Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jaume on April 30, 2010 at 6:39am

That's sad - extremely sad. But if it had to happen somewhere, better there than anywhere else. This part of the Gulf of Mexico was pretty much a dead zone already.

Permalink Reply by Jaume on April 30, 2010 at 3:19pm

I stand corrected. I fully agree it's a major tragedy, but it probably would be even worse if it had happened in a coral-rich area.

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on April 30, 2010 at 11:02am

Or not, more than likely. Was the Exxon-Valdez was a wake up call, but we hit the snooze button.

Permalink Reply by TNT666 on April 30, 2010 at 11:13pm

For me, this is Obama's one black cloud on his presidency, the fact that's he's opening up the coastline to more of this shit instead of less. I can just imagine the amount of lobbying his people had to face... Must have been incredible.

We must not forget that all pipelines leak oil constantly, so there is no big dramatic 'spill' to talk about in the news, but it is a constant source of soil and vegetation contamination which adds up to huge impacts over decades of pipeline neglect. There is absolutely no incentive to maintain the pipelines as the fines are small enough that paying the fines is the cheaper option.

The entire oil industry stinks, and it would be great to put an end to complete fiasco. The Exxon Valdez spill has to this day NOT been paid for, the livelihood of the villages in that area was ruined and no compensation has been paid out, even though the court system told Exxon to pay.

These big fat cats should simply be taken down.

Permalink Reply by Jason Spicer on May 8, 2010 at 2:18pm

There are several problems with Obama's presidency (letting authoritarian Bush-era policies and procedures stand, not siccing the DoJ on the banks and insurance companies, watering down health insurance reform before anybody challenged it, continuing to harp on about bipartisanship when the GOP's conception of bipartisanship is exactly "do it our way and we'll think about it", etc), but yeah, caving on the "drill, baby, drill" horseshit was quite disappointing.

Permalink Reply by George on May 1, 2010 at 1:23pm

NASA photo of gulf spill near coastline, river delta

Oil hits Louisiana shore

The worst U.S. oil spill in decades reached into marshlands along the southeastern coast of Louisiana on Saturday and threatened three other states.

The oil started to wash up in small inlets and cove areas, and forecasters said strong winds could push it into ponds and lakes over the weekend.

The slick, 200 kilometres long and 112 kilometres wide, threatens hundreds of species of wildlife, including birds, dolphins, shrimp, oysters and crabs.

The Gulf Coast seafood industry is one of the largest in the world.

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on May 1, 2010 at 6:26pm

Permalink Reply by George on May 3, 2010 at 5:27am

That's amazing, almost a mile down - are there actually 3 leak points?

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on May 3, 2010 at 8:46am

I guess so. I haven't spent tons of time trying to absorb it all. I'm a bit busy, it depresses me, and I feel helpless to do anything. : /

I follow it a little, but I can't be sure. But by this photo, it appears so.

Permalink Reply by George on May 3, 2010 at 5:11am

Nightmare scenario feared if massive oil spill enters the Gulf Stream

Experts warned that the uncontrolled gusher could create a nightmare scenario if the Gulf Stream carries it toward the Atlantic.

....
At a news conference, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen told reporters that the most important step was to stop the flow from at least three leaks in the well, about 5,000 feet under water.

Allen’s comments came as experts said the size of the leak was growing and was perhaps three times larger than previously thought.

....
Oil industry experts and officials were reluctant to describe what, exactly, a worst-case scenario would look like — but if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream and is carried to the beaches of Florida, it could be an environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.

The Deepwater Horizon well is at the end of one branch of the Gulf Stream, the famed warm-water current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic. Several experts said that if the oil enters the stream, it would flow around the southern tip of Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard.

“It will be on the East Coast of Florida in almost no time,” Graber said. “I don’t think we can prevent that. It’s more of a question of when rather than if.”

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on May 3, 2010 at 5:37pm

*sigh*

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on May 3, 2010 at 5:33pm

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