Gulf Oil Slick

[MsDemeanor]

The map seems to be a bit off....I wonder how old it is. Even the information in the 'found via' link says that the numbers on the map don't match to the widely reported numbers. The most glaring issue, and why I wonder when the map was created, is that the Deepwater spill has exceeded the size of Ixtoc, yet is substantially smaller on the map. Also, the Gulf War spill estimate seems high - although any 'official' estimate of a spill during a US war would, in my mind, be questionable and quite likely understated.

[Selenay]

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

The map seems to be a bit off....I wonder how old it is. Even the information in the 'found via' link says that the numbers on the map don't match to the widely reported numbers. The most glaring issue, and why I wonder when the map was created, is that the Deepwater spill has exceeded the size of Ixtoc, yet is substantially smaller on the map. Also, the Gulf War spill estimate seems high - although any 'official' estimate of a spill during a US war would, in my mind, be questionable and quite likely understated.

The information for the iconograph comes from the ITOPF.

>ITOPF<


Yes and no, to the map being off (I'm doing further research to ensure that the statistical data on ITOPF is as accurate as people are implying it is.) because the source collects data from both published and UNpublished sources.

I know I hate wikipedia (and maybe you do, too), but this is a fairly well documented link to the largest oil spills in recent / reported history.

As for their actual numbers, the ones I have checked so far are not exorbitant, but they are the highest range of the projected spill amounts.

Comparing between measurements (metric tonne vs kg vs lb) all of their reported measurements (except the recent spill which, yeah, kind of hard to keep consistent...) is accurate to within twelve percentage points. Another possible explanation is that they have also added in a percentage for oil lost to the environment that cannot be accurately assessed. That, and there are discrepancies for almost ALL of the spills saying that the media underrepresented the oil spilled in... Well, given that we all know how much the gulf numbers have changed, I'm sure you know what I mean.

Even so; I meant the iconograph not as a factual basis for argument but more as a demonstrative comparison in scale to the disasters that have historically happened and continue to happen on a daily basis, and the issue in the gulf. I was really trying to make the point that this has happened before on smaller (though that isn't depicted on the graph) and much larger scales. . . And we don't hear about it. At all.


I'm going to continue researching the iconograph creator and the data and will keep you posted, if you'd like.

Edited to add: Oh yeah I forgot! The map's creator has an updated version of the map on his site, to reflect the increasing size of the spill, I just couldn't do a link to it at the time of my post for... some reason, I forget what, but you can check his website out.

[Gayla]

I heard something on the news on the radio on my way home tonight about potential containment by Monday. All I've been able to find about it is -

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/09/gul...ex.html?hpt=T1

Has anyone else heard anything about this?

[Glenn]

BP just signed another record contract called the Caspian Project. A panel of only 3 judges rejected Obama's 6 month moratorium of offshore drilling..

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by popcorninthesofa

BP just signed another record contract called the Caspian Project. A panel of only 3 judges rejected Obama's 6 month moratorium of offshore drilling..

As the money turns....

Last night I saw some actual scientific news about the long term effects we are looking at. What the hell is wrong with people? We should be putting billions into this research and demanding these people be part of the entire regulation processes for off-shore drilling.

My head spins when I think about the future tangle of suits that will come as the real long-term health effects of this become evident.

I also keep thinking about all the tangles of drilling pipes that are underneath the Gulf... that we really don't know about. There is so damn much we do not know that is out there after years of cover-ups.

[MsDemeanor]

Originally Posted by gayla

I heard something on the news on the radio on my way home tonight about potential containment by Monday. All I've been able to find about it is -

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/09/gul...ex.html?hpt=T1

Has anyone else heard anything about this?

MSNBC has been reporting all week that the cap is being removed and replaced by a better one this weekend. Guess I kinda assumed that all of the media had been reporting the story all week. BTW, CNN is doing a story on it right now.....



Selenay, thanks for the answers and your continued hard work researching the numbers

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by gayla

I heard something on the news on the radio on my way home tonight about potential containment by Monday. All I've been able to find about it is -

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/09/gul...ex.html?hpt=T1

Has anyone else heard anything about this?

Just pretty much the same. Oh, and possibly an additional tanker at the top for more oil collection with an additional pipe bring oil up to surface. Hummm.. don't know if this is one of the newly re-configured kind of tankers???

