is the curved upper surface of a liquid in a tube or a lens that is convex on one side and concave on the other. To read the volume of a liquid in a gradulated cylinder compare the bottom of the meniscus to the nearest graduation or the ring, at eye level. 5. 37 degrees celsius on my skin and the room is 21 degrees celsius

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Against Hitler

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Against Hitler Dietrich Bonhoeffer is remembered for many things. He was a highly influential theologian and preacher. His importance as a theologian has only increased since his death. However, he is also remembered for his opposition against Nazi Germany. For the purposes of this paper, I look at three aspects of Bonhoeffers involvement. First, I examine his statements against Hitler and the extent to which he sought to make his opinions known. Second, I consider his involvement in conspiracies to eliminate Hitler. Lastly, I examine Bonhoeffers reflections on his actions, which he wrote while in prison. Although Bonhoeffers actions may raise many questions of morality and ethics, there is no doubt that he played a significant role within the opposition of Nazi Germany. When many people study the Holocaust, they fault Christians for remaining silent as Hitler performed one horrific act after another. Many would say that silence was just as horrible as killing the victims. Bonhoeffer cannot be faulted for this. Rather, he proved to be very outspoken. One of his most popular speeches was that on a German radio show. He was to speak on The Younger Generations Altered View of the Concept of Fuhrer in the Berlin Potsdamerstrasse Voxhaus (broadcasting house). Dietrich was not hesitant to express how he felt about the Fuhrer principle. This speech was given on February 1, 1933, and Hitler had just risen to power days prior. Much of Bonhoeffers words addressed the notion that the youth had been led astray concerning their concept of the Fuhrer. His boldest statement was said toward the end of the broadcast. However, once broadcasters realized that these words should not be heard by others, he was turned off. This was proof that Joseph Goebbels (the Nazi min ister of propaganda) had most likely gained the control of the radio station. Bonhoeffer stated that his speech was carefully planned to fit the allotted time. His final sentences read, should the leader surrender to the wishes of his followers, who would always make him their idol- then the image of the Leader will gradually become the image of the misleaderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Leaders or offices which set themselves up as gods mock God (Bethge, pg. 260). His entire speech was later copied and distributed. Bonhoeffer felt that the Fuhrer principle was nothing short of idolatry. Therefore, he was implying that Hitler demanded his people to worship him. This was contempt. This proved to be one of Dietrich Bonhoeffers first outbursts on Hitler. However, there were many others of the sort. There is an account in which Bishop Bell gives that he speaks of Bonhoeffer being very outspoken against Germany. Bell recalls sitting with him amongst others at a friends home in Geneva. Dietrich is approached with the question about what he is praying for. He responds with very harsh statements. If you want to know the truth, I pray for the defeat of my nation, for I believe that is the only way to pay for all the suffering which my country has caused in the world (Bosanquet, pg. 229). He was much convicted about the acts of injustice in which Hitler was repeatedly performing. Bonhoeffer knew that the annihilation of the Jews was wrong, and he was not ashamed to let others know his beliefs. Bell gives an account of a later statement that Bonhoeffer made, If we claim to be Christians there is no room for expediency. Hitler is Antichrist; therefore we must go on with our work and eliminate him, whether he be successful or not (Bosanquet, pg. 229). He felt that it was necessary for him to aid in the elimination of the Fuhrer. Next, I study Bonhoeffers involvement in the conspiracy to kill Hitler. He participated in the Abwehr, which was the military counter intelligence. Within this group was also his brother-in-law, Hans von Dohnanyi. It is said that Dohnanyi was directly involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler. However, Bonhoeffer had somewhat of a different role. It was his duty to contact other countries to gain their support if the assassination were to prove successful. He spent much time traveling, making others aware of the resistance movement. He felt that it was important to know that they had allies assuming that the German government was taken over. Upon visiting Geneva, he attempted to convince them of this, What they needed, Dietrich explained, was a signal from the Allies that once the Nazis were overthrown, the Allies were prepared to recognize a new German government (Raum, pg. 126). This was clearly a well thought out plan. Dietrich traveled to Norway, Italy, as well as Switzerland to gain the support of Bishop Bell. He also attempted to make connections with other German resistance groups, but difficulties arose. A very important assassination attempt took place on March 7, 1943. Hitler was traveling to East Prussia by way of plane. A gift disguised as a box of Brandy was given to him. However, it was a bomb. The bomb was sneaked onto the plane, but it never ignited. Involved in this attempt were members of the Abwehr. This included General Oster, Admiral Canaris, Dohnanyi, Fabian von Schlabrendorff, and General Henning von Tresckow (Raum, pg. 132). Due to the failed attempt, the Abwehr decided to try again. They developed another strategy to kill Hitler. Hitler was originally scheduled to attend a ceremony at an army museum on March 16, 1943, however he rescheduled for March 21st. Colonel von Gersdorff was supposed to get the bomb into Hitlers presence without causing much commotion, even if this meant killing himself in the process. Needless to say, this attempt failed as well. Fortunately, they were not caught in the attempt to execute the assassination. Bonhoeffer was at home with his family during this attempt; however he was expecting a phone call announcing Hitlers assassination, and was disappointed to hear of the failed endeavor. There was in fact a third attempt to kill Hitler, but Bonhoeffer had already been arrested. He was arrested in 1943 in connection with the assassination attempt on Hitler (Scott and Cavanaugh, pg. 139). However, since the Abwehr was a secret group, many of the documents were hidden or destroyed. As a result, there was limited evidence. Much of the evidence used to arrest Bonhoeffer was his connection to Operation 7. The operation was designed to help to free several Jews. The Abwehr was attempting to help the Jews to Switzerland. The fact that Bonhoeffer was involved in several attempts to kill Hitler raises many questions. Due to the fact that Dietrich considered himself a devout member of the Confessing Church makes one question how his beliefs would support such an act. However, Dietrich does not express any conviction about his involvement in the multiple plots to murder Hitler. Bonhoeffer clearly felt that the assassination of Hitler was the last resort. Hitlers actions were proving to gain momentum and were spinning out of control. Therefore Dietrich felt that it was necessary to take action. Through the reading of his writings leading up to his death, he does not seem to be living in fear. He almost appears to be welcoming death. In the first sentence of a writing titled Death, he states Come now thou greatest of feasts on the journey to freedom eternal (Bosanquet, pg. 265). As one can see, Bonhoeffer appears to be at great peace with his fate. Many within the prison commented that Bonhoeffer seemed to be very lively and almost happy. Others would argue that this was due to the fact that the Soviets were closing in and that the prisoners were anticipating liberation. However, fellow prisoners describe it as an inner joy that he experienced. This joy Bonhoeffer desired to share with others. During his imprisonment at Tegel while awaiting trial, many descri be Bonhoeffer as victorious. Bonhoeffer experienced a change of heart. As a result, he no longer viewed his own sufferings within prison as something of which he should be concerned. Rather he stated, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously not our own sufferings, but the sufferings of God in the world (Bosanquet, pg. 271). Bonhoeffer viewed the acts of injustice as not only actions taken against innocent victims, he saw them as actually taking unjust actions toward God. It appears as if Dietrich did not view his involvement in the Abwehr as wrong. Through his writings in prison and the comments of others, he had a clear conscience and eagerly awaited his arrival in Heaven. In conclusion, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a very influential person during the World War II and especially in opposition to the Nazi Regime. As one can see in his radio broadcast, from the beginning he was very outspoken against Hitler and the Fuhrer principle. He was very bold in comparing this principle to the mockery of God. He played a very active role in the military counter intelligence (Abwehr). Bonhoeffer never hesitated in completing his assignments to gain support of the actions to overthrow the German government. Many would agree that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was very confident that his actions against Hitler were not wrong. Rather, he felt that they were his duty as a result of a conviction to do the right thing. His statements on death and also his inner joy as a result of a relationship with God greatly support this claim.

