Community | April 27, 2010 | 71 comments

Feds may set Gulf of Mexico oil slick on fire

source: http://oilonthebeach.blogspot.com/

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julesrs007
Coast Guard officials are considering setting the Gulf of Mexico oil slick on fire as it moved Tuesday to within 20 miles of sensitive ecological areas in the Mississippi River Delta.

Officials say it could become one of worst spills in U.S. history.

Oil is still leaking at a rate of about 42,000 gallons a day from the well, located some 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana beneath a drill rig that exploded and sank last week. Eleven workers are still missing following the incident, and are presumed dead.

BP, the well's owner, is racing to shut off the well using eight remote controlled submarines, but has had no luck as of yet.

"If we don't secure the well, this could be one of the most serious oil spills in U.S. history," Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, head of a joint response task force, said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Twenty miles is the closest the slick has come to land so far.

Officials said oil slicks are sometimes set on fire, especially when they are near sensitive marsh areas where heavy equipment used to clean the oil may cause more harm than good.

If the slick is set on fire, it would be a controlled burn using fire-proof booms, and only done during the day, said Landry. It could begin as early as Wednesday.

The spill, measured from end to end, stretched as wide as 42 miles by 80 miles, although oil isn't necessarily covering that entire area.

Most of the slick is a thin sheen on the water's surface, ranging in thickness from a couple of molecules to the equivalent of a layer of paint. About 3% of it is a heavy, pudding-like crude oil.

At its current flow rate would take over 260 days to rival the Exxon Valdez disaster, which discharged some 11 million gallons into Alaska's Price William Sound. Still, even if it never compares to the Exxon Valdes spill's size, if it makes landfall it'll have serious ecological repercussions


NOT THE ANSWER - http://oilonthebeach.blogspot.com/

Protect Florida's Beaches from Oil Driling - www.protectfloridasbeaches.org

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/15/bill-nelson/sen-b...

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/27/news/economy/oil_rig_gulf/index.htm
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71 comments // Feds may set Gulf of Mexico oil slick on fire

  • captainplanet71
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  
    • captainplanet71:

      The dispersants are basically dishwashing detergents and alcohol. They cause the oil to mix with the water, get heavy and sink to the bottom. The idea that is that mixed in with the water or on the bottom is less dangerous life. This is false. It is not less dangerous---the oil still contains all the contaminants that it had when it came out of the ground. We spend billions of dollars trying to refine out these contaminants because we KNOW they are dangerous to us. That is why we have catalytic converters on cars. Oil refineries are one of the largest sources of pollution we have. Dispersants do exactly what the name says they do---disperse the pollution into the water.

      --------" You don't just sprinkle them on like fairy dust and then the oil magically disappears."---------

      EXACTLY RIGHT!!!! They just disperse it into the water where it will enter the food chain of the marine life we eventually eat. Dispersant use means that sooner or later, WE will be eating the heavy metal and other toxins contained in the oil----if they don't immediately kill the sea life they come into contact with. Plus, we know more about the planet Jupiter than we do about the deep ocean. There are many species of life that live at great depths, and go to the surface to feed at night when it is safer. Then THEY become key parts of the food chain for surface dwellers----jelly fish and squid for instance. You are what you eat. Disperse toxins into the environment, and sooner or later you will be eating those toxins.

      Here is the kicker. A main ingredient of dispersants and detergents is ethyl alcohol. Ethanol is water soluble and very safe. People drink ethanol everyday. Every time someone drinks a beer, they are drinking 3-5% ethanol.

      We SHOULD be using ethanol to run our vehicles. Not only would we keep the air we have to breath clean, we also would not be pumping toxins from deep underground and spreading them all over the environment that we depend on for the food we eat and the air we breath.

      We could all enjoy our shrimp and beer much more that way.

    • 2 years ago
  • Mobius2012
  • Wetdog
  • bailey78
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  

    • --------" At its current flow rate would take over 260 days to rival the Exxon Valdez disaster, which discharged some 11 million gallons into Alaska's Price William Sound."--------

      Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil. At 5,000 barrels per day, 210,000 gallons per day is being released. The explosion happened on April 20. It is now 11 days later. 210,000 X 11 = 2.3 million gallons already released. 11 - 2.3 = 8.7 million gallons. At a rate of 1.5 million gallons per week released, the amount of oil released will surpass Exxon Valdez in less than 6 weeks.

      All tentative plans talked about so far to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf so far will take months to implement according to the experts who have announced them.

      This has the potential to make Exxon Valdez look like a kindergarten fingerpainting project.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  

    • Those that are looking for work will find a job on the Gulf Coast. Just wait about four more days. they will be hireing anybody that shows up looking to work on the clean up. This is going to be at least a three or four year job. They will be needing Equipment operaters and people to pressure wash all of the ground that is soaked with oil. They will even be hireing people to clean the rocks on the ground. This so big of a disaster that they will need Thousands of people to work clean-up. So those that need to go to work pack your bag an head that way. This is a gold mine for the unemployed.

