Well, and pardon the pun, if it goes as thought, y'all in, let's see, where does the Gulf Stream sort of end up before it heads for warmer climes - Ireland and England will get the very outskirts of it. Y'all should get some oil in about, what, 2 months? Not sure how long it takes for the current to go, which I believe is on average of nine knots, which is...I forget. 15 miles an hour? It'll take a while. Mid summer. So this is already, as it is and projected to be, a possible international disaster. Yet alone however the Gulf Stream takes it and spreads it out - possibly into the Bahamas, which makes it international as it is, and it wouldn't surprise me if it found a way into the Caribbean and over to Africa - one way or the other - this is going to have a very very big influence on A LOT of things. IF it continues to do what it's doing. And the short term projected outlook as of today, May third, is three months until it is under possible control (of course I hope not).

At an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil a day, that is A LOT OF OIL. If, of course, that is indeed what it's doing. It could be more, it could be less. I'm not sure what that matters at this point. Other than the obvious I mean.

So politics aside, which as it is is turning out to be a very very big sheen for that sake, financially even, this is going to influence the world.

Quote
skipstone
.this is going to have a very very big influence on A LOT of things. IF it continues to do what it's doing.

That's a good point .If you don't mind,I must say that I was quite relieved to hear yesterday Schwarzenegger withdrew his support of a plan to expand oil drilling off the California coast, citing the massive oil spill that resulted from a drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. >>You turn on the television and see this enormous disaster, you say to yourself, 'Why would we want to take on that kind of risk?"' Schwarzenegger said.<<

I would answer to him :did you have to wait this disaster to happen in your country until you understand that may be U.S has to think about other "new renewable energy supplies " ?



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

A platform is surrounded by the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at the mouth of the Mississippi river May 5, 2010. A flotilla of nearly 200 boats tackled a massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, taking advantage of calm weather to intensify containment efforts while a scientist warned that a powerful current could carry the crude to Miami and points beyond.
Photograph by: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace/Handout, Reuters

Quote
mickscarey

Of course SOME people cannot resist the "politics". Tood bad

mickscarey ,IMO,it's obvious it has political impact .



Read more:
[www.vancouversun.com]



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

Come on, you know what I mean

[latimesblogs.latimes.com]

animal carnage in process; sea turtles, dolphins, sea birds etc... taking huge hits of hell in wake of this..


if you are in the general area or are going to the general area here's

what people can do and what some are doing in preparation to service animal brethren in horrific crisis:

[www.tuscaloosanews.com]

[www.facebook.com]


volunteer opportunities:

[blogs.creativeloafing.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-05-05 21:42 by Beelyboy.

Hurricane Could Push Spilled Gulf Oil Into New Orleans


Powerful Hurricane Ivan makes landfall along the U.S Gulf Coast in 2004.

Image courtesy NOAA
Christine Dell'Amore
in Slidell and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
National Geographic News
Published May 5, 2010

Inside the National Weather Service office in Slidell, Louisiana (map), data screens are showing clear skies over the Gulf of Mexico.

But lead forecaster Robert Ricks, who's coordinating 12-hour emergency shifts to provide information to people combating the Gulf oil spill, knows not to drop his guard.

"Just when you think everything's fine—that's when it can go wrong," said Ricks, who was also on duty in 2005 as Hurricane Katrina pummeled Slidell.

Ricks and fellow Gulf forecasters could soon be back in the hot seat: The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, and the latest predictions say the season will be much feistier than 2009's.

Hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University predicted in early April that the season will see 15 named storms that will spawn 8 hurricanes, half of which will be major storms, with winds exceeding 110 miles (177 kilometers) an hour.

With oil still flowing from the site of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico—and no end in sight—it's possible that a hurricane could send lingering oil surging toward Gulf shores, experts say. (See pictures of giant "domes" being built to help contain the leaking oil.)

"Say the oil spill remained and [another] Katrina hit," said Nan Walker, a physical oceanographer at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. "The oil could be propelled onto land by the storm surge and monster waves."

Ron Kendall, chair of the Department of Environmental Toxicology at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, made a more dire prediction: "You put a major hurricane in there, you’re liable to have oil in downtown New Orleans."

Gulf Due for a Busy Hurricane Season

The National Hurricane Center released its official 2010 predictions May 20, and early "signs are suggesting it will be busy," according to James Franklin, branch chief of the center's Hurricane Specialist Unit in Miami.

