Is any one else starting to freak out over the oil leak?

If I lived on the gulf coast I would be.

Why oh why was that other valve never bought ??

I hope who ever the fuck decided against it is happy now...

Your information is flawed.

Let me explain: On top of the well head sits the BOP (blow out preventer). This is a house sized valve that is designed to shut of the well in case of a blow out. It does this by cutting through the pipe with a shear ram and sealing it off.

There are several ways to trigger the BOP, "switches" if you will. A hydraulic switch, a manual one (to be engaged by submersible robots), and another one I'm not sure about (spring loaded fail safe in case of loss of hydraulics, I believe).

The device you are talking about would have been an additional BOP activation switch that can be triggered acoustically.

This mess happened not because the switches failed. As the rig sank, it jammed the riser pipe into the BOP, with likely a section of drilling pipe or hardened tool joint in it. As a result the BOP couldn't close because the shear rams were not able to cut through that tool steel section.

The problem is not that the switches failed, but that the BOP could not perform as designed.

The acoustical switch you're talking about would have made no difference.


Another thing, the fact that right now the riser is jammed into the BOP is the only thing that actually LIMITS outflow. Any attempt to remove it in order to install a new BOP or even a new riser could mean that the well starts flowing at its natural flow rate, which would mean it would jump from the current estimated 5,000 barrels a day to possibly 130,000 barrels a day.

That's why they are fucked. They can't fix the BOP and trying to replace it could make things infinitely worse, if one can imagine that.

A viable option that surprisingly doesn't get talked about it to collapse the well pipe with a nuclear explosion below the sea bed. The radioactive pollution would actually be mostly contained underground. The Russians have done this a few times successfully in the past.

Either way, it's a nightmare of apocalyptic proportions.

There have been much bigger spills than this one since Exxon Valdez and many more before that. As terrible as this tragedy is I don't think it's the end of the world if the much larger spills that have occured before are any indication.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills

I wonder if this is going to affect my cruise ...should probably find out

of course, this is literally in my backyard.

When you think about the small amount of oil it takes to fuck up a VERY large amount of water, then do some simple math based on what's spilling out now --- it's fucking scary, and feels like it could be the end of sea life as we know it -- which could undoubtedly make some things very uncomfortable in our society.

It's a huge deal.

My feeling is that the parties involved could have done more leading up to this. Newer/more safety equipment. Less lobbying. If they cut corners then that was a measured risk on their part and they had to expect consequences like this. They sacrificed safety for profits.

I think it's being blown way out of proportion.

Look at this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_oil_spill

I was watching a report on how much natural oil is leaked into the ocean everyday and how much oil comes from boats traveling on the ocean and less than 5% of the oil that's in the ocean comes from oil spills. How they are trying to figure out how to profit from the leaks of methane gas and natural oil leakage coming from the ocean floor, it was all very interesting

Smart thinking... well, up until today anyway. Hopefully, in the future as well.


Damn! I was always under the impression that those zombies were pretty much barred from and ignored on the beach side of the bridge. Ditto for all of the surrounding communities. Sorry to hear that.


The way the coastline is laid out we just might get lucky in this particular area.

But, they need to cap that thing and they need to do it fast otherwise we're talking about an environmental nightmare that will never end.

Lets just hope that it doesn't come to that.


Yeah, and they all got a hold of my phone number too

Its been a slow choke. Started with the downtown area, but for the last decade they have been slowly buying up property on and near the beach and seating people in city council and local government.

It's like they are creating their own little ghost town. The majority of the property they buy they leave vacant and just hold it, creating little islands of active business w/ nothing in between, hurthing the local economy. Last year, in the middle of tourist season, they did major road construction at the beach, closing Gulfview for months. Not sure how well you know the area but just imagine everything south of Pier 60 being near inaccessable. Having to park blocks away and walk through construction tape to get to restaurants that are normally jumping that time of year. I don't know the numbers but if feels like they've got to have close to 30 to 40% of the prime beach property at this point, might be more, might be less.

I'm not sure what their critical mass point will be, but I think the plan is when they hit the property percentage they are looking for or buy whatever peice of real estate they might be waiting on, they are going to build it all up as a giant private resort. I would honestly not be surprised if they wall off entire sections of the beach. I'm sure they will keep it classy, probably build it out with stone and form jettis... but it will be a loss for the community.

