Drill baby.....drill!

[bandl]

Alright guys, this is enough. Clenz read a book on the subject, so he's the expert here. He's also older, wiser and more travelled than the rest of us.

[clenz]

OK..I'm done with it. Ignore the classes I took on eco-toxicology and the fact the book, if you actually read it, brings up a lot of good points.


oil is the devil. Earth is going to fall apart because of oil and global warming

[grizzaholic]

Alright guys, this is enough. Clenz read a book on the subject, so he's the expert here. He's also older, wiser and more travelled than the rest of us.

IOWA.



Nuff' said

[bandl]

OK..I'm done with it.

Since oil spills don't endanger the environment, I propose that the next time Iowa floods we also pump in a few hundred thousand gallons of oil onto the country. I'm sure oil is like Miracle-Gro for Iowegian corn.

[grizzaholic]

OK..I'm done with it.

Since oil spills don't endanger the environment, I propose that the next time Iowa floods we also pump in a few hundred thousand gallons of oil onto the country. I'm sure oil is like Miracle-Gro for Iowegian corn.

Well DUH.

[houndawg]

Again, you realize more oil is leaked into the ocean naturally every year than is spilled by a LARGE margin.


Oil is a natural compound and isn't as bad for ocean life as you, and the rest of the econerds, want us to believe.

No wonder the Panthers suck.

[clenz]

Again, you realize more oil is leaked into the ocean naturally every year than is spilled by a LARGE margin.


Oil is a natural compound and isn't as bad for ocean life as you, and the rest of the econerds, want us to believe.

No wonder the Panthers suck.

Do you not believe that statement?



Oh, and now they are talking about burning the oil off of the top of the ocean....I think I said that was a possibility to do as well and that was shot down

[JMU DJ]

OK..I'm done with it. Ignore the classes I took on eco-toxicology and the fact the book, if you actually read it, brings up a lot of good points.


oil is the devil. Earth is going to fall apart because of oil and global warming

I think "8 on it's side cubed" has taken these same classes, if not more, and works in the field. As a scientist and having taken these same classes, I'm going to have to agree with "8 on its side cubed".


The oil slick on the surface will also prevent the normal amount of light from entering the ocean... I think light is important to marine life, but hey, who knows these things? Again, like you said there is more oil pollution from natural release, down the drain, seepage from roadways, etc... but none of these cover an area as dense as an oil spill. Also, don't know if this was covered in your book, but the oil that seeps up from the bottom of the ocean is far more degraded and virtually non-toxic compared to the oil that is brought up from deep drilling. But, I'm not a scientist or anything so these things confuse me.





















Oh, also Iowa

[bandl]

Is it flooding in Iowa yet? Cuz my car needs an oil change and I need a place to send the used up oil.

[JMU DJ]

Is it flooding in Iowa yet? Cuz my car needs an oil change and I need a place to send the used up oil.

It was flooding in March when I was out there. You missed it, there were epic oil pipe waves to surf brah!

[bandl]

Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night? We could really use the expertise here...

[grizzaholic]

Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night? We could really use the expertise here...

I am staying in one this weekend. And I had very good advice on the KFC thread yesterday. What can I help with?

[mainejeff]

5,000 barrels a day being leaked into the Gulf.........4 states to be impacted. Good-bye fishing and tourism industries.






P.S. - BP is fvcked.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

We do need to drill more now to make up for the oil Obamas wasting in the current spill.

[mainejeff]

We do need to drill more now to make up for the oil Obamas wasting in the current spill.

We should send you there so you can lick it all up.

[Gil Dobie]

Obama is doing everything Bush would have done to clean up the spill and go after BP.

We'll raise the price of gas so we can pay your price for your oil shieky baby.

[mainejeff]

"I know President Bush, Mr. Obama........and you are no President Bush!"




"Ms. Rice.......between you and me, you don't have a chance with him........I mean just look at them!"

[JohnStOnge]

I think Clenz is right. Unfortunately, I don't like to say who I work for or what I do beyond saying that I've been involved in assessing pollution impacts on estuaries for 27 years. But I don't mind talking about what I was doing 23 years ago. I was a biologist who specialized in water quality working for the State of Georgia when the Amazon Venture oil spill occurred in Savannah ( http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 1206,67753" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ). I knew nothing about the effects of oil spills beforehand but the environmental consultants brought in to assist told us it's not really that big a deal in the grand environmental scheme of things. The environment would handle it. Especially a warm weather salt marsh environment.

And it did. It was not that big a deal in the long run.

Of course that was "only" 500,000 gallons and this spill is a lot bigger than that. But it was also directly into the estuary. It was a short term problem for that vicinity. It was not the end of the world.

Don't get me wrong. This is bad. And it'll be especially bad if they don't find a way to shut the oil off reasonably soon. But the system will recover. Meanwhile, many commercial fishermen will make more off of BP than they would've made by engaging in commercial fishing. Same with charterboat businesses, etc.

