Heidegger Being and Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Heidegger Being and Time - Essay Example Going by the introduction by George Steiner to the luminous thoughts of Martin Heidegger, it looks certain that Steiner is willing to run the marathon race and he immensely enjoys it. He is not an ordinary critic. The issue with the ordinary critics is that the moment they do not comprehend the writings of an author, such thoughts are labeled as controversial. Didn’t the fox, after abandoning the efforts, say that the grapes were sour, when it could not reach out to the dangling, juicy bunches? The experience-level mind doesn’t move on the beaten track. It takes up unexpected and amazing unchartered paths. The thought-process emanates from the original impulse. Their convictions are undoubted; their explanations borders devotion. They are not available for second-opinions or for revisions. Their ‘first manuscript’ is the ‘final manuscript’. The problem with the specialists is they go on analyzing the leaf to such an extent (its size, shape, col or etc), that they forget that the root is the original cause of leaf! Or even further—Mother Earth is the original cause†¦or even further on and on†¦ No written sentences and paragraphs can arrest the spirit. The spirit by itself is the arresting as well as the freeing authority. So, to say ’eureka’ one should be able to grasp the true nature of the spirit. Once a difficult problem of mathematics is solved, the steps look so simple...Yes, only when it is solved! Before that how many times the climber has slipped from the steps of the ladder? Is it the fault of the ladder? Nobody will ever get to the bottom of the Being (this vast ocean is bottomless) It is impossible to define it, but the process of trying to know it, is rich and rewarding. At every step of the progress, one feels that the effort is worthwhile. Let me repeat, one’s reward is in the process of trying to know it! The problem for a lay reader is to understand Heidegger’s language. George

The effects of tourism on culture and the environment in asia and the pacific Essay Example for Free

The effects of tourism on culture and the environment in asia and the pacific Essay INTRODUCTION AsiaPacific or AsiaPacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The region varies in size depending on context, but it typically includes at least much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. The Asia-Pacific region covers a wide geographical area, with diverse landscapes, climates, societies, cultures, religions, and economies. More than half of the world’s population lives in this region, of which close to half live on less than a dollar per day. Hence, the region contains the worlds largest number of people living in poverty. Asia-Pacific region generally includes: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Peoples Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga Republic of China (Taiwan), Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, United States Territories American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Sometimes included India (member of the East Asia Summit), Mongolia (landlocked country in East Asia), Myanmar (Burma) (member of the ASEAN), Russia (the Russian Far East borders the Pacific Ocean). With its diversity as an asset, the region has enjoyed remarkable economic growth  in the last four decades. Several countries are experiencing rapid changes in economic development, population growth and urbanization, social transformation, and technological development, and these countries share common economic drivers. The expanding economy in Asia and the Pacific has brought about increased interdependence among the countries in terms of natural resources, finance, and trade. The economic expansion and population growth in Asia-Pacific over the last 40 years was underpinned by the region’s rich natural environment. The tourism sector in Asia and the Pacific is thriving, with the region accounting for 22% of inbound tourism arrivals in 2010. Noticeably, in 2010, China placed third in inbound tourism arrivals and fourth in inbound tourism expenditure in the world. In 2010, international tourism recovered more strongly than expected from the shock it had suffered in 2009 from economic recession and the global financial crisis. The estimated worldwide number of inbound tourism arrivals in 2010 was 940 million, up 6.6% over 2009 and 2.5% more than the pre-crisis peak in 2008. While some destinations are still struggling to come out of the crisis, the tourism sector in Asia and the Pacific has been buoyant. The Asia-Pacific region had an increase in inbound tourism arrivals of 13% between 2009 and 2010, making the region a leader in the global recovery of tourism. In comparison with other regions across the globe, Asia and the Pacific had the second highest growth in inbound tourism arrivals in 2010 over 2009. The Middle East was the fastest growing region (up 14.1%) in 2010, following a significant drop (of 4.3%) in 2009; As ia and the Pacific posted only a modest drop of 1.7% in 2009. Inbound tourism arrivals were up 7.3% in Africa, followed by Americas (up 6.6%) and Europe (up 3.3%). In 2009, Africa was the only region where inbound tourism arrivals increased (by 4%). In Asia and the Pacific, for the first time ever, inbound tourism arrivals surpassed 200 million in 2010. Overall, the Asia-Pacific regional share of world arrivals rose by 1.2 percentage points in 2010, for a 22% share among the world’s regions. The successful marketing stories of India and Malaysia, the massive rail expansion in China, the new resort developments in Singapore and Macao, China and the revitalized policy of Japan towards tourism, as well as the â€Å"visit year† campaigns in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, have helped buoy Asia-Pacific tourism. ASEAN has also adopted a long-term tourism strategy to help the development of the tourism  sector in the sub region. Tourism plays a very important role on a society because it is an aid to gain more income and to place many job opportunities to jobless individuals. Tourism therefore became the major income generator on the regions of Asia and the Pacific. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The problems stated in this research paper are the following: 1. Why the tourism industry trends much on the Asia-Pacific region? 2. What is the role of tourism on the economy of the region? 3. What are the positive and negative effects of tourism on culture and environment? 4. How does tourism affect livelihood on the region? 5. What is the significance of tourism on a country? OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective of the study is to gain an understanding of the nature of the effects of tourism on the local culture, environment and economy. The study purports: 1. To review the existing literature on tourism with an emphasis on the government policy and the present infrastructure of tourism; 2. To create a typology of tourism sites based on their similarities and difference; 3. To carry out in-depth case studies of two locations and to determine the impact of tourism on the people inhabiting those locations. 4. To come up with an answer and a solution regarding the problems that may arise in the particular event. 5. To increase the number of tourist arrivals. 6. To promote the environment, historical and cultural heritage and raise the quality of services and facilities related to tourism. 7. To develop the necessary infrastructure for the operation of efficient, safe, comfortable, and quality air services for the proper advancement of the tourism industry. 8. To gain more knowledge about the topic. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This research is conducted for the researchers to gain more knowledge and to share to others what the ideas that they have gathered. The importance of this study is that we could gain more knowledge and understanding about the said topic. As citizens, it is our right to deeper our understanding on what is the connections of those things regarding on our daily life and activities. This is also intended to make everyone aware of the events that might go to happen regarding the subject, so that they will find also an easy way to go through it and synchronize them for a better environment adaptation. SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS The Effects of Tourism on the Culture and Environment in Asia and the Pacific is a research paper project which deals about the major issues regarding how tourism will affect the culture and environment of a specific region which includes its significance and the solutions regarding the problem. This study only covers on how tourism affects the regions of Asia and the Pacific regarding in the means of culture, tradition and environment. The study is largely based on secondary information. Therefore it is difficult to quantify the impact of tourism on the culture and environment. Though there have been numerous studies related to tourism, these studies pertain to specific locations, which are not representative of the region as a whole. Since interviewing the respondents was not based on any scientific sample surveys, the results do not correlate directly to the inferences which are drawn from the sample surveys. The study is conducted by the research team at the College of Communication, Information Technology, Calamba, Misamis Occidental.

