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Re: BP's top kill effort fails to plug Gulf oil leak
It's too bad McCain/Palin didn't get into office. Just look at Sarah's awesome plan... http://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/statuses/16622429904
Its about time someone started making sense! 
- jimmythegent
- Rep: 30
Re: BP's top kill effort fails to plug Gulf oil leak
found this site that is interesting and pertinant to the discussion at hand.
Not saying I agree with it all but it makes for interesting reading
Re: BP's top kill effort fails to plug Gulf oil leak
I'm starting to wonder how ruined the Gulf is??!
I can forsee this possibly taking 6 months to up to a year before any oil stops leaking. Then there's still the remnants of the millions & millions of gallons of oil that are floating around IN IT. Plus, what if/when it floats over around Florida & islands like Aruba, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, South America, Cancun etc....
We're fucked.
There was a youtube video I watched the other day of the tide coming into Pensacola Florida. The ocean was bubbling like some sort of chemical reaction was taking place, and there was oil all over the sand. The beach was totally empty. A pristine white sand beach turned into a toxic waste dump. That story is going to be replayed out all over the place.
As far as Florida is concerned it can quite possibly ruin the entire state, from the pan handle to the coral reefs of Key West, Miami, and all the way up back up the east coast. Reports coming in that they are already finding oil in Jacksonville which is on the Atlantic side.
Re: BP's top kill effort fails to plug Gulf oil leak
Please. If he had balls, that geyser would have been nuked two months ago.
There is a reason that no geologists or engineers have endorsed the ideal of explosives... it would make a bad situation infinitely worse.
First, a little background:
The ideal was born from Soviet attempts at killing blowouts in gas wells in Kazakhstan back in the 60s. They attempted to kill 5 wells with nuclear devices, and succeeded in stopping the flow(of gas) in 4 of those.
That is a 20% fail rate-not very good! Thus far, in over 150 years of drilling, relief wells have been 100% successful. Hell, even the Soviets abandoned the practice when they realized the clusterfuck that could be unleashed. Here is a video of a 100m collapse structure that has been burning for 40 years in Kazakhstan: Door To Hell!
It took several months to drill the well, and fabricate a device that could be "pushed" down the hole. The nukes available aren't small enough to fit into a well bore.
One must remember that the Soviet attempts were on gas wells- not oil wells- and it was performed on land- not a mile below water. Too, the strata was hard(well indurated), and a shale horizon was found in which to detonate the device. The strata in the Gulf of Mexico(GoM) are poorly consolidated clastics and turbidites(think underwater mud slides)
The strata in the GoM are also permeated with salt domes(diapirs), sheets, thrusts, and when they are exposed to heat, they melt and flow. All of the structural features in the GoM are associated with movement of the salt... they are very plastic.
Some problems:
For the sake of argument, let us suppose that a nuclear device is detonated at some distance below the surface(I will ignore the diapirs, radioactivity, psunamis, and the other obvious stuff). When seismic waves pass through unconsolidated clastics(calcilutites, calcisiltites, calcarenites, turbidites-which is what the GoM sediments are composed of), those sediments are severly deformed.
Here is a photo of the deformation that resulted from a relatively small earthquake about 465 million years ago in unconsolidated clastics:
Eat up, huh? That structure has been mapped for several hundred Km²! Now, I don't know what sits on the bottom of the GoM, but anything sitting down there within 50-100km would be affected.
Though, a more pressing problem would be communication of fluids between various beds of strata at different locations and elevations. When the blast is detonated, it will create cracks(joints) in the rock at depth.
The deeper one goes into the rock column, the more indurated the sediments become... they are older, and have been exposed to more heat and pressure. Too the deeper, the more the pressure. Think of it like this- how much does one cubic foot of rock weigh? Now, think about that one cubic foot but instead, it is now 1 foot by 1 foot by 2 miles!!! That is a shit load of pressure(it works out to about 12000psi)!
Ok, so you set the device off and cracks form. Well, there are other formations in the immediate vicinity that are producing oil. Suddenly, some of the formations higher up in the rock column(that are under less pressure) receive communication with some of the deeper formations.
Those deeper formation's pressure is now communicated to the shallower formations. The wells in that formation "kick", and now we have multiple blow outs...
See where this is going? A bad situation a hell of a lot worse.
Re: BP's top kill effort fails to plug Gulf oil leak
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbe … nt=Twitter
OZZY OSBOURNE, PEARL JAM, C.O.C., DOWN, Others Send Letter To OBAMA Urging Action On Gulf - Nov. 19, 2010
According to Politics Daily, OZZY OSBOURNE, PEARL JAM, CORROSION AND CONFORMITY and DOWN are among the 90 artists who have banded together to urge President Obama to "do all you can" to help the Gulf Coast recover from this year's devastating oil spill.
Nearly 90 artists signed a letter sent to the White House this week that calls for several steps, including steering a large amount of the fines levied against BP toward environmental restoration.
"The BP disaster has taken a toll on the Gulf Coast, and real impacts will be felt by real people for years. The Gulf's people and places need lasting and continued support to get back on their feet," the letter states. "Fishing, recreation, seafood and tourism are cornerstones of the Gulf economy. These industries hang in the balance because of the disaster. Thousands of families' lives have been profoundly affected, with much of the damage having long-term consequences — physically, emotionally, and financially. Resources and support must be accessible to all those affected in order to make Gulf communities whole again."
Read the entire letter at Politics Daily.
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http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/19 … ring-gulf/
Musicians as diverse as Ozzy Osborne, Bonnie Raitt, Pearl Jam, Dr. John and My Morning Jacket are banding together to urge President Obama to "do all you can" to help the Gulf Coast recover from this year's devastating oil spill.
