Latest developments as of today according to the Washington Post:
-- BP captured 25,290 barrels of oil (1.02 million gallons) over a 24-hour period ending at midnight Thursday.
-- BP should pay all damages because the disaster was caused by the company's "reckless decisions." according to Anadarko Petroleum, the Texas oil company that owns 25 percent of the well.
By the numbers
665
birds collected alive (all visibly oiled)
885
birds collected dead (212 visibly oiled)
42
birds released
All numbers are totals to date from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, reported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cause of injury or death has not been determined.
Yesterday BP Chairman Tony Hayward appeared before Congress.
Texan Republican Michael Burgess expressed surprise when the BP chief said he had not known anything about the well in question until he was told in April that drilling had confirmed an oil discovery.
"But you're the CEO of the company," Congressman Burgess said.
"With due respect," Mr Hayward replied, "we drill hundreds of wells around the world."
"Yeah, that's what scares me right now," said Mr Burgess.
Afterwards Hayward was summarily replaced.
Hopeful estimates are that the spill will be contained by August, however there is a growing consensus that it may in fact continue for years to come.
If this is not enough to get America to change its energy habits and look to a future with clean, renewable energy as our goal than I simply do not know what it would take.
"Hayward told (LIED) the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the reservoir contains 50 million barrels of crude..."
ReplyDeleteActually it may be 500 mil to possibly a billion barrels. It may even be 1/4 of the entire gulf reserves......
And now Hayward is in a Yacht race having a good time. So I guess he got his life back, piece of shit.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, great post. The Ixtoc spill wasn't contained until five relief wells were drilled. The relief well method of containment appears to be a coin-toss at best. If BP gets lucky by August, I'll be both surprised and delighted.
ReplyDeleteHere in the Tampa Bay area, we haven't seen any tarballs yet. The natural gas that is reported to be escaping is particularly scarey. Odorless and deadly.
The politicians / right-wing media freaks who are apologizing to BP and whining that President Obama is being too hard on BP, ought to be impeached (in the case of pols) and boycotted (in the case of media).
Watching the Glee video brings tears to my eyes. The Gulf is gorgeous...
You forgot to mention the numerous birds and turtles caught up in the oil booms - they are being BURNT ALIVE!
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/2cl5v3a
It's sad, but hey, I can't afford a new hybrid car right now and my house is heated with natural gas. It's the price we pay because the oil and gas lobby is so strong that they will hold off alternatives for as long as they can.
ReplyDeleteThe Gulf is paying the price for the Oil and Gas Companies keeping new technology at bay. Until every drop is sucked out of the ground we won't have a substantial push towards cleaner solutions.
The Earth will heal, in time, we probably won't extinct any species with the Gulf disaster. In time, if we don't get off the oil, or when the oil runs out, there will be a sea change, and if we as humans screw up badly enough, well, there may be less of us to deal with as well. The Earth will take care of itself, eventually, even to the detriment of our species. That should give everyone hope.
For anonymous--even if you cant make the change from oil and natural gas,we should all be making choices that are intelligent and thoughtful.Things like our moms used to say-dont stand with the refrigerator door open,shut the front door and dont let the heat out ,or the heat in as may be,dont leave on lights you dont need,turn off tvs not being viewed,do you really need an SUV to drive 2 miles 2 work and 1 mile to the grocery store with 2 or 3 people in the car?Can you combine errands and save gas,can you drive better to save gas?Do you have proper insulation in your home,and double paned glass or storm windows that you actually use? Is your car tuned,are the tires properly inflated? All of these little things,by themselves,are not much,but together,if we all do them ,we make a huge difference. "The earth will heal" is a great soundbite,but do you want your grandchildren to suffer when the oil runs out in their lifetime? I dont!! I want us to wise up now.So many changes are necessary !!We may need to completely change as a society,and learn to live by where we work,and shop by where we live,and use some sort of mass transit. Its very likely there will never be a real replacement for how we use oil today in our cars.We have a uniquely American lifestyle of sprawling communities far from work,shopping,and school.We may have to change that.
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