Warm water is a key hurricane ingredient, and the waters in the tropical and eastern Atlantic are warmer now than they've ever been in recorded history, Franklin said.

Plus, the ongoing El Niño event, which tempered hurricane activity in 2009, is expected to dissipate this year.

Hurricane winds move counterclockwise, so a storm passing southeast of the spill could push oil away from the Gulf shore, into open waters.

However, if a storm moved west of the slick—along the same track as Katrina—it could squeeze oil toward the northern Gulf Coast, and "that scenario looks pretty grim," according to LSU's Walker.


But since there's no precedent—no one knows of a previous hurricane hitting oil-covered waters—it's impossible to predict what could happen, experts warn.

Oil Spill Gone Before Big Storms Arrive?

A hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico would also impact oil-spill recovery teams, according to Doug Helton, incident operations coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Boats, planes, and remotely-operated vehicles would have to be brought in if a storm was bearing down, he said. Likewise, booms—buoyant tubes that encircle sensitive areas to keep oil at bay—could be displaced or even shredded by the giant waves.

Still, such speculation might be moot, noted Gregory Stone, director of LSU's Coastal Studies Unit. June hurricanes are usually weak, and by the time the heavy hitters arrive in August, the oil may be mostly cleaned up.

Hurricane winds and waves could actually help the oil-soaked Gulf by further diluting what's left of the oil, allowing the environment to break some of it down, Stone added.

However, diluted oil means smaller particles, which could more easily infiltrate wildlife-rich marshes.

Gulf Oil Spill Has Residents "Scared to Death"

Sitting on his moored boat in St. Bernard Parish, third-generation shrimper George Barisich said that waiting for the oil spill feels like anticipating the approach of a hurricane.

"It’s looming out there, and we don’t know exactly where it’s going to go," said Barisich, who, unable to shrimp in the oil-soaked Gulf, has been spending his time tidying up his freshly painted trawler.

"I'm scared to death."

Barisich has been here before: His boat and house were mostly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, which walloped this low-lying parish southeast of New Orleans.

"We're just barely digging ourselves out of the black hole now," he said. "And this thing is poised to be worse."

[news.nationalgeographic.com]

Fortunately the oceans aren't quite warm enough yet nor has anything really started up yet that could form a hurricane - but one never knows either. The Gulf is still quite cool if you draw a line across it from Key West - the northern Gulf Of Mexico is still very cool. The irony would be that if one did come out of the Caribbean and went up the west coast of FLA, well, that would certainly aid in keeping it offshore and even help break it up.

Ha ha - but THEN what? No matter of it being broken up, it's still leaking fresh oil, some 210,000 gallons a day or more. A bunch of oil floating out in the Gulf - it has to go somewhere, and that would be into the Atlantic Ocean. So it's most likely inevitable that it will get into the Atlantic.

June 1 is the beginning of hurricane season and, while unsual, it is possible for a major hurricane to enter the Gulf during June.

check out this monster: [en.wikipedia.org]

by Greg Palast
May 5, 2010

I've seen this movie before. In 1989, I was a fraud investigator hired to dig into the cause of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Despite Exxon's name on that boat, I found the party most to blame for the destruction was ... British Petroleum. That's important to know, because the way BP caused devastation in Alaska is exactly the way BP is now sliming the entire Gulf Coast. Both in Alaska, when the Exxon Valdez grounded, and in the Gulf over a week ago, when the Deepwater Horizon platform blew, it was British Petroleum that was charged with carrying out the Oil Spill Response Plans ("OSRP") which the company itself drafted and filed with the government.

----snip----

BP's CEO Tony Hayward reportedly asked, "What the hell did we do to deserve this?" It's what you didn't do, Mr. Hayward. Where was BP's containment barge and response crew? Why was the containment boom laid so damn late, too late and too little? Why is it that the US Navy is hauling in 12 miles of rubber boom and fielding seven skimmers, instead of BP? Last year, CEO Hayward boasted that, despite increased oil production in exotic deep waters, he had cut BP's costs by an extra one billion dollars a year. Now we know how he did it.

---snip---

This just in: Becnel tells me that one of the platform workers has informed him that the BP well was apparently deeper than the 18,000 feet depth reported. BP failed to communicate that additional depth to Halliburton crews who therefore poured in too small a cement cap for the additional pressure caused by the extra depth. So it blew.

