This is a proposal directed at one of the oil and gas corporations with an imagination and balls to use it. Maybe Devon Oil or Chesapeake in Oklahoma City for example.
Super tankers can pump up concentrated pools of spilled oil.
This has been done in Saudi oil spills in the past.
The wild well in the Gulf is creating at least two types of oil plumes of some large volume.
One plume type is probably a hydrocarbon hydrate formed from the natural gas being injected in to the cold brine environment of the bottom of the gulf.
The other plume type is cold dense crude oil floating beneath the surface.
Under the rules of maritime salvage they are yours for the taking. They are free.
Better than that you can be paid for salvaging them by BP.
Wouldn't you love to have BP pay you to take their oil?
Plus!
YOU WOULD BE A HERO TO AMERICA!
YOU WOULD SAVE YOUR OWN OILY ASS AND DRILLING RIGHTS IN THE GULF!
Damn talk about a good day. Stick it to BP. Be a genuine American hero. Make money. Get paid for making money. Get invited to the White House. ETC.
Better get on it quick however.
Chavez/Chevron reads these social media thinges too and he would love to stick it to America.
Please don't let him get there first.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Not Quick And Dirty, But Long And Filthy
The following site was sent to me by my daughter at LSU in Baton Rouge. They are from:
Richard Shephard Aerial Photography
36 Main Street
Cummington, MA 01026
http://rsairphoto.com/
Sample Photos:
"Oil collecting at the mouth of one of the breeches on Elmer's Island, which connect directly to the bayous of Louisiana. There were no clean-up crews in sight and no one for at least a mile in either direction."
Visit his site for more photos including those of bottle nose dolphins and other large fish and animals killed by this so called "minor" ecological disaster.
Richard Shephard Aerial Photography
36 Main Street
Cummington, MA 01026
http://rsairphoto.com/
Sample Photos:
"Oil collecting at the mouth of one of the breeches on Elmer's Island, which connect directly to the bayous of Louisiana. There were no clean-up crews in sight and no one for at least a mile in either direction."
Visit his site for more photos including those of bottle nose dolphins and other large fish and animals killed by this so called "minor" ecological disaster.
Mr. Shepard and people like him will be the watchdogs of this disaster. BP and its associates will obstruct, deny, cover up, hide, everything they can.
Yesterday on East Beach in Pass Christian I found minute traces of oil and some dead rays on the beach. Normal occurrences? Who knows? Mr. Shepard's photos, however, are not of motorboat oil left behind from towing skiers as suggested by Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi.
Definative Proof: http://rsairphoto.com/
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
UNC Researchers Explain Why Oil Plumes Formed Under the Ocean Surface From the BP Gulf Well
Twilight Earth
How and why do underwater oil plumes form?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
"... two experiments that help explain why and how an oil spill on the seafloor, similar to the current BP leak in the Gulf of Mexico, could form underwater oil plumes that do not rise to the surface.
The reasons include:
whether a spill is released in the form of a turbulent jet, or is under less pressure
the density of the surrounding water, due to temperature and salinity.
In both tests, the tank contains salt water that's denser at the bottom than at the top (bottom 1.06 g/cc, top 1.015g/cc). The first video shows a green-colored alcohol/water mixture being released into the tank; the second experiment shows red gauge oil being released. Both the oil and alcohol mixtures are about the same density (approximately 0.9g/cc) and are released at the same rate (about 0.8 gallons/minute).
As you can see, the first more turbulent jet is trapped underwater in a horizontal plume when it reaches the level where the surrounding water density changes; the second less turbulent jet is not trapped, and the oil rises to the surface.
The experiments were conducted by Richard McLaughlin, Ph.D., and Roberto Camassa, Ph.D., fluid dynamics experts in the mathematics department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"We've been thinking that the recent news about underwater oil plumes is very reminiscent of these jet experiments, in which the effect of the strong turbulence is creating an emulsion which can lead to an underwater trapping," McLaughlin said. "In videos of the actual oil leak in the Gulf, the turbulent oil jet looks quite similar to our alcohol jet." He added that with the addition of dispersants, the effect would be further amplified.
He and Camassa along with students in their summer lab have also analyzed video of the current spill to try to determine how much oil is leaking into the Gulf.
"We estimated the flow rate to be about 56,000 barrels per day, quite a bit higher than BP's estimate of 5,000 barrels per day, and closer to the estimate recently in the news of 70,000 barrels per day," Camassa said.
Both researchers are professors in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. Camassa is also director of the Carolina Center for Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics."
North Carolina's WRLA video with better visuals
The volume and speed of the oil coming out of the well has created a whole new world of pollution. BP was unconcerned about the volume and speed of the leak? They didn't understand the physics of it?
This is from the Exxon-Valdez spill in Alaska. It is a matter of time, just time, before you will see this in the Gulf of Mexico but worse. What happens when any sea life finds itself in the middle of an oil plume or a plume of dead oxygen depleted water? Photo ops galore.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
NASA Satellite Image of BP Oil Spill (May/17 update)
Click on the photos to enlarge.