The Flu :: Influenza Virus

THE FLU The Flu is the common name influenza which is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. The flu virus releases its genetic information into the cells nucleus to replicate itself. When the cell dies, those copies are released and they affect other cells throughout the rest of the body. With that happening the virus weakens the immune system. When your sick with the flu, your body builds up a defense by making antibodies against it. The flu virus spreads through air when a person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. The Flu was first founded in Seattle September, 1918. The avian flu can also be known as the â€Å"Bird Flu†. The bird flu is being passed around by migratory birds. It can be transmitted from birds to mammals and in some limited circumstances to humans. The flu will also be known as the H5N1 virus. The H5N1 virus has raised concerns about a potential human pandemic because its virulent (deadly; extremely dangerous) and it can evolve like other influenza viruses. As many other viruses and illnesses the flu can be a lot more deadlier. When you get the flu the lungs are severely harmed from infected cells called macrophages and T-cells. The virus can spread way beyond the lungs but generally do not. Many people catch the flu and think they have the common cold because of some of the same symptoms. But actually the flu can be more dangerous if you don’t treat it immediately. Ways to prevent the flu: †¢ Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently †¢ Never pick up used tissues †¢ Never share cups and/or used utensils †¢ Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze †¢ Stay home when you get sick Research also says that after 5 days the fever and other symptoms have disappeared but a cough and weakness may continue. Usually all symptoms are gone within a week or two. But its important to treat the flu seriously because it can lead to other viruses such as pneumonia and other life-threatening complications. For the most part it appears in infants, senior citizens, and people with long term health problems. People with the flu may not know but they are actually contagious from a day before they feel sick. It would usually be one week for adults and two weeks for young kids. Anyone at any age can have serious complications with the flu but those at high risk are people over 50 years old, children between 6 months and 2 years, women more than 3 months pregnant the flu season, anyone living in a long-term care facility, and anyone with chronic heart, lung or kidney conditions, diabetes, or weakened immune system.

The Teachers of Siddhartha :: Hesse Siddhartha Essays

The Teachers of Siddhartha      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the book Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, the main character Siddhartha had many teachers along his quest for happiness.   Throughout his life he denounced   teachers and their teachings.   In his last meeting with his lifelong friend, Govinda, he mentions five in which he was indebted :   a beautiful courtesan, a rich merchant, a dice player, a Buddhist monk, and Vasudeva.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first of these teachers along his way was Kamala a beautiful courtesan. Kamala taught him the wonderful pleasures of love and the importance of wealth and riches in society .    ³It [had] never been my experience that a Samana from the woods should come to me and desire to learn from me.   Never has a Samana with long hair and an old torn loin cloth come to me.   Many young men come to me, including Brahmin's sons but they come to me in fine clothes, in fine shoes; there is scent in their hair and money in their purses.   That is how these young men come to me, O Samana. ²Ã‚   These teachings in which Kamala placed upon him helped him to seek out the riches and wealth that would supposedly bring him happiness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another of the people who Siddhartha obtained knowledge from was the rich merchant Kamaswami.  Ã‚   Kamaswami taught Siddhartha the secrets of making money and living the life of a rich man. While working for Kamaswami   many of Siddhartha's values stayed intact but, slowly   these  Ã‚   values began to slip away.   In many ways Kamaswami taught Siddhartha the dark side of life.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the days went on Siddhartha began hating himself more and more.   He viewed his riches as worthless, for they did not truly bring him happiness. Slowly he began squandering his money playing dice.  Ã‚   He won thousands and lost thousands in order to reach the high he felt when he carelessly bet his money away.   This taught him the worthless value of   money, for money only brought more and more sadness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally after rejecting this life of sin he vowed to leave the city and never return.   As he retreated into the forest he decided to go to the river. At the river he found his friend Govinda, who had watched over Siddhartha while

Free Essays: The Prologues of Oedipus Rex and Everyman :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Prologues of Oedipus Rex and Everyman Two Works Cited A prologue is a miniature version of the actual text. It answers the elements of literature in a work, and exposes the reader to essential facts, as well as foreshadows the outcome of the work. The prologue also introduces themes, characters, and literary devices to complement the work. Thus, through the study of the prologues of Oedipus Rex and Everyman, one may learn much about the nature of both plays. In the prologue of Oedipus, the 'bear' pun is used. The 'bear' pun is a popular literary device used in many plays. To bear means to carry a babe; To bear can also mean to carry something heavy. The pun indicates that if one cannot bear the truth (which is a very heavy object placed on the heart) than one cannot bear new life. In order to be reborn one must suffer the bearing of truth. When Oedipus says, "I, Oedipus, who bear the famous name." (Sophocles, 715), he indicates that he is bearing the name and therefore must bear the fate that is set for him in order to conceive new life. In order for Oedipus to fully bear his name he must accept the responsibilities that follow; He must escape from the ways of the flesh. Until this time comes, the Gods must bear Oedipus's pain until he is ready to accept it. Likewise, Everyman cannot reach enlightenment (to be free of guilt) because he cannot bear the truth. God explains why Everyman cannot be enlightened as he says, "They use the seven deadly sins damnable, / As pride, covetise, wrath, and lechery . . ." (Everyman, 761). This proves that Everyman is too much of the flesh, and he uses the ways of the flesh to keep him bound to the earth. Thus, when God says, "I see the more that I them forbear" (Everyman, 761), God is bearing Everyman's truth until he is ready, when Everyman is no longer of the flesh. A major theme consistent in both works is that of suffering. In Oedipus Rex, the kingdom of Thebes is suffering because of Oedipus's sin. The suffering of Thebes is illustrated when the Priest said: The herds are sick; children die unborn, And labour is vain. The god of plague and pyre Raids like detestable lightning through the city, And all the house of Kadmos is laid waste,

How Water Pollution Effects Marine Life?

For years man has been polluting our vast resource of oceans, not expecting to ever cause harm to them. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Our oceans and other waterways have become a poisonous playground of garbage, chemicals, and sewage. The effects of this ignorance has had devastating affects on the marine life and their habitat. This affects the habitat for marine life by destroying their homes. In doing so the intricate balance between marine animals and their homes can alter our oceans forever. Our very existence depends on the oceans.â€Å"Without oceans, Earth would be too hot and there would not be enough air to breathe. † (Hogan 10) The immediate importance to stop the destruction of our oceans is clear. Our oceans are not only crucial to our climate, but also provide us with food, jobs, and much loved recreation. The effects of man’s abuse can be seen on a daily basis, from the disappearance of long existing sea life such as whales, to garbage washing up on the shore, to the disastrous oil spoils that cost millions of dollars each year to clean up. In some areas the neglect is already so great that complete clean up is impossible.Pollution is the introduction of harmful contaminants that are outside the norm for a given ecosystem. Common man-made pollutants that reach the ocean include pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, detergents, oil, sewage, plastics, and other solids. Many of these pollutants collect at the ocean's depths, where they are consumed by small marine organisms and introduced into the global food chain. (oceannationalgeographic. com) The most polluted body of water on Earth is the Mediterranean Sea. Factories and ships dump over 300,000 tons of oil, toxic waste, and raw sewage in the Mediterranean each year.  (Hogan12)Even though most European countries have been working since 1975 to clean up the sea they still are living along the most polluted waters on Earth. With each year of pollutants being dumped into i t the water has darkened and the sea floor is covered with deadly slime. Plastic pollution has become a major problem throughout the world. Plastic nets, plastic garbage, and plastic medical wastes are killing millions of marine mammals, turtles, and fish. Animals may become tangled in the plastic debris or may eat it and die. Many governments have banned the dumping of plastics in oceans.  (csshome. com)There are other pollutants that affect our oceans like sediment and thermal pollution. These pollutants are mostly found in the United States. Sediment destroys spawning and feeding grounds for fish, reduces fish and shellfish populations, destroys pools used for resting, smothering eggs and fry, fills in lakes and streams, and decreases light penetration, thus endangering aquatic plants. (csshome. com) Thermal pollution refers to heating or cooling the water which changes the biota in the water. This can harm or kill organisms that rely on the water’s ecosystem.It can effe ct the way fish eggs will hatch or the fish will grow. It may even kill all living life unless they adapt to it. Scientist have counted some 400 such dead zones around the world. (ocean. nationalgeographic. com) Oil spills are another huge pollution problem that effects not only marine life but the whole ocean. Tankers spill anywhere from three to six million tons of oil int the ocean every year. It can take anywhere from two to ten years for aquatic life to recover from a spill. (csshome. com) These spills have caused severe devastation not only to marine life but the our country’s economy and livelihood of many people.Chemical pollution occurs every day all over the world. Factories are pouring deadly chemical waste into our waters. Some are dumped directly and others end up their eventually because they are poured into rivers which eventually end up in our oceans. This toxic dumping has caused severe abnormalities in our marine life and has cause almost all marine life in the White Sea off the coast of the Soviet Union to completely disappear.In Washington state some company presidents have been thrown into jail for breaking very strict pollution laws. A final type of pollution, toxic runoff, is much harder to control than pollution form factories and sewage plants. Toxic runoff is the wash off of fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers that wash off farmers fields and into our rivers and eventually into our oceans. Some problems of this type of pollution is that fertilizer runoff can cause some ocean plants to grow out of control and eventually crowd out other plants which obviously has a direct effect on the food chains of our oceans. (Hogan 20) Now that the water is so polluted people want to clean it up and change the bad affects it has had on our world’s oceans.There are many countries who are trying to clean up all their polluted waters, but one big problem is it is very costly. So they designed rules and organizations to help clean up and stop polluting. Lawmakers have made several acts to help stop pollution. The acts are the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Endangered Species Act, Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. All of these acts were set up for saving animals in the water or cleaning up the water. They are now starting to fine or arrest anyone who is caught dumping in the ocean.If hindsight is 20/20 surely man would have made better choices about ocean dumping. It is apparent today that our society’s ignorance of many years has caused a lasting and extremely costly deadly effect on our earth. Together we must all work to keep the oceans clean and safe not only for the animals that live these waters but for ourselves as well. The oceans and seas of our world don’t belong to just one country or one person, but rather they are all connected making everybody responsible to protect and prohibit the continuous de struction of marine life and their habitat.

