At work - need to vent

[Eternalknight]

Like I said, people just want someone to blame, and they unfortunately pick on the nearest available person. Don't let it get to you, Eternalknight.

Usually it doesn't, but when it happens constantly...

Thankfully the last two nights have been abuse-free.

@Turanil: We may not be as sue-happy as the US, but we are slowly getting there Thanks for the idea though, I might have to try it next time just to see the person's reaction!

 

[kenobi65]

Related, on the gas-price front...

With Hurricane Rita bearing down on the Texas coast, a lot of the refineries and oilfields in that region shut down. Although the current track of the hurricane looks like it might spare a lot of those facilities, a couple of days ago, there were analysts predicting gas at $4 or $5 a gallon after the storm.

My question is this: which rocket-scientist decided to put half of the U.S.'s oil-refining capacity at sea level, in a hurricane-prone area?

 

[sniffles]

Related, on the gas-price front...

With Hurricane Rita bearing down on the Texas coast, a lot of the refineries and oilfields in that region shut down. Although the current track of the hurricane looks like it might spare a lot of those facilities, a couple of days ago, there were analysts predicting gas at $4 or $5 a gallon after the storm.

My question is this: which rocket-scientist decided to put half of the U.S.'s oil-refining capacity at sea level, in a hurricane-prone area?

Well, it wasn't rocket scientists, it was oil industry folks who didn't want to pay extra to transport the oil inland. They could have put refineries here in Portland, which is a port city (though the city has declined to dredge the river channel, so we can't take ships as big as oil tankers) and then have dealt with the threat of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Or they could put them in the Midwest and deal with tornadoes, or up north and deal with blizzards, or California and deal with earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires...

 

[MaxKaladin]

Well, it wasn't rocket scientists, it was oil industry folks who didn't want to pay extra to transport the oil inland. They could have put refineries here in Portland, which is a port city (though the city has declined to dredge the river channel, so we can't take ships as big as oil tankers) and then have dealt with the threat of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Or they could put them in the Midwest and deal with tornadoes, or up north and deal with blizzards, or California and deal with earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires...

Bingo! It costs more to transport the oil so they put the refineries right where the tankers can dock and pump it just a short way directly into the refinery. For oil from inland wells, you do get refineries inland for similar reasons. In areas where there is no oil, you pay more because they have to move the oil into the region.

The thing is, the seafront is a bad place to put a refinery from a disaster perspective. Hurricanes, when they hit, tend to cause mass devastation. Really, you want to put these things in the southwest deserts where about the absolute worst you'll see is a tornado -- and a tornado doesn't affect anything like the area of a hurricane.

 

[DaveStebbins]

My question is this: which rocket-scientist decided to put half of the U.S.'s oil-refining capacity at sea level, in a hurricane-prone area?

The same people who like the location and decide to build their homes on:

hurricane-prone ocean-fronts
major river flood plains
areas prone to tornadoes
major faultlines
areas at risk of wildfires
snow belts
etc.
etc.
etc.

In the end, pretty much anywhere you go, you face some sort of natural hazards from time to time.

-Dave
who personally finds it easiest to deal with the snowbelt problems