Oil spill

[Trek420]

So maybe you have to drive, or can't be car free or even car lite. Maybe you own a BP station;

I forget where I read/heard the figure on oil savings if everyone simply checked their tire pressure. Someone here will know the figures I'm sure. It was astounding.

BYOB and stop using plastic bags, yep bags. What's plastic made from? All together now, it's a petroleum product.

Same goes for bottled water. Kick the habit and use tap, maybe filtered.

Home heating oil; do an energy retrofit any way you can.

Eat/buy organic. Why organic? What are non-organic fertilizers made from? You guessed it, petroleum.

It's sad that it takes something like this but if enough people started doing things like this .... who needs an oil company!

[bmccasland]

25% of the oil and gas that North America uses comes through various ports in south Louisiana - from international sources, such as Nigeria, where they don't have the environmental restrictions that we have. Yeah we have a permitting process, which was given a Catorgical Exemption for the Deepwater Horizion, and then there were mistakes. The point I'm trying, badly, to make is that we at least have laws to protect our evironment and agencies to enforce them, where some of our oil and gas comes from the international market where what laws they have are often overlooked. They haven't had a spill of this magnitude, but things aren't pristine either.

Yes we should use less, canvas bags at the grocery, drive less, more fuel efficient cars, reuse, recycle, etc. Maybe we, as a nation, will learn something from this. But I doubt it. Seems if it isn't happening in your backyard, to someone you know, then it can quickly be forgotten.

I suppose the most fustrating thing is that there is little to nothing most of us can do about it. After other disasters, the bad event is over, and then the clean-up and rebuilding process can begin. This damn thing keeps going and going.

[PamNY]

I can't even fathom the effects of this event. With deepwater drilling and fishing/shrimping being the main industries in some areas, what are they going to do?

And as you point out the ongoing nature of the problem is a nightmare. I wish there was something outsiders could do.

[Trek420]

25% of the oil and gas that North America uses comes through various ports in south Louisiana - from international sources, such as Nigeria, where they don't have the environmental restrictions that we have.

ah, so whatcher sayin' is this could be a preview

The point I'm trying, badly, to make is that we at least have laws to protect our evironment and agencies to enforce them, where some of our oil and gas comes from the international market where what laws they have are often overlooked. They haven't had a spill of this magnitude.....

.... yet No, I think you're doing a good job. We get it. Does everyone get it? I don't think so.

Yes we should use less, canvas bags at the grocery, drive less, more fuel efficient cars, reuse, recycle, etc. Maybe we, as a nation, will learn something from this. But I doubt it. Seems if it isn't happening in your backyard, to someone you know, then it can quickly be forgotten.

IMHO I feel when it comes to the ocean it's everyone's backyard. Even if you're landlocked, even if you've never seen a beach.

We all live on the Gulf Coast.

I suppose the most fustrating thing is that there is little to nothing most of us can do about it. After other disasters, the bad event is over, and then the clean-up and rebuilding process can begin. This damn thing keeps going and going.

I've read that rebuilding from Katrina is only beginning and now this. I'm so sorry.

[smilingcat]

Intersting read over at oildrum.com bit more complicated than just a single pipe.

My thoughts on engineering mentality these days is: TOO MUCH ARROGANCE!!

We take too much for granted in regards to disaster planning!!
And for marine ecology, we probably will not see the worst of it for one, two or three years from now. The delay has to do with killing off of the juvenile shrimp, clam, fish... They would be maturing in one to three years from now.

Words can't express my anger over the absolute arrogance of those in charge. No safety backup plan!! Complete disregard to methodology.

I just hope that they can shut it down before it spews out 100million gallons of crude. Gulf of Mexico is big but its not big enough on localized scale to deal with the volume of crude.

We all live on the Gulf Coast.

Component of the solvent being used by BP is highly volatile and its toxicity was listed as 2.4PPM (number I heard). Geeze, with the hurricane, the evaporated solvent could ride on the hurricane and make it in-land by several hundred miles. And how many gallons of this stuff have they sprayed on the ocean??

Maybe I just look at "worst" case senerios too much*.

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* Can't help it cause that is the way I think when it comes to design/engineering work.

[Trek420]

And for marine ecology, we probably will not see the worst of it for one, two or three years from now. The delay has to do with killing off of the juvenile shrimp, clam, fish... They would be maturing in one to three years from now.

Prince William Sound 20 years later

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbjC9...eature=related

[crazycanuck]

I bet ya that the Oil/Gas companies based here in Western Australia are keeping a close eye on the drilling progress...

We're in the same boat & had a very very similar incident late last year...

Beth, have they put prisoners to use cleaning up???

[Trek420]

This is bigger than the Valdez, but if you think this is big ....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...er-delta-shell

[bmccasland]

We're in the same boat & had a very very similar incident late last year...

How did the environment recover?

Beth, have they put prisoners to use cleaning up???

Not to my knowledge. Right now, out-of-work fishermen are being employed by BP to place oil booms (the stuff to stop and soak up surface oil), using their own boats. Not sure who they're getting to clean the beaches.