Deep Water

i i Dedication This report is dedicated to the 11 men who lost their lives on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010 and to their families, in hope that this report will help minimize the chance of another such disaster ever happening again. Jason Anderson Aaron Dale Burkeen Donald Clark Stephen Curtis Gordon Jones Roy Wyatt Kemp Karl Dale Kleppinger, Jr. Blair Manuel Dewey Revette Shane Roshto Adam Weise ii Acknowledgements We wish to acknowledge the many individuals and organizations, government officials and agencies alike that offered their views and insights to the Commission.We would especially like to express our gratitude to the Coast Guard’s Incident Specific Preparedness Review (ISPR) for allowing Commission staff to participate in its interviews and discussions, which was invaluable to the preparation of this report. (A copy of the Coast Guard’s ISPR report can be found at the Commission’s website at www. oilspillcommission. gov). We would also li ke to thank Chevron for performing the cement tests that proved so critical to our investigation into the Macondo well blowout. Related article: Why Nations Fail Chapter 5We also thank the Department of Energy, which served as our supporting agency, and all of the Department employees whose assistance was so essential to the success and functioning of the Commission. In particular, we would like to thank Christopher Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas, who acted as the Commission’s Designated Federal Officer, as well as Elena Melchert, Petroleum Engineer in the Office of Oil and Gas Resource Conservation, who served as the Committee Manager. But most importantly, we are deeply grateful to the citizens of the Gulf who shared their personal xperiences as Commissioners traveled in the region, providing a critical human dimension to the disaster and to our undertaking, as well as the many people who testified at the Commission’s hearings, provided public comments, and submitted statements to our website. Together, these contributions greatly informed our work and led to a bette r report. Thank you one and all. Copyright, Restrictions, and Permissions Notice Except as noted herein, materials contained in this report are in the public domain.Public domain information may be freely distributed and copied. However, this report contains illustrations, photographs, and other information contributed by or licensed from private individuals, companies, or organizations that may be protected by U. S. and/or foreign copyright laws. Transmission or reproduction of items protected by copyright may require the written permission of the copyright owner. When using material or images from this report we ask that you credit this report, as well as the source of the material as indicated in this report. Permission to use materials copyrighted by other individuals, companies or organizations must be obtained directly from those sources. This report contains links to many Web sites. Once you access another site through a link that we provide, you are subject to the use, copyr ight and licensing restrictions of that site. Neither the Government nor the National Commission on the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (Commission) endorses any of the organizations or views represented by the linked sites unless expressly stated in the report.The Government and the Commission take no responsibility for, and exercise no control over, the content, accuracy or accessibility of the material contained on the linked sites. Cover Photo:  © Steadfast TV ISBN: 978-0-16-087371-3 iii iii Deep Water The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling Report to the President National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling January 2011 iv Commission Members Bob Graham, Co-Chair William K. Reilly, Co-Chair Frances Beinecke Donald F. Boesch Terry D. Garcia Cherry A. Murray Fran Ulmer v Table of Contents Foreword PART I: The Path to Tragedy Chapter 1 â€Å"Everyone involved with the job†¦was completely satisfiedâ⠂¬ ¦. † The Deepwater Horizon, the Macondo Well, and Sudden Death on the Gulf of Mexico vi xiii 1 21 Chapter 2 â€Å"Each oil well has its own personality† The History of Offshore Oil and Gas in the United States Chapter 3 â€Å"It was like pulling teeth. † Oversight—and Oversights—in Regulating Deepwater Energy Exploration and Production in the Gulf of Mexico 55 PART II: Explosion and Aftermath: The Causes and Consequences of the Disaster Chapter 4 But, who cares, it’s done, end of story, [we] will probably be fine and we’ll get a good cement job. † The Macondo Well and the Blowout 87 89 Chapter 5 â€Å"You’re in it now, up to your neck! † Response and Containment 129 173 197 Chapter 6 â€Å"The worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. † Oiling a Rich Environment: Impacts and Assessment Chapter 7 â€Å"People have plan fatigue . . . they’ve been planned to death† Recovery and Restor ation PART III: Lessons Learned: Industry, Government, Energy Policy Chapter 8 â€Å"Safety is not proprietary. † Changing Business as Usual 215 217Chapter 9 â€Å"Develop options for guarding against, and mitigating the impact of, oil spills associated with offshore drilling. † Investing in Safety, Investing in Response, Investing in the Gulf 249 Chapter 10 American Energy Policy and the Future of Offshore Drilling 293 307 356 358 359 362 365 366 368 Endnotes Appendices Appendix A: Commission Members Appendix B: List of Acronyms Appendix C: Executive Order Appendix D: Commission Staff and Consultants Appendix E: List of Commission Meetings Appendix F: List of Staff Working Papers Index vi Photo: Susan Walsh, Associated PressThe explosion that tore through the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig last April 20, as the rig’s crew completed drilling the exploratory Macondo well deep under the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, began a human, economic, and environmental disas ter. Eleven crew members died, and others were seriously injured, as fire engulfed and ultimately destroyed the rig. And, although the nation would not know the full scope of the disaster for weeks, the first of more than four million barrels of oil began gushing uncontrolled into the Gulf—threatening livelihoods, precious habitats, and even a unique way of life.A treasured American landscape, already battered and degraded from years of mismanagement, faced yet another blow as the oil spread and washed ashore. Five years after Hurricane Katrina, the nation was again transfixed, seemingly helpless, as this new tragedy unfolded in the Gulf. The costs from this one industrial accident are not yet fully counted, but it is already clear that the impacts on the region’s natural systems and people were enormous, and that economic losses total tens of billions of dollars.On May 22, 2010, President Barack Obama announced the creation of the National Commission on the BP Deepwat er Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling: an independent, nonpartisan entity, directed to provide a thorough analysis and impartial judgment. The President charged the Commission to determine the causes of the disaster, and to improve the country’s ability to respond to spills, and to recommend reforms to make offshore energy production safer. And the President said we were to follow the facts wherever they led. This report is the result of an intense six-month effort to fulfill the President’s charge.Foreword vii vii From the outset, the Commissioners have been determined to learn the essential lessons so expensively revealed in the tragic loss of life at the Deepwater Horizon and the severe damages that ensued. The Commission’s aim has been to provide the President, policymakers, industry, and the American people a clear, accessible, accurate, and fair account of the largest oil spill in U. S history: the context for the well itself, how the explosion and sp ill happened, and how industry and government scrambled to respond to an unprecedented emergency.This was our first obligation: determine what happened, why it happened, and explain it to Americans everywhere. As a result of our investigation, we conclude: †¢ †¢ The explosive loss of the Macondo well could have been prevented. The immediate causes of the Macondo well blowout can be traced to a series of identifiable mistakes made by BP Halliburton, and Transocean that reveal such , systematic failures in risk management that they place in doubt the safety culture of the entire industry. Deepwater energy exploration and production, particularly at the frontiers of experience, involve risks for which neither industry nor overnment has been adequately prepared, but for which they can and must be prepared in the future. To assure human safety and environmental protection, regulatory oversight of leasing, energy exploration, and production require reforms even beyond those sign ificant reforms already initiated since the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Fundamental reform will be needed in both the structure of those in charge of regulatory oversight and their internal decisionmaking process to ensure their political autonomy, technical expertise, and their full consideration of environmental protection concerns.Because regulatory oversight alone will not be sufficient to ensure adequate safety, the oil and gas industry will need to take its own, unilateral steps to increase dramatically safety throughout the industry, including self-policing mechanisms that supplement governmental enforcement. The technology, laws and regulations, and practices for containing, responding to, and cleaning up spills lag behind the real risks associated with deepwater drilling into large, high-pressure reservoirs of oil and gas located far offshore and thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.Government must close the existing gap and industry must support rather than r esist that effort. Scientific understanding of environmental conditions in sensitive environments in deep Gulf waters, along the region’s coastal habitats, and in areas proposed for more drilling, such as the Arctic, is inadequate. The same is true of the human and natural impacts of oil spills. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ viii We reach these conclusions, and make necessary recommendations, in a constructive spirit: we aim to promote changes that will make American offshore energy exploration and production far safer, today and in the future.More broadly, the disaster in the Gulf undermined public faith in the energy industry, government regulators, and even our own capability as a nation to respond to crises. It is our hope that a thorough and rigorous accounting, along with focused suggestions for reform, can begin the process of restoring confidence. There is much at stake, not only for the people directly affected in the Gulf region, but for the American peopl e at large. The tremendous resources that exist within our outer continental shelf belong to the nation as a whole.The federal government’s authority over the shelf is accordingly plenary, based on its power as both the owner of the resources and in its regulatory capacity as sovereign to protect public health, safety, and welfare. To be allowed to drill on the outer continental shelf is a privilege to be earned, not a private right to be exercised. â€Å"Complex Systems Almost Always Fail in Complex Ways† As the Board that investigated the loss of the Columbia space shuttle noted, â€Å"complex systems almost always fail in complex ways. Though it is tempting to single out one crucial misstep or point the finger at one bad actor as the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, any such explanation provides a dangerously incomplete picture of what happened—encouraging the very kind of complacency that led to the accident in the first place. Consistent with the President’s request, this report takes an expansive view. Why was a corporation drilling for oil in mile-deep water 49 miles off the Louisiana coast? To begin, Americans today consume vast amounts of petroleum products—some 18. 7 million barrels per day—to fuel our economy.Unlike many other oil-producing countries, the United States relies on private industry—not a state-owned or -controlled enterprise—to supply oil, natural gas, and indeed all of our energy resources. This basic trait of our private-enterprise system has major implications for how the U. S. government oversees and regulates offshore drilling. It also has advantages in fostering a vigorous and competitive industry, which has led worldwide in advancing the technology of finding and extracting oil and gas. Even as land-based oil production extended as far as the northern Alaska frontier, the oil and gas industry began to move offshore.The industry first moved into shallow water and e ventually into deepwater, where technological advances have opened up vast new reserves of oil and gas in remote areas—in recent decades, much deeper under the water’s surface and farther offshore than ever before. The Deepwater Horizon was drilling the Macondo well under 5,000 feet of Gulf water, and then over 13,000 feet under the sea floor to the hydrocarbon reservoir below. It is a complex, even dazzling, enterprise. The remarkable advances that have propelled the move to deepwater drilling merit comparison with exploring outer space.The Commission is respectful and admiring of the industry’s technological capability. ix ix But drilling in deepwater brings new risks, not yet completely addressed by the reviews of where it is safe to drill, what could go wrong, and how to respond if something does go awry. The drilling rigs themselves bristle with potentially dangerous machinery. The deepwater environment is cold, dark, distant, and under high pressuresâ€⠀and the oil and gas reservoirs, when found, exist at even higher pressures (thousands of pounds per square inch), compounding the risks if a well gets out of control.The Deepwater Horizon and Macondo well vividly illustrated all of those very real risks. When a failure happens at such depths, regaining control is a formidable engineering challenge—and the costs of failure, we now know, can be catastrophically high. In the years before the Macondo blowout, neither industry nor government adequately addressed these risks. Investments in safety, containment, and response equipment and practices failed to keep pace with the rapid move into deepwater drilling.Absent major crises, and given the remarkable financial returns available from deepwater reserves, the business culture succumbed to a false sense of security. The Deepwater Horizon disaster exhibits the costs of a culture of complacency. The Commission examined in great detail what went wrong on the rig itself. Our investi gative staff uncovered a wealth of specific information that greatly enhances our understanding of the factors that led to the explosion. The separately published report of the chief counsel (a summary of the findings is presented in Chapter 4) offers the fullest account yet of what happened on the rig and why.There are recurring themes of missed warning signals, failure to share information, and a general lack of appreciation for the risks involved. In the view of the Commission, these findings highlight the importance of organizational culture and a consistent commitment to safety by industry, from the highest management levels on down. * But that complacency affected government as well as industry. The Commission has documented the weaknesses and the inadequacies of the federal regulation and oversight, and made important recommendations for changes in legal authority, regulations, investments in expertise, and management.The Commission also looked at the effectiveness of the res ponse to the spill. There were remarkable instances of dedication and heroism by individuals involved in the rescue and cleanup. Much was done well—and thanks to a combination of good luck and hard work, the worst-case scenarios did not all come to pass. But it is impossible to argue that the industry or the country was prepared for a disaster of the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Twenty years after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, the same blunt response technologies—booms, dispersants, and skimmers—were used, to limited effect.On-the-ground shortcomings in the joint public-private response to an overwhelming spill like that resulting from the blowout of the Macondo well are now evident, and demand public and private investment. So do the weaknesses in local, state, and federal coordination revealed by the emergency. Both government and industry failed to anticipate and prevent this catastrophe, and failed again to be prepared to respond to it. *The chief counsel’s investigation was no doubt complicated by the lack of subpoena power. Nonetheless, Chief Counsel Bartlit did an extraordinary job building the record and interpreting what he learned.He used his considerable powers of persuasion along with other tools at his disposal to engage the involved companies in constructive and informative exchanges. x If we are to make future deepwater drilling safer and more environmentally responsible, we will need to address all these deficiencies together; a piecemeal approach will surely leave us vulnerable to future crises in the communities and natural environments most exposed to offshore energy exploration and production. The Deepwater Drilling Prospect The damage from the spill and the impact on the people of the Gulf has guided our work from the very beginning.Our first action as a Commission was to visit the Gulf region, to learn directly from those most affected. We heard deeply moving accounts from oystermen witness ing multi-generation family businesses slipping away, fishermen and tourism proprietors bearing the brunt of an ill-founded stigma affecting everything related to the Gulf, and oil-rig workers dealing with mounting bills and threatened home foreclosures, their means of support temporarily derailed by a blanket drilling moratorium, shutting down all deepwater drilling rigs, including those not implicated in the BP spill.Indeed, the centrality of oil and gas exploration to the Gulf economy is not widely appreciated by many Americans, who enjoy the benefits of the energy essential to their transportation, but bear none of the direct risks of its production. Within the Gulf region, however, the role of the energy industry is well understood and accepted. The notion of clashing interests—of energy extraction versus a natural-resource economy with bountiful fisheries and tourist amenities—misses the extent to which the energy industry is woven into the fabric of the Gulf cul ture and economy, providing thousands of jobs and essential public revenues.Any discussion of the future of offshore drilling cannot ignore these economic realities. But those benefits have imposed their costs. The bayous and wetlands of Louisiana have for decades suffered from destructive alteration to accommodate oil exploration. The Gulf ecosystem, a unique American asset, is likely to continue silently washing away unless decisive action is taken to start the work of creating a sustainably healthy and productive landscape. No one should be deluded that restoration on the scale required will occur quickly or cheaply.Indeed, the experience in restoring other large, sensitive regions—the Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, the Great Lakes—indicates that progress will require coordinated federal and state actions, a dedicated funding source, long-term monitoring, and a vocal and engaged citizenry, supported by robust non-governmental groups, scientific research, and more. We advocate beginning such an effort, seriously and soon, as a suitable response to the damage and disruption caused by the Deepwater Horizon emergency.It is a fair recognition not only of the costs that energy exploitation in the Gulf has, for decades, imposed on the landscape and habitats—and the other economic activities they support—but also of the certainty that Americans will continue to develop the region’s offshore energy resources. For the simple fact is that the bulk of our newly discovered petroleum reserves, and the best prospects for future discoveries, lie not on land, but under water. To date, we have xi xi made the decision as a nation to exploit the Gulf ’s offshore energy resources—ruling much of the Florida, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts out of bounds for drilling.The choice of how aggressively to exploit these resources, wherever they may be found, has profound implications for the future of U. S. energy policy, for our need to u nderstand and assure the integrity of fragile environmental