A Disaster Of Mega Proportions Brewing In Gulf

[Guest db99wj]

This was on the front page of MSNBC!

[Guest jackdm3]

Gonna be a real sexy tanline there!

[Guest HvyMtl]

Ok, the reports I have are this: Slick has gotten to Fort Walton, Florida, and the tar balls have hit Greyton Beach (roughly halfway between Destin and Panama City Beach.) Perdido Key(border of Alabama/Florida area) the crude oil stench supposedly can be smelled 6 miles inland.

Meanwhile the Governor of Mississippi claims the Mississippi Gulf Coast is still open for business...

Interestingly, I have heard reports of actual tourists aiding in cleaning up Pensacola area...

People are forgetting a few things. Sure, presently Tourism and Fishing are being hit, hard. But, if this oil lingers (which it will, all one has to do is go look at the beaches in Alaska ruined by the Exxon spill) the real estate/property values will die in the area, too.

Also shipping will be hit, as they wont be able to run through the oil. I expect the Mississippi River to be blocked, and Mobile Bay to be shut...

So, no fishing, no tourism, (no way to pay for the Condos down there since no tourism) crushed real estate market, no shipping, and the possibility of loss of oil jobs too, due to the reaction of blocking the use of the present platforms, until they meet new safety requirements and the political football of adding new platforms... This will make Katrina look like a Summer evening rain, lasting a minute...

To those blaming O, this has been building for multiple Presidents...I think for decades... blame all around is quite appropriate... And, I still hear the "Drill, Baby, Drill..." tag line the Republicans used in the last Presidential election...

AS for FEMA, it seems to have worked well here in Mid TN...

I recall an article I read, where something similar occurred, in the 60's with a shallow water platform, in an area where divers could be used... and it took them 3 months to get that one stopped... by relief wells. I think this will continue until they can dig relief wells...

Edited June 8, 2010 by HvyMtl

[BryanP]

1999 Advertisement. took 'em awhile, but they delivered.

Funny, but not a real advertisement, from 1999 or otherwise. Just a joke someone made.

[Rightwinger]

Ok, the reports I have are this: Slick has gotten to Fort Walton, Florida, and the tar balls have hit Greyton Beach (roughly halfway between Destin and Panama City Beach.) Perdido Key(border of Alabama/Florida area) the crude oil stench supposedly can be smelled 6 miles inland.

Meanwhile the Governor of Mississippi claims the Mississippi Gulf Coast is still open for business...

Interestingly, I have heard reports of actual tourists aiding in cleaning up Pensacola area...

People are forgetting a few things. Sure, presently Tourism and Fishing are being hit, hard. But, if this oil lingers (which it will, all one has to do is go look at the beaches in Alaska ruined by the Exxon spill) the real estate/property values will die in the area, too.

Also shipping will be hit, as they wont be able to run through the oil. I expect the Mississippi River to be blocked, and Mobile Bay to be shut...

So, no fishing, no tourism, (no way to pay for the Condos down there since no tourism) crushed real estate market, no shipping, and the possibility of loss of oil jobs too, due to the reaction of blocking the use of the present platforms, until they meet new safety requirements and the political football of adding new platforms... This will make Katrina look like a Summer evening rain, lasting a minute...

To those blaming O, this has been building for multiple Presidents...I think for decades... blame all around is quite appropriate... And, I still hear the "Drill, Baby, Drill..." tag line the Republicans used in the last Presidential election...

AS for FEMA, it seems to have worked well here in Mid TN...

I recall an article I read, where something similar occurred, in the 60's with a shallow water platform, in an area where divers could be used... and it took them 3 months to get that one stopped... by relief wells. I think this will continue until they can dig relief wells...

Didn't Cinderella promise all that during his job application?

[G27]

Funny how so many who were so critical of Bush during his time in office wish to give Obama a pass based on his piss-poor performance in office so far...

(not directed at anyone in particular, just an observation. I don't care for either of them as president.)

[mikegideon]

Didn't Cinderella promise all that during his job application?

He was letting the promises fly, but the oil leak wasn't there yet.

[Mike.357]

This was on the front page of MSNBC!

i'd hit it

[Guest SUNTZU]

He was letting the promises fly, but the oil leak wasn't there yet.

Its good to be the king?

(Not pointed at anyone.)

Oh ****ing well. Hurricanes weren't flooding NO yet, either. Now the oil is about to reach the shores where all that expensive housing is located.

[kanye west]Barack Obama doesn't care about white people[/kanye west]

Yes, I find it funny how this disaster is NOT supposed to be political but the other IS political. Double standards, get em while they're hot!

[mikegideon]

Its good to be the king?

(Not pointed at anyone.)

Oh ****ing well. Hurricanes weren't flooding NO yet, either. Now the oil is about to reach the shores where all that expensive housing is located.

[kanye west]Barack Obama doesn't care about white people[/kanye west]

Yes, I find it funny how this disaster is NOT supposed to be political but the other IS political. Double standards, get em while they're hot!

It's all political. Quoting a racist douchebag like Kanye West doesn't help anything.

If you look at results, Obama isn't doing much better with this spill than Bush did with Katrina, at least from our vantage point. It's hard to tell, given the almost total incompetence of the news organizations. Those pigs would be hammering Ghandi right now.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Yeah, he was supposed to be the "Mr. Fix-it-all" after the supposed "Mr. Do-nothing."