Welfare Reform Package: Helping Individuals Help Themselves Essay exam

It is nearly impossible to support one particular stance on the political spectrum for societal issues across the board. I have always placed myself in the libertarian category on the political spectrum, in the sense that I believe the government should refrain from passing laws that impose on individual freedom and support privatization and the free market. When it comes to the welfare state, I don’t think that the key to a successful reform necessarily lies in the cutting back of government spending, but rather a redistribution of the budget. I recognize the need for government assistance but firmly believe that more emphasis needs to be put on providing opportunities for individuals through job training, education, and work subsidies. As the American Political Science Association discussed, in their report on the rising inequalities present in democratic America, â€Å"Americans accept economic inequalities only when they are sure that everyone has an equal chance to get ahead† (APSA, 2004). The welfare state in the US was formulated as part of Roosevelt’s â€Å"New Deal† in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. During that time, welfare was intended to provide aid to widows with children, while helping to support farm workers and stimulating the agricultural sector by using surplus as food aid. This era paved the way for social security, emergency relief funds, and created the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The 1960s brought the second large wave of welfare reform with Lyndon Johnson’s â€Å"Great Society† legislation. Johnson waged a â€Å"war† on poverty by increasing social services and drastically increasing the population receiving AFDC. The subsequent decades brought about debate as attempts at welfare reductio... ...cation and creating a climate in which a more educated population is possible would create more opportunity and reduce the passing of welfare dependence from generation to generation. Works Cited Alesina, A., & Glaeser, E. L. (2004). Fighting poverty in the us and europe: A world of difference. Oxford: Oxford University Press. American Political Science Association. (2004). ASPA task force report: American democracy in an age of rising inequality. Perspectives on Politics, 2(4), 651-666. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3688533 Bane, M. J., & Mead, L. M. (2003). Lifting up the poor: A dialogue on religion, poverty & welfare reform. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution Georgetown University Morgen, S., Acker, J., & Weigt, J. (2010). Stretched thin: Poor families, welfare work, and welfare reform. New York: Cornell University.

Isolation of Bacteria

Different types of bacteria in various forms are found all around us, and it is a microbiologist’s job to be able to identify these bacteria. Using various staining techniques and physiological tests, an isolated bacterium can be identified. In this experiment, a single bacterial colony was isolated form Mycorrhizal spores, and further tests done on that colony. Sub culturing was done after each week to ensure that the bacterium has sufficient nutrients required for optimum growth that will last the duration of the entire experiment. A flow chart was created based on the results of the physiological tests in order to identify the isolated bacterium. After 4 weeks, the isolated bacterium was identified as XXXXX for reasons stated in the results and discussion. The main goal of this experiment was to identify the isolated bacterium that was obtained from Mycorrhizal spores. In order to identify the bacterium, the experiment was conducted in 4 parts: (a) isolation of an unknown bacterium from soil; (b) identification of the bacterium using various staining techniques; (c) determining the motility of the bacterium; and (d) determining the physiological characteristics of the bacterium. Part (a) of the experiment involves isolating a single bacterial colony from the culture. The remaining 3 parts will be conducted on that colony. In part (b), it is shown that various staining techniques test for different characteristics. As the name suggests, a gram stain is conducted to identify the bacteria as gram negative or gram positive. Two other stains were carried out. To determine the motility of the bacterium, wet mounts of the bacterium were observed and the motility was confirmed by using soft agar plates and soft agar deeps for part (c). The physiological characteristics were identified in part (d). Some of these tests include growth temperatures and salt tolerance, degradation of polysaccharides, proteins and lipids, oxygen requirements etc. Based on the results for the above, the unknown bacterium can be identified by comparing it to cultures in the Bergey’s manual. A flow chart can be drawn up to correctly identify the bacterium by using the physiological test results.