resources, and for the way Americans think about our economy and our security. Although much work is being done to improve the fuelefficiency of vehicles and to develop alternative fuels, we cannot realistically walk away from these offshore oil resources in the near future. So we must be much better prepared to exploit such resources with far greater care. The Commission and Its WorkWhile we took a broad view of the spill, it could not be exhaustive. There is still much we do not know—for instance, the blowout preventer, the last line of defense against loss of well control, is still being analyzed; and the Deepwater Horizon itself, after its explosive destruction, remained out of reach during our investigation. The understandable, immediate need to provide answers and concrete suggestions trumped the benefits of a longer, more comprehensive investigation. And as we know from other spills, their environmental conseq uences play out over decades—and often in unexpected ways.Instead, the Commission focused on areas we thought most likely to inform practical recommendations. Those recommendations are presented in the spirit of transforming America into the global leader for safe and effective offshore drilling operations. Just as this Commission learned from the experiences of other nations in developing our recommendations, the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster are not confined to our own government and industry, but relevant to rest of the world. We wish we could say that our recommendations make a recurrence of a disaster like the Macondo blowout impossible. We do not have that power.No one can eliminate all risks associated with deepwater exploration. But when exploration occurs, particularly in sensitive environments like the Gulf of Mexico or the Arctic, the country has an obligation to make responsible decisions regarding the benefits and risks. The report is divide d into three sections. Chapters 1 through 3 describe the events of April 20th on the Deepwater Horizon, and, more important, the events leading up to it in the preceding decades—especially how the dramatic expansion of deepwater drilling in the Gulf was not met by regulatory oversight capable of ensuring the safety of those drilling operations.Chapters 4 through 7 lay out the results of our investigation in detail, highlighting the crucial issues we believe must inform policy going forward: the specific engineering and operating choices made in drilling the Macondo well, the attempts to contain and respond to the oil spill, and the impacts of the spill on the region’s natural resources, economy, and people—in the context of the progressive degradation of the Mississippi Delta environment. xii Chapters 8 through 10 present our recommendations for reforms in business practices, regulatory oversight, and broader policy concerns.We recognize that the improvements we advocate all come with costs and all will take time to implement. But inaction, as we are deeply aware, runs the risk of real costs, too: in more lost lives, in broad damage to the regional economy and its long-term viability, and in further tens of billions of dollars of avoidable clean-up costs. Indeed, if the clear challenges are not addressed and another disaster happens, the entire offshore energy enterprise is threatened—and with it, the nation’s economy and security.We suggest a better option: build from this tragedy in a way that makes the Gulf more resilient, the country’s energy supplies more secure, our workers safer, and our cherished natural resources better protected. Our Thanks and Dedication We thank President Obama for this opportunity to learn thoroughly about the crisis, and to share our findings with the American public. We deeply appreciate the effort people in the affected Gulf regions made to tell us about their experiences, and the time and preparation witnesses before the Commission dedicated to their presentations.We have come to respect the seriousness with which our fellow Commissioners assumed our joint responsibilities, and their diverse expertise and perspectives that helped make its work thorough and productive. On their behalf, we wish to recognize the extraordinary work the Commission’s staff—scientists, lawyers, engineers, policy analysts, and more— performed, under demanding deadlines, to make our inquiries broad, deep, and effective; and we especially highlight the leadership contributions of Richard Lazarus, executive director, and Fred Bartlit, chief counsel.Together, they have fulfilled an extraordinary public service. Finally, to the American people, we reiterate that extracting the energy resources to fuel our cars, heat and light our homes, and power our businesses can be a dangerous enterprise. Our national reliance on fossil fuels is likely to continue for some time— and all of us reap benefits from the risks taken by the men and women working in energy exploration. We owe it to them to ensure that their working environment is as safe as possible. We dedicate this effort to the 11 of our fellow citizens who lost their lives in the Deepwater Horizon explosion.Bob Graham, Co-Chair William K. Reilly, Co-Chair xiii xiii xiii Part I The Path to Tragedy On April 20, 2010, the 126 workers on the BP Deepwater Horizon were going about the routines of completing an exploratory oil well—unaware of impending disaster. What unfolded would have unknown impacts shaped by the Gulf region’s distinctive cultures, institutions, and geography—and by economic forces resulting from the unique coexistence of energy resources, bountiful fisheries and wildlife, and coastal tourism.The oil and gas industry, long lured by Gulf reserves and public incentives, progressively developed and deployed new technologies, at ever-larger scales, in pursuit of va luable energy supplies in increasingly deeper waters farther from the coastline. Regulators, however, failed to keep pace with the industrial expansion and new technology—often because of industry’s resistance to more effective oversight. The result was a serious, and ultimately inexcusable, shortfall in supervision of offshore drilling that played out in the Macondo well blowout and the catastrophic oil spill that followed.Chapters 1 through 3 describe the interplay of private industry and public oversight in the distinctive Gulf deepwater context: the conditions that governed the deployment of the Deepwater Horizon and the drilling of the Macondo well. Chapter One 1 1 Chapter One â€Å"Everyone involved with the job . . . was completely satisfied. . . † The Deepwater Horizon, the Macondo Well, and Sudden Death on the Gulf of Mexico At 5:45 a. m. on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, a Halliburton Company cementing engineer sent an e-mail from the rig Deepwater Horizon, in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, to his colleague in Houston.He had good news: â€Å"We have completed the job and it went well. †1 Outside in the Gulf, it was still dark—beyond the glare of the floodlights on the gargantuan rig, the four decks of which towered above the blue-green water on four huge white columns, all floating on massive pontoons. The oil derrick rose over 20 stories above the top deck. Up on the bridge on the main deck, two officers monitored the satelliteguided dynamic positioning system, controlling thrusters so powerful that they could keep the 33,000-ton Deepwater Horizon centered over a well even in high seas.The rig’s industrial hum and loud mechanical noises punctuated the sea air as a slight breeze blew in off the water. The crew worked on Pride of the Transocean fleet of offshore drilling rigs, Deepwater Horizon rides calmly on station 40 miles off the Louisiana coast. The $560-million-dollar rig, under lease to BP was p utting the finishing touches on the oil company’s , 18,000-foot-deep Macondo well when it blew out and escaping methane gas exploded. Eleven workers died in the inferno. According to the government’s estimates, by the time the well was sealed months later, over 4 million barrels of oil had spilled into the Gulf. lt; Photo courtesy of Transocean 2 National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling the well bore, aiming always to keep the pressure inside the well balancing the force exerted by the surrounding seabed. 2 By the time the Halliburton engineer had arrived at the rig four days earlier to help cement in the two-and-a-half-mile-deep Macondo well, some crew members had dubbed it â€Å"the well from hell. †3 Macondo was not the first well to earn that nickname;4 like many deepwater wells, it had proved complicated and challenging.As they drilled, the engineers had to modify plans in response to their increasing knowledge of the precise features of the geologic formations thousands of feet below. Deepwater drilling is an unavoidably tough, demanding job, requiring tremendous engineering expertise. BP drilling engineer Brian Morel, who had designed the Macondo well with other BP engineers including Mark Hafle, was also on board to observe the final stages of work at the well. 5 In an April 14 e-mail, Morel had lamented to his colleagues, â€Å"this has been [a] nightmare well which has everyone all over the place. 6 BP and its corporate partners on the well, Anadarko Petroleum and MOEX USA, had, according to government reports, budgeted $96. 2 million and 51 days of work to drill the Macondo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252. 7 They discovered a large reservoir of oil and gas, but drilling had been challenging. As of April 20, BP and the Macondo well were almost six weeks behind schedule and more than $58 million over budget. 8 The Deepwater Horizon was not originally meant to drill Macondo. Another gian t rig, the Marianas, had initiated work on the well the previous October. Drilling had reached more than 9,000 feet below the ocean surface (4,000 feet below the seabed), with another 9,000 feet to go to â€Å"pay zone† (the oil and gas reservoir), when Hurricane Ida so battered the rig on November 9 that it had to be towed in for repair. Both Marianas and Deepwater Horizon were semisubmersible rigs owned by Transocean, founded in Louisiana in 1919 as Danciger Oil & Refining Co. and now the world’s largest contractor of offshore drilling rigs. 10 In 2009, Transocean’s global fleet produced revenues of $11. 6 billion. 