Oil spill in the gulf :(

[CaraRose]

This is oil spill is looking to be a horrible environmental disaster. Major marshland which support large breeding populations of birds is going to be hit, and the well is still dumping more oil every day into the gulf.

[SmartWombat]

Until the pressure drops (because enough oil has leaked) or they work out how to weld a mile underwater, it's going to carry on leaking.
Admittedly at a steadily decreasing rate as the pressure drops, but still thousands of barrels a day.

[OldClicker]

I have a feeling that this is going to be far worse than we are even imagining. BP is going to find it's name as infamous as Exxon (Exxon Valdez) or Union Carbide (Bhopal). - TF

[mjs1973]

I found it interesting that BP didn't carry any disaster insurance on this rig. That means that they may be on the hook for the cost of the entire cleanup operation. It also sounds like it could be quite some time before they can stop the leak. One option is to drill another well which would take a few months... It's not looking good for the gulf.

[mwfanelli2]

Look at the bright side: the plans for drilling off of both coasts has been postponed but not canceled. In a few months when people get tired of hearing how the Gulf Coast has been destroyed, we will be back to the mindless "drill baby drill" philosophy once again.

[Grandpaw]

I live almost right on the gulf coast in Mississippi and take a lot of nature and bayou pictures that may be badly damaged. I am hoping for the best, Jeff

[daq7]

Their liability is capped at 75 million unless there was criminal negligence.

[daq7]

...or maybe 750 million, but it ain't a lot.

[Greg McCary]

...or maybe 750 million, but it ain't a lot.

With the money they have made in the last nine years this should be pocket change. End the end the consumer always foots the bill.

[drg]

It was not the original intent when I posted this below but now . . .

Remember,

GAS IS EVIL (link opens in new window)

[Frog]

It makes it very hard to not go political on this one.
Not requiring an emergency such off in all these rigs is plain juvenile.
When greed overcomes common sense and what is good for all man, this is what we get.

[SmartWombat]

Apparently dispersing the oil wasn't the smartest move ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...er-100-ton-box
"environmental scientists also warned the efforts to hold back the oil could be undermined by BP's decision to break up the spill with dispersants. The resulting thinner oil was proving much harder to contain"


http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05...l-a-murky/PALL
"the main two dispersants that BP and the U.S. government are using to treat the ongoing Gulf spill. Both, by their maker's own admission, have the "potential to bioconcentrate," and both have "moderate toxicity to early life stages of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks," according to a study by Exxon"
"It's a tradeoff -- you're damned if you do, damned if you don't -- of trying to minimize the damage coming to shore, but in so doing you may be more seriously damaging the ecosystem offshore"
"It's the solvents -- 2-Butoxyethanol and petroleum distillate -- that appear to be the most dangerous"
"2-Butoxyethanol "may be absorbed" by the skin; causes "cough, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, nausea, and weakness" when inhaled; and "abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting" when ingested"
"For petroleum distillates, the International Chemical Scorecard has similar indications about exposure for humans, and adds this unsettling line: "The substance is harmful to aquatic organisms."


And I'd forgotten all about the previous disaster...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...disaster-ixtoc

[panday]

This last link is creepy... what a disaster...