1/4 Million Gallons per day...

[Subdivisions]

The number of gallons of raw crude oil that is fouling the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Is our modern lifestyle worth the damage this will do?

[AndyA]

1. Prices will be going up at a gas station near you...

I think BP should absorb 100% of the cost of this disaster. Not consumers.

[Subdivisions]

2. There's already talk of a taxpayer bailout in the form of

the military getting involved in the containment/cleanup.

[AndyA]

7. They damn well better send BP the bill for those services.

BP can afford it.

[Winterblues]

10. Right.........

[Richardo]

3. Quarter of a million

Still bad, but 1000x better than a quarter billion.

[Subdivisions]

5. Ooops! My bad. Been following the financial stuff so long millions just seem so small anymore. n/t

[Winterblues]

11. Only been ten days so far

And it could be over a month before they are able to stem the flow..

[lefty2000]

4. 1/4 Million

The last estimate I heard was 5000 barrels a day. This illustrate the dangers of using an inappropriate unit for measure for the subject at hand.
42 gallons/barrel => 210000 gallons a day.

[Subdivisions]

6. Typo. Sorry., n/t

[dorkulon]

8. Seems to me this should be getting a larger fraction of our national attention.

But then I guess people can get used to anything. Drill baby drill?

[Richardo]

9. It's been getting a huge amount of national attention.

The link is to the NY Times, for example.

[Juneboarder]

12. Now I know not to trust MSM; however

the local CNN channel reported, this morning, that the oil being leaked was flowing from "1000 gallons/day" and after the new leak they're saying "5x that amount". Not just a little distorted, WAYYY distorted... ugh.

[Subdivisions]

14. NOAA wasn't playin' their game. So, they had to revise. n/t

[The Damned]

13. So much for the well-dressed corporate whores,

telling us about "utilizing American resources safely."

[Subdivisions]

15. Why do you suppose they drill in deep water anyways? And should the

answer to that question concern us in any way?

[Newest Reality]

16. I'm not an engineer ...

In my imagination, it seems feasible to me to have a fail-safe built-in to the rig. Why couldn't you have some form of shut-off that collapses the pipe or plugs it under the water to seal it in the event of an emergency? When the derrick malfunctions or explodes, a lack of current could set it off or it could be fired manually as well.

Maybe someone with the knowledge could tell me why that is, or is not, possible. Are there any safety features, (considering the results) like that already extant?

Is cost the issue or loss of profit in case it triggers accidentally?

[Richardo]

17. Those valves do exist and are installed.

Knowing BP's record, I'd speculate that they fell into disrepair, were disconnected or became inoperable through some other maintenance/safety oversight. That company has killed a lot of Americans in the past few years.

[Tesha]

20. The "blowout preventer" *WAS* that device.

For some reason (cough, choke) it didn't work automatically to
prevent the explosive blow-out nor has it been able to work under
manual control.

But I agree; there should have been a last-ditch pipe-crushing
feature also required.

Tesha

[greencharlie]

18. obama needs to be all over this... this will be an unthinkable mess. nt

[Subdivisions]

19. Looks like EPA and DHS is about to give a presser very soon. n/t

[robdogbucky]

21. One answer for it, see thread other thread and

the following additional information sheds light on what they didn't have in place and why:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8237071

More recently this is the WSJ article about it this morning:


Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device

The oil well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations as last-resort protection against underwater spills.

The lack of the device, called an acoustic switch, could amplify concerns over the environmental impact of offshore drilling after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig last week...

...An acoustic trigger costs about $500,000, industry officials said. The Deepwater Horizon had a replacement cost of about $560 million, and BP says it is spending $6 million a day to battle the oil spill. On Wednesday, crews set fire to part of the oil spill in an attempt to limit environmental damage.

Industry critics cite the lack of the remote control as a sign U.S. drilling policy has been too lax. "What we see, going back two decades, is an oil industry that has had way too much sway with federal regulations," said Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. "We are seeing our worst nightmare coming true..."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704423504575212031417936798.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular


Familiar scenario that unfortunately we have seen play out way too much in the last 2 years in regard to our unique form of "capitalism." Lack of regulation to require this safeguard and the eternal argument by the industry to its friends in congress "It costs too much," and "it hasn't been tested enough," were at the root of this current disaster brought on by greed. And now this private industry profit giant is whining for government assistance in cleaning up their mess that damages us and our environment. Sound familiar? Are Americans getting a clue as to how things are working with big industry (banks, oil companies, insurance companies) in privatizing all profits and socializing all risk/losses? Need a flying mallot to hit them on the head?

Sometimes I think there is something to those chemtrail conspiracy theories ya know?



Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[shireen]

22. not just local wildlife along the shore, could also impact bird migration!

Some neotropical migrants that take the Mississippi flyway cross the Gulf and arrive exhausted along the shores of Louisiana. I've heard stories of people being able to pick the birds up because they're so tired. If there's oil slicks covering the beaches, some of the birds could be killed. You can add that to the wildlife death tally.

Sick bastards. i hate them. :mad: