Gulf Coast Oil Spill

[Randy43068]

Yeah we are just soo ignorant, and that is why we havent moved from oil. Granted, not everyone is an engineer, but don't try to make it sound like its just dumb Americans that have no concept of what it would take to move us forward. The lack of funding from private and public sources coupled with lobbying firms that (surprise surprise) only have their own interests in mid stall engineering that could propel the ENTIRE world forward from the "life-blood" that is oil. Stop pretending like getting off oil is impossible and start looking for ways to do it.

These kind of arguments of "this is just the way it is and we cant get any better" is just malarky. Maybe we should go back to coal. Or just wood burning stoves. Perhaps, we could go back to a time when flying was "impossible" or space flight was just a dream. Take a hint, withe the right will of a mas of people humanity can achieve a much greater balance with the world and each other. some stubborn people refuse to accept the greatness we can achieve and just blow it off as "too much work." Laziness is abhorrent. I do everything i can do help reduce. Its 90 degrees where i am right now, but the AC in my house is off to conserve energy. I walk to work everyday. I reuse bags for shopping. I take the stairs every chance I get, etc. However, changes on a large scale need to happen before we can actually ween ourselves off this sick obsession with dead carbon lifeforms.

The fact of the matter is that we're probably 50 years from having our energy needs independent from the supply of oil. We will ALWAYS need the stuff for plastics, gasses, lubricants and such. But, we can, and we have to do a better job of weaning ourselves from using oil as the main source of energy to fuel our locomotion.

Electric-- we're a long way from "being there." Battery technology isn't so advanced as to make electric cars practical except in urban situations. Keep in mind the USA is HUGE and electric cars do not at present have the range, nor do they have fast enough recharge rates to make them practical outside of urban areas. Also, we don't have a distribution network set up for electric yet.

LNG- has some promise but there are dangers that have to be overcome. LNG is extremely explosive so safety issues would have to be overcome. Besides, this is a byproduct of the oil industry. Distribution is a big issue. The existing fuel distribution system won't work. It's expensive to install a new infrastructure to handle LNG on a big enough scale to supply the US reliably.

Oil from algae- this has some promise, but we're not "there" yet. If fuel can be made on a large enough scale then the distribution systems already in place can use this.

Hydrogen - has some promise, but again the infrastructure isn't in place to support it and like LNG cost would be huge to implement.

So, bottom line, we are a long way away from not needing oil. But, we are moving that direction.

 

[OldNSalty]

Infrastructure not being there is true but a terrible excuse. I honestly thought that with some of this huge stimulus money we would have seen plans executed that involved things like hydro-electric and rail. Instead I see that they built a cute little bus stop in my town...not more buses just a nice bus stop...way to go.

 

[captain]

The fact of the matter is that we're probably 50 years from having our energy needs independent from the supply of oil. We will ALWAYS need the stuff for plastics, gasses, lubricants and such. But, we can, and we have to do a better job of weaning ourselves from using oil as the main source of energy to fuel our locomotion.

Electric-- we're a long way from "being there." Battery technology isn't so advanced as to make electric cars practical except in urban situations. Keep in mind the USA is HUGE and electric cars do not at present have the range, nor do they have fast enough recharge rates to make them practical outside of urban areas. Also, we don't have a distribution network set up for electric yet.

LNG- has some promise but there are dangers that have to be overcome. LNG is extremely explosive so safety issues would have to be overcome. Besides, this is a byproduct of the oil industry. Distribution is a big issue. The existing fuel distribution system won't work. It's expensive to install a new infrastructure to handle LNG on a big enough scale to supply the US reliably.

Oil from algae- this has some promise, but we're not "there" yet. If fuel can be made on a large enough scale then the distribution systems already in place can use this.

Hydrogen - has some promise, but again the infrastructure isn't in place to support it and like LNG cost would be huge to implement.

So, bottom line, we are a long way away from not needing oil. But, we are moving that direction.

Good post, you aren't one of the uninformed masses, you actually comprehend how hard and how long it will take to change to a different form of energy and the reasons why.