1 Transocean had consolidated its dominant position in the industry in November 2007 by merging with rival GlobalSantaFe. 12 Deepwater Horizon, built for $350 million,13 was seen as the outstanding rig in Transocean’s fleet; leasing its services reportedly cost as much as $1 million per day. Since Deepwater Horizon’s 2001 maiden voyage to the Gulf, it had been under contract to London-based BP (formerly known as British Petroleum). By 2010, after numerous acquisitions, BP had become the world’s fourth-largest corporation (based on revenue)14 producing more than 4 million barrels of oil daily from 30 countries. Ten percent of BP’s output came from the Gulf of Mexico, where BP America (headquartered in Houston) was the largest producer. But BP had a tarnished reputation for safety. Among other BP accidents, 15 workers died in a 2005 explosion at its Texas City, Texas, refinery; in 2006, there was a major oil spill from a badly corroded BP pipeline in Alaska. * *A barrel equals 42 gallons. * * * Chapter One 3 3 Deepwater Horizon had arrived at the Macondo lease site on January 31, at 2:15 p. m. It was 55 degrees, chilly and clear—the night of a full moon.About 126 people were aboard: approximately 80 Transocean employees, a few BP men, cafeteria and laundry workers, and a changing group of worke rs contracted for specialized jobs. Depending on the status of the well, these might include Halliburton cementers, mud loggers from Sperry Sun (a Halliburton subsidiary), mud engineers from M-I SWACO (a subsidiary of Schlumberger, an international oilfield services provider), remotely operated vehicle technicians from Oceaneering, or tank cleaners and technicians from the OCS Group. The offices and living quarters were on the two bottom decks of the rig.Helicopters flew in and out regularly with workers and supplies, landing on the top-deck helipad, and service ships made regular visits. At its new Macondo assignment, Deepwater Horizon floated in 4,992 feet of water just beyond the gentle slope of the continental shelf in the Mississippi Canyon. 15 The seabed far below was near-freezing, visible to the crew only via cameras mounted on the rig’s subsea remotely operated vehicle. Another two and a half miles below the seabed was the prize BP sought: a large reservoir of oil an d gas from the Middle Miocene era trapped in a porous rock formation at temperatures exceeding 200 degrees. 6 These deepwater hydrocarbon fields, buried far below the seabed—not just in the Gulf, but in other oil-rich zones around the world, too—were the brave new oil frontier. The size of some deepwater fields was so huge that the oil industry had nicknamed those with a billion barrels or more â€Å"elephants. †17 Drilling for oil had always been hard, dirty, dangerous work, combining heavy machinery and volatile hydrocarbons extracted at high pressures. Since 2001, the Gulf of Mexico workforce—35,000 people, working on 90 big drilling rigs and 3,500 production platforms—had suffered 1,550 injuries, 60 deaths, and 948 fires and explosions. 8 The rig never slept. Most workers on Deepwater Horizon, from BP’s top â€Å"company man† down to the roustabouts, put in a 12-hour night or day shift, working three straight weeks on and then hav ing three weeks off. Rig workers made good money for the dangerous work and long stints away from home and family. Top rig and management jobs paid well into six figures. On the morning of April 20, Robert Kaluza was BP’s day-shift company man on the Deepwater Horizon. On board for the first time, he was serving for four days as a relief man for Ronald Sepulvado, a veteran well-site leader on the rig.Sepulvado had flown back to shore April 16 for a required well-control class. 19 During the rig’s daily 7:30 a. m. operations conference call to BP in Houston, engineer Morel discussed the good news that the final cement job at the bottom of the Macondo well had gone fine. 20 To ensure the job did not have problems, a three-man Schlumberger team was scheduled to fly out to the rig later that day, able to perform a suite of tests to examine the well’s new bottom cement seal. 21 4 National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore DrillingAccording to the BP team’s plan, if the cementing went smoothly, as it had, they could skip Schlumberger’s cement evaluation. Generally, the completion rig would perform this test when it reopened the well to produce the oil the exploratory drilling had discovered. The decision was made to send the Schlumberger team home on the 11:00 a. m. helicopter, thus saving time and the $128,000 fee. As BP Wells Team Leader John Guide noted, â€Å"Everyone involved with the job on the rig site was completely satisfied with the [cementing] job. 22 At 8:52 a. m. , Morel e-mailed the Houston office to reiterate: â€Å"Just wanted to let everyone know the cement job went well. Pressures stayed low, but we had full returns on the entire job†¦We should be coming out of the hole [well] shortly. † At 10:14 a. m. , David Sims, BP’s new drilling operations manager in charge of Macondo, e-mailed to say, â€Å"Great job guys! † * * * * The rest of the day would be devoted t o a series of further tests on the well—positiveand negative-pressure tests—in preparation for â€Å"temporary abandonment. * During the positive-pressure test, the drill crew would increase the pressure inside the steel casing and seal assembly to be sure they were intact. The negative-pressure test, by contrast, would reduce the pressure inside the well in order to simulate its state after the Deepwater Horizon had packed up and moved on. If pressure increased inside the well during the negative-pressure test, or if fluids flowed up from the well, that would indicate a well integrity problem—a leak of fluids into the well.Such a leak would be a worrisome sign that somewhere the casing and cement had been breached—in which case remedial work would be needed to reestablish the well’s integrity. At 10:43 a. m. , Morel, about to leave the rig on the helicopter with the Schlumberger team, sent a short e-mail laying out his plan for conducting the day ’s tests of the well’s integrity and subsequent temporary abandonment procedures. Few had seen the plan’s details when the rig supervisors and members of the drill team gathered for the rig’s daily 11:00 a. m. pre-tour meeting in the cinema room. Basically [we] go over what’s going to be taking place for today on the rig and the drill floor,† said Douglas Brown, chief mechanic. 23 During the rig meeting, the crew on the drill floor was conducting the Macondo well’s positive-pressure test. 24 The positive-pressure test on the casing was reassuring, a success. 25 There was reason for the mood on the rig to be upbeat. Ross Skidmore, a subsea engineer explained, â€Å"When you run the last string of casing, and you’ve got it cemented, it’s landed out, and a test was done on it, you say, ‘This job, we’re at the end of it, we’re going to be okay. †26 At noon, the drill crew began to run drill pipe int o the well in preparation for the negativepressure test later that evening. 27 By now, it was a sunny afternoon. Transocean’s top men on the rig, Jimmy Harrell and Captain Curt Kuchta, were standing together near the helipad, watching a helicopter gently land. Kuchta had come in from New Orleans just * Temporary abandonment describes the process, after successful exploration, for securing the well until the production platform can be brought in for the purpose of extracting the oil and gas from the reservoir. Chapter One 5 5 that morning to begin his three-week hitch.Harrell was the top Transocean man on the rig when—as now—the well was â€Å"latched up. † Captain Kuchta, who had served on the Deepwater Horizon since June 2008, was in command when the vessel was â€Å"unlatched† and thus once again a maritime vessel. 28 The helicopter landed, the doors opened, and four Houston executives stepped out to begin their 24-hour â€Å"management visibili ty tour. †29 Harrell and Kuchta greeted the VIPs. 30 Two were from Transocean: Buddy Trahan, vice president and operations manager for assets, and Daun Winslow, a one-time assistant driller who had worked his way up to operations manager.BP’s representatives were David Sims, the new drilling operations manager (he had sent the congratulatory e-mail about the cement just that morning), and Pat O’Bryan, vice-president for drilling and completions, Gulf of Mexico Deepwater. 31 At about 4:00 p. m. , Harrell began his escorted tour of the Deepwater Horizon for the VIPs. 32 He was joined by Chief Engineer Steve Bertone, on board since 2003, and senior toolpusher Randy Ezell, another top man on the rig. 33 Like Harrell, Ezell was an offshore veteran. He had worked for 23 years with Transocean34 and was now the senior man in charge of the drilling floor.He had been on the rig for years. If any people knew this rig, they were Harrell, Bertone, and Ezell; they showed the V IPs around. At 5:00 p. m. , the rig crew, including toolpusher Wyman Wheeler, began the negativepressure test. 35 After bleeding pressure from the well, the crew would close it off to check whether the pressure within the drill pipe would remain steady. But the pressure repeatedly built back up. As the crew conducted the test, the drill shack grew crowded. 36 The night crew began arriving to relieve the day shift, and Harrell brought the VIPs through as part of their tour. 7 â€Å"There was quite a few people in there,† said Transocean’s Winslow. â€Å"I tapped Dewey Revette on the shoulder. He was the driller master. I said, ‘Hey, how’s it going, Dewey? You got everything under control here? ’ â€Å"And he said, ‘Yes, sir. ’ â€Å"And there seemed to be a discussion going on about some pressure or a negative test. And I said to Jimmy [Harrell] and Randy Ezell, ‘Looks like they’re having a discussion here. Maybe you coul d give them some assistance. ’ And they happily agreed to that. †38 Bertone took over the tour, wandering on to look at the moon pool, down toward the pontoons and the thrusters. 