Gulf Oil Spill More Than 10X Greater Than Thought: Experts

What I think many of you are not understanding is most of the oil that has leaked out is still deep in the ocean in large plumes.

Everyone is looking at the surface and the beaches and going "Oh so far it isn't that bad". When point in fact you haven't seen any of it yet.

Secondly all the methane that is being released does not float out of the ocean. It gets absorbed in the ocean and depletes the oxygen in it. Anything caught in that plum will die.

Thirdly, BP was permitted to only drill 13,000 feet. They instead drilled to 25,000. Great depths, greater the pressures. Not to mention the field they were drilling in is one of the largest pools ever discovered.

Already the gulf is done and if they cannot stop this soon you can kiss the worlds oceans good bye. This is a very big deal and unlike most things posted on these forums, this one is a real and true disaster.



[edit on 14-5-2010 by AllexxisF1]

BP president or whoever, just recently claimed the situation is not as bad as the media portrays it. It's just a little spill compared to how big the Gulf is.


Is this guy a legally retarded or just trying to save his own ass? Both probably. These people should be sent to the gallows, I swear.

It's not really a big deal yet. If it was the people who live there would be making a big stink. For example, you heard about the Katrina response on the news. If things got real bad, you would be hearing about it from Americans. A huge public outcry would be heard, just like it was during Katrina.

[edit on 15-5-2010 by Delphiki]

Originally posted by AwakeinNM

Originally posted by PplVSNWO
reply to post by AwakeinNM

 

It's not just NPR, CNN also reported it and had the guy on that made the calculations.
dprogram.net...
His name is Steve Wereley, he is the source not CNN or NPR.

Like I said, he could be right, but it's still not the environmental armageddon that everyone is led to believe that it is. Oil is a naturally-occuring substance, part of the environment.

You know Uranium is a naturally occurring substance... So is radon... And methane... All things that are toxic... Oil, though natural is not natural in the ocean environment.... It is natural only in the pockets in which it has been locked for eons.

This is a disaster of immense proportions.

EDIT TO DELETE MY POST DUE TO MISINFORMATION

[edit on 14-5-2010 by Brandyfro]

Wow, there you go, get people to argue about the amount of oil instead of coming up with solutions.

I still have yet to hear news about that 100% organic oil eating product.

Hmm, I wonder why....

People get distracted way to easily...

reply to post by Z.S.P.V.G.


msnbc just said its actually millions, i'm pretty sure they said many millions, but can't verify that as of now.

what jon stewart said.

has anyone found any recent satellite images of this? message me if you have anything

reply to post by Quickfix


In order to find a solution, we need to know the amount of oil we are dealing with. I know, it's simplistic to say "instead of arguing, do something!"

But it's far more complex to do such a thing, as I hope you would know.

reply to post by tylermbell


Good idea, I really do want to see the satellite images of this spill. Grrr I wish Google earth or google maps would update lol.

reply to post by GorehoundLarry


You be the judge of the severity:

Crisis By the Numbers: A Comparison of Ixtoc I, Deepwater and the Biggest Spill of All.

reply to post by Z.S.P.V.G.

70,000 barrels a day

You've got to be kidding me?!?!?!? What's the standard size of a US barrel, 44 gallons? That mean over 3 million gallons of oil is leaking into the Gulf every day...that is beyond ridiculous...unless I got something wrong...

Sorry of this has been said, I didn't really have time to read through the thread.

reply to post by loam


Cheers for that thread, it was quite informative.

[edit on 14/5/10 by CHA0S]

Originally posted by projectvxn

Originally posted by Z.S.P.V.G.
youtube link to vid that has been analyzed: www.youtube.com...

Personally I think this isn't even the worst section. I still contend that there is a gapping chasm down there erupting oil like a volcano.

I agree with you. Of course there's a chasm, where else would the oil and gas be?
What worries me is this:

How much oil has to come out of the before the pressure on the ceiling releases enough for the weight of it forces a collapse releasing te rest of the oil all at once?

This could get a hell of a lot worse.

[edit on 14-5-2010 by projectvxn]

Good question, thats what destroyed Sour Lake in Sour Lake Texas. They built derricks in the lake and were getting a lot of oil until the ceiling collapsed and the oil polluted the lake. I think it happened in 1920 it was still an oily nasty mess when I last saw it in 1998.

Some of the posts in this thread....saturated with stupidity, I'm surprised really.

I do find it odd how it seems difficult to find solid information on this event though. It'd be nice to have one solid article summing up everything, where the oil is expected to travel ect. Right now just bits and pieces it seems.

B...B..B.But....according to BP, it's actually very tiny in terms of volume if you compare it to all the water that's in the Ocean...and the farther from space you loook at it the tinier it gets...so it CAN'T be that bad...can it?

Originally posted by loam
reply to post by GorehoundLarry

 

You be the judge of the severity:

Crisis By the Numbers: A Comparison of Ixtoc I, Deepwater and the Biggest Spill of All.

one of the worst environmental disasters in our history.

