A Disaster Of Mega Proportions Brewing In Gulf

[mikegideon]

It just gets worse.

- BP wrote in environmental impact plan to MMS that a spill wouldn't jeopardize fauna in the Gulf like "seals, sea otters, and walruses" and of course the MMS signed off on it.

- BP now claims they are getting through Top Hat more oil per day (10,000 barrels) than they've ever estimated could possibly be spilling in the first place, even higher than the obviously too low government estimates. In the same breath, they say that Top Hat is getting about 1/5 of the total flow, which would mean 40,000 barrels per day, or 1.6 million gallons per day. Which is likely too low, since it's BP's "estimate".

- BP doesn't mention they have hirez video from the site until that somehow gets out 50 days after the incident, and finally their frigging lawyers give it up after congressional pressure. According to AC360, this was delayed for a while because they "had to burn it to DVD", and I guess nobody in the whole worldwide high tech corporation knew how to do that right off the bat.

- BP spending about $50 million on its new TV ads for image control. Right.

And on and on...

It just gets worse and worse.

The damn thing is spewing just about like the first time we (finally) were able to see it in low rez).

Now talking about diverting outlet of Mississippi River to flood the bayous and marshes with more fresh water to save them, etc.

Still thinking this may be the economic Trigger.

Would be a helluva time for the San Andreas or New Madrid to let go.

The Big Guy seems to have a strange sense of humor that way sometimes, so who knows?

- OS

Perdido pass is now closed because of oil. Some of our worst fears are here now.

[MCSCOTT]

Don't know if this has been posted in here yet, but I thought it was fairly interesting. Kinda goes along with how hard it is for me to believe that what all has been tried is the best we can come up with.

[Guest db99wj]

Perdido pass is now closed because of oil. Some of our worst fears are here now.

I saw that. Was there two years ago, went on a dolphin seeing cruise. We went into the bay, through the pass area (never went under the bridge, we turned right and back into the bay from that harbor area near the island. Sad, sad, sad stuff.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yeh, I saw on Drudgereport, yesterday, about the possibility of BP filing for Chapter 11

Bankruptcy. Rosie O' Donnell wants the fed to sieze their assets and Obama is fining them. What else can happen, OS? You may be right.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Don't know if this has been posted in here yet, but I thought it was fairly interesting. Kinda goes along with how hard it is for me to believe that what all has been tried is the best we can come up with.

The "gravitas white guy". Boy she's good at sarcasm, isn't she?

[G27]

Perdido pass is now closed because of oil. Some of our worst fears are here now.

Ugh, hits close to home for those of us who enjoy going to OB...

[Guest db99wj]

Ugh, hits close to home for those of us who enjoy going to OB...

No doubt.

[mikegideon]

Yeh, I saw on Drudgereport, yesterday, about the possibility of BP filing for Chapter 11

Bankruptcy. Rosie O' Donnell wants the fed to sieze their assets and Obama is fining them. What else can happen, OS? You may be right.

This day in time, Chapter 11 is a real good way to crap on your investors. Don't know if they could get away with bankrupting out of their commitment to the cleanup. You sure can't bankrupt your way out of an IRS debt. I'm interested in Ohshoot's take as well. Will a federal judge allow them to weasel out? Can the feds sieze their assets? I'm betting they can.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

It would be a mistake for either event to happen. I say leave their asses alone and assist them in the operation. Fix the problem, first. The politics and harrassment will only entice them to do it. They are also a business from another sovereign nation and that wouldn't do a lot of other folks any good at all.

I posted it only to show another angle some people are actually having thoughts about. This oil spill, disastrous as it is, has consequences a lot of people haven't thought of. Rational thought has been replaced with emotions and bad politics.

It's another possibility that this could be another power grab, and nothing good can come out of the gov running the entire economy and us being subjects

of an American king.

I've been thinking about what OS said about a tipping point. I don't like what he says but it is a possibility, from a darker perspective.

Not from Beck or any of those guys, just me. maybe even:screwy:

Edited June 11, 2010 by 6.8 AR

[mikegideon]

Ugh, hits close to home for those of us who enjoy going to OB...

Yep, one of the best views on the planet is crossing the Perdido Pass bridge onto Perdido Key. I'm trying not to get a mental picture of it now.

[mikegideon]

BP just bought 32 of Costner's centrifuge machines.

[Oh Shoot]

Watching Sanchez on CNN with a copy of BP's OSHA record.

Incredible.

Similar from:

Infographic of the Day: BP's Horrifying Safety Record | Fast Company

"Between June 2007 and February 2010, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) checked 55 oil refineries operating in the U.S. Two are owned by BP, and those racked up 760 citations for "egregiously willful" safety violations--defined as committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. The other 53 refineries--put together--only received one such violation."

That's gonna go over like a turd in the punch bowl during wrongful death suits, I'd say.

- OS

[Oh Shoot]

.... I'm interested in Ohshoot's take as well. Will a federal judge allow them to weasel out? Can the feds sieze their assets? I'm betting they can.

..

I've been thinking about what OS said about a tipping point. I don't like what he says but it is a possibility, from a darker perspective.

..

Guys, I don't have more insights into the economy than anyone else.

But it's obvious that this, over time at least, can have trillion dollar implications. Maybe more.

So we take BP's assets, which seem to be around 70 Billion. So what? That may not even be a tenth of the real cost to the economy of this.

At the least, this will bump the absurdly manipulated government reported unemployment rate by, well, what percent? (depends on how Washington spins it, of course, but in real terms?)

How many more trillion dollar hits can our declining dollar and artificially trumped up stock market honestly take before bubbles and balloons start bursting all over the place? I mean, I see no way it's not going to happen period, but this mess may serve as an unprecedented catalyst. And there's always the possibility of another.

Enough of the cheerful side for now,

- OS

[mikegideon]

Guys, I don't have more insights into the economy than anyone else.

But it's obvious that this, over time at least, can have trillion dollar implications. Maybe more.

So we take BP's assets, which seem to be around 70 Billion. So what? That may not even be a tenth of the real cost to the economy of this.

At the least, this will bump the absurdly manipulated government reported unemployment rate by, well, what percent? (depends on how Washington spins it, of course, but in real terms?)

How many more trillion dollar hits can our declining dollar and artificially trumped up stock market honestly take before bubbles and balloons start bursting all over the place? I mean, I see no way it's not going to happen period, but this mess may serve as an unprecedented catalyst. And there's always the possibility of another.

Enough of the cheerful side for now,

- OS

I'm not feeling those kind of numbers yet. I believe the cleanup will go into the billions, but that's within BP's means. Some people are going to be devastated, but how many?

I know how huge and tragic this is. It's just tough to figure the true impact. 100,000 people out of work is a small ripple, when you compare it to a half million job losses per month. If their halfassed containment scheme slows the spew to something manageable, they may be able to stop a lot of it from coming to shore.

[Oh Shoot]

I'm not feeling those kind of numbers yet. I believe the cleanup will go into the billions, but that's within BP's means. Some people are going to be devastated, but how many?

I know how huge and tragic this is. It's just tough to figure the true impact. 100,000 people out of work is a small ripple, when you compare it to a half million job losses per month. If their halfassed containment scheme slows the spew to something manageable, they may be able to stop a lot of it from coming to shore.

We'll see, maybe by August.

Think I might give odds THAT won't happen.

Or first of the year.

Or ...

- OS

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Guys, I don't have more insights into the economy than anyone else.

Enough of the cheerful side for now,

- OS

No, but what you said a while back, and here, got me thinking about this.

Mix it in with everything else in the economy and you get:poop: instead of

Cheerios.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

There is something else going on I forgot to mention. The Jones Act has something to do with the lack of cleanup effort. That act, from the 20's, is somehow keeping all those foreign cleanup crews from assisting in the Gulf.

Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup?

During Katrina, Bush suspended the Jones Act, I guess for cleanup in the gulf region

[Glenn]

Saw a guy on tv the other night that has been cleaning up spills in saudia arabia area for 18 years using specially equipped supertankers. He said he has been trying to talk to the Gov. and BP since day 2 and can't even get a meeting.

I don't thing the government wants to stop the mess. "Never waste a good crisis" This will be the excuse they need to take over the oil industry.

Glenn

[mikegideon]

We'll see, maybe by August.

Think I might give odds THAT won't happen.

Or first of the year.

Or ...

- OS

I'm not saying not, I'm saying not yet. Those guys suck at plugging holes, but they're great at making them. The relief well could stop the stop the flow completely by August. They have had some success with their halfassed top hat, and should be pulling more out of the water as soon as the additional capacity is in place. They have steadily increased cleanup capacity.

The more fly swatters you have, the fewer flies you have.

[Oh Shoot]

I'm not saying not, I'm saying not yet. Those guys suck at plugging holes, but they're great at making them. The relief well could stop the stop the flow completely by August. They have had some success with their halfassed top hat, and should be pulling more out of the water as soon as the additional capacity is in place. They have steadily increased cleanup capacity.

The more fly swatters you have, the fewer flies you have.

Funny how they keep increasing what they're siphoning (now saying 15,000 barrels a day) while the overall spill keeps growing (now 40,000 barrels according to govt., which is still likely still low).

They not just drilling into the general deposit. They're aiming at existing pipe, target about the size of a pizza. Best of luck to them. They are the first to not "guarantee" success of the August timeline.

edit: meant to add, they went through pretty much this same technique on the Ixtoc leak in '79. It was in much shallower water, had much less volume and pressure, and it still took nine months to stop it.

Sure, I guess techniques and computerization have improved since then, but well....let's just say that NOTHING so far has made me the least bit optimistic. Matter of fact, if we've come very far in improved technique and equipment, how the frig could this occur in the first place?

- OS

Edited June 11, 2010 by OhShoot

[Guest jackdm3]

From our local free newspaper, someone commented on the leak and offered a solution:

"Send Chuck Norris down there. The oil will then be afraid to leak." — B

[G27]

A friend took this picture yesterday @ Orange Beach...

[mikegideon]

A friend took this picture yesterday @ Orange Beach...

Please tell me that doesn't go all the way to Johnson Beach.

[G27]

Please tell me that doesn't go all the way to Johnson Beach.

No idea, friend's wife is @ Orange Beach.

So depressing.

[Jasongar8]

A friend took this picture yesterday @ Orange Beach...

I got home from Gulf Shores (just a few miles west of Orange Beach) yesterday and it look nothing like that last week. We saw a few tar balls and just a few spots of oil. What a shame....