It's tough for me. I grew up with and still have alot of scientologist friends, and the way the religion is if you speak out against the church you get labeled an "SP" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressive_Person

Even though its against the rules my friends used to be understanding and conversational and engage in discussion and debate about the church, but ever since Anonymous if I ever say anything negative its like pressing a button and they launch into this rehearsed speech. They all repeat the exact same rebuttal, it's like Stepford Wives.

Anyway, to get back on topic everything about the church spending money and bettering the local economy is hogwash. The church supports the church. Some of it trickles down, but for the most part church owned businesses employ church members and buy from church owned and operated suppliers. The church invests money to build up church owned buildings and rents property to church run industry.

I actually live nearer Downtown Dunedin, a small speck directly north of Clearwater. Downtown Dunedin is still largely independent and thriving. It doesn't have the beach though Honeymoon island isn't half bad but it's not the same as the beautiful powder on clearwater beach. Sand Key is my favorite part.

So it appears they're now admitting it could take months to stop the leak, and in the meantime they're gonna try and clog it full of garbage.

I'm serious.

Garbage.

That would be great if this was a spill. This is a "blowout" at almost a mile down that is something thats never happened before. It would be awesome if there was some finite amount of oil.

From what I understand the only sure fire solution is to retap the well by drilling in at an angle. Downside is it takes 3 months.

Personally, BP needs to quit fucking around and start drilling, every day they try some bullshit bandaid is another day wasted that they should have been drilling. I don't have a problem with them trying to plug the hole while they drill, but for goddsakes start the process.

This is fucking disgusting.

Just because they have British in their name doesn't make them British owned and operated. British people don't get dividends from profits, nor should they get blame because of this problem. Go ahead and boycott BP. Did you boycott Exxon when the Valdez sank? I'd like to know.

And BP oil is sold to nearly all other gas station companies, so you'll be buying their products one way or another.

Get off the bandwagon, and say something smart for a change. Racist.

And for the records I think what has happened is a total tragedy. I blame all oil companies for cutting corners and trying to maximize profits. However I am not a hypocrite and know that i rely on their oil as much as the next person. But what you're saying is unhelpful and wrong in this situation.

/raises pitchfork
For the earth-mother!

It has happened before, just not at a mile deep:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtoc_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montara_oil_spill

I avoided the Clearwater construction, as best I could, by going to the Palm Pavilion end of town.

I know downtown Dunedin well. I've also been known to absorb copious quantities of alcohol in Kelly's and Flanagan's. Honeymoon Island is nice but Howard Park is closer to where I hang my hat.

As for the late L Ron Hubbard's disciples, all I can say is them be some scary friggin' people. Damn good businessmen though and, as we both know, that's what that gig is really all about.

Of course, the only ones who get to see the money are the ones at the top but, then again, that's how Walmart works too.


Here's hoping that that damn oil doesn't get anywhere near Clearwater Beach!

Where is the rig BTW? why isnt it on top of the leak? How could they lower a 4 story box on top of the leak without the rig being there??? somethings wierd.

Cheers to that.


Feel free to add me on FB and keep in touch. One of these days I want to do like a power lunch or something w/ industry peeps in the area- http://www.facebook.com/mrscrash

The rig blew up and took 11 mens' lives.

I know it blew up, but it sunk also.. those rigs are huge.

I live in Tampa and yesterday the smell was so bad, you didn't want to go outside. Smells like heavy diesel fuel. Second time the wind has been just right to bring that smell inland.

The thought of all those poor birds and other animals makes me sick to my stomach. Imagine a duck landing in the water, just like he has his entire life, and suddenly, he is covered in this horrible substance. He cannot fly away - the more he thrashes, the worse it is. he doesn't undertand what is happening but he is now trapped and will spend the next few days dying an agonizing death. Why? So that some asswipes can become even richer than they already were drilling oil out of the ocean. Drill, baby, drill? I'd like to see Sarah Pallin and all the rest of those idiots tossed right into the middle of that muck. They'd be singing a different tune.

fuck man this is complete bullshit

Send these fuckers an email or call them and tell to fix the problem! ( maybe it will speed
things up )

http://www.bp.com

To be more accurate it's " Drill baby Drill" just not off my coast. How many americans want to consolidate down to 1 car, car pool, ride a bike, or make 1000s of small sacrifices needed so we don't need to depend on so much oil. The people who bitch about the BIG BAD OIL companies are the same people who aren't making any sacrifices. Everyone wants their cake and eat it too, but it doesn't work that way.