Nearly 90 artists signed a letter sent to the White House this week asking for more money and resources for the region, which is still reeling from the hit to the environment and economy.
"The BP disaster has taken a toll on the Gulf Coast, and real impacts will be felt by real people for years. The Gulf's people and places need lasting and continued support to get back on their feet," the letter states. "Fishing, recreation, seafood and tourism are cornerstones of the Gulf economy. These industries hang in the balance because of the disaster. Thousands of families' lives have been profoundly affected, with much of the damage having long-term consequences – physically, emotionally, and financially. Resources and support must be accessible to all those affected in order to make Gulf communities whole again."
The letter also calls on the government to steer money from fines levied against BP to the Gulf.
The full text of the letter:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
November 18, 2010
Dear President Obama,
As you are well aware, the BP deepwater drilling disaster has delivered a severe blow to the marine and coastal environments of the Gulf Coast, as well as the communities which rely upon a healthy Gulf for their economy and way of life. These communities are the originators and guardians of some of our nation's most unique cultures. As musicians, we are all in debt to this irreplaceable region, and are calling on you to help ensure its survival:
The BP disaster is on-going and will have lasting impacts. There are still tens of millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf and much more dispersed oil – and chemical dispersant itself – below the surface. The BP drilling disaster was at least 15 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill, and we know from Alaska that the ripple effects of the disaster will be felt for decades. It will be a long road to restoration, and the Federal government needs to stay focused on the disaster and environmental impacts that are just beginning to play out.
The BP disaster has taken a toll on the Gulf Coast, and real impacts will be felt by real people for years. The Gulf's people and places need lasting and continued support to get back on their feet. Fishing, recreation, seafood and tourism are cornerstones of the Gulf economy. These industries hang in the balance because of the disaster. Thousands of families' lives have been profoundly affected, with much of the damage having long-term consequences – physically, emotionally, and financially. Resources and support must be accessible to all those affected in order to make Gulf communities whole again.
BP's disaster is only the latest, most visible example of on-going environmental destruction in the Gulf by the oil and gas industry. Louisiana loses a football field worth of wetlands every 45 minutes, and 40 to 60% of that loss is attributed to oil and gas activity, including exploration and dredging pipeline canals. The oil and gas industry must pay its fair share to restore these wetlands, and a large portion of the fines levied against BP should be dedicated to on-going restoration efforts through your Gulf Restoration plan implementation.
Let's not let it happen again. Reforms are urgently needed to prevent more drilling disasters. BP is not a rogue actor when it comes to taking big risks at the expense of the Gulf. Regulatory reforms and policy changes are urgently needed to prevent future drilling disasters and ensure oil-rig safety in the Gulf and elsewhere, and to guarantee rapid cleanup when accidents do occur. Your administration needs to follow through with the overhaul of federal agencies, separating the functions of enforcement and royalty collection. Ultimately, the solution is to transition our nation to a clean energy economy as soon as possible.
Locals must have a voice in decisions that will impact their region and their homes. A Regional Citizens' Advisory Council must be formed to ensure that impacted communities are formally involved in the oversight of future drilling decisions and oil industry actions. As the citizens of Alaska have done in the years following the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, citizens of the Gulf must also become more engaged and take responsibility for keeping the energy industry and government accountable.
President Obama, we appreciate the initiatives you've launched to help the Gulf recover, from the demand for a $20 billion trust fund for community damages, to the creation of a Gulf Coast Recovery Plan, headed by Navy Secretary Mabus. Please do all you can to ensure these efforts address the concerns we've raised, and help the amazing and irreplaceable cultures of the Gulf region remain vibrant and productive for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys
Anders Osborne
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux
Big Don
Big Rock Candy Mountain
Big Sam's Funky Nation
Blue Party
Bonerama
Bonnie Raitt
Boots Riley (of The Coup)
Boys Noize
Brian Coogan and Mike Dillon
Cedric Burnside & Lightnin Malcom
Charlie Wooten Project
Clint Maedgen
Corrosion of Conformity
Cyril Neville
Davis Rogan
Dead Confederate
Derrick Freeman (of Kermit Ruffins)
DJ Zkosta
Down
Dr. John
Egg Yolk Jubilee
Fatter Than Albert
Feufollet
Fitz & the Tantrums
Fleur De Tease
Galactic
Garage A Trois
George Porter, Jr. and Runnin' Pardners
Happy Talk Band
Helen Gillet
Honey Island Swamp Band
Indigo Girls
Interparty System
Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes
Johnny Vidacovich
Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights
JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys
Kellindo Parker (of Janelle Monae)
Kristin Diable
Liquidrone
Locos Por Juana
Marc Broussard
March Fourth Marching Band
MC Sweet Tea
Metric
Miracle at St. Anna
Morning Life
My Morning Jacket
MyNameisJohnMichael
New Orleans Bingo! Show
Noisician Coalition
Nu Guise
O' Brother
OK Go
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Roadshow
Pearl Jam
Ponderosa
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Quintron and Miss Pussycat
REM
Rise Against
River City Extension
Rock City Morgue
Rotary Downs
Show
Smokey's Farmland Band
Sons of William
Soul Rebels Brass Band
Stanton Moore Trio
Stone Rabbits
Supagroup
Swiss Chriss
Tab Benoit
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
The Baseball Project
The Local Skank
The Minus 5
The Radiators
The Young Fresh Fellows
Theresa Andersson
Times Two
Tin Men
Trent Reznor
Voice of the Wetlands Allstars
Zydepunks
Xeroskye
Filed Under: Barack Obama, Environment, Obama Administration, White House
Tagged: BP oil disaster, bp oil spill, dailyguidance, gulf oil spill
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