This may temporarily reduce the "nusery" potential of Louisiana estuarine areas. But it's not going to destroy it. It will recover and it will recover, in historical terms, quickly.

[JohnStOnge]

BTW: The bottom line question is: Has more been gained than lost through offshore oil drilling in the Gulf; including consideration of this most recent event?

And the answer is "yes." There is a risk associated with oil exploration. Things like this will happen at times. But the benefits outweigh the consequences of realization of the risks. Louisiana is, on balance, better off for having allowed offshore oil drilling.

[kalm]

BTW: The bottom line question is: Has more been gained than lost through offshore oil drilling in the Gulf; including consideration of this most recent event?

And the answer is "yes." There is a risk associated with oil exploration. Things like this will happen at times. But the benefits outweigh the consequences of realization of the risks. Louisiana is, on balance, better off for having allowed offshore oil drilling.

That's fine if 100% of clean-up is payed for by BP or Halliburton or whoever is responsible. Otherwise it's another exampe of a corporation externalizing the risk on to the public.

[JohnStOnge]

That's fine if 100% of clean-up is payed for by BP or Halliburton or whoever is responsible. Otherwise it's another exampe of a corporation externalizing the risk on to the public.

I think they will. But let's say they don't. The oil exploration business has pumped countless billions of dollars into the Louisiana economy, the Gulf Coast economy, and the national economy over the years. It's directly contributed more countless of billions of dollars in tax revenue. The State of Louisiana, the Gulf Region, and the nation have made WAY more off the Gulf offshore exploration and production industry than it's ever going to spend on incidents like this. "The public" is still way ahead. This incident does not mean that "the public" has suffered a net loss by facilitating the Gulf offshore oil exploration and production business.

[kalm]

That's fine if 100% of clean-up is payed for by BP or Halliburton or whoever is responsible. Otherwise it's another exampe of a corporation externalizing the risk on to the public.

I think they will. But let's say they don't. The oil exploration business has pumped countless billions of dollars into the Louisiana economy, the Gulf Coast economy, and the national economy over the years. It's directly contributed more countless of billions of dollars in tax revenue. The State of Louisiana, the Gulf Region, and the nation have made WAY more off the Gulf offshore exploration and production industry than it's ever going to spend on incidents like this. "The public" is still way ahead. This incident does not mean that "the public" has suffered a net loss by facilitating the Gulf offshore oil exploration and production business.

Really? You think they'll pay for the coast guard's involvement, the marine biologists assisting in the rescue of animals, the court costs involved with appealing the fines they are bound to receive? How long did it take Exxon to settle up over Valdez? Do you think they'll pay the interest?

Exxon Valdez was a $7 billion bill to clean up. That small amount just might eat a bite into the "countless billions" brought to the local economy.

Why should the companies that avoid a catastrophe like this be punished for their success?

[mainejeff]

I agree with JSO......let the oil do what it is going to do and F the Gulf states!

[JMU DJ]

I
Of course that was "only" 500,000 gallons and this spill is a lot bigger than that. But it was also directly into the estuary. It was a short term problem for that vicinity. It was not the end of the world.

Don't get me wrong. This is bad. And it'll be especially bad if they don't find a way to shut the oil off reasonably soon. But the system will recover. Meanwhile, many commercial fishermen will make more off of BP than they would've made by engaging in commercial fishing. Same with charterboat businesses, etc.

This may temporarily reduce the "nusery" potential of Louisiana estuarine areas. But it's not going to destroy it. It will recover and it will recover, in historical terms, quickly.

The reason the warm estuary was able to handle this oil was due to the type of oil, from your article No. 6 Fuel, and the low toxicity of No.6 Fuel. This stuff just sits there, forever, unless it's cleaned up. Per your article, the lady is concerned about the thousands of gallons of "fresh stuff" on the bottom that will just linger there. No. 6 Fuel is the least toxic and has the lowest acute affects, but brings many chronic problems if not cleaned up, especially to the wild life. Also, the article says "damage to animal life is hard to asses," but it seems like there was a short term affect. I wonder if any follow up studies have been done. If you want to compare a small oil spill, there was an even smaller crude oil spill (approx 3,000 bbl or 126,000 gal) off the coast of Florida in 1976 that had an impact on not only wild life, but also destroyed a significant portion of the mangrove population. The oil company that spilled wouldn't help with the clean up either.


The oil that is heading for Louisianan is the most toxic form, crude oil. I agree with you about your analysis, but since you work in the field, you should know that depending on the type of spill and the type of oil/fuel spilled, recovery can be very quick or take decades. Again, small Fuel Type 6 spill... Large continuous crude spill. You're comparing pin prick to knife wound.

[Cap'n Cat]

Hope you've enjoyed your Gulf shellfish and clean beaches.......you might want to avoid them for a while after this weekend.

HAHAHAHAAAAA! This is better 'n Z's and Baldy's and T's, "John McCain could not have picked a better running mate than Sarah Palin"!!!!!!!!