Gulf Oil Disaster.

[jurble]

Whatever happened to the idea to set it all on fire? That sounds like it'd get rid of the oil.

[Lord of Oop North]

They have already been doing that, as far as I heard.

[lokisnow]

why the fuck hasn't James Cameron fixed this? Dude's the biggest underwater expert around, and made The Abyss like 21 years ago. Suit up Ed Harris and get a team down there to cap the mother fucker. Use Bruce Willis and his team if you have to, he worked on one of these things in that one movie and put on a suit when they went to drill the asteroid.

[Lucky Pierre]

Whatever happened to the idea to set it all on fire? That sounds like it'd get rid of the oil.

They started that at the beginning-but the winds kicked up huge waves and they couldn't do controlled burns once that happened... I guess they might try again after the seas calm down...

[Tobin]

This is the whole reason a lot of us in Florida were against offshore drilling - Key West held rallys about it regularly.

Pro-Drillers always said: "Oh, accidents like what happened with the Valdeez won't happen again! it's perfectly safe!"

Well, guess we fuck'n told you so.

Now primary and secondary industries of Florida are in danger because people wanted to save a couple pennies on gas.

[The_BlauerDragon]

The week I discover that I like shrimp, this happens.

God fucking hates me, I tell ya.

Sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, the oil appears to be heading straight for New Orleans... just imagine how they feel! First Katrina, now this... They must be like, "What's next? Volcanoes? Locusts?"

[Arataniello]

First Katrina, now this... They must be like, "What's next? Volcanoes? Locusts?"

Rodents of Unusual Size are usually next.

[Jaime L]

BP claims it will fund cleanup.

I hope it's true, and I give credit if it is.

Yeah heard the BP CEO on NPR this morning. Gotta admit, I was really impressed. Seemed like he understood it was entirely his company's responsibilty and that he wasn't going to go the Exxon route after the Valdez spill and fight every claim tooth and nail for twenty years.

Whether he lives up to that remains to be seen, but so far he's saying all the right things.

[The_BlauerDragon]

Rodents of Unusual Size are usually next.

Ever been to New Orleans? They've had RUS for a VERY Long Time Now!

[Zap Rowsdower]

Ever been to New Orleans? They've had RUS for a VERY Long Time Now!

Aren't they also considered a delicacy in some circles?

I know Steven Seagal refused to kill them, though.

[Tears of Lys]

I just hope the opening of 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' in two weeks is enough to keep people coming to Orlando this summer!

I'd say it's obvious who's behind this - He Who Must Not Be Named. interesting animated link. I rest my case.

Seriously, though, the issue of the lack of the automatic acoustic switch (operates shut-off valve remotely) and the decision that they not be used on U.S. offshore wells is an interesting one. They felt they didn't need one, a., because the shut-off valves almost always work; and b., because the acoustic switches haven't been proven in real-world situations, AFAIK. (Norway and Brazil have them on all their offshore rigs; UK does not.) IMO, better be safe than sorry, since "sorry" is so very damnably horrible.

As an tidbit, the cheapest gas around my neck of the woods is at BP stations.

[ThinkerX]

Drilling operations like that - through a mile of water then miles more into the underlying bedrock are both dangerous and extremely expensive.

That well was in operation at all because conventional, easy to access oil is getting scarcer. The supply/demand curves after the next couple of years start getting...alarming. Very alarming.

Should be a bit of a wake up call.

[TerraPrime]

Should be a bit of a wake up call.

For those who're awake, this wake-up call is redundant.

For those who're still asleep, this wake-up call is not loud enough. A better wake-up call is to hike the gas price to $4/gal. Last time gas price hiked like that (was it 2007?) we saw an increase in purchases of fuel-efficient cars. Nothing wakes people up like someone else touching their wallets.

[paddington]

not.) IMO, better be safe than sorry, since "sorry" is so very damnably horrible.

Would be nice for once if a company did the most possible to ensure saftey. Instead of the least the law allows.

-Gallon of petrol in the UK's at about $8.40. Or 1.21 pounds per litre.

[The Mance]

Seemed like he understood it was entirely his company's responsibilty and that he wasn't going to go the Exxon route after the Valdez spill and fight every claim tooth and nail for twenty years.

The guy I saw this morning made it very clear that the equipment that failed was not BP's equipment ( I forget which other company he made a point of naming on national TV), though they were taking responsibility for the mess spewing from their drilling operation. And when pressed about whether BP could afford however many billions are projected in clean up costs he very specifically avoided saying "yes". Rather he spilled some platitudes about being committed to seeing that everything that needed to happen, or could be done, would. It reeked of weasely equivocation, I thought.

At least they've begun hiring boats and crews for clean up.

[Lucky Pierre]

BP claims it will fund cleanup.

I hope it's true, and I give credit if it is.

The guy I saw this morning made it very clear that the equipment that failed was not BP's equipment ( I forget which other company he made a point of naming on national TV), though they were taking responsibility for the mess spewing from their drilling operation. And when pressed about whether BP could afford however many billions are projected in clean up costs he very specifically avoided saying "yes". Rather he spilled some platitudes about being committed to seeing that everything that needed to happen, or could be done, would. It reeked of weasely equivocation, I thought.

At least they've begun hiring boats and crews for clean up.

This.

BP is very quick to point out that they had leased out the rig to Transocean and that Transocean was operating the rig. Additionally, one of Transocean's subcontractors was Halliburton. It was Halliburton that had, 20 hours before the rig exploded, completed the 'cementing' of the rig. Cementing prevents gas from the well to come up to the surface, which, could cause an explosion.

The words "Bankruptcy" for BP were uttered today for the first time. Sure-they are saying they are going to pay, but after all is said and done-and BP declares bankruptcy, my guess is the US will be paying not only for the cleanup-but for the bailouts of several industries that are going to be impacted by this.

Just sayin...

eta: BP Loses $25bln in mkt value

[ThinkerX]

For those who're awake, this wake-up call is redundant.

For those who're still asleep, this wake-up call is not loud enough. A better wake-up call is to hike the gas price to $4/gal. Last time gas price hiked like that (was it 2007?) we saw an increase in purchases of fuel-efficient cars. Nothing wakes people up like someone else touching their wallets.

I figure we are two to six years away from seeing some fairly draconian and effectively permanent price increases at the gas pump, depending on how well things like the tar sands, tertiary oil recovery methods, and debacles like this mess play out.

[Lucky Pierre]

BP is very quick to point out that they had leased out the rig to Transocean and that Transocean was operating the rig. Additionally, one of Transocean's subcontractors was Halliburton. It was Halliburton that had, 20 hours before the rig exploded, completed the 'cementing' of the rig. Cementing prevents gas from the well to come up to the surface, which, could cause an explosion.

Sorry-it seems I got that backwards.. Transocean Owned the rig and BP was operating it and had leased it out.

[TrueMetis]

Hey what do you know they decided against putting a acoustic trigger in. That's not to say it for sure would have prevented it but it probably would have.

[Lucky Pierre]

Hey what do you know they decided against putting a acoustic trigger in. That's not to say it for sure would have prevented it but it probably would have.

Eh... it's required in Brazil but what do they know? We've had a lot more experience with oil spills after all.