Omega Dietary suppliments

Organizations being squeezed between labor and product markets need to A. Couple pay policies with creative HER, production, and marketing management to make workers' contributions more valuable and products more profitable. B. Change their strategic mission and direction, moving to more attractive Industries. C. Move from Job-based pay structures to skill-based pay systems, where employees are empowered and jobs are more enriched. D. Move their operations overseas. 2. Pay specifically designed to energize, direct, or control employees' behavior is known asA. Empowerment pay. B. Exempt pay. C. Indirect pay. D. Incentive pay. 3. Three of the following are vesting rights. Which is not a vesting right? A. The right to a pension regardless of whether or not the employee remains with the employer until retirement B. In most cases, a waiting period of no more than five years or a three- to seven-year period, with 20 percent in the third and each year thereafter C. The right to a pension at retirement D. A guarantee that the employer won't switch the pension plan from defined-benefit to defined-contribution plan 4.A system in which an employer pays a worker specifically for each unit produced Is known as A. Hourly wage. B. Salary. C. Piecework rate. D. Gross pay. 5. Which level of child care Is most frequently provided by organizations with 100 or more employees? A. The organization offers no support within this area. B. The organization operates a day- care center at or near the workplace. C. The organization supplies and helps employees collect information about the cost and quality of available child care. D. The organization provides vouchers or discounts for employees to use at existing hill-care facilities. . Due to increasing diversity within the workplace, many employers are extending benefits to A. Independent contractors. B. Domestic partners. C. Anyone living within the employee's household. D. Extended-family members. 7. Since the sass, the trend in larger public companies is to grant stock options to A. All exempt employees. B. All employees. C. All top and middle managers. D. Only top management. 8. Which act permits a lower training wage, which employers may pay to workers under the age of 20 for a period of up to 90 days?DAD 9. On average, out Of every donor spent on compensation, about cents go to benefits. A. 30 B. 8 C. 45 D. 17 10. The Scandal plan is a variation of which type of incentive? A. Merit pay B. Shanghaiing C. Profit sharing D. Individual 11. From which source do most retirees receive the largest percentage of their retirement income? A. Private pensions B. Social Security C. Disability insurance D. Earnings from personal assets 12. Which of the following is a false statement about key jobs? A. Key Jobs are Jobs on which it's possible to obtain arrest-pay survey data. . Key Jobs are relatively stable in content. C. Key Jobs have many incumbents within the organization. D. Key Jobs are common to many organizations. 1 3. Employees who have met the enrollment and length-of-service requirements to receive a pension at retirement, regardless of whether they remained with the employer until that time, are said to be A. Pensioners. B. Vested. C. Retirees. D. Expatriates. 14. Which of the following is not an advantage of a balanced measures that are directed toward both the company's longhand short-term objectives.B. Communicating a balanced scorecard helps employees understand the organization's goals and how they might contribute to these goals. C. A balanced scorecard links external pay rates with internal Job structures, allowing organizations to gain both internal and external pay equity. D. A balanced scorecard balances the disadvantages of one type of incentive pay with the advantages of another type. 15. If employees conclude that they're underrated, they're likely to make up the difference in three of the following ways.Which is not a way in which employees who eel underrated are likely to mak e up the difference? A. Refusing to cooperate B. Finding a way to reduce their outcomes C. Reducing their inputs D. Withdrawing by leaving the organization 16. Which of the following is an advantage of group incentives? A. Groups trying to outdo one another in satisfying customers B. Encouraging team members to compete with each other so they can achieve their goal C. Group more likely using a broad range of performance measures D. Rewarding the performance of all employees at a facility 17.An employee produces 0 components in an hour and earns $8. 00 ($. 80 x 10), while an employee who produces 12 components per hour earns $9. 60 ($. 80 x 12). This arrangement is an example of a plan. A. Straight-salary B. Commission C. Differential-piece-rate D. Straight-piecework 18. Which of the following is a false statement about the Fair Labor Standards Act? A. Nonexempt employees are covered by ELSE and include most hourly workers. B. The overtime rate under the ELSE is one and a half times the employee's hourly rate, including any bonuses and piece-rate payments. C.The FALLS remits a submission training wage equal to 85 percent of the minimum wage. D. The ELSE requires federal contractors to pay prevailing wage rates. End of exam 19. An organization is adjusting pay to better match a local labor market in which the cost of living is rising sharply. These adjustments are called A. Green-circle rates. B. Rank-and-file adjustments. C. Pay differentials. D. Bonuses. 20. The National Compensation Survey is an ongoing activity of the A. FALL-CIO. B. Society for Human Resource Management. C. American Management Association. D. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom Example

The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom Example The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom – Book Report/Review Example Seven Pillars of Wisdom Seven Pillars of Wisdom The seven pillars of wisdom is an autobiography of a British soldier while serving as with rebel forces during the Arab clashes with the Ottoman Empire Turks. These revolts took place between 1916 and 1918. This makes sense because it was also the time the First World War was being fought all over Europe. The title of the book, seven pillars of wisdom was derived from the bible in the book of proverbs chapter 9 verses 1. Lawrence states that before the war started, he was writing a book based on seven great cities of the Middle East (Lawrence, 2000). However, he never got to complete the book because soon the war started.2. I think that Lawrence is very precise when he describes the desert and the terrain such that one is even able to visualize the landscape and different appearances of the rocks and sand (Lawrence, 2000). He also describes the camels which makes one understand about the camel’s loyalty to their masters and their ability to cope with some very difficult weather conditions. Lawrence describes, Ghazala, his favorite camel just before it meets its death (Lawrence, 2000). He describes it in a way that shows the reader that he was very saddened by the death of his camel. This part reminds me of the time my cat died.3. The author describes the Arab revolt in a way that shows the readers that the Arabs really needed to be free from their Turk masters. He explains about the difficulty of trying to unite the different Arab tribes so that they could fight as one. He also talks about the hardships he went through as he tries to get supplies but the British army continuously denies him (Lawrence, 2000). However, despite all those challenges, he perseveres and he is eventually successful. That Arab revolt was very bloody and now I can understand why the Arabs value their freedom so much.4. This memoir has a lot of intrigues but as one continues to read one page after the other, one can only wonder how h e managed to achieve all that. Reading this book makes one wonder what will happen next. Despite his general feeling of uselessness and self pity, he is able to lead the Arabs to a victory. Lawrence has master the use of suspense as seen in the last chapters as they capture Damascus.ReferencesLawrence, T. E. (2000). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. New York, NY. Penguin Adult, Inc.

