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Oil Exploration Leads To Video of a Mysterious Elbowed Squid
eldavojohn writes "A rare glimpse from Shell Oil of a giant squid brings to light the strange relationships some deep sea marine biologists have with drilling companies. The video of the squid (Magnapinna) is very rare as this creature remains largely a mystery to science. While some are concerned of a conflict of interest, biologists and big oil sure make for strange bedfellows. The video is from 200 miles off the coast of Houston, TX and about 4,000 feet down." Looking at this creature gives me the willies, frankly.
biologists and big oil sure make for strange bedfellows
Really? I would think that they (deep sea drillers and deep sea biologists) have learned quite a bit from each other over the years.
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The data doesn't care, but oil drillers are unlikely to give information that harms their potential to drill, and can afford to be "selective" on what they provide. They also have more than enough technical equipment and expertise to "improve" the data, if it is in their interests to do so. That is why it is generally bad science to get information from those who have a vested interest in your conclusions being what they want them to be. It has nothing to do with the camera and everything to do with the eyes far behind it.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
The data doesn't care, but oil drillers are unlikely to give information that harms their potential to drill, and can afford to be "selective" on what they provide.
The conflict is potentially deeper than that. The oil drillers, by providing the hardware, may be able dictate the direction science takes.
Its no different really than the cigarette companies providing the labs for cancer research. Any scientist working in the lab who finds that 'cigarettes cause cancer' is out of work... any scientist who finds that cigarettes and cancer is unrelated gets increased funding and access to better equipment.
THAT is the real potential conflict of interest here.
The oil drillers believe in science as long as it supports their worldview. That is, drilling for more oil. As soon as a scientific finding conflicts with what they want, however, you can bet said belief wavers considerably.
This ain't rocket surgery.
The oil drillers believe in science as long as it supports their worldview.
The wonderful thing about this truth is that you can replace oil drillers with environmentalists, politicians, religious leaders, nazis, whatever, and it is still true.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
What you say is true, but same can be said for any other organization that funds research. Everything from global warming to offshore drilling to nuclear energy has scientists on both sides proving their case.
Truly awesome video and a truly awesome creature visible for the first time. Awesome might even be a bit understated.
But, the manner in which it was discovered? As ordinary as dirt. Face it ... imperial expansion, military exercises and exploration of the furthest corners of the earth, and beyond, and below, are all pretty much the province of the miner, the soldier, the geologist, the imperialist paying those salaries. There is nothing new about how this was found ... it's how EVERYTHING is found. The hunter finds the range and extent of the animals in the local area. The mapping of America was done by fur traders and those seeking treasure. You could go on and on.
There are those who oppose commercial enterprise, who oppose war and the exercises that preparation for war entail, who find man is essentially unkind to both man and the world he lives in. But, they learn from the adventures and the wallets of the "Bad Man".
That Shell released this video is hardly a surprise. Our entire knowledge of the world around us is essentially paid for by those like Shell Oil and those who came before them. Shell Oil is as interested in advancing our knowledge as anyone; perhaps more so because they intend to live in this world where this particular creature was found.
To imply evil intent is really off base ... they have plenty of opportunity to be evil the markets, on Capital Hill, at the UN, or the WTO. Note that few endangered species are likely to be found in those places, that is the environment of man, and is also the place where you are most likely to encounter the environmentalist, PETA, and the like.
They don't go a mile or more under the ocean's surface ... Shell Oil does, though.
I have never met anyone who works in the field for companies like Shell who is not far more aware of the world around them than those who occupy the cities and rail against the destruction of our environment. They have tremendous respect for the environment and the absolute wonder of the world we live in. Those who sit at their computers or write letters about banning plastic bags have no concept of the outdoors, usually. In fact, they rarely go about exploring the very city they live in.
is that the same anatomies keep getting reinvented for various reasons: environment, food source, etc.
so you have dolphins mimicking the body plans of fish
you have bats mimicking the body plans of birds
you have the herds of grazers during the dinosaur age and the predators who track them, and you have the herds of grazers in our age and the predators who track them
the same bodyplans and anatomical features and feeding strategies keep getting reinvented
and here, you have a squid, who has evolved to live like a jellyfish
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it