New oil spill sullies Locust Bayou near border of Terrebonne, St. Mary

www.houmatoday.com...&tc=omni?p=all&tc=pgall

I don't even know what to say...

Have these oil related events always been happening but it only took the BP oil disaster to bring the others to light?

Is there some serious sabotage going on?

Or the earth's crust is moving around and fracturing there, busting things that used to be solid and connected.

reply to post by Nomad451

Upon first thought I have to assume they've always been happening and we simply weren't aware of them and didn't feel the need to pay attention.

I too have been curious about the actual frequency of oil spills prior to the Deepwater Horizon incident and did a little checking. I found NOAA's Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration historical oil spill information page. Within it I found this one which has almost 40 years of statistical data about oil spills from tankers, carriers and barges. There has been a notable decrease in the number of spills through the years and 2009 was the first year since they began collected data that there were no major oil spills involving tankers. Take a look at some of the tables, charts and graphs as there's some good visuals there as well as other information.

I know the article you linked wasn't about an oil transportation related incident but I think the links I provided answer our questions regarding the frequency of oil spills in general versus how often we hear about them. They've been going on as long as we've been extracting oil it seems.

This one lists oil spills and other incidents, including drills, back to 1957 although the vast majority are only for the last 40 years. They're also only selected incidents but there are over 1500 of them. It's not really the type of list I was looking for since it includes oil spills related to ships running aground and spilling their fuel and other references I wasn't looking for but it does show a number of oil spills from pipelines, refineries, etc. that happen on a regular basis.

As humans, our minds try to make connections and recognize patterns and similarities. I've noticed all sorts of things in my life after I've first become acquainted with them. They've always been there but I just never noticed them. Ever notice how many other people seem to have the same car, phone or anything else after getting yours?

a tug boat hit a well head because the stupid captain of the boat was not paying attention to what he was doing.