News Flash

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

I don't know if you guys heard or wrote about it yet, but there's a giant oil problem in the Gulf right now.
A rig exploded and now there's 1000 barrels a day just pouring out into the Gulf.

Nice.

Don't eat ANYTHING from the Gulf!
Shrimp, tuna, blah blah

[Elder Iptuous]

that doesn't seem like that much.
there are natural oil spills that seep 5 to 6 times this much every day from what i understand.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

You can see it from space. Right off the coast of Louisiana.
It's kind of a big deal considering they might not be able to get it sealed off for 3 months.

They're considering setting it on fire.

[Elder Iptuous]

oh, i don't deny it.  it's all over the news. (although i have neglected to read up on it.)
it's just that the number struck me, since i had read not too long ago about natural oil seeps, and the number that stuck in my head from that was that it seeps 5-6 thousand barrels a day.
and it was from an oceanographic institute or something....
perhaps i'm remembering wrong.
i'll try to find that.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

Here
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/24/MNCA1D4GO5.DTL

Oh yeah, the whole rig sank and 11 people are missing and presumed dead.



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-oil-spill-florida-threat-20100427,0,1452152.story


I mean, it's 42,000 gallons.

[Elder Iptuous]

i think this might have been the article that i read:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/While+oil+gently+seeps+from+the+seafloor:+natural+leaks+into+the...-a0217042193

I had learned about natural oil seeps in graduate school, and I knew that they account for about 50 percent of oil that ends up in the coastal environment. That's five times as much oil as is delivered by accidental spills.

The Santa Barbara seeps, for example emit 5,280 to 6,600 gallons (nearly 20 to 25 tons) of oil per day, and natural seeps have been active for hundreds to thousands of years. Local Native Americans used the oil to waterproof their boats. But I just didn't appreciate how spectacular they were and what a powerful opportunity they provided to study oil spills.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

How much of that oil naturally leaks into the Gulf though.
I mean, it's already kind of a delicate ecosystem as it is, then we have all the crud from the Mississippi river, now this? The Gulf coast of my state smells like rotten eggs already. What about all the fish that may come drifting in now? (potentially)
Also the shrimping industry could suffer. (also potentially)

[Nast]

i think this might have been the article that i read:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/While+oil+gently+seeps+from+the+seafloor:+natural+leaks+into+the...-a0217042193

I had learned about natural oil seeps in graduate school, and I knew that they account for about 50 percent of oil that ends up in the coastal environment. That's five times as much oil as is delivered by accidental spills.

The Santa Barbara seeps, for example emit 5,280 to 6,600 gallons (nearly 20 to 25 tons) of oil per day, and natural seeps have been active for hundreds to thousands of years. Local Native Americans used the oil to waterproof their boats. But I just didn't appreciate how spectacular they were and what a powerful opportunity they provided to study oil spills.

I believe that in our big happy natural oil seep, the majority of the oil eventually gets eaten by microbes or sinks into the sediment. Some however does clump up and wash up onto the beach, and sticks to your feet and is a bugger to get off. (Ah, fond memories)

But maybe like Squid said, our environment is tuned to handle that sort of thing, whilst the Gulf Coast, being as sensitive as it is, is not.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

The irony of it is that it sank on Earth Day.

[Telarus]

Yeah, the real issue is that shrimping season is about to start.

[Nast]

Yeah, the real issue is that shrimping season is about to start.

A million creatures that will not know the tender embrace of garlic butter.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

Sea bugs.  Ew.

[Triple Zero]

Damn that sucks.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

The irony of it is that it sank on Earth Day.

Yeah, that's when I heard about it.

[LMNO]

So, how many people will connect this with the "Drill Baby Drill" rhetoric?



Oh, yeah.