Warm feelings for Cold Blood essays

Warm feelings for Cold Blood essays In Cold Blood is a novel written by Truman Capote in 1966. In Cold Blood is a true account of a multiple murder case that took place in Kansas in the 1950s. The book outlines a brutal murder case, but it shows the story from many perspectives, not just that of the law. Capote introduces you to the Clutter family, a well known, very hard working and loyal family to the community. The town of Holcomb is a small farming town. There is not much excitement in the town, and that is the way the people liked it. Everyone went to church and the community trusted each other, until the unthinkable happened. The towns most prominent family was killed. It is even worse when the only clues are two sets of boot tracks. Everyone in and around the town become scared because if such evil could be brought upon the best family known, what will happen to them? When Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, he wrote a masterpiece. When he wrote the book he developed the character Perry so that even after you wat ched him kill you feel sympathetic for him. He proves that you can even see some good in the worst of people. He does this by slowly developing Perrys character. He gave an in-depth view of Perrys world. He showed that Perry, although he had troubles in his life and sometimes had a total disregard for peoples life he also respected the people. Perry felt bad for some of the people he met. He also was willing to forgive people. Truman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons, in New Orleans September 30th 1924. His parents got a divorce when he was four and his mother later remarried and took on the last name of his stepfather. Capotes childhood was extremely insecure. He was handed back and forth between relatives. When Capote was a child he started to write to deal with the loneliness. At age ten, Capote made up his mind to become a professional writer. Because he knew what he wanted to do with his life, Capote shi...

Definite and Indefinite Articles (The, A and An)

Definite and Indefinite Articles (The, A and An) Definite and Indefinite Articles (The, A and An) If English isn’t your first language, knowing when to use an article before a noun can be confusing. It can also be tricky to know which article to use. To help explain, in this post we’re looking at the definite (i.e., â€Å"the†) and indefinite (i.e., â€Å"a† and â€Å"an†) articles. The Definite Article (The) As the name â€Å"definite† suggests, we use the definite article (â€Å"the†) when referring to a particular person or object. This could be because: There is only one of something (e.g., â€Å"the President of the U.S.A.†) We’re using a superlative (e.g., â€Å"the cutest puppy†) â€Å"The† is also useful when referring to something the reader or listener is already familiar with. This might be because we’ve already mentioned or implied what it is: I read a book last week, but the story wasnt great. In this example, we use â€Å"the† in the second part of the sentence because it clearly refers back to the book mentioned in the first part. Many books. But which one is the book?(Photo: BookBabe) Similarly, we can use â€Å"the† when the context makes it clear what we’re discussing. For instance, if we say we’re â€Å"going to the gym,† this obviously implies a specific gym (i.e., the local one), not just any of the many gyms that might be available. We also use â€Å"the† when referring abstractly to every example of something with a singular noun. For instance, while we could use the plural â€Å"cats† in the sentence: Cats are furry animals. We could also say the same thing using the singular noun â€Å"cat† if we add â€Å"the† in front: The cat is a furry animal. In this case, â€Å"the cat† refers to the species â€Å"cat† in general, not to a specific cat. Cats: delightfully furry.(Photo: Patrizia08) Indefinite Articles (A and An) Also aptly named, indefinite articles are used for referring to something when it is one of many possible examples or one of a generic type. In the example above, for instance, saying that we read â€Å"a book† shows that it was one of many possible books we could have read. Likewise, if we were to say we needed â€Å"a plumber,† we’d be asking for any plumber who is available, not one specific plumber. Or toilet magician, as we like to call them.(Photo: Wonderlane/flickr) Whether to use â€Å"a† or â€Å"an,† meanwhile, depends on the sound at the beginning of the next word: If it starts with a consonant sound, use â€Å"a† (e.g., â€Å"a puppy†). If it begins with a vowel sound, you should use â€Å"an† (e.g., â€Å"an egg†). This isn’t always a matter of spelling, since some words that start with a consonant begin with a vowel sound (e.g., â€Å"an hour†), and some words that start with a vowel actually begin with a consonant sound (e.g., â€Å"a universal truth†). No Article Required Finally, keep in mind that some nouns don’t require an article in some situations. This is known as the â€Å"zero article.† Common examples include: Mass nouns and plural nouns used abstractly (e.g., â€Å"Wine is delicious†) Most proper nouns (e.g., â€Å"David is writing a blogpost†) Some forms of transport or delivery (e.g., â€Å"It was sent by mail†) Most countries and languages (e.g., â€Å"I went to China†) The zero article can be confusing, since it depends on how a word is used. For instance, while we might say we saw something â€Å"on television† (no article) when referring to television as a medium, we’d say â€Å"turn on the television† if referring to the TV set in our living room. Whats on the television?Looks like a typewriter.(Photo: The Photographer/wikimedia) Likewise, place names can be tricky, since some require â€Å"the† (e.g., â€Å"the University of Chicago†) and others don’t (e.g., â€Å"Colombia University†). Ultimately, knowing when articles are required is a matter of practice. The important thing is, therefore, to check when you’re not sure (getting your work proofread is also a good idea).