    • 2 years ago
  • Wetdog
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • Wetdog:

      It's not the cleanest job in the world but you can damn sure clean the sand with a steam cleaner. I have worked oil spill clean up before and thats just what we did. so don't tell ya can't I have done it before.

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  

    • yo there is a guy on here no joke who thinks setting it on fire is get this:
      a govt plot to make people thing the end times are coming so we will want to invade iran.im not going to call him out cuz thats petty bulling behavior but its to funny not to share

    • 2 years ago
  • captainplanet71
  • bocky10
  • Naumadd
    • 0
      Naumadd  

    • Great. So instead of simply polluting the ocean, it can now pollute the atmosphere as well, not to mention great swaths of land the polluted rain touches later on and the consequences to the food chain across the continent and beyond.

      Can we have some genuine adults in charge of this issue?

    • 2 years ago
  • LozRiva
  • IMMININT
    • 0
      IMMININT  

    • The main thing I've learned from this is that bailey78 needs to get a life....

      30 comments later and it's quite apparent this guy has nothing better to do than state stupid ass opinions without any trace of intellectual integrity.

      The answer to your question is... Nobody wants it to come to shore, we're looking for options that are available aside from burning it, although I do not see any.

      Now please, do us a favor... get an adult avatar of yourself possibly, grow up, and maybe get outside and get laid.

      After all, you're the same loser that thinks Kim Kardashian isn't hot. Tool....

      *end rant*

      sue me staff.....

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • IMMININT:

      I'm sorry you have How many years in the oilfied? I have been on the receving end of a rig that blew out. What have you got to offer us as far as experience in the feild. As far as my avatar I like it so go piss up a rope. I also get outside quite a bit but the skeeters are bad right now so I'm staying inside as far as getting laid I have been married for twenty years I get it a lot for an old guy. I also have an opinion about you get a life an stay out of mine if you don't like what I post ignore me. as far as intellectual integrity why do I have to make sence to anyone other than myself? I do believe that your just a stick in the mud so get over yourself. I have been playing here for almost two years now an your the first Bimbo to complain about my post. So I must say BITE ME bimbo.!. Maybe you need to get laid.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • IMMININT:

      Oh by the way Kim Kardashian is nothing but an attenion whore. that is being pimped out by Hollywood. I would rather jackoff with a hand full of crushed glass than to let that thing near me. I have a damn good life and would not trade it for all anything.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • LampShadeHat
  • derk
  • bailey78
  • LozRiva
    • 0
      LozRiva  
    • bailey78:

      exactly, burning it off could be the best of a bad choice. Not sure what other options they have, even they say, the clean up chemicals could do more harm then good...

    • 2 years ago
  • IMMININT
    • 0
      IMMININT  

    • We were able to smell the burning rig in Clearwater, FL when walking outside, Monday and Tuesday.

      Smells like burning lighter-fluid. If they set it on fire... you have to wonder if that'll even be safe based on how the winds are carrying it.

    • 2 years ago
  • good_stuff
    • 0
      good_stuff  

    • I guess it isn't the worst thing that could happen. Much of the area around the mississippi delta is already a dead zone due to polution and such.

    • 2 years ago
  • s_peak
    • 0
      s_peak  

    • can this be the last straw, please? If BP doesn't go bankrupt from this I'm going to set up some kind of protest. I'm tired of this bullshit. I want to swim with the fucking dolphins before I die, damnit!

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • LozRiva
  • itoldyouso
  • bailey78
  • itoldyouso
  • bailey78
  • futuregen
    • 0
      futuregen  

    • http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=

      Coast Guard To Begin Burning Oil Slick In Gulf

      Report here from NPR Morning Edition. Admiral Mary Landry states it may be 90 days before they can get that valve to close to stop the leak. (That's THREE MONTHS!) That's the first-strike defense valve against leaks and a blow up, that clearly failed. The dome may be ready in 2-4 weeks and may or may not work. Oil may be on the beaches by this weekend. Sorry to the families who have lost loved ones. So very sorry to our planet earth. We need new leaders.

    • 2 years ago
  • bocky10
    • +4
      bocky10  

    • And I'll bet the fallout from this is...nothing will happen and nothing will change as long as there's money to be made. The only thing that's going to stop these kinds of disasters, is for enough individuals and businesses to switch to alternative energy for their homes, businesses and vehicles to greatly decrease the need for oil, and people are slow to change, at least until it effects THEM personally and profoundly enough.

