The Official Unlimited Oil Spill Thread!

[Ikelos]

Their trying to convince the government that the best way to fix this is... more drilling!

WHY? Because if they hurry up they can finish all the oil in the Gulf before it does more enviromental damage?

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

The only thing that worked before was to drill relief wells.
This releases the pressure of the well and stops the gusher. It also pretty much kills the well and makes it useless so it of course is their last resort.

Transatlantic got $270 million in insurance from this already. They also strong armed the employees on the rig to not sue...
You know, here ya go--
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19408

If you're not mad yet, you suck.

[Doktor Howl]

Look, this is really simple.

Richter, me, and two deep diving suits with openable asses for crapping.  Feed us a pound of chicken vindaloo each, and toss us over the side.

Problem solved.  Please send the PO to the First Bank of the Terrible Marching Powder in Medellin, Columbia.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

CAN WE PLLEEAAAASE USE THE NUKES NOW!?
   \

[East Coast Hustle]

I know this is an unpopular thing to point out, and I'm certainly not saying the oil spill is a GOOD thing, or that I don't want to go to BP corporate HQ and give every living motherfucker in that place an hourlong bastinado session, but this is probably not going to be the doomsday scenario that is so popular to espouse. If you want an idea of how much oil the Gulf can handle (and, indeed, HAS handled) without serious permanent damage, google "Ixtoc oil spill".

[Reginald Ret]

I know this is an unpopular thing to point out, and I'm certainly not saying the oil spill is a GOOD thing, or that I don't want to go to BP corporate HQ and give every living motherfucker in that place an hourlong bastinado session, but this is probably not going to be the doomsday scenario that is so popular to espouse. If you want an idea of how much oil the Gulf can handle (and, indeed, HAS handled) without serious permanent damage, google "Ixtoc oil spill".

I heard about that, the same damn thing happened with the same damn companies 31 years ago.
It lasted for 10 months before they managed to close the thing.
They are trying the same techniques now that didn't work then btw.

[AFK]

Their trying to convince the government that the best way to fix this is... more drilling!

Shouldn't be too hard a job, seems like Obama will pretty much buy anything.

BP:  So our expert scientist, um, Joe the Driller, says we need to drill another hole next to this hole and it will stop.

Obama:  Um, okay!

BP:  You wanna set up a press conference so we can explain this to the American people?

Obama:  Nah, I got this!  Oh, gotta jet, Barbara Boxer is having a fundraiser tonight.  The Jonas Brothers are going to be there!

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Seriously, wtf is Obama supposed to do? He's not an expert on the matter, and neither are any of his advisors. All the science that's out there has to deal with making wells go, not making them stop. BP should have been better prepared because the regulatory bodies should have been less corrupt and we should have had smarter rules in place. But after 8 years of Bush filling every oversight position in the government with industry insiders, I think pinning that on Obama is pushing it a little. Maybe he should have been a little more urgent with cleaning house, but it isn't like he's been sitting in the White House doing nothing at all for a year and a half. What's the guy supposed to do about an oil gusher a mile deep in the middle of the Gulf? Hop into ALVIN and go fix the thing himself with some tweezers and an army of angler fish?

Also, more drilling is the way to stop the well. Relief wells are required by Canadian regulatory agencies because it stops this kind of thing from happening. Not here though, because our regulations are written by oil industry lobbyists.

[East Coast Hustle]

I know this is an unpopular thing to point out, and I'm certainly not saying the oil spill is a GOOD thing, or that I don't want to go to BP corporate HQ and give every living motherfucker in that place an hourlong bastinado session, but this is probably not going to be the doomsday scenario that is so popular to espouse. If you want an idea of how much oil the Gulf can handle (and, indeed, HAS handled) without serious permanent damage, google "Ixtoc oil spill".

I heard about that, the same damn thing happened with the same damn companies 31 years ago.
It lasted for 10 months before they managed to close the thing.
They are trying the same techniques now that didn't work then btw.

Not the same companies. Pemex is (or was at the time, anyway) a state-owned company.

[Suu]

I know this is an unpopular thing to point out, and I'm certainly not saying the oil spill is a GOOD thing, or that I don't want to go to BP corporate HQ and give every living motherfucker in that place an hourlong bastinado session, but this is probably not going to be the doomsday scenario that is so popular to espouse. If you want an idea of how much oil the Gulf can handle (and, indeed, HAS handled) without serious permanent damage, google "Ixtoc oil spill".

We were still getting tar balls from that one well into the 90s on the Gulf coast.

However, isn't Deepwater Horizon predicted to excede Ixtoc?

[East Coast Hustle]

I don't think so, Ixtoc dumped something close to 200 million gallons IIRC. Deepwater is currently probably somewhere around 40-ish million gallons (I'm using the worst-case scenario estimates since in this context "worst case scenario" usually translates to "what's actually happening") and if it goes at the current rate until a relief well is drilled in August, will probably end up somewhere just around 100 million gallons. And yeah, it still eats big time shit for the beaches and the communities that rely on nice beaches for their economies, I meant it more in an ecological context. We will be able to eat gulf shrimp again SOMETIME in our lifetimes.

[East Coast Hustle]

Also, I agree with Net. Best thing that can happen here is that a hurricane picks up all of the oil and drops it in Houston.

[Cramulus]

I hadn't heard of Ixtoc. I can't believe that's a real name. I mean, it's just the word Toxic rearranged a little. Kind of obvious, no?

[Suu]

Also, I agree with Net. Best thing that can happen here is that a hurricane picks up all of the oil and drops it in Houston.

This.

There are pros and cons to the hurricane season. A good one will disperse the oil...a REALLY good one will throw it all on Texas...a bad one will rain it over states that don't deserve it.

[Suu]

Ugh.