Why didn't Halliburton check? "Gross negligence on everyone's part," says Becnel. Negligence driven by penny-pinching bottom-line squeezing. BP says its worker is lying. Someone's lying here: the man on the platform – or the company that has practiced prevarication from Alaska to Louisiana?

link to palast article

palast link eye-opening. wow. ty for that. wow.


first case of oil arriving on shore reported here. they characterize it 'first victim' but the very ALIVE eco system in huge square miles of open ocean, and the critters that live and feed there...are the first victims...inestimable damage...

[latimesblogs.latimes.com]

[www1.voanews.com]



uhhh ok; that didn't work.

Quote
Beelyboy
[www1.voanews.com]



uhhh ok; that didn't work.

Yeah,saw it on the French news today but BP say they are still trying.Of course .
What's even worse ,imo ,is to make the oil burn ,isn't it ?

I don't remember what they did exactly for the Erika oil spill in 1999 near the French coasts (they sent boats to pump the oil at the surface area ? ).I know the size of the oil spill wasn't the same ....



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

I dunno what the hell is actually happening but where I live it smells like the whole town is burning.

[www.reuters.com]
drifting West into Louisiana prime waterways...

"Holding BP and Halliburton Accountable for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" on Facebook:
[www.facebook.com]

BP Releases Oil Spill Video After Pressure From White House and Media


[abcnews.go.com]


video finally released of actual spill. plumes of tar oil gas out of the ocean floor. they coughed up this video under pressure. btw, it's spill spilling....millions and millions of gallons unabated...even now.
now.

an update of spill "events" as of today:
what they're doin' tryin' to do plannin on doin' what's can and can't be done...etc..........
[www.google.com]

Is BP responsible, or our own demand for oil? It's like blaming the drug kingpins in Columbia, when it's the demand for drugs that keeps them in business in the first place.

As we run out of the easy sources oil companies drill in more difficult and dangerous locations, like the Gulf, to satisfy increasing demand. And when you drill way down under the ocean and ocean floor, this type of accident is bound to happen.

A rational world would look at making wise use of the petroleum we have, instead of wasting it like we do. We'd have cheap reliable public transit for example instead of freeways full of one passenger vehicles.

Well, the end of cheap oil is coming soon. That's a fact. The cost to suck out that last remaining bit is getting dearer and unfortunately some of those costs are going to be externalized to the environment.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-05-13 06:56 by Angus MacBagpipe.

Quote
Angus MacBagpipe
Well, the end of cheap oil is coming soon.

I think you're about 8 years late on that.

On the French TV today ,they said France could give a ship in order to pump the oil & "eject /discharge " the saltwater .

Interesting read ,if you don't mind to read .

[www.youroilandgasnews.com]

---

Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The innovative French SME, with support from the French public authorities, has been in contact for a week with the US authorities and the BP petroleum company .

.PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--800 m3 of oil has been discharged each day into the Gulf of Mexico since 22 April 2010. BP has attempted to put a dome on the leaking oil to stem the oil spill. The device was to be removed on Saturday due to the formation of crystals similar to ice. On 4 May 2010, the Minister of State, Jean-Louis Borloo, suggested on France Inter that France would offer assistance by sending ships provided by Ecoceane. .

“Our boats will be available free of charge if BP pays the transport”.

This innovative company, supported by OSEO, FEDER, the Brittany Region and the French State will make available three oil-spill recovery vessels designed to skim oil from the sea if BP takes responsibility for the transportation, which would cost EUR 250,000: the Catamar, a prototype of the Spillglop SG180 ocean-going vessels, can work up to force 5 and recover oil without creating emulsions, 300m3/day/mm of hydrocarbons; and two Cataglop CG92 and CG66 to clean up the coastline. .

Since 2007, Ecoceane has sold 50 Cataglop vessels around the world. The Catamar was unveiled in April 2009 by its sponsor Maud Fontenoy, Vice-President of "Conservatoire du Littoral", in the presence of a delegation from the Elysée and the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea. .

"Our boats will be available free of charge if BP pays the transport" .

"Over the past few days we have been meeting with the public authorities, namely the Ministry of Ecology, and we have met advisers from the Ministry of External Trade. We have the support of all the French authorities. We have made direct contact with the US authorities via the US embassy, the Consul in Houston and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Secretary General of the Sea. We are offering three of our vessels free of charge if BP agrees to pay the transport costs of EUR 250,000", explained Eric Vial, President of Ecoceane. .