Reality is, Dubya did do a lot of stuff, and O cannot do everything. Unrealistic view placed out there by the media to influence the election...

O does have a tough job to do, and unrealistic expectations placed upon him. However, I do not cut him slack. I quote myself,"blame all around is quite appropriate."

The Big issue is, the U.S. was not prepared for this type of disaster. Not the Government, not the oil companies, not the contractors, nor suppliers. Simply because this type of accident, deep water drilling blow up, seemed to never happen before...

Katrina reaction was worse because Hurricanes happen yearly, and the Fed, State, and Local govts were still caught with their pants down. Personally, I think the local and state govt deserve a lot more blame then they were given under Katrina. NOLA had its High and Fast Water Rescue team leave, and left their boats and equipment in a low level area which was flooded out. NOLA was offered free rides for its citizens on the AMTRAK trains leaving town and turned it down. NOLA had scores of School Buses sit and get flooded out, instead of used to evacuate those known to not have any transportation... Louisiana had its Guard High Water Rescue equipment sent with their Guard to the Deserts of Iraq... I can go on and on...

But, the point is, Hurricanes are a known and reoccurring natural disaster... and should be prepared for. This is a new thing, and we are dealing with the first one, right now.

True, I think the Fed response was slow at the start. I think this was due to BP saying they had everything under control...

True, the Feds are to blame for lack of oversight. BP, Transocean, and Haliburton are fully to blame as well...

Edited June 8, 2010 by HvyMtl

[Guest SUNTZU]

It's all political. Quoting a racist douchebag like Kanye West doesn't help anything.

That was the point.

If you look at results, Obama isn't doing much better with this spill than Bush did with Katrina, at least from our vantage point. It's hard to tell, given the almost total incompetence of the news organizations. Those pigs would be hammering Ghandi right now.

Fix the disaster instead of politicizing the disaster.

Honest question, who do people sue when, say, an earthquake happens in California and the bridge drops on their car or a building takes out their place of business. I guess I'd have the same question after the towers fell and people lost work due to all of the debris destroying the buildings around Ground Zero. Anyone know?

[mikegideon]

That was the point.

Fix the disaster instead of politicizing the disaster.

Honest question, who do people sue when, say, an earthquake happens in California and the bridge drops on their car or a building takes out their place of business. I guess I'd have the same question after the towers fell and people lost work due to all of the debris destroying the buildings around Ground Zero. Anyone know?

Good question too. It may be a different game entirely if an earthquake had broken the well. We need to read the law. My guess, BP signed on as a responsible party as a condition of the lease, and would still be responsible. This is different than your other two examples, because they are already bound by law.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Good question too. It may be a different game entirely if an earthquake had broken the well. We need to read the law. My guess, BP signed on as a responsible party as a condition of the lease, and would still be responsible. This is different than your other two examples, because they are already bound by law.

Ah so.... Makes sense.

[mikegideon]

Ah so.... Makes sense.

I guess folks could have tried to sue the terrorists after 911, but it made more sense to go on a huge killin' spree

[Guest db99wj]

How big is the flow, not in gallons, or quarts, etc, but is the pipe a 3" pipe, 12" pipe, etc?

[Guest SUNTZU]

I guess folks could have tried to sue the terrorists after 911, but it made more sense to go on a huge killin' spree

I didn't know if they went after .gov for not protecting them or if there was any recourse they sought. There had to of been SOMEbody who tired to get paid...or do insurance policies cover this?

[mikegideon]

How big is the flow, not in gallons, or quarts, etc, but is the pipe a 3" pipe, 12" pipe, etc?

Seems like i heard 21" or so, but don't know if that OD or ID. They're increasing production as time goes on, and may effectively stop it. Last I heard, they're increasing the pump capacity on the surface.

[mikegideon]

I didn't know if they went after .gov for not protecting them or if there was any recourse they sought. There had to of been SOMEbody who tired to get paid...or do insurance policies cover this?

There are all kinds of exemptions for civil authorities. I don't know if you can legally sue the gov for getting blown up.

EDIT: google 911 lawsuits. Ton of stuff out there

Edited June 8, 2010 by mikegideon

[Capbyrd]

perhaps this has been discussed but I dont know.

Is the oil unusable after it sits in the water? Are they collecting that for use? Just curious!

[Guest jackdm3]

Oil should separate like the proverbial "oil and water." If they can do oil shale and tar sands, I'd think they'll take any oil if it's nearby. But I don't know the specifics of oil. I just own a few failing oil stocks.

[mikegideon]

I don't know oil either, but i do know that some of the real volitile parts of it evaporates when it gets to the surface. That why the fumes are so obnoxious. They can still probably refine what's left.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Depends on the type of oil; heavy, light, impurities, sulfur content, etc. They can use

it if it's been reclaimed from the water, also. They have to separate one more thing from

it. Water.

[Oh Shoot]

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

Edited June 10, 2010 by OhShoot

[BryanP]

I don't know oil either, but i do know that some of the real volitile parts of it evaporates when it gets to the surface. That why the fumes are so obnoxious. They can still probably refine what's left.

They might be able to use it as the lowest grade stuff, like bunker fuel for ships. I wouldn't hope for much better than that.