A true shame.

Just wait until they consider the nuclear option.. its coming.

This is the 7th prophecy of the Hopi Indians, its coming true just like the previous 6.. Prepare for the worst.



[edit on 15-5-2010 by brigand]

Originally posted by Maxmars

Originally posted by AwakeinNM
[..... Oil is a naturally-occurring substance, part of the environment.

So are lava, ozone, cosmic rays, and radioactivity. But we would be wrong to disregard them as inconsequential to the lives of those nearest them.

The question is not how will the earth survive this... of course it will.

It is the ecological balance upon which we base our society, our load bearing capacity, if you will. We need to be able to trade, to grow and harvest food, and to live without undue duress due to chemical changes in the environment.

No disrespect intended, I understand that pronouncing this as a harbinger of the end smacks of extreme thinking. But in the end, the pollutants are still there and the local communities are subject to them - not by their own doing, but by what appears to be the standard drive for maximizing corporate profits.

And in an environment where the government is as corporate as the offender, we are right to scrutinize everything they do and say. Profit is not an acceptable excuse to lie, cheat, or take reckless chances.

I am really tired of this anti-corporate mentality. The propaganda is working, isn't it? Drilling for oil in deep water is a risky business, and sh!t happens. Do you really think that these roughnecks on oil rigs are just out there screwing off and being careless? How often does this kind of thing happen? People are comparing this to the Exxon Valdez incident, which was 21 years ago. Why not compare it to something more recent? Because there isn't something more recent. For the amount of oil drawn from the gulf, and the number of rigs there, I'd say statistically their safety record is pretty good. Similar to NASA's safety record with space shuttles.

Big oil is big out of necessity. The global demand for oil is enormous. If they didn't produce the quantity they do, you'd be riding your bike to work because you couldn't affor the gas for your car.

People are misunderstanding my position here. I'm not saying that I think this is no big deal. I am saying that you people for the most part are getting your panties in a knot and pointing fingers and playing the blame game, trying to paint "big oil" as some kind of villain, as though they knew this was going to happen and are somehow profiting from it. Has no one seen the news this week? Gas prices are expected to go DOWN for summer holiday travel.

Fish will die, people's vacations will suck, this will pass and you all will have forgotten it even happened by this time next year.

Originally posted by GorehoundLarry

Originally posted by loam
reply to post by GorehoundLarry

 

You be the judge of the severity:

Crisis By the Numbers: A Comparison of Ixtoc I, Deepwater and the Biggest Spill of All.

one of the worst environmental disasters in our history.

A true shame.

Really? Aren't you forgetting about the clearcutting of the rainforests that has been occurring for decades? I'd say that is a little teeny bit more devastating on the environment than this. No big corporate profiteering there?

The oil will be gone in a year and the shrimp will be tasty again, but will the trees grow back by then?

You should rethink your disaster ranking system, friend.

To the right of the map linked below is an interesting graph comparing the difference between the three estimates.

Since we are left to choosing who is right and who is not, it falls to critical thinking and research to find that out. Either that, or just 'trust' the one you prefer.

The “NOAA” estimate is based on a figure released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on April 28 when the government agency raised its estimate of the flow rate to 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day from its initial estimate of 1,000 barrels per day, over public objections by BP.

The “MacDonald minimum” is based on an analysis by Ian R. MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University that was published by SkyTruth on May 1. By studying the amount of the oil visible in aerial imagery, Dr. MacDonald calculated the flow rate to be at least 26,500 barrels (1.1 million gallons) per day. He called this a “minimum estimate” since his calculations could only account for oil that was visible on the surface and did not include oil that had evaporated, mixed in with sea water, sunk to the bottom or been collected by response crews.

The “BP worst case” estimate is based on a figure given by a senior BP executive to members of Congress in a closed-door briefing on May 4. The executive acknowledged that in the worst case, if the leak accelerated, the flow rate could be 60,000 barrels (or 2.5 million gallons) a day.

www.nytimes.com...

Originally posted by AwakeinNM


Really? Aren't you forgetting about the clearcutting of the rainforests that has been occurring for decades? I'd say that is a little teeny bit more devastating on the environment than this.

Absolutely not.

Now if we cut a tree down, 5000ft under the ocean and it began to spew poison that could very well kill 100% forests in the world, while our greatest engineers and scientists are forced to admit that they had no way to stop it...

Then you would be correct.

The oil will be gone in a year and the shrimp will be tasty again, but will the trees grow back by then?

In a year eh? Funny...I'm hearing it may take two years to stop the bleeding wound.

Perhaps you need to do a little math on how much oil that is (after you pick a number you trust most).

You should rethink your disaster ranking system, friend.

And you should start making plans...

If this can't be stopped, it will result in global chaos...

Seriously...

No fear-mongering needed...

IF this can't be stopped...global chaos.




[edit on 15-5-2010 by Mr Mask]

[edit on 15-5-2010 by Mr Mask]