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

MSNBC has been reporting all week that the cap is being removed and replaced by a better one this weekend. Guess I kinda assumed that all of the media had been reporting the story all week. BTW, CNN is doing a story on it right now.....


Selenay, thanks for the answers and your continued hard work researching the numbers

Yes, Thank you Seleny!

Yes, I want to be hopeful about this diffferent cap. Ugh, just when I am, a report comes along with info about everthing that could go wrong that might cause more oil (other than when the old cap is off and the new being seated) to spew. Or, things/pipes, etc. under everything exploding more and possibly making the relief wells non-functional when completed.

Touch and go....

[Selenay]

This is the other thing I meant to post, but got sidetracked with.



Does it change your opinion to know that our biggest supplier is actually Canada?


>Source<

[Toughy]

I think one of the problems with numbers is all the different measurements.........

British tonnes
US tons
gallons
barrels

I do believe it's truth that the permanent solution to the gushing lives in the relief well (s).

I wish I could remember where I heard or read the following and will do some searching around maybe later:

There are something like 2000 abandoned wells in the Gulf that have been capped and never looked at for years and some of them decades. Talk about accidents just waiting to happen.

Apparently all the oil companies are continually spraying toxic shit dispersant at every active well head, because they all leak a little bit of oil all the time. From what I know about drilling oil on land, that is probably a true statement that all wellheads leak a little. They spray the dispersant so the leaked oil stays in the water column and doesn't get to the surface. Remember when some idiot said that oil tar balls wash up on the beaches fairly regularly, so just maybe the tar balls are not from the Deep Horizon?

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Toughy

I think one of the problems with numbers is all the different measurements.........

British tonnes
US tons
gallons
barrels

I do believe it's truth that the permanent solution to the gushing lives in the relief well (s).

I wish I could remember where I heard or read the following and will do some searching around maybe later:

There are something like 2000 abandoned wells in the Gulf that have been capped and never looked at for years and some of them decades. Talk about accidents just waiting to happen.

Apparently all the oil companies are continually spraying toxic shit dispersant at every active well head, because they all leak a little bit of oil all the time. From what I know about drilling oil on land, that is probably a true statement that all wellheads leak a little. They spray the dispersant so the leaked oil stays in the water column and doesn't get to the surface. Remember when some idiot said that oil tar balls wash up on the beaches fairly regularly, so just maybe the tar balls are not from the Deep Horizon?

Oh, this is something I think about! One of the more scary things in all this to me. I just don't believe that this disaster will be the last or the largest we deal with. I don't want to believe this, but do not see any movement in a direction of prevention going on that is getting much serious attention or funds. Just a whole lot of anti-tree-hugger type snarls from the usual sources.

http://eater.com/archives/2010/05/25...lf-coast-1.php

One of many links about the research by Philippe Cousteau. Also, I saw some new stuff by him and a woman he researches with today on CNN.


I also heard this (what I bolded in your post above) somewhere... thinking maybe NPR? I'll look too, I usually have NPR or Green Radio on when I am listening to radio. Just seems like I would of heard about this on NPR. Ugh.. but what program!

[MsDemeanor]

Originally Posted by Toughy

There are something like 2000 abandoned wells in the Gulf that have been capped and never looked at for years and some of them decades. Talk about accidents just waiting to happen.

You're off by a decimal point - it's 27,000, according to an Associated Press investigation. I think that Rachel mentioned this on her show recently.

linkyloo

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

You're off by a decimal point - it's 27,000, according to an Associated Press investigation. I think that Rachel mentioned this on her show recently.

linkyloo

I originally thought it was about 20,000 but I just couldn't quite grasp that kind of number.....laughin.....I thought I must have misread or misheard....

thanks for the correction....

The sea bed must be just littered with well heads ...............shaking my head.....

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Toughy

I originally thought it was about 20,000 but I just couldn't quite grasp that kind of number.....laughin.....I thought I must have misread or misheard....

thanks for the correction....

The sea bed must be just littered with well heads ...............shaking my head.....

Really, huh? Craziness.... One big web of possible disaters without ways to deal with them! Sometimes I think about the magical thinking that continues on in adulthood. Or, just transforms into adult arrogance. Why would anyone believe that this mess would not lead to something like this? And now, what is it going to take to get people to realize this may be only the start of things like this? Well heads and miles of pipe un-checked, buried under what sustains human life!!

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Really, huh? Craziness.... One big web of possible disaters without ways to deal with them! Sometimes I think about the magical thinking that continues on in adulthood. Or, just transforms into adult arrogance. Why would anyone believe that this mess would not lead to something like this? And now, what is it going to take to get people to realize this may be only the start of things like this? Well heads and miles of pipe un-checked, buried under what sustains human life!!

The reason why the oil industry has'nt improved it's clean-uo technology in 50 years is because there have'nt been enough oil spills! I'm not kidding you Folks. This was their actual excuse! I could'nt make this up if I tried!

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by popcorninthesofa

The reason why the oil industry has'nt improved it's clean-uo technology in 50 years is because there have'nt been enough oil spills! I'm not kidding you Folks. This was their actual excuse! I could'nt make this up if I tried!

I did hear a big oil guy (maybe it was BP or Haliburton) say that.............shaking my head............

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by popcorninthesofa

The reason why the oil industry has'nt improved it's clean-uo technology in 50 years is because there have'nt been enough oil spills! I'm not kidding you Folks. This was their actual excuse! I could'nt make this up if I tried!

No, you are not making this up!Unfortunately.....

[Rockinonahigh]

Intresting..In my local sunday paper an artical by the AP said that in the gulf theire are 3000 caped and abandoned wells that are ticking time bombs for a blow out.These wells are owned by many companys,most havent been touched in a decade or more.Also they have been caped in salt water wich has/is corodeig the piped as I type this,mant leak a littls from presure from the oil or a leak somewhere.On land the artical stated that over 35,000 land wells do the same..tho on land can be delt with easyer.No maintainance has been done to near any of thise wells since being caped.This dosent surprise me one bit,I can count the caped wells driveing down the road hear near everywhere I drive,both gas and oil let me say its an ugly smelly sight.
The aritcal is in the sherveporttimes.com online addition.

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

You're off by a decimal point - it's 27,000, according to an Associated Press investigation. I think that Rachel mentioned this on her show recently.

linkyloo

Rockin...........take a look at Msdemeanor's link (above) to an AP article.

And I think you misread the Shreveport Times article because here is the link:
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...bandoned-wells

[SuperFemme]

It seems Kevin Costner has been way ahead of the oil companies and his 15 year long $24 million dollar oil skimming boat is on the way to the gulf.



Oil skimmer backed by Kevin Costner ready for work

Actor Kevin Costner, co-founder of Ocean Therapy, and BP COO Doug Suttles, right, talk during the announcement that the Ella G. vessel to will be deployed carrying Ocean Therapy's centrifuge system to separate oil and water,

Kevin Costner added a bit of Hollywood glitz, but it was the bright orange barge full of equipment counted on to scoop oil from the Gulf of Mexico that was the real star Thursday.

The Ella G, once an offshore supply barge, has been refitted to skim and separate oil spilling from BP PLC's blown-out well, making for a more efficient way to remove petroleum from the Gulf waters. It set sail for the first time Thursday.

"I know a lot of times you have been down on the ground and stayed down," Costner told workers and visitors who had come to see the latest in the fight against the oil spill. "But the machine I once dreamed of is here to help you."

The ship is now one of BP's "Vessels of Opportunity." It was retrofitted to receive oil and water from the skimmer, separate the oil and place it in storage tanks, and return the cleaned water to the Gulf, said Ed Dufrene, project manager for Edison Chouest Offshore, which supplied the barge and assembled the equipment on it.

The system was built in 10 days, and BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said it offers many advantages. For instance, it can remove more oil, stay at sea indefinitely and skim in seas up to 10 feet. Most skimming vessels can't work in seas higher than 4 feet.

"It can make a big difference," Suttles said.

The Ella G, along with the C Rover, will configure boom in a J shape between them, Dufrene said. That will funnel the oil to the bright, yellow skimmer, which floats out from the Ella G attached to tubing and can skim more than 1 million gallons of liquid a day.

The oil is sent through a centrifuge system on the ship that separates the oil and water. Normally, the oily water has to be taken to a receiving point for separation, so doing that at sea is more efficient.

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/oil_..._kevin_co.html

[Rockinonahigh]

Toughy...I will check it out, tks for the heads up,these eyes arent what they use to be.I do know if we have any abadons wells anywhers the oil companys should check then for leaks to avoid any peobs.