Oil spill

[Tri Girl]

One of the news stations reported that the gas stations that sell BP are independently owned and operated. The owners just get their gas from BP- so it's a double-edged sword. If you boycott the stations, you hurt the individual and their livelihood. If they refuse to buy gas from the person they've contracted with (BP), they're cutting their own throat.

[shootingstar]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Che...804/story.html
There is a fuel oil leak into the ocean waters here locally now..it's been going on slowly for over a month. But under the radar, not revealed until recently.

While petroleum is required to make some plastics, synthetic materials, etc. which are tough to eliminate completely from modern day living (otherwise we'll have to chop down more trees in lieu as a resource material or grow more cotton for textiles..), just on daily transportation alone, could reduce a noticeable amount per family, if some changes were made to reduce car usage (therefore petroleum use) per week.

It is interesting to hear directly from a person who spent their whole career in the oil industry with a major oil company. Which is what dearie did.

Fact: He worked his whole career for a Canadian national oil firm which is now at least 40% own by Exxon.

As someone with an engineering background, he is highly doubtful that any manmade structure could ever guarantee error-free, leak-free offshore/underwater oil drilling operations.

As someone who negotiated very large contracts with other firms to repair pipelines...he is aware that oil companies often do NOT retrofit their pipelines when the forecasted engineering date for pipeline longevity has been reached. Often things just go past the "maturation" date for awhile. The public has no clue....unless you do work in the oil industry or have technical knowledge of oil production and distribution operations.

He is totally against gas flaring that one sees in the oilfields..harmful.
Against oil sands development --even more intensive processing to extract the oil and leftover sludge that is an environmental concern.

He even wonders about chefs use the propane torches for carmelizing the brulees daily. There's petroleum particulate material coming off the butane torch flame.

He really, strongly is against wasteful oil dependency for transporation -ie. single occupant car drivers, driving daily for short distances, etc. He supports the use of petroleum for some of our man-made materials in daily living. But not overuse.

No wonder, he's probably become a very strong/vocal cycling advocate.

I think the last time he drove a car..was um..Jan. 2009, in Hawai'i when we were on vacation. He only drove for 1 day so that we could see parts of Maui in a hurry. He'll drive a rented car if it means more time efficiency..but it's been awhile. Because of his sleep disorder, he had to pull over the roadside every 2 hrs. or so. Driving makes him sleepy...which means it's dangerous for him to drive for hrs. and hrs. without stopping.

Our quality of life has not suffered. But then, we have chosen to live in the city. We are going to Europe for several wks. and don't plan to rent a car.

[Grog]

I went to get gas for the car today and purposely drove past the BP station and went elsewhere. I know that it won't make a difference in the least but it made me feel better. I am actually surprised that there hasn't been a boycott on BP.

You might want to try boycotting all gas stations - and encourage everyone you know to do the same - for lasting effects...

[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*.

-------------
* 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.

[PamNY]

I hope this doesn't turn out to be another 9/11 in terms of damage to health for those doing cleanup -- and possibly for people who live in affected areas.

[bmccasland]

I hope this doesn't turn out to be another 9/11 in terms of damage to health for those doing cleanup -- and possibly for people who live in affected areas.

Some of the fishermen working on the spill have been hospitalized or treated and released after contact with the oil-corexit mix. I heard on the radio over the weekend that one of the big N.O. local hospitals will be establishing a clinic down on Grand Isle, a populated barrier island which has an oil soaked beach, thus workers present to clean it up. Our days are in the 90's and the workers are going down with heat exhaustion as well getting ill from the fumes. Grand Isle doesn't have the infrastructure to handle all the extra people, it hasn't completely recovered from the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes.

[Trek420]

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010...ign=TH_rotator