Small assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Small assignment - Essay Example At the end of the ongoing renovation and expansion process, which will be over within a week, I assure you we will have better services. We have tried our level best not to cause many inconveniences to you and decided that we can finish the installation of new equipment within 24 hours. I hope all the valued customers of ONELAB will understand the necessity of this closure and expect and request your cooperation. If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us either by mail or through phone As part of our expansion and renovation plans, we are all set to install some of the most modern equipment which is needed to increase our service capabilities. These machineries are quite new in the market and we believe that you need some training on this equipment before the reopening of the lab after the 24-hour closure, which will begin from tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. onwards. The training session on this equipment will be conducted tomorrow in order to avoid any time delay to the customers and I ask all our employees to report for training tomorrow at 6 a.m. even though the lab will remain closed for customers. As part of our expansion and renovation processes, we are all set to install some of the most modern equipment which is needed to increase our service capabilities. As a result we are forced to implement a 24-hour close down of our lab from 6 am tomorrow (10/9/09) to 6 am the day after tomorrow (11/9/09) and no deliveries or receipts will be executed during this period. I expect a big increase in the volume of our business after the renovation and expansion process which will definitely be beneficial to you as well. I request your cooperation and valued services in the future also. As part of our expansion and renovation plans, we are all set to install some of the most modern equipments which needed to increase our service

CAPSTONE PROJECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CAPSTONE PROJECT - Essay Example In our class, we were about 10 black students out of the total 70 students. Three girls and six boys. ‘Tell us your name,’ I remember that was the first question our history teacher asked when I was introduced as a new pupil (Manning 109). She was white, buxom, and motherly, but wearing horn-rimmed glasses that she would tilt in such an intimidating way if one did not answer her questions in class. ‘It is the white man who has made the black person who he is today.’ I remember I felt bad. It was an awkward moment. My father, a cotton picker, had affirmed in me that my race had an exciting history because we African Americans came from a placed he called Africa (Hamlett 167). The following lesson, I decided to ask questions if the teacher talked about the black people again (Caldwell 156). Encouraged by the rage I had seen in my mother last night, when Mrs. Stewart came and abused black people again, I

12 Angry Men - Movie Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

12 Angry Men - Movie Review - Assignment Example Very early in the movie Juror 10 starts with accusatory his racist remarks towards the people who are black and live in slums. His words â€Å"You're not gonna tell me that we're supposed to believe this kid, knowing what he is. Listen, I've lived among them all my life. You can't believe a word they say. You know that. I mean, they're born liars,† are a reminder of his deep seeded resentment towards these people throughout the movie. He is unwilling to look at the facts and decide the verdict without letting his prejudice get in the way of his judgment. Juror 4 and 7 also show prejudice towards the boy’s socio-economic group however, it is Juror 10 who takes it to extreme heights.He sees the light when Juror 5 a slum dweller challenges his biased general opinion. He however, does not change his vote until the middle of the movie when others tell him to stop his insulting remarks and calm down.

School Guidance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

School Guidance - Essay Example It has laid down in clear terms what are the responsibilities expected of the school counselors with regard to various groups of people who are directly connected with the school counseling program. iv) The counselor should rely only on tested evaluation programs and interpret the results of those evaluations in such a manner that it paves the way for further development of the student smoothly and steadily. i) Should respect the rights and responsibilities of parents/guardians for their children and should try to establish, an effective, collaborative relationship with parents/guardians in order to facilitate the student’s maximum development. ii) Should keep the parents and guardians posted about the results of the evaluation programs undertaken by the counselor and get their suggestions also for further corrective and suggestive actions that may be warranted for the benefit of the student’s overall development. In addition, the ASCA has also described the school counselor’s responsibilities to the Teachers and Staff Members and the Community members. If only the school counselor adopts a really professional approach, all the stakeholders, the students, their parents, the school and the community, will benefit immensely. This puts a greater responsibility on their shoulders which they can discharge efficiently if they adhere to the professional standards chalked out by ASCA, in their National Model with the 4 principles of foundation, delivery, management and accountability. Foundation: The professional school counselor understands the school’s mission and aligns the counseling program with the former to achieve overall success in providing academic, personal/social and career development needs of the students. In accomplishing this task, the shift has to be in changing the student counseling program from being just a service-centered activity to

Watch film and then write the critical views of the film Essay

Watch film and then write the critical views of the film - Essay Example The Future of Food tends to explain in a systematic and organized manner as to how the much praised Green Revolution had a debilitating influence on the small farmers and how it benefitted the large corporations. The objective of the Green Revolution was to facilitate a massive increase in the overall production of crops in the poor or developing nations by promoting an extensive use of high yielding varieties of crops, chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers (Belasco 116). The basic objective of Green Revolution was to make way for a larger production of food crops that could help the poor nations deal with the long pending issues like hunger and mal-nutrition. However, it is sad to say that though Green Revolution did help the developing nations to some extent, yet the economics of Green Revolution was primarily hijacked by the big multinational pesticide and fertilizer producers. The high yield varieties of crops were so modified that they worked only when treated with spec ific fertilizers and pesticides (Belasco 116). Thereby, this approach towards Green Revolution eventually ended up filling the coffers of large multinational corporations dealing in pesticides and fertilizers. However, it will be true to say that The Future of Food was very constrained about how Green Revolution did benefit large number of hungry and mal-nourished people around the world. The other ironic revelation extended by The Future of Food is that going by the fact that the economics of Green Revolution was skewed in favor of powerful multinational corporations and rich farmers, it negatively impacted the small framers the world over and diluted their role in the larger food economics (Belasco 116). Though, industrial farming aimed to produce massive quantities of crops, on a large scale by resorting to the usage of modern technology and by influencing the economics and politics of food at an international level, yet, actually speaking