    • 2 years ago
  • masterzip
    • 0
      masterzip  

    • private corporation makes money extracting materials from public land.
      Government responsible for cleanup of all environmental disasters.
      sounds like a bailout
      drill baby drill

    • 2 years ago
  • Mark701
    • 0
      Mark701  
    • masterzip:

      I don't think it quite that clear cut. I am fairly certain that BP will be billed by the federal government for their assistance. Then there will be natural resource damage law suits, loss of livelihood costs, personal property lawsuits etc. BP is not going to walk away from this without paying a pretty penny.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • masterzip:

      That is about the sum of it. to big to fail again Just about every body want the goverment to fix there screw-up don't they? But if you or I ask for help they want us to sign over our soul.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • device80
    • 0
      device80  

    • when are we going to step out of the stone age and stop using crude oil for anything? wasnt the first combustion engine run by water? greed, the root of all destruction

    • 2 years ago
  • Blkwdw
  • captainplanet71
  • dharmadogpictures
    • 0
      dharmadogpictures  

    • WAKE UP LITTLE CHILDREN! The signs are there. 40 years ago there was the last oil spill tragedy off the coast of California! Is it so paradoxical that on the 40th anniversary of EARTH DAY - This oil rig sunk! Do you think this is just coincidence? We just have no clue. We are not paying attention to our teacher. MOTHER EARTH.

    • 2 years ago
  • jay_ct
    • +1
      jay_ct  

    • Drill baby drill?
      Hmm turns out there is a potential downside.

      This so unbelievably awful.
      Just one terrible aspect of offshore drilling.
      Make me believe in some change Obama.

    • 2 years ago
  • futuregen
    • +1
      futuregen  

    • http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#36726131

      Video: Flaming oil rig sinks, happy earth day from Rachel Maddow
      ___________________________________________________________________
      Alcohol Can Be A Gas by David Blume
      The Untapped Potential Pages 156-157 (Condensed and somewhat re-phrased by me).

      “The potential impact of a crop such as algae can't be ignored... Kelp can grow inches or even more than a foot per day!...No fertilizer is necessary to produce it ...(when)...kelp is cultivated near river outflows containing sewage entering the ocean...Coastal kelp to alcohol plants...return the fermented carbon dioxide to themselves thus increasing the growth, generating more oxygen and cooling the water.
      ...There are 150 intermittent or permanent dead zones in the world today...Due to the warming of the water along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, krill have disappeared. Animals from birds to whales depend on (krill) for food. “...Without the krill, you could be looking at a food web collapse” (Ellie Cohen, Executive Director of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory in California). Water temperatures along the Gulf of Alaska are the highest they've been in 50 years...Massive kelp farming might have to be implemented to locally absorb solar energy and cool the ocean surface so that plankton can survive and feed the food chain.
      Kelp farms would be oxygen-rich oases for sea life in dead zones...(They also) dramatically cool the surface of the water, (serving) as a buffer against hurricanes, causing them to cool and stumble down a couple of categories before hitting land...We could convert the oil platforms to plants that process seaweed for alcohol, and pipe it to shore.
      Kelp meal or kelp solution (by-product left after making alcohol from kelp) is a natural wide-spectrum fertilizer superior to the toxic, and in some cases radioactive chemicals...used in the nation's agriculture today... Kelp fertilizer is non-toxic and petroleum-free.
      ...Looking at kelp for methane production, the american Gas Association, hardly a wild-eyed utopian group of tree huggers, estimated somewhere near 23 quads (23 quadrillion Btu) a year of methane from kelp just from the California Coast. If the kelp was first fermented to make alcohol and the remaining mash was then fermented a second time for methane, to be used primarily for alcohol plant energy, about a third of that energy would be recovered as alcohol. This might be almost 90 billion gallons of fuel from the California coast alone.
      The remaining two-thirds of the energy as methane would provide all the alcohol plant process energy plus a huge surplus of gas/electricity. That's roughly half of the transportation fuel the U.S. currently uses per year. Add to this the potential production from the Oregon and Washington Coasts, the nutrient-saturated dead zone of the gulf of Mexico, and possibly the outflow from Chesapeake Bay. Looks loke we,ve replaced all the transportation fuel for the United States just from marine algae, as well as the lion's share of natural gas and electricity as well. All without using a square foot of farmland.
      So then all we'd have to do would be to nationalize the now-useless pipelines to send some of the alcohol and all of the digested liquid kelp to fertilize our nation's agricultural heartland. Of course, building such kelp farms would be a massive undertaking, but if building 41,000 miles of highways to carry our vehicles or mounting a $500 billion war FOR OIL in Iraq doesn't intimidate our Congress, then neither should a project like this- which neatly solves many problems in one stroke.”
      ___________________________________________________________________

      David Blume should be our Energy Secretary.