 

[carrielsal]

Cutting the riser off the BOP is what is being done now to install the top hat. Installing a second BOP presents a problem in fastening it to the existing BOP. I don't believe the ROV's have welding capability and trying to get a connection that could handle the well head pressure without welding may be the limiting factor although it is being considered.

This is about a week old but it is something you haven't seen on TV, at least I haven't.Why not I don't know.

Kent Wells Tech Update - 24 May 2010

That's probably the most informative video I have seen.

 

[Rhone Man]

I remember during the late 1970s and early 1980s the British Government pulled funding for all sorts of research projects into renewable forms of energy because they saw it as a threat to North Sea oil.

Probably didn't make any difference, but pretty damn short sighted with hindsight.

 

[sschlesi]

This news clip almost makes you think this is all the plot of a bad movie.

The more oil spills change, the more they stay the same. [VIDEO]

I think she makes a very strong point at the end of the clip about failure to develop techniques to contain a blowout.

 

[OneRestlessNative]

That clip is just MORE reaffirmation of the ignorance and disregard humans have towards the direction we SHOULD be headed..... All of the technological advances our civilization has made and yet we cant SEEM to get our shyt together. The technology COULD be there, we just don't care to try. Those that do, get pushed aside and swept under the rug for the sake of record profits, huge bonus payouts, and multi-million dollar salaries.

Money, greed, and power rule the moment. Who cares how we live today and what we leave behind? We can live like kings, feed our gluttonous appetite, so who really cares? We will be gone long before the earth is in complete ruin.

The world has never been in a sadder state an no one is left to blame but ourselves.

 

[captain]

We here the same thing over and over, wind turbines, solar, ethanol, battery powered cars, etc.

We want wind turbines, but not in my back yard said Mr Environmentalist Ted Kennedy, they are noisy, harmful to birds, take a large chunk of real estate, put them in someone else's back yard. Oh oh won't work when and where the wind doesn't blow. Plus we don't have the transmission line capacity to move the juice across the country.

We want solar, big time expensive, takes large amount of real estate. Oh oh, Sun only shines during the day, won't work on moon light or cloudy day.

We want battery powered cars, battery technology not perfected, short range, no national infrastructure to charge them away from home, environmentally unfriendly strip mining needed to get needed components, disposal of used batteries an environment problem, where, how, needs to be charged with electricity, oh oh, where do we get the electricity to charge them, from the wind turbines and solar plants in nobodies back yard.

Ethanol, uses large mount of farm land used for food, stop eating, uses lots of fertilizer and water, run off pollution into water supply, stop drinking, higher energy use to produce than you get in return. Can you say GOM dead zone from farm runoff in the Mississippi River.

How about hydroelectric, Oh no,don't want that, might disrupt the life style of the snail darter and spoil natural rivers

Nuclear, oh no, don't want that, may make us glow in the dark.

Decisions, decisions,

I got a deal, lets say we all just stay home, get our government checks, freeze or sweat as whatever the season may be because all we can afford is to do is watch TV by candle light but we won't use much oil.

 

[captain]

Don't know if I posted this before but here it is. If you look at the pie chart, extraction (drilling and production) is the smallest slice of the pie. Dive charter boats are part of the second largest slice of the pie, transportation.

Oil Spills

IncidentNews: IXTOC I

 

[OneRestlessNative]

Yeah, forget about all the possibilities and great ideas. Lets just keep drilling, it is so much easier to just keep doing what we know how to do......

AND IF I READ THAT STUPID PIE CHART CORRECTLY....... the portion humans cause is greater than natural seep!!!!!!! Yeah lets blame it ALL on dive boats...... It is attitudes like this that keep our society from developing any REAL options.

Have YOU priced a wind turbine? I have!! Have YOU priced solar? I have!! Is the government giving any company's developing economical versions of these tax breaks or incentives to make these technologies cheaper, more affordable, or building companies to help displace the millions of people out of work in this country?

NOPE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet we keep giving tax breaks to company's that send our jobs over seas and to company's that purchase Hummers as business vehicles..... Give me a f#$!%$!#%g break!