School Guidance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

School Guidance - Essay Example It has laid down in clear terms what are the responsibilities expected of the school counselors with regard to various groups of people who are directly connected with the school counseling program. iv) The counselor should rely only on tested evaluation programs and interpret the results of those evaluations in such a manner that it paves the way for further development of the student smoothly and steadily. i) Should respect the rights and responsibilities of parents/guardians for their children and should try to establish, an effective, collaborative relationship with parents/guardians in order to facilitate the student’s maximum development. ii) Should keep the parents and guardians posted about the results of the evaluation programs undertaken by the counselor and get their suggestions also for further corrective and suggestive actions that may be warranted for the benefit of the student’s overall development. In addition, the ASCA has also described the school counselor’s responsibilities to the Teachers and Staff Members and the Community members. If only the school counselor adopts a really professional approach, all the stakeholders, the students, their parents, the school and the community, will benefit immensely. This puts a greater responsibility on their shoulders which they can discharge efficiently if they adhere to the professional standards chalked out by ASCA, in their National Model with the 4 principles of foundation, delivery, management and accountability. Foundation: The professional school counselor understands the school’s mission and aligns the counseling program with the former to achieve overall success in providing academic, personal/social and career development needs of the students. In accomplishing this task, the shift has to be in changing the student counseling program from being just a service-centered activity to

Describe three factors which may influence nutritional intake in Essay

Describe three factors which may influence nutritional intake in infants and explain how theses impact on diet-related disease in the UK - Essay Example Therefore, to meet evolving nutritional needs, an infant ought to obtain nutritionally safe and adequate complementary foods while breastfeeding for at least six month to two or more years. This paper describes three factors that can influence nutritional intake in infants and their impact on diet-related diseases in the United Kingdom. Infants require protein, carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins. Breast milk and infant formulas contain enough amounts of needed nutrients for infants. However, breast milks have low iron and vitamin D (Meghea, 2013). The brain of an infant requires Omega-3 fatty acids to develop fully. The Institute of Medicine recommends consumption of 60 grams of carbohydrates, 31 grams of total fat, 500 milligrams of Omega-3s and 9.1 grams of protein each day of an infant up to six months old. According to IOM Infants between 7 and 12 months, old should consume at least 11 grams of protein, 95 grams of carbohydrates, 500 milligrams of omega-3s, and 30 grams of total fat each day (Ezzo and Bucknam, 2012). In the first six months since birth, an infant is fed breast milk or infant formulas. Infants ought to drink infant formula or breast drink every few hours or when they demand. An infant is ready to eat solid foods when about six months. The first solid food is iron-fortified infant rice or any recommended purees. Two tablespoons of rice cereals are offered an infant thrice or four times a day. Infant formulas and breast milks should also be fed to an infant. An infant between six and eight months is ready to start consuming strained vegetable and fruits. He/she is offered two to three tablespoons, four times a day. Whole-milk baby yoghurt should also be offered as it has high protein. Between 8 and 12 months, iron-rich strained meats are introduced in addition to earlier introduced food types. Eggs yolks, tofu, oat ring cereals, soft meat

Napoleon’s Fatal March Essay Example for Free

Napoleon’s Fatal March Essay While immeasurable literature on Napoleonic Wars exists, there are still some mysteries yet to be unveiled on the comprehension of both wars and the circumstances in which they came to. Perhaps the major mystery concerns the role of Russia in international relations in the Napoleonic era, misunderstood both in Russia and in other parts of the world. One of these literatures, Moscow 1812: Napoleons Fatal March analyses the state of affairs during the French Invasion of Russia and subsequent proceedings during Napoleon’s reign, that eventually marked an end to Napoleonic empire whose troop, while trying to access Moscow, were defeated. This history would not have been realized were it not for some influential military leaders at the time. Their leadership strategies influenced the 1812 campaign. One of the leaders was Alexander perhaps meeting him was one thing Napoleon regretted, being one of the most exciting Tsars because he was very contradictory. He was the ruler of Russia during the Napoleonic Wars and was victorious in many military campaigns. His contradictions were evident when, during his tenure, he introduced liberal reforms, after which he revoked them again in the second half of his tenure. The second leader was Bagration. In the wars of 1805 Bagrations achievements were noted at the Battle of Hollabrunn where he resisted and emerged victorious with only a small army, the continuous attacks of forces that were way bigger than his own in numbers. The eventual surrender of the forces helped him secure the major army that was being let by Kutuzov. This army was important in the war against the French and it had to be guarded. Kutuzov, a cunning leader, who was hated by many but adored by his soldiers, commanded the Russian corps in 1805 which did not agree with Napoleon’s encroachment on Vienna. He tried to stop allied generals from going to war on the Austerlitz eve, but the Tsar did not heed to his command, he thus did not take part in the planning arrangements so that he would not be blamed in case they lost. Kutuzov served as governor-general of Lithuania and Kiev from 1806 to 1811. He is honored for the victory the French. The Russian campaign’s outcome was very obvious but in every war they went to, both parties claimed to have won; by the end of 1812, however, it was clear the French had been defeated. Unfortunately for the Russians, they still could not be declared winners. This invasion marked a turning point in the history of Europe and the world as a whole. Approximately 450,000 soldiers were annihilated, reducing the French and its allied military to a very small figure of their original power and this caused a grand change in the politics of Europeans, since the earlier principal position of the French on the continent had been significantly reduced. It is noted that the French invasion failed because of the ambitions of Napoleon who did not consider what Alexander, his Russian ally, thought of him invading Moscow. In his book, Zamoyski has made possible the provision of accounts of the events that took place in Russia at the time. Personal accounts of the characters and in illustrating the attitudes, craftiness and alertness of the soldiers from both sides in the 1812 campaign, he depicts the plans of Alexander as a scheming leader, Napoleon as an ambitious and arrogant one, Kutuzov and Bagration as those leaders who brought liberation to Russia from the French. He also looks into their lives as they endured suffering during that period in futility. Reference: Zamosky A. (2005). Moscow 1812: Napoleon’s Fatal March. New York. HarperCollins