The French authorities support our approach .

Read more :
[www.youroilandgasnews.com]



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

Nice, Sway !

We need all the help we can get.

No help will help when the people of BP are busy "thinking" instead of doing. Now there is finger pointing about how the Coast Guard attempted to put the fire out on the rig and failed. They knew all along that there was something wrong.

What a joke.

It's fine that there is off-shore drilling. It's just when the companies ignore what they certainly should not ignore - and then this happens. Over 4000, FOUR THOUSAND, rigs off the coast of Louisiana alone is what I've heard the count is (the only thing I can find online is 3700 but WWL 870 AM always refers to there being over 4000).

And this is just one that has had a problem. And it ain't a spill, it's a leak. There's nothing "spill" about it.

In all truthfulness, the people of Louisiana were prepared for this. Despite what many non-Louisiana residents may think, the current oil spill is not a great unexpected hardship. Louisiana is a traditional Red State and most Louisiana citizens agreed with the Republican idea that America needs to expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Their greatest fear is that big-government liberals may use this small accident as propaganda to eliminate all offshore Gulf drilling.

The best way for the American people to show their support for Louisiana is to call their respective representatives and insist that the coastal areas off the shores of the Gulf states continue to be available for drilling.

Drill here, drill now, save money.

Deepwater Horror Show



WHAT A MESS!!!!

Thanks for your concern. This is happening practically in my back yard.

Already a thread on this: [www.iorr.org]

Quote
Edith Grove
Thanks for your concern. This is happening practically in my back yard.

Already a thread on this: [www.iorr.org]

Hey Mr E.G !
You did well .
We just thought about the same concern at the same time ,check my post above .

A little RATIONAL analysis please...

1. The world economy depends on oil and plenty of it not only for fuel but as a necessary component in manufacturing (think plastics for starters). Thisis not going to change in most of our lifetimes. If we have any twenty or early thirty somethings here they may see a change when they are very old.

2. If we can't drill for oil we'll have to bring it ashore via tankers and barges both of which have statistically wreaked much more havoc than offshore drilling. A recent poll shows nearly 65% of Americans want to continue offshore drilling despite the Gulf disaster. The manufactured hysteria isn't working.

3. Obama wants to "punish" the oil industry for the Gulf spill via higher taxes. Wow. Who will ultimately pay the punishing higher tax?

To paraphrase Reverend Run, "It's like this and this is the way it is."

Ms. Edith, please do not be rude. You are obviously upset by the sad (albeit biased) news on the tellie, but I would appreciate it if you would be as respectful of my posts as I have been of your dozen or so posts on this topic.

Thank you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-05-13 23:38 by dancingmisterd.

Quote
dancingmisterd
Ms. Edith, please do not be rude. You are obviously upset by the sad (albeit biased) news on the tellie, but I would appreciate it if you would be as respectful of my posts as I have been of your dozen or so posts on this topic.

Also, before you talk about politicization, please read up on Louisiana's political leanings. If you were to do so, ma'am, you would see Louisiana is and has been a very conservative Republican-leaning state.

Did you know Louisiana's current Governor is a Republican? No?

Or that Louisiana went "red" in the last three (at least) US Presidential elections? No?

Please brush up on Louisiana state facts before commenting, ma'am.

I've been living in Louisiana for the last three-quarters of my 49 years.
Louisiana has been solidly Democratic since Reconstruction until the early eighties, with a mix of red & blue since.
The recent leanings are only a blip in the long history of the State.

Since you haven't answered my question, I assume you either work, or have interest in the oil business or related field.
Perhaps you don't even live in Louisiana.

Your condescension amazes me.
You speak as if you talk for the people of Louisiana, and then you call me rude for attacking your ridiculous statements.

You need to drag your sorry ass down here and get your hands dirty cleaning up this mess.
And while you're at it, get to know some of the people whose lives have been directly impacted by this.
Don't worry about visting me, though.
I'm one of the lucky ones who is not directly impacted, but that could change depending on how bad this gets.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-05-14 00:08 by Edith Grove.

"It's like this and this is the way it is."

Amen! So we're supposed to cross our arms and do nothing, pretending it's an act of God?

imo this is a crime and need be investigated and prosecuted as such. follow the money.

[www.nytimes.com]

"may take CENTURIES to disperse...."[www.csmonitor.com]