If we all sacrificed then demand for oil would go down and there would be no need to do more drilling.


Drilling more is a REACTIVE measure to supply and demand. The demand ( due to all of us) is high so they are trying to make sure the supply is there so people dont freak out over 3 hour lines at the pump or the price of gas goes up to $10 a gallon if we cut back a lot on production.

It fell like a huge tree (cuz its connected with a long stem) so it totally cleared the hole,
and in doing this it created 3 rips in the "stem" as well. i dont remember the real term for it and i'm to tired to look it up now.

Ah ok makes sense.. well thats a relief

You realize how far away that shit still is, right?

Are you really sure that that's what you smelled?


Well, you might get your wish.

BP has just announced that they're gonna try to stop the leak by stuffing garbage down there.

I'm not making this shit up!

Along with Sarah & company, they need to stuff Dick Cheney and Tony Hayward in there as well.

alright i found a good animation on what it looks like, note this is amazingly from al jazeera.

Done.

You won't recognize the handle, but you will recognize the avatar.

Interesting.

As for a solution, we could go with the old Russian method and nuke it.

Better than waiting 3 months?

From a blog called The Moscow Diaries:

As BP prepares to lower a four-story, 70-ton dome over the oil gusher under the Gulf of Mexico, the Russians ? the world?s biggest oil producers ? have some advice for their American counterparts: nuke it.

Komsomoloskaya Pravda, the best-selling Russian daily, reports that in Soviet times such leaks were plugged with controlled nuclear blasts underground. The idea is simple, KP writes: ?the underground explosion moves the rock, presses on it, and, in essence, squeezes the well?s channel.?

Yes! It?s so simple, in fact, that the Soviet Union, a major oil exporter, used this method five times to deal with petrocalamities. The first happened in Uzbekistan, on September 30, 1966 with a blast 1.5 times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb and at a depth of 1.5 kilometers. KP also notes that subterranean nuclear blasts were used as much as 169 times in the Soviet Union to accomplish fairly mundane tasks like creating underground storage spaces for gas or building canals.

wow i wonder how much shit that kills underwater. I've seen people dynamite lakes (on video) and watch fish float up. I can't imagine what would happen if you do it with a NUKE in the gulf... dolphins and whales floating up and shit.

Although it does make sense. Does it make the water radioactive?

valdez was 11 million gallons at minimum.

Gotcha

It was done intentionally. I hope you all now know how serious our dependence on oil is. No more new drilling and $10 a gallon at the pump. It's all okay though because an 'accident' like this will be thwarted in the future.

These are the times I don't believe in humanity.

Notice this was on the 7th



And I agree with NetHorse.. Obama announces more drilling and what do ya know..

I'm trying not to think about it. I love Louisiana and New Orleans and even that little bit of Mississippi that touches the gulf - been there, played there, battled a huge mutant flying roach in a shitty beach motel in Biloxi - and I can't bear to think about what's happening to one of the best places in the US of A...

I just keep thinking of solar cells, windpumps and anything that will kill our dependence on oil...

:D

It's you who sounds stupid. Calling me a silly cunt, and telling me to fuck off only gets laughs from me. I am pro USA in many things, so your hatred is misplaced.

I don't live in the UK. I live in Canada. I get nothing from BP's tax dollars you seem to care so much about.

If you want someone to blame for this, blame BP. They are a multinational company that avoids paying taxes in the UK about as well as most US based multinationals. Same difference.

What you don't seem to grasp is that I blame BP as well. It's fucking outrageous whats happened. But to single out English people as "whiners" is simply scapegoating the wrong target. Now stop the personal insults, and get over your insecurities and really try and talk about blame here.

But given you board nick I think your ego might just get in the way.

Did you boycott Exxon when the Valdez sank YES OR NO?