The Impact Of The Digital Revolution Marketing Essay

The Impact Of The Digital Revolution Marketing Essay Introduction Consumers are important for organizations as their all efforts are directed toward the satisfaction of needs of their target consumers. Study of consumer behavior help firms to improve their marketing strategy. This helps organizations to understand the psychology of consumers, how they think and feel about the specific products and how they select between different alternatives such as different brands and retailers. More specifically, consumer behavior is defined as the study of individuals, organizations or groups and processes they use to select, use, secure and dispose of products, services, ideas or experience to satisfy needs and impacts these processes have on society and consumers. Study of consumer behavior is very useful for organizations with its extensive applications. The most obvious use of consumer behavior is marketing strategy. When organizations have clear understanding of behavior of consumer about the product or service, they are in better position to develop and run an effective marketing campaign. For instance, by understanding that consumers are friendly towards food advertising when they are hungry we are more likely to schedule snack advertisement late in the afternoon. Consumer behavior also has its application social marketing which includes the ideas across to consumer rather than selling something. The Impact of the Digital Revolution in Marketing and Consumer Behavior: Advancements of technology have affected all the fields of life and so as the business world. Technological revolution is characterized with inventions such as internet, cell phone, global positioning system (GPS devices), notebook or laptop etc. many amazing. These changes have changed our lives to great extent. Now every human is connected with each other due to digital revolution. Communication technology has made it possible to share information quickly and easily. Information technology has also increased the ratio of communication and involved people from everywhere in the world. Digital revolution has provided new and fresh ideas to its users that are so common to use presently. Like all other aspects of life, technology has given a superb impact on consumer behavior and as well as on marketing. Technology has changed the ways to market the product to the target audience and consumers, more emphasis on market side is on how to execute and implement the marketing strategy. Inte rnet is critical mean, used by contemporary organizations to promote their products and services. Now companies are going for social media marketing and promoting their products via social networking websites such as face-book, twitter, word press, BlogSpot and liked in etc. Whereas in past companies were using traditional means of promotion and advertisements e.g. news paper, radio and televisions. But now, internet provides more innovative, quick and fast way to implement promotion strategy. Internet and social media networking websites provides effective and free of cost media to encompass the target audience. Selling methods have also been changed with digital revolution. GPS devices, notebook, laptop and cell phones bring information through users of those technologies faster. Due to fast and easy access to information, people are more aware and try to get latest information when making a purchase decision. Digital revolution has given emergence to relationship marketing (with focus on customer), industrial or business marketing (with organizational focus) and social marketing (with focus on benefits to society) and most importantly to internet marketing. Online Consumer Segmentation: Companies must recognize that cherished knowledge of target market facilitating customer segmentation provides basic information that is necessary to maximize the returns on practices of internet marketing and increase its effectiveness and efficiency. Consumer information is qualifying information that is applied by internet marketers; it also clarifies and help to connect the promotional content with specific segments of consumers. This process is carried out with aim to match the attributes of products with needs of potential online consumers and these customers are more likely to benefit from specific promotional offers of company. In this case, it must be recognized that whole population that have access to the internet can be potential customers. But from this population, only a certain portion of online population represent the potential customer of the product or service being promoted by the company. Process of online segmentation of consumers, is consistent with traditional approach of market segmentation. Internet marketers observe the consumer behavior toward the formulation of promotional content and apply the results of observations in segmenting the online consumers. It is designed to forecast behavior of consumer relative to what is already known about current and prospective consumers. The prognostic value of consumer segmentation is obvious as content of promotional strategy and it is aligned with subset of consumers. Consumer Motivation and High Technology Products: Technology has changed the business practices to great extent. Modern technologies are time saving and require less efforts by humans as well as it simplifies information access and bring people from different places together. Now, high technology gadgets are essential part of human life. Business executives forecast that sales and profits of future are expected to come from high technology products. (Asp, 1999 ). Consumer behavior in the contemporary world is more neutral toward technology. However, there is no single agreement on what is high technology means, actual business practices and competitive strategy theories recognize explicitly that there are important attributes such as rapidly changing life cycles, intensity of information and turbulence that distinguish high technology from the traditional market in psychological factors (Hirunyawipada Paswan, 2006), most important one is motivation of customers as behavior comes from motivation. But actually, consumer needs are not that specific which exist potentially. So the aim of promotional and advertising activities is to satisfy the customer demands and motivate them to buy the products or services even for those which consumers do not need actually. High technology products can prove to be very crucial factor in consumer motivation. Cultural Factors affecting Consumer Behavior: In simpler definition, culture is all about the values of an individual. Culture decides about the behavior of consumers. Cultural factors also influence the individualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s buying behavior. All individuals hold different sets of beliefs, habits, and principals that are developed by him or her from his family status and background. Within each culture, there are some subcultures such as gender, religion, geographical location and status etc. companies must know specific cultural attributes and how they affect the buying behavior of the consumers. Marketers believe that consumers have similar cultural attributes or having same culture show similar buying behavior. Every country has its distinct and different culture so while going for international marketing, companies must overcome the cultural and economic boundaries. In order to run a successful marketing campaign on domestic and internal level, different presences, attitudes, beliefs and habits of cus tomer in the target market. Beliefs are important element of culture and can show similarities between the people in a community. Understating the cultural properties of target consumers is critical for analysis of consumer buying behavior and play important role in the process of market segmentation, product positioning and target market. Adult Consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Decision Making: Marketers and researchers have great interest in decision making style of target consumers. Demographics have great impact of thinking and buying behavior of consumers. Age is one of the important elements that affect the consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s behavior in the market place. Consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s decision making style is a mental orientation that is characterized by approach of consumer to make choices. Adult consumers are hard to handle for marketers as they are living in technological advanced world, like innovative and latest products. Attracting and retaining adult consumers is a challenge for marketers, they must be aware and have enough knowledge of advanced technologies and applications that are part of daily life or adults consumers of modern era, in order to reach that specific segment of the market (Olshavsky Granbois, 1979). This market segment may boast considerable purchasing power. This segment is noticed widely due to its perc eived importance. Home buying decisions of this segment are fairly noticeable and they are recognized as trend setters which influence consumption patterns in the other segments of market as well (Olshavsky Granbois, 1979)Buying decisions of adult consumers are influenced by critical reference groups such as friends. It is observed in many researches that impact of promotional activities on loyalty of adult consumer is insignificant. Instead brand loyalty can be enhanced by improving products ad past utilization, convenience and expectations do not affect the loyalty significantly. Conclusion: Consumer buying behavior is a mental orientation that makes the approach of choices by the researcher. Technological advancement has been having great impact of buying behavior and purchase patters of consumers. Due to smart technologies, companies can easily and quickly spread their promotional message and hit their target market consumers. They can benefit by technological advanced options to carry out activities. Internet and social networking websites are important tool for marketing contemporary organizations. A successful marketing strategy in modern world organizations, need to consider important factors such as high technology products, cultural backgrounds of target consumers and demographics of target consumers as well.

