The environment thread

[NorthSideSox72]

Don't worry everyone, we know who's fault this is. That mother f***er Bush

Eh, in some indirect ways, BushCo should probably have some level of responsibility. But at this point, this response is awful, and most of that blame goes to Obama. The spill itself was a little on BushCo, and on Congress, and ObamaCo, for all of them not tightening the reigns on regulation of the rigs. But 95% of the spill blame falls on BP and its contractors. In the overall sense, Bush's responsibility in this is tiny.

 

[Balta1701]

Some tentative, early, possible good news.

There is currently no oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico from the well that had been spewing crude into the sea for more than a month.

 

"They've stopped the hydrocarbons from coming up," National Incident Commander Thad Allen told WWL First News. "They've been able to stabilize the well head, they are pumping mud down it."

 

Allen says now they have to make sure the heavy drilling fluids, or mud, will hold back the oil and natural gas in the well long enough for them to be able to cap the well.

 

"The goal is to put enough mud down the well bore to the point where there is no pressure exerted back by the hydrocarbons and then allow a cement plug to be put in place."

[Balta1701]

The head of the MMS has also received hierPresidential Medal of Freedom walking papers.

[vandy125]

The head of the MMS has also received hierPresidential Medal of Freedom walking papers.

 

 

She had been on the job for only 11 months. This goes back further than just her (yes, it probably does include her too).

[Balta1701]

She had been on the job for only 11 months. This goes back further than just her (yes, it probably does include her too).

First of all, she deserves to be fired for the crappy organization of the response.

 

Secondly, if she's had 11 months to start cleaning that organization out, and hasn't done it, then this disaster shows how important it is to get someone on the job who can.

 

Third...At least someone's being forced to fall on their sword. Frankly, I'd rather have trophy scalps than give out medals and promotions for failure.

 

That said, yeah, you're right, this drilling site and drilling plan was approved before she was confirmed and was therefore approved by the previous administration's people, so it's not like this is all her fault.

[vandy125]

First of all, she deserves to be fired for the crappy organization of the response.

 

Secondly, if she's had 11 months to start cleaning that organization out, and hasn't done it, then this disaster shows how important it is to get someone on the job who can.

 

Third...At least someone's being forced to fall on their sword. Frankly, I'd rather have trophy scalps than give out medals and promotions for failure.

 

That said, yeah, you're right, this drilling site and drilling plan was approved before she was confirmed and was therefore approved by the previous administration's people, so it's not like this is all her fault.

 

Hey, I completely agree with you here. I was just pointing out that she shouldn't be the only one hit by this. There needs to be much much more than just her taking the fall.

[Balta1701]

Hopefully minor setback/pause being reported.

BP had to halt its ambitious effort to plug its stricken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday afternoon when engineers saw that too much of the drilling fluid they were injecting into the well was escaping along with the leaking crude oil.

 

A technician at the BP command center said that pumping of the fluid had to be stopped temporarily while engineers were revising their plans, and that the company hoped to resume pumping by midnight, if federal officials approved.

 

The technician, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the problem was not seen as serious. “We’re still quite optimistic,” he said, but cautioned: “It is not assured and its not a done deal yet. All of this will require some time.”

[Balta1701]

Federal officials say cleaning up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has already cost the government $87 million, making it the third-most expensive cleanup effort in the nation's history.

 

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry has distributed that money to state and federal agencies directly involved in the cleanup. Those include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which projects the oil slick's trajectory, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which rescues oil-soaked birds.

 

A senior financial analyst at the National Pollution Funds Center says an additional $38 million in emergency money has been assigned to the Deepwater Horizon spill, but it has yet to be spent.

 

The most expensive cleanup was the Exxon Valdez spill, which cost $121 million. The second was $89 million for cleaning up a 1994 oil spill off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Link.

[kapkomet]

Really? How cool. Why doesn't he or hasn't he?

 

He's just like every broken promise BP has given. He hasn't gotten involved because there's no solution. But watch, as soon as they figure out what works, he'll step in and act like he's saved the world and take all the credit. It's too easy.

 

 

Boy, that was f***ing all too predictable, now wasn't it?

[Balta1701]

Ok, now I'm worrying.

BP’s renewed efforts at plugging the flow of oil from its runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico stalled again on Friday, as the company suspended pumping operations for the second time in two days, according to a technician involved with the response effort.

In an operation known as a “junk shot,” BP engineers poured pieces of rubber, golf balls and other materials into the crippled blowout preventer, trying to clog the device that sits atop the wellhead. The maneuver was designed to work in conjunction with the continuing “top kill” operation, in which heavy drilling liquids are pumped into the well to counteract the pressure of the gushing oil.

 

If the efforts succeeded, officials intended to pump cement into the well to seal it. But the company suspended pumping operations at 2:30 a.m. Friday after two junk shot attempts, said the technician, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the efforts.

 

The suspension of the effort was not announced, and appeared to again contradict statements by company and government officials that suggested the top kill procedure was progressing Friday.

 

...

But the technician working on the effort said later Friday that despite the injections at various pressure levels, engineers had been able to keep less than 10 percent of the injection fluids inside the stack of pipes above the well. He said that was barely an improvement on Wednesday’s results when the operation began and was suspended after 11 hours. BP resumed the pumping effort Thursday evening for about 10 more hours.

 

“I won’t say progress was zero, but I don’t know if we can round up enough mud to make it work,” the technician said. “Everyone is disappointed at this time.”

Come on guys, this s*** needs to work.

[mr_genius]

Ok, now I'm worrying.

Come on guys, this s*** needs to work.

 

that drilling mud is expensive, they will 'run out' of it. more profit to just wait for the relief wells to stop the massive oil leak. Obama will provide cover.

