The True Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Ya'll don't know me very well yet, since I'm still fairly new to the forums, but I'm a resident of Florida and spend every free moment I have exploring and photographing our amazing nature areas.

That's why this topic is so important to me, and why I decided to share this video here.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puPpK0OA7e4[/YOUTUBE]

 

And for a really sickening "real time" link on the spill itself;

Goto:

WKRG.com Live Oil Spill Cam - live streaming video powered by Livestream

 

I'm actually considering heading back to my 'hometown' of Perdido Key to volunteer this summer- esp. after reading this:

"(AP) - Marine scientists have discovered a massive new plume of what they believe to be oil deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico, stretching 22 miles from the leaking wellhead northeast toward Mobile Bay, Alabama."

 

Here's an idea: instead of lowering a big dome to cap it that didn't work, lower a big vacuum and suck the escaping oil into tankers until you can fix it. Do SOMETHING for god's sake. How can you drill a mile below sea level and not have a backup plan to fix in case of accident(?). Looks like Canadian oil sands aren't so bad after all.

 

Do a 'Google' on 'Oil spill evaporation rates'. Specifically, Light Sweet Crude.



John

 

it looks as though this spill will run into august...

 

They did have backup plans in case of an accident - about a dozen of them, including a 'failsafe' that was never supposed to fail. Clearly, all of them failed epicly, as did the attempt to fill in the top with mud and cement in the 'top kill' method.

The 1-mile-depth of the well I think is a major factor in being unable to fix it, as they have to use robots and subs to attempt to fix it. The amount of pressure down there is rather substantial.

It also appears that there is no good way to clean up the oil once it mingles in the water. Apparently that chemical dispersant they used as the oil come out (in an attempt to break it up before it reaches the surface) backfired on them and has created an even worse situation where the oil is now a thousand or two feet deep (a cloud, so to speak) that they hadn't detected before.

Needless to say, the gulf will be feeling the effects of this catastrophe for the next 50 years (if not longer) - especially if they can not get the thing to shutoff.

 

Feel sorry for you guys, that bloody mess is going to take time to clean up, and the damage its done even longer.

 

The True Impact will come when the Storms Move In. There still finding Oil from The Exxon Valdez Spill and that was allot on a rocky shore line.

This is of proportion magnitude due to all the Bird sanctuaries as Marsh lands Once the Oil is in there very hard to clean Up unless you remove everything all the Grass plus Soil and Decontaminate 100eds of miles of shore line and replant everything.

If this is a Hole or a Pipe I can't understand why they can't just use a Test Plug Like we do in Plumbing, Stick it inside the hole 10' Inflate the Plug that would stop the Flow of Oil, then you can plug it with Cement.


Traces of Exxon Valdez spill can still be found.

Over two decades after the devastating Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska, significant quantities of oil can still be found covering the state's shores and beneath gravel beaches, a new study has discovered.

Over 21,000 gallons of crude oil remains of the 11 million gallons of crude oil that gushed from the stranded tanker Exxon Valdez on the night of 23 March 1989. Traces of Valdez's oil have been detected as far as 724km away from the spill-site in Prince William Sound, and the toxic film that coats Alaska's shores remain a danger to wildlife, entire eco-systems and the lives of local people.

http://www.ngoilgas.com/news/worlds-largest-oil-spills/


20,000 Gallons of Exxon Valdez Oil Still Trapped in Alaskan Beaches


.

 

One of the major problems even I can see with this "spill" is the depth at which it took place. Not only is the water pressure itself (at that depth) probably one TON per square inch, this article shows why the reservoir of oil it has tapped into has probably 20,000 psi behind it as well. Now those two factors have to be the major stumbling block to capping this bugger off. And then as mentioned somewhere else, the water temperature is so low that the hydrates form when the methane hits the water too.

See:


Water News Network: A Petroleum Engineer's Explanation

Then just as an ironic sidebar, did you know that BP owned the controlling interest in the Alyeska (sp?) consortium which was responsible for the "clean-up" at the start of the Exxon spill in Alaska? Their reputation in this area is far from stellar.

 

This is the price we have to pay for our comfortable way of living...
If you want to stop it; park your car, get a horse or start walking!
Ground all the commercial airliners and convert all vessels into sailing ships!

What's the problem? Everything will take much longer time, but so what..?
It did so a century ago too, so don't complain!

The choice is yours!

 

Currently showing some sort of cutting of the pipe going on. At least that's what it looks like.

 

Yeah, the latest 'attempt' is to make a clean-cut of the pipe and fit a stopper (or rubber seal) on top of it. I'm not quite sure why this can't be attempted already, but it also sounds like it could potentially increase the flow of oil into the Gulf if it doesn't work (and the article I read didn't make it sound like what they're doing is a permanent fix).

 

I believe you are correct, this is (if it works) supposed to slow-down or stop the flow while they attempt to make another drill in from the side and hit the same spot. Then they will be likely to "cap" this problem permanently. Of course when describing the process they liken it to hitting a kitchen plate from a mile away, blind. No petroleum engineer thinks this can be accomplished in just a few "tries". They are talking half a dozen misses at the least, and dozens more likely.

If they do hit the problem however, that will make a permanent fix possible at least. I saw one article which "guessed" at mid August or so for a seal.

 

Yes Mr Clint I Know the logistics of the situation in hand. The Depths are a problem since only Robotics can Handel the Depths but things break down+++. The Hole can still be blocked by using a Balder that would expand at those depths even at Two Tons the RVs++++ all move and function.

BP's shares have lost more than a third of their value since the oil spill started six weeks ago, a wipeout of about $62.7 billion.
After previous attempts to plug or contain the well failed, BP is to attempt a new kind of containment cap.


U.S. launches criminal probe of BP spill - Gulf oil spill- msnbc.com


See how the oil spill grows in the Gulf of Mexico

See how the oil spill grows in the Gulf of Mexico - USATODAY.com


Mapping the Gulf oil spill in Google Earth

 

That certainly looks better than these plans "Spaniard"!

 

I think I found The Best Crew to get the Job Done Right!



Environmentalists and the Oil Spill - Environmental Cartoon - About.com




Cajun Cookin - Gulf Oil Spill Cartoon - About.com





http://www.cartoonaday.com/bp-gulf-oil-spill-crisis-2/

 

I had hoped the backup plan would cover a worst case scenario. BP had no idea this type of accident could occur ?

 

Thirty years ago (1979) before many here were even born, another Gulf of Mexico drilling rig started spilling into the water. But it was in shallow water, not 5,000 feet down. It took them almost a year to shut that one down.

Goto:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-06-04-11-55-16

Not only didn't BP have a plan "in case", they are the most egregious OSHA violators in the petroleum field. Not only on their safety violations, but their paper-work laziness as well. While there is now a "moritorium" on new drilling proceeding. BP already has another deeper well in operation called Atlantis. I hope that this well isn't as poorly prepared for a blowout as Deepwater Horizon.

 

BP buys "google search terms"; Scott Slatin, an analyst who runs search engine marketing company Rivington in New York, estimates the company is paying upwards of $10,000 per day to maintain the various search terms.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal slammed BP for its PR efforts, saying in a statement, "Instead of BP shelling out $50 million on an ad campaign that promises to do good work in responding to this spill, BP should just focus on actually doing a good job and spend the $50 million on assistance to our people, our industries and our communities that are suffering as a result of this ongoing spill."

See:

BP Buys Search Engine Phrases Redirecting Users - ABC News

How "ethical" is this? Probably not much, is it "illegal"? Nope. Much to the dismay of the people whose lives are ruined by this "accident".