    • 2 years ago
  • onemalefla
  • bailey78
  • Blkwdw
    • 0
      Blkwdw  
    • bailey78:

      Will we? We are so arrogant that the only lives we care about is our own, forget all the plant life animal life fungal life bacteria protist and those other humans over there somewhere.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • Chapisbored
  • Xenzaka
  • bailey78
  • Blkwdw
  • fun_size
    • 0
      fun_size  

    • Damn 42,000 gallons a day! I'm not sure fire is the best option but there's really not much else that can be done is there? I mean its a disaster already but if it reaches the fertile Mississippi delta then it'll be a catastrophe. Damned if you do damned if you don't...

    • 2 years ago
  • freal
    • 0
      freal  

    • Watch the American Petroleum Institute's nightly TV commercials The API says all this offshore drilling is clean and safe.

    • 2 years ago
  • Kurta
    • 0
      Kurta  

    • This incident is just terrible all around. We're still feeling the effects of the Valdez. 42,000 gallons a day! That's unimaginable.

    • 2 years ago
  • cutee_leslie
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • cutee_leslie:

      An it's only going to get worst they have no idea what kind of pressure is at the B.O.P.'s . i think there best bet is to try an shut the well in at the B.O.P.'s but will they ?

    • 2 years ago
  • mikem0487
    • 0
      mikem0487  

    • Something this catastrophic might have to happen for people to open their eyes and finally realize the huge negative impact oil has on the environment!!

    • 2 years ago
  • cool0ne
  • fun_size
  • bailey78
  • Mattchicago
    • 0
      Mattchicago  

    • who got the hot dogs and marshmallows this might be a nice bon fire if they blaze it up. What you mad over my statement? LOL silly noob cant you see i am joking

    • 2 years ago
  • itoldyouso
  • bailey78
  • bailey78
  • julesrs007
    • 0
      julesrs007  
    • Image

    • Offshore drilling: Impact on Americans

      The Coast Guard, BP, and the rig's owner Transocean (RIG), have deployed nearly 50 vessels to help contain and clean the slick.

      Marine life has been spotted in the area. Over the weekend a plane from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sighted five small whales nearby. Crews working to contain the spill were alerted to their presence.

      Efforts are also underway near the shoreline to deal with the spill should it reach land, including positioning boom material around sensitive ecological areas.

      Five staging areas have been set up on land, stretching from Venice, La. to Pensacola, Fla.

      Landry said it appears the slick should remain at sea for at least the next three days, although weather reports for the latter part of that period suggest the wind could shift and blow the slick toward land.

      The oil, if it stays at sea, will eventually evaporate, breakdown and sink, or get cleaned up.

      But analysts have said the spill could have political fallout, especially if it reaches shore.

      Several lawmakers and interest groups have led a charge over the last several years to open up more parts of the U.S. coast for oil drilling, efforts that are generally supported by the public.

      That support could erode if crude oil starts washing up on the Louisiana or Mississippi coasts.

      The well is expected to continue leaking until it is sealed. The leak appears to be coming from a pipe that ran from the well head to the drilling rig, which is now laying upside down in 5,000 feet of water not far from the well head.

      It has not been decided if the rig will be salvaged or remain where it is, a Transocean official said Monday.

      To seal the leak, three approaches are being tried.

      BP is now using a set of remote controlled submarines in an attempt to activate the well's "blow out preventer" -- a steel device the size of a small house that sits atop the well and is intended to choke off the flow of oil in the event of a disaster. It's not clear why that device didn't not originally act to cap the well, or if it will be of any use going forward.

      BP is also bringing in another drilling rig which could seal the well, but that effort will take months, according to a BP spokesman.

      In the meantime, the company is also trying a novel approach to capture the oil -- using a dome right above the well head. The dome resembles an inverted funnel, with a pipe leading up to ships waiting at the surface to capture the oil. That tactic has never been tried in water this deep.

      A BP spokesman said the dome should be ready in two to four weeks.

      The blast last week, which is still under investigation, resulted in 11 workers going missing. The search for them was suspended last Friday. 115 other people made it off the rig after it exploded, most of them safely. One person remains in the hospital.

      THE FACTS: Offshore drilling in Flordia will not pay off! http://current.com/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/1...

      I live in Florida and recently my local news stated that the savings on Ga$oline will be approx.

    • 2 years ago
  • onemalefla
  • s_peak
    • 0
      s_peak  
    • julesrs007:

      offshore drilling anywhere will not pay off. It will take at least a decade just to start getting oil, and that's a generous estimate, it could be double that amount of time. We won't even see a drop of oil at this pace (because we'll be dead from our lifestyle of excess).

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • s_peak:

      Do what? a decade who in the world told you that? The Oil&Gas well will start to produce in a matter of months not years. I worked in the oil&gas field for a number of years. There are gas wells that are caped because they are produceing to much gas or oil. They would flood the market with it then they would not be making any money.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
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