The Beginnings of Anorexia :: Health, Eating Disorder

Suicide is not the answer. Although, many people might think that a statement as simple as â€Å"suicide is the answer† is the core or the main point of the poem â€Å"Anorexic† by Eavan Boland. But, those that might think the suicide is the central point of the poem are extremely wrong, there is more about that poem than must people can understand, recognize, or want to accept. Boland wrote this poem in 1980 and until today still being one the most extraordinary poem in its simplicity but also very deep in its complicity. Consequently, if a person read the poem once without any background knowledge he or she will understand what the basic idea behind the poem is; however, if the same person read the poem one more time with more information about different topics. Background knowledge about what is Anorexia and the Christian Bible would help to clarify the speaker situations, feelings and decision of commit suicide. â€Å"Flesh is heretic† (line 1) the very first grammar structure of the poem lead us to the conclusion of a war. When the speaker says these words, she was sending a subliminal message saying that her flesh what is the same as her skin is heretic, which means one who rejects. So, it is safe to assume that she thinks her that her body contradicts her. Her body is her enemy. Furthermore, she hates her body. Instantly, she supports her theory with the second sentence in which she claim, â€Å"My body is a witch.† (2) In this sentence she compares her body to a witch. A witch is an evil been, a creature that wants to hurt, a scary creature that cast spells. In this comparison speaker imply that her own body wants to hurt her and when the speaker says â€Å"How she meshed my head in the half-truths† (7 - 8) is very important because in this particular part of the poem is when the speaker actually describe that the witch is casting spells on her, making her think that she is fat when it is not the actual truth. Now the speaker claims a contra attack when she claims, â€Å"Now the bitch is burning.† (15) She also refers to the way her body is reacting to the fight, â€Å"Yes I am torching - her curves and paps and wiles.† (4 - 5) this is the way of the speaker to say I am winning this fight, I am not eating and my hips, waist, and breast are just â€Å"skin and bone† (17).

Puerto peincesa Essay

This Case Study is about Puerto Princesa, Palawan nature based attraction. The case study is being made for having a broader knowledge about their weaknesses, strengths, community, sustainable place, and any other terms relating to tourism. Come up with a hypothesis, methodology, results, analysis and conclusion. Resolve or give suggestion, recommendation for the negative results that will be shown in this case study. Introduction: A tour and research has been done for this case study. Experiencing their place, to feel their place for the case study to be more realistic and having a wider knowledge about Puerto Princesa, Palawan to come up with a possible reccomendation. PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN â€Å"The last frontier of Southeast asia† Puerto Princesa City, a tropical paradise with a bustling urban center perfect for business with leisure trips. Lush rainforests and white sand beaches are simply hours away from the city proper, where a banking and commercial boom has made life easier for workaholics who can never run away from the office. Puerto Princesa, which forms part of the Philippine’s last frontier, is a City rich in natural resources. It is the country’s largest City with a total land area of 253,982 hectares. A chain of mountain ranges runs through the entire length of the City, dividing it into two distinct areas – the East and the West Coast. The eastern side, which is facing the Sulu Sea is characterized by thin strand lines bordered by swamplands, following a series of flat plains to hilly terrain. The West Coast has fewer plains with mountain ranges close to the China Sea, thus giving the City a unique yet fragile ecology. Puerto Princesa’s pride is easily the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River (or Underground River), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The 8.2-kilometer river, said to be the longest navigable underground river in the world, winds its way underneath a mountain range, through the St. Paul Underground River Cave, and then goes out into the South China Sea. The journey through the cave system alone is 24 kilometers long. The entire area where the Underground River is located is actually a national park and a model of biodiversity. More than 800 plant species, including almost 300 trees, 195 bird species, 30 mammals, 19 reptiles, and eight bat species call this area home. Economic growth: Hypothesis:

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