Gulf Coast Oil Spill

[captain]

For the most part the effects of the spill are mostly in the disruptions caused by preparations for the land fall of masses of oil that is yet to occur. Local new has shone exactly one pelican that was cleaned of oil. The fishing ban that was put in place in has been lifted in some some areas.
Prognostications on the amount of oil leaking and it effects have yet to be proved factual.
In the end this may turn out to be more of an expensive inconvenience then a catastrofe.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

For the most part the effects of the spill are mostly in the disruptions caused by preparations for the land fall of masses of oil that is yet to occur. Local new has shone exactly one pelican that was cleaned of oil. The fishing ban that was put in place in has been lifted in some some areas.
Prognostications on the amount of oil leaking and it effects have yet to be proved factual.
In the end this may turn out to be more of an expensive inconvenience then a catastrofe.

Right. Tons of oil unnaturally spilling into the gulf with no way to stop it just a inconvenience. I wonder how you figure it wont affect anything at all. Just because you cant see is on shore and nothing has happened yet doesn't mean it wont. Instead of leaning on the media or your political beliefs to make this ok in your mind try using common sense and what you know about oil to make a more logical conclusion about why there hasn't been a "disaster" yet. Maybe, just maybe, we cant see the disaster, and that is the worst part, because what we cant see we cant even fathom changing.

 

[dmoore19]

Right. Tons of oil unnaturally spilling into the gulf with no way to stop it just a inconvenience. I wonder how you figure it wont affect anything at all. Just because you cant see is on shore and nothing has happened yet doesn't mean it wont. Instead of leaning on the media or your political beliefs to make this ok in your mind try using common sense and what you know about oil to make a more logical conclusion about why there hasn't been a "disaster" yet. Maybe, just maybe, we cant see the disaster, and that is the worst part, because what we cant see we cant even fathom changing.

Estimates of 4,000,000 bbls of oil naturally seep into US coastal waters every year. This number is 40,000,000 bbls yearly worldwide. Doesn't change the serious nature of the situation, just thought it might be of interest to you.

 

[Mike Boswell]

U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits - NYTimes.com

No comment needed, this article speaks for itself

Quote from the article:

"“M.M.S. (The US Mineral Management Service) has given up any pretense of regulating the offshore oil industry,” said Kierán Suckling, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group in Tucson, which filed notice of intent to sue the agency over its noncompliance with federal law concerning endangered species. “The agency seems to think its mission is to help the oil industry evade environmental laws.” "

Just as the SEC is the creature of Wall Street and the Forest Service is the creature of the logging companies, so the MMS is the lackey of the Oil companies. Sadly, our government has sold itself to the wealthy.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Estimates of 4,000,000 bbls of oil naturally seep into US coastal waters every year. This number is 40,000,000 bbls yearly worldwide. Doesn't change the serious nature of the situation, just thought it might be of interest to you.

Perhaps your figures are correct, but they may be misleading: How much of this oil is "harvested" by oil companies?

 

[dmoore19]

Perhaps your figures are correct, but they may be misleading: How much of this oil is "harvested" by oil companies?

Actually the numbers came from a congressman during the recent hearing concerning the gulf oil spill. That is one of the reasons I posted it here. The way I understand it the 40,000,000 bbls is seepage from natural fractures in the sea floor, it would not be "harvested" by oil companies.

 

[_Remko_]

Estimates of 4,000,000 bbls of oil naturally seep into US coastal waters every year. This number is 40,000,000 bbls yearly worldwide. Doesn't change the serious nature of the situation, just thought it might be of interest to you.

There is a big difference between natural occurence and human screw up. Just because there are volcanoes doesn't mean exhaust fumes are healthy and sorta ok. Natural seeping worldwide is far different from leaking at this rate on a single location. But if it helps you sleep at night this is one way to look at it

 

[dmoore19]

There is a big difference between natural occurence and human screw up. Just because there are volcanoes doesn't mean exhaust fumes are healthy and sorta ok. Natural seeping worldwide is far different from leaking at this rate on a single location. But if it helps you sleep at night this is one way to look at it

First off never said the blowout wasn't a problem. I just found this information to be interesting. It does bring a question up of where does the stuff go.

 

[chazrich]

Uh, no, you needn't worry about the saltwater affecting the oil reserves.

I have a MS plus 30 in geology so I know what I am talking about.

As to well paid engineers, I don't know, I think some ordinance to crush the casing might work. But I am a geologist and as such never thought much of the engineers.

N

Okay, Mr. Geologist, tell me why we'd need a new rule to crush a casing. Ordinance (with an "i") means rule or law, while Ordnance (without an "i") means military weapons or explosives.

Sorry, I'm an English teacher when I'm not in the water

 

[Guba]

I believe that every person on this board realizes and appreciates the fact that this oil spill is a very serious situation. However, I also appreciate that some people in the world do, indeed, over-react when they see something of this nature in the news. For example, I recall that one person posted a rather hysterical sounding question, "What if the dome doesn't work? Will the whole ocean someday fill with oil?" That thinking totally ignores things like the Ixtoc 79-80 spill that flowed at much higher rates than this spill for over 9 months. Notice that the Gulf of Mexico did not die.
It is a marvel to me that this spill, perhaps because of its intensely politically charged character, has set a tone for gloom and doom and "I told you so" rhetoric. Is it serious? Of course, but other disasters in nearby waters garner almost no attention at all and are a perennial or at least annual event. Take the hypoxic zone, for example. It's many times the size of the area affected by the oil spill, its effects are very similar in regards to damage to the fisheries and benthic beds, and it IS NOT NATURAL in its causes any more than the oil spill. But because it has no single point-source and causal event, the damage gets "swept under the rug".
The point was made that "just because we can't see it (damage) from the surface doesn't mean it's not there." Well, that can be said for a lot of things that we, as a culture and stewards of the oceans, need to address. However, it requires more than anger and instant reactions.

By the way, while it is true that the amount of oil that naturally seeps into the Gulf is huge, most of that is spread out over millions of square miles over significant amounts of time. Spills such as this one have the potential of concentrating into much smaller areas, and that is what causes the increased damage.