9 The two shifts continued to discuss how to proceed. It was about 6:00 p. m. Jason Anderson, a tool pusher, turned to Ezell and said, â€Å"Why don’t you go eat? †40 Ezell had originally planned to attend a meeting with the VIPs at 7:00 p. m. He replied, â€Å"I can go eat and come back. †41 6 National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Anderson was from Bay City, Texas, and had been on the rig since it was built; he was highly respected as a man who understood the finer points of deepwater well control.This was his final shift on the Deepwater Horizon: he had been promoted to teaching in Transocean’s well-control school, and he was scheduled to fly out the next day. He told Ezell, â€Å"Man, you ain’t got to do that. Iâ⠂¬â„¢ve got this. Don’t worry about it. If I have any problems at all with this test I’ll give you a call. †42 â€Å"I knew Jason well,† said Ezell, â€Å"I’ve worked with him for all those years, eight or nine years†¦. He was just like a brother. So I had no doubt that if he had any indication of any problem or difficulty at all he would have called me. So I went ahead and ate. I did attend the meeting with the dignitaries. 43 Wheeler was â€Å"convinced that something wasn’t right,† recalled Christopher Pleasant, a subsea supervisor. Wheeler couldn’t believe the explanations he was hearing. But his shift was up. 44 Don Vidrine, the company man coming on the evening shift, eventually said that another negative test had to be done. 45 This time the crew members were able to get the pressure down to zero on a different pipe, the â€Å"kill line,† but still not for the drill pipe, which continued to show elevated pres sure. 46 According to BP witnesses, Anderson said he had seen this before and explained away the anomalous reading as the â€Å"bladder effect. 47 Whether for this reason or another, the men in the shack determined that no flow from the open kill line equaled a successful negative-pressure test. 48* It was time to get on with the rest of the temporary abandonment process. Kaluza, his shift over, headed off duty. 49 At 7:00 p. m. , after dinner, the VIPs had gathered in the third floor conference room with the rig’s leadership. According to BP’s Patrick O’Bryan, the Deepwater Horizon was â€Å"the best performing rig that we had in our fleet and in the Gulf of Mexico.And I believe it was one of the top performing rigs in all the BP floater fleets from the standpoint of safety and drilling performance. † O’Bryan, at his new job just four months, was on board in part to learn what made the rig such a stand-out. 50 Despite all the crew’s troubl es with this latest well,51 they had not had a single â€Å"lost-time incident† in seven years of drilling. 52 The Transocean managers discussed with their BP counterparts the backlog of rig maintenance. A September 2009 BP safety audit had produced a 30-page list of 390 items requiring 3,545 man-hours of work. 3 The managers reviewed upcoming maintenance schedules and discussed efforts to reduce dropped objects and personal injuries: on a rig with cranes, multiple decks, and complicated heavy machinery, errant objects could be deadly. 54 Around 9:00 p. m. , Transocean’s Winslow proposed they all go visit the bridge, which had not been part of their earlier tour. According to David Sims, the bridge was â€Å"kind of an impressive place if you hadn’t been there†¦[l]ots of screens†¦lots of technology. †55 The four * The precise content of this particular conversation is disputed and is considered more fully in Chapter 4.Chapter One 7 7 men walked outside. The Gulf air was warm and the water calm as glass. Beyond the glare of the rig’s lights, the night sky glimmered with stars. * * * * After concluding that the negative-pressure test was successful, the drilling crew prepared to set a cement plug56 deep in the well—3,000 feet below the top of the well. 57 They reopened the blowout preventer and began pumping seawater down the drill pipe to displace the mud and spacer* from the riser (the pipe that connected the rig to the well assembly on the seafloor below). 8 When the spacer appeared up at the surface, they stopped pumping because the fluid had to be tested to make sure it was clean enough to dump it in the Gulf, now that it had journeyed down into the well and back. By 9:15 p. m. , the crew began discharging the spacer overboard. 59 * * * * Inside the bridge, Captain Kuchta welcomed visitors Sims, O’Bryan, Trahan, and Winslow. 60 The two dynamic-positioning officers, Yancy Keplinger and Andrea Fleytas , were also on the bridge. 61 Keplinger was giving the visitors a tour of the bridge while Fleytas was at the desk station. 2 The officers explained how the rig’s thrusters kept the Deepwater Horizon in place above the well, showed off the radars and current meters, and offered to let the visiting BP men try their hands at the rig’s dynamic-positioning video simulator. 63 Winslow watched as the crew programmed in 70-knot winds and 30-foot seas, and hypothetically put two of the rig’s six thrusters out of commission. Then they put the simulator into manual mode and let Sims work the hand controls to maintain the rig’s location. Keplinger was advising about how much thrust to use.Winslow decided it was a good moment to go grab a quick cup of coffee and a smoke. He walked down to the rig’s smoking area, poured some coffee, and lit his cigarette. 64 * * * * Senior Toolpusher Randy Ezell left the evening meeting with BP feeling pleased at their praise à ¢â‚¬Å"on how good a job we had done†¦How proud they were of the rig. † He stopped in at the galley to get a beverage before continuing to his office. At 9:20, he called Anderson up on the rig floor and asked, â€Å"‘How did your negative test go? ’†65 Anderson: â€Å"It went good. . . . We bled it off. We watched it for 30 minutes and we had no flow. Ezell: â€Å"What about your displacement? How’s it going? † Anderson: â€Å"It’s going fine. . . . It won’t be much longer and we ought to have our spacer back. † * As described more fully in Chapter 4, a â€Å"spacer† is a liquid that separates drilling mud used during the drilling operations from the seawater that is pumped in to displace the mud once drilling is complete. 8 National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Ezell: â€Å"Do you need any help from me? † Anderson: â€Å"No, man. . . . I’ve got this. . . . Go to bed. I’ve got it. † Ezell concluded: â€Å"Okay. 66 Ezell walked to his cabin. He had worked with Anderson since the rig came from the shipyard. He had complete confidence in him. â€Å"Jason was very acute on what he did. . . he probably had more experience as far as shutting in for kicks than any individual on the Deepwater Horizon. † So Ezell prepared for bed, called his wife, and then turned off the lights to watch a bit of TV before going to sleep. 67 * * * * Up on the bridge, O’Bryan was taking his turn on the simulator. 68 Sims had stepped to the opposite side of the bridge when he felt a distinct high-frequency vibration. 9 Captain Kuchta looked up and remarked â€Å"What’s that? † He strode to the port-side door and opened it. 70 Outside, O’Bryan could see the supply vessel Bankston glistening with what looked like drilling mud. 71 The captain shut the door â€Å"and told everybody to stay inside. †72 Then the re began a hissing noise. 73 * * * * BP’s Vidrine had headed back to his office to do paperwork. He had been there about 10 to 15 minutes when the phone rang. It was Anderson, who reported â€Å"they were getting mud back and were diverting to the gas buster. † Vidrine grabbed his hard hat and started for the drill floor.By the time he got outside, â€Å"[t]here was mud and seawater blowing everywhere, there was a mud film on the deck. I decided not to continue and came back across. †74 * * * * Down in Ezell’s cabin, he was still watching TV when his phone rang. It was assistant driller Steve Curtis calling, also from the rig floor. â€Å"We have a situation. †¦The well is blown out. . . . We have mud going to the crown. † Ezell was horrified. â€Å"Do y’all have it shut in? †75 Curtis: â€Å"Jason is shutting it in now. . . Randy, we need your help. † Ezell: â€Å"Steve, I’ll be—I’ll be right there. 76 He put on his coveralls, pulled his socks on, and opened the door to go across the hall to his office for his boots and hard hat. Once in the hall, â€Å"a tremendous explosion†¦ blew me probably 20 feet against a bulkhead, against the wall in that office. And I remember then that the lights went out, power went out. I could hear everything deathly calm. †77 * * * * Chapter One 9 9 Up on the main deck, gantry crane operator Micah Sandell was working with the roustabouts. â€Å"I seen mud shooting all the way up to the derrick. . . . Then it just quit. . . I took a deep breath thinking that ‘Oh, they got it under control. Then all the sudden the. . . mud started coming out of the degasser. . . so strong and so loud that it just filled up the whole back deck with a gassy smoke. . . loud enough. . . it’s like taking an air hose and sticking it in your ear. Then something exploded. . . that started the first fire†¦ on the starboard side of the derrick. †78 Sandell jumped up and turned off the crane cab’s air conditioner, worried that the gas would come in. â€Å"And about that time everything in the back just exploded at one time. It. . . knocked me to the back of the cab. I fell to the floor. . put my hands over my head and I just said, ‘No, God, no. ’ Because I thought that was it. †79 Then the flames pulled back from his crane and began to shoot straight up, roaring up and over the 20-story derrick. 80 * * * * Down in the engine control room, Chief Mechanic Douglas Brown, an Army veteran employed by Transocean, was filling out the nightly log and equipment hours. He had spent the day fixing a saltwater pipe in one of the pontoons. First, he noticed an â€Å"extremely loud air leak sound. † Then a gas alarm sounded, followed by more and more alarms wailing.In the midst of that noise, Brown noticed someone over the radio. â€Å"I heard the captain or chief mate, I’m not sure who, ma ke an announcement to the standby boat, the Bankston, saying we were in a well-control situation. †81 The vessel was ordered to back off to 500 meters. 