Reader comments
Oil company not drilling yet near Spiral Jetty

Drill | 12:00 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

Obviously the writer has not been out to the Spiral Jetty. Last time I was there, 1 year ago there was heavy tar oil seeping at the surface in thick pools. If the writer thinks this will pollute the GSL then what do they expect for the oil that is already there???

Please print my response this time Deseret News. You want the story to be interpreted your way and never want opposing views. You take away freedom of speach by censoring everyone's comments and not printing them!!!

MTM | 12:32 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

How can not drilling for oil ANYWHERE be considered a "victory". We all lose without the drilling.

Enviros Ruin Everything! | 1:10 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

Heavy oil seeps out of that part of the Great Salt Lake, which lead to the oil exploration projects in the first place. Drilling and producing heavy oil will not have any effect on the pollution of the lake. These crazy environmentalists and art lovers are ruining everything and driving up the cost of everything.

The reason that the Spiral Jetty was placed where it was by the artist is BECAUSE of the Industrial nature of the oil industry near the art site!!!!! The contrast between the harsh industrial environment, the desert, and the beautiful piece of art was the point of the whole piece. Now environmentalists and "artsy" folk are ruining the purpose of the art they are trying to protect. GET A CLUE!

Comments continue below

I agree with Drill | 1:33 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

Drill right in the middle of the spiral.

Drill! | 1:55 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

'viewshed'!!! if the location is 5 miles from the 'art' how in the world is it going to diminish ones view from the location?!!
After drilling platforms are removed there isn't much left to look at in most cases.

restore the lake | 1:56 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

In my opinion, the Spiral Jetty should be removed and the landscape restored to it original glory! Get rid of the graffiti! If the 'artist' was still alive, then he should have to pay for the clean-up (that is unless it is his land - then I don't care)

JTM | 2:08 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

I was also at the spiral jetty a year ago, and I have no idea what this "tar oil" was, I certainly didn't see it.
How do we all lose by not drilling here? I don't have any stake in this drilling operation, so whether they make a profit has no effect on me. I'd say 99% of Utahns don't have any stake in them either. So how do we lose? And don't mention gas prices or oil dependency or something else that this well would have NO effect on.

Eye Dee Ten Tee | 2:06 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

Isnt' the GSL already so polluted with salt that nothing can grow there anyway? And how can something that looks like a giant ingrown hair be considered art? And why don't the environmentalists see it as a good thing when a toxic substance (oil) is removed from one of their precious scenic spots?

Just some questions from a simple idiot.

Drill! | 2:32 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

re: JTM - supply and demand....that is how it affects you.

Re: Drill | 2:57 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

Maybe you just don't notice your responses because they are nearly identical to most anti-environment postings in these forums.

DR Don | 4:15 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

I think the Spiral Jetty is just as much art as the Bingham Canyon Mine.

JTM | 5:28 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

And how is this drop in the bucket going to affect supply and demand?

No one of consequence | 8:57 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

The engineers who design the drilling and pumping equipment used in oil exploration may see them as art. To me they are beautiful, a sign of man adapting to his enviroment.

Anonymous | 10:26 p.m. Aug. 14, 2008

There is nothing about Utah that's worth saving. It's a dump! Lets ship America's waste to the armpit of America!

Artie | 10:37 a.m. Aug. 15, 2008

Smithson (the artist) chose the site due to the red pigmented Dunaliella salina algae in the lake's North Arm - he knew salt crystals would grow on the jetty and contrast with the red water. The siting had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the industrial nature of the old exploration site to the south. The Jetty is on private land.
Thank goodness the commenters on this site don't determine policy in Utah. If that were so, "anonymous's" comment above would certainly be true. As it stands, the jetty is a remarkable work of art that is unique on the planet - it certainly deserves protection.

To Artie: | 1:50 p.m. Aug. 15, 2008

Smithson expressed an admiration for entropy in that he intended his works mimic earthly attributes in that they remain in a state of arrested disruption and not be kept from destruction. You want to destroy the art by protecting it, can't you see that!

Anonymous | 2:19 p.m. Aug. 15, 2008

to those with the "drill now" attitude: the oil that they want to get from the site isn't even going to be used to make gas, so it would have ZERO effect on prices!

The president of Pearl Montana is quoted as saying: "Any oil pumped from the Great Salt Lake probably would be used to make asphalt, not gasoline, because it is very thick and high in sulfur."

So this Canadian company wants to risk polluting the Salt Lake, potentially destroy habitat for bird life, and take away from the Spiral Jetty to make roads in Canada. Still feel the same about it??

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