Edited May 28, 2010 by mr_genius

[southsider2k5]

Ok, now I'm worrying.

Come on guys, this s*** needs to work.

 

My honest opinion I have come to while watching BP struggle with this is that Obama knows the feds couldn't do a thing with this either, and that is ultimately why they didn't want to step in. They didn't want to look like FEMA on Katrina. Instead now people are questioning why they have done nothing. I wonder which looks worse?

[kapkomet]

My honest opinion I have come to while watching BP struggle with this is that Obama knows the feds couldn't do a thing with this either, and that is ultimately why they didn't want to step in. They didn't want to look like FEMA on Katrina. Instead now people are questioning why they have done nothing. I wonder which looks worse?

 

That's also why my prediction was/is exactly right. He only put skin in the game (yesterday's spectacle) only when it looked like they would make some progress on (daddy) plugging the hole. Problem is, BP knew it and made him look like a dips*** (not that it's too hard).

 

With that said, it can't be two months more of this. They better figure out how to drill faster on those relief wells because that's the only thing that looks like it will ultimately work.

[Jenksismyhero]

what's that you say? This has all happened before?! Including all the attempts to fix it?

 

 

 

Ricockulous. Guess we'll see what works in 9 months.

[StrangeSox]

Why the f*** was anyone allowed to drill if they had zero clue on how to fix a problem like this if it occurred? I'm sure it's more than just BP's experts coming together to find a solution, but they've been dealing with this for over a month now and seem just as clueless as day one. Why weren't contingency plans in place before the first bore hole was drilled?

 

edit: What was the environmental fallout from the Iaxtac well? That was a huge amount of oil, but it obviously didn't destroy all of the Gulf fisheries.

Edited May 29, 2010 by StrangeSox

[Balta1701]

edit: What was the environmental fallout from the Iaxtac well? That was a huge amount of oil, but it obviously didn't destroy all of the Gulf fisheries.

You don't exactly hear about much fishing in the southern Gulf near Mexico, do you?

 

Why the f*** was anyone allowed to drill if they had zero clue on how to fix a problem like this if it occurred? I'm sure it's more than just BP's experts coming together to find a solution, but they've been dealing with this for over a month now and seem just as clueless as day one. Why weren't contingency plans in place before the first bore hole was drilled?

Because that would cost companies like BP money and make Kap have to pay another cent per gallon on his gasoline. That's absolutely intolerable. Business knows how to regulate itself. Oil drilling is now very technologically advanced and platforms don't cause spills. Drill baby, drill.

 

Seriously...you know why they're allowed to do this type of drilling if they don't have a solution to a blowout or any sort of backup plan? Money. They have enough of it that they can convince politicians and 47% of the voters that drilling offshore is safe and actually makes a difference in terms of national security, and renewable energy systems aren't practical so we can't do anything but drill. And they have enough money to make sure that even if they need to have people watching over their shoulder, they can elect people who fill the regulatory offices with people who'd rather watch porn, and then they point out "See, government is useless!"

[Balta1701]

That's also why my prediction was/is exactly right. He only put skin in the game (yesterday's spectacle) only when it looked like they would make some progress on (daddy) plugging the hole. Problem is, BP knew it and made him look like a dips*** (not that it's too hard).

 

With that said, it can't be two months more of this. They better figure out how to drill faster on those relief wells because that's the only thing that looks like it will ultimately work.

So...you're saying that BP is only trying the Top Kill to embarrass the guy who has covered for them as much as anyone?

 

They can't drill a faster relief well. You try to drill faster, you break your drill or you cause another explosion.

[StrangeSox]

Well, if government is so easily bought, sold and manipulated, it really is useless.

 

eta: useless for actually protecting public interest, not useless for protecting corporate interest.

Edited May 29, 2010 by StrangeSox

[mr_genius]

i wanted to see how a 'top kill' operation works, so i found some examples of wells getting shut down with the procedure. these were done on the surface, and still looked like a bit of a struggle (pain in the ass) to do. good luck with that 1 mile deep in the ocean.

[Balta1701]

Well, if government is so easily bought, sold and manipulated, it really is useless.

 

eta: useless for actually protecting public interest, not useless for protecting corporate interest.

Then we need to start fixing the bloody system, because there's no individual or private company that is going to police itself. When you've got corrupt cops, you don't disband the police force.

[kapkomet]

Then we need to start fixing the bloody system, because there's no individual or private company that is going to police itself. When you've got corrupt cops, you don't disband the police force.

Go live in China. Seriously.

[mr_genius]

'Top Kill' effort in gulf deemed a failure. BP looking at other options

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30spill.html?hp

 

BP said Saturday that its latest attempt to stop the gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico was unsuccessful, and the effort, known as a “top kill,” was being scrapped in favor of yet another maneuver to stem the flow spreading into the waters.

[Balta1701]

F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** *F*** F*** F*** F***.

 

Really, there are no other options. They'll try stuff, but this was the one that had to work. This will be going until the relief wells hit. This one was a 50/50 shot at worst. The rest of them are 10 to 1 chances; it doesn't hurt to try, but they tried this one first for a reason.

[Balta1701]

Go live in China. Seriously.

You consider China's government to be thorough, un-corrupt, and good at taking care of its people over businesses? I have some toothpaste and toys you can put in your mouth. I promise, they're just as safe as offshore drilling.

[kapkomet]

You consider China's government to be thorough, un-corrupt, and good at taking care of its people over businesses? I have some toothpaste and toys you can put in your mouth. I promise, they're just as safe as offshore drilling.

 

 

No, but everything you post is how great their system is, more or less, because you want the same regulations and government control. So, just go live there.