82 Now Brown could hear the rig’s engines revving. â€Å"I heard them revving up higher and higher and higher. Next I was expecting the engine trips to take over. . . . That did not happen. After that the power went out. † Seconds later, an explosion ripped through the pitch-black control room, hurtling him against the control panel, blasting away the floor.Brown fell through into a subfloor full of cable trays and wires. A second huge explosion roared through, collapsing the ceiling on him. All around in the dark he could hear people screaming and crying for help. 83 Dazed and buried in debris, he pulled himself out of the subfloor hole. In front of him appeared Mike Williams, chief electronic technician, blood pouring from a wound on his forehead, crawling over the rubble, screaming that he had to get out. 84 * * * * Steve Bertone, the rig’s chief engineer, had been in bed, reading the first sentence of his book, when he noticed an odd noise. As it progressively got louder, it sounded like a freight train coming through my bedroom and then there was a thumping sound that consecutively got much faster and with each thump, I felt the rig actually shake. †85 After a loud boom, the lights went out. 86 He leapt out of bed, opening his door to let in the emergency hall light so he could get dressed. 87 The overhead public-address system crackled to life: â€Å"Fire. Fire. Fire. † 88 10 National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling The air smelled and tasted of some kind of fuel.A second explosion roared through, flinging Bertone across his room. He stood up, pulled on his coveralls, work boots, and hard hat, and grabbed a life vest. Out in the hall, clogged with debris from blown-out walls and ceilings, four or five men stood in shock. Berton e yelled to them to go out by the port forward or starboard forward spiral staircases and report to their emergency stations. He ran toward the bridge. 89 He went to the portside back computer, the dynamic positioning system responsible for maintaining the rig’s position. â€Å"I observed that we had no engines, no thrusters, no power whatsoever.I picked up the phone which was right there and I tried calling extension 2268, which is the engine control room. There was no dial tone whatsoever. † It was then that Bertone looked out to the bridge’s starboard window. â€Å"I was fully expecting to see steel and pipe and everything on the rig floor. † â€Å"When I looked out the window, I saw fire from derrick leg to derrick leg and as high as I could see. At that point, I realized that we had just had a blowout. †90 Fleytas hit the general alarm. 91 The alarm went off: â€Å"Report to emergency stations and lifeboats. † The rig crew heard:  "This is not a drill. This is not a drill. 92 Fleytas, realizing that the rig had not yet issued a Mayday call, sent it out. 93 Out in the dark of the Gulf, three friends on the 31-foot Ramblin’ Wreck were out on the water for a day of tuna fishing. 94 Around 9:45 p. m. , Bradley Shivers trained his binoculars at a brilliant light in the distance and realized it must be an oil rig on fire. 95 On their radio, they heard, â€Å"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is the Deepwater Horizon. We are on fire. †96 At that moment they â€Å"heard and felt a concussive sonic boom. †97 The Ramblin’ Wreck headed to the scene, their first tuna outing of the year cut short. 8 Bertone was now back to his station on the bridge, thinking, â€Å"The engines should be starting up because in approximately 25 to 30 seconds two engines start up, come online. . . . There was still no power of any kind. No engines starting; no indication of engines starting. †99 At that moment, the water-tight door to his left banged open and he heard someone say, â€Å"The engine room ECR [engine control room] and pump room are gone. They are all gone. † Bertone turned around, â€Å"What do you mean gone? † The man speaking was so coated in blood Bertone had no idea who he was. Then he recognized the voice. It was Mike Williams.Bertone saw how badly lacerated Williams’s forehead was, grabbed a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom, pressed it on the wound to staunch the bleeding, and ordered, â€Å"Hold this here. †100 Then he went back to his station and looked at his screen. â€Å"There was still nothing, no engines starting, no thrusters running, nothing. We were still [a] dead ship. †101 He heard the water-tight door slam again and saw another man soaked in blood, holding a rag to his head, repeating, â€Å"I’m hurt. I’m hurt bad, Chief. I’m hurt real bad. † It was the voice of Brent Mansfield, a Transoce an marine engineer. Bertone pulled back Mansfield’sChapter One 11 11 hand holding a rag, saw the head wound, and ran over to the bridge door and yelled down to the life-vessel area, â€Å"We need a medic up here now. †102 * * * * After the explosion, Randy Ezell lay buried under the blown-out walls and ceilings of the toolpusher’s office. The room was dark and smoky, the debris atop him so heavy he could barely move. On the third try, adrenalin kicked in. â€Å"I told myself, ‘Either you get up or you’re going to lay here and die. ’† Pulling hard on his right leg, he extricated it and tried to stand up. â€Å"That was the wrong thing to do because I immediately stuck my head into smoke. . . I dropped back down. I got on my hands and knees and for a few moments I was totally disoriented. † He wondered which way the door was. He felt air. He crawled through the debris toward the door and realized the â€Å"air† was methane. He could feel the droplets. He was crawling slowly atop the rubble in the pitch-black hall when he felt a body. 103 Ezell then saw a bobbing beam of light. Stan Carden, the electrical supervisor, came round the corner. Carden had a light that bounced off shattered walls and collapsed ceilings in the pitch-black corridor, giving glimpses into rooms on each side wrecked by the power of the blast. 04 Stumbling into what was left of the hall was Offshore Installation Manager Jimmy Harrell, who had been in the shower when the rig exploded;105 he had donned coveralls, and now was groping his way out of what was left of his room. â€Å"I think I’ve got something in my eyes,† Harrell said. He had no shoes. â€Å"I got to see if I can find me some shoes. †106 Carden and Ezell tugged debris off the man they now recognized as Wyman Wheeler. Chad Murray, Transocean’s Chief Electrician, also appeared in the hall with a flashlight, and was immediately dispatched to fi nd a stretcher for the injured man. 07 Believing it would save time to walk Wheeler out, Ezell slung Wheeler’s arm around his shoulder. Wheeler groaned, â€Å"Set me down . . . . Y’all go on. Save yourself. †108 Ezell said, â€Å"No, we’re not going to leave you. We’re not going to leave you in here. †109 Just then, they heard another voice from under the rubble: â€Å"God help me. Somebody please help me. † Near the ruins of the maintenance office the flashlight picked out a pair of feet jutting from the rubble. It was the visiting Transocean manager, Buddy Trahan, badly injured. By now Murray was there with a stretcher.Ezell, Carden, and Murray dragged away the remains of ceilings and walls trapping Trahan and loaded him on the stretcher. Carden and Murray carried him through the smoke and dark to the bow of the rig and the lifeboats. 110 Outside, the derrick fire roared upward into the night sky, an inferno throwing off searing hea t and clouds of black smoke. The blinding yellow of the flames was the only illumination except for the occasional flashlight. The rig’s alarms were going off, while over the public announcement system Keplinger yelled, â€Å"THIS IS NOT A DRILL! †111 As the 12National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling crew struggled out of the blasted quarters, galley, and offices, in various states of undress, they converged in a chaotic and panicked mass at the lifesaving vessels, putting on life vests. 112 Sandell, the gantry crane operator, had escaped and come around the port side of the deck to the life vessels. â€Å"It was a lot of screaming, just a lot of screaming, a lot of hollering, a lot of scared people, including me, was scared. And trying to get people on boats. It was very unorganized—we had some wounded we was putting in the boat.Had people on the boat yelling, ‘Drop the boat, drop the boat,’ and we still didn ’t have everybody on the boat yet. We was still trying to get people on the boat and trying to calm them down enough to—trying to calm them down enough to get everybody on the boat. And there was people jumping off the side. We was trying to get an accurate count and just couldn’t get an accurate count because people were just jumping off the boat. † 113 * * * * On the Bankston, Captain Alwin J. Landry was on the bridge updating his log when his mate noticed the mud. Landry stepped out and saw â€Å"mud falling on the back half of my boat, kind of like a black rain. He called the Deepwater Horizon bridge to say, â€Å"I’m getting mud on me. † Landry instructed his crew to get inside. The Deepwater Horizon called back and told him to move back 500 meters. 114 A crew member noticed a mud-covered seagull and egret fall to the deck. 115 Shortly after, Landry saw the rig explode. Before the ship could move away, his crew had to detach the long mu d transfer hose connecting them to the rig. 116 As they scrambled to disconnect, the Bankston slowly moved 100 meters back, then 500 meters. As the rig went dark, and secondary explosions rocked the decks, the Bankston turned on its searchlight.Landry could see the Deepwater Horizon crew mustering by the portside life vessels. â€Å"That’s when I seen the first of three or four people jump to the water from the rig. †117 One of those was Gregory Meche, a compliance specialist. After five minutes of the chaos around the lifeboats, and a series of large explosions, he headed down to the lower deck. He jumped into the water. 118 Antonio Gervasio, the Bankston’s relief chief, and two others began launching the ship’s fast rescue craft. 119 Within a minute or two of the explosions, they got the boat lowered into the water, and noticed how calm the Gulf was. 20 â€Å"I saw the first person jump in the water. So I told one of the guys to keep an eye on him. â⠂¬ 121 The rig life jackets were reflective, and as the fast craft made its first sweep round from one side of the burning rig to the other, they hauled Meche and two or three others out of the water. 122 * * * * Back on the rig, Transocean’s Winslow had made his way from the coffee shop to the lifeboats, surviving the second blast’s wave of concussive force, which blew in the Chapter One 13 13 corridor’s walls and ceilings. On the deck, a firestorm of flames roared in the night sky above the derrick. 23 Winslow directed the dazed crew toward the covered life-saving vessels, instructing the first arrivals, â€Å"We need to make sure we get a good head count. † Seeing Captain Kuchta standing at the starboard bridge door, he ran up, and said people should evacuate. Kuc