See where the well is?
See the oil slick?
See the top of the Gulf Loop Current in middle of the bottom of the picture.
See where the Loop Current captures the oil slick and starts transporting it East.
The Loop Current
"The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. From there, it curves east across the Gulf and flows south parallel to the west Florida Coast. As it flows between Florida and Cuba it becomes the Florida Current as it moves through the Florida Straits, where it joins the Gulf Stream as it travels up the Atlantic Coast." --ENS
Not To Worry
"NOAA explained in a statement that in the time it would take for the Deepwater Horizon oil to travel to the vicinity of the Florida Straits, it would be "highly weathered" and both the natural process of evaporation and the application of chemical dispersants would reduce the oil volume.
The oil may get caught in a clockwise eddy in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, and not be carried to the Florida Straits at all, NOAA said.
Oil entrained in the Loop Current would require persistent onshore winds or an eddy on the edge of the Loop Current for it to reach the Florida shoreline. The weathered and diluted oil would likely appear in isolated locations in the form of tar balls, NOAA said. " ---ENS
Sounds like a sophisticated version of this:
"The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there," Limbaugh said. "It's natural. It's as natural as the ocean water is."
So where does the loop go this time of year.
This is the loop and the Gulf Stream.
Will the oil evaporate along the way?
How about the under water oil plumes?
Do they really exist?
How about the anaerobic dead zone plumes that the bacteria eating the oil will create?
Will they disperse?
The Saga continues.
For how long?
During a news conference, David Halstead, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, showed off a picture of a Coppertone bottle on a beach.
"What's the only oil on the beaches? Suntan oil," Halstead said.
"What's the only oil on the beaches? Suntan oil," Halstead said.
President Obama Pulls Off A "George W. Bush" Stupid Statement
In a speech just a few moments ago at the White House my President standing next to the President of Mexico stated that the illegal immigrants should get at the back of the line.
Mr. President , Sir, do you friggin know how long your damn line is?
No, you don't seem to.
“If you were Mexican and the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen, your U.S. citizen sibling could file an immigrant petition for you. But because of the country-based quota system, you would have to wait approximately 131 years to reach the front of the line to receive your visa!”
---Prakash Khatri, the nation’s first Ombudsman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (2003-2008)
Now add the X millions of illegal immigrant already here to your line. Just how long a line would it be now Mr. President.
We elect our public servants to solve problems, not to bull shit about them.
Mr. President , Sir, do you friggin know how long your damn line is?
No, you don't seem to.
“If you were Mexican and the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen, your U.S. citizen sibling could file an immigrant petition for you. But because of the country-based quota system, you would have to wait approximately 131 years to reach the front of the line to receive your visa!”
---Prakash Khatri, the nation’s first Ombudsman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (2003-2008)
Now add the X millions of illegal immigrant already here to your line. Just how long a line would it be now Mr. President.
We elect our public servants to solve problems, not to bull shit about them.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Inhofe, Barbour, & BP's Hayward Three Stooges: On The Impact Of The Gulf Oil Disaster
1. Democrats' move to increase the maximum fine for oil spills to $10 billion is foiled by Sen. James M. Inhofe. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was seeking the unanimous consent of the Senate to move forward on the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act, which would retroactively boost the legal cap of $75 million on how much companies must pay for economic damages.
But Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) blocked the effort, saying it would make drilling too expensive for smaller companies. "Big Oil would love to have these caps there so they can shut out all the independents," he said..."
Dementia at best, Jimmy you done lost your mind.
2. "Mississippi's Haley Barbour, a well-connected former Washington lobbyist, has calmly said the oil slick looming offshore is just a sheen in most places and there's no reason for people to panic....
Barbour, 62, is a second-term governor who was in office during Katrina and was widely praised for his response to the storm. He's now chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Barbour has said the oil spill is "not Armageddon," but he believes news coverage has hurt tourism in his state.....
Oil has not started washing up on shore in any large quantities, and Barbour likened much of the spill to the gasoline sheen commonly found around ski boats...."
3. Embattled Chief Executive of BP Tony Hayward come up with some controversial comments regarding the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico.... “…everything we can see at this moment suggests that the overall environmental impact will be very, very modest.”... “…The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to total water volume."
What you have to understand is that these fools actually believe what they are saying. They actually believe that they will be proven right in their opinions and assessments. Even as they are being proven wrong they continue to believe. What can you do with people in powerful places that behave this way?
But Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) blocked the effort, saying it would make drilling too expensive for smaller companies. "Big Oil would love to have these caps there so they can shut out all the independents," he said..."
Dementia at best, Jimmy you done lost your mind.
2. "Mississippi's Haley Barbour, a well-connected former Washington lobbyist, has calmly said the oil slick looming offshore is just a sheen in most places and there's no reason for people to panic....
Barbour, 62, is a second-term governor who was in office during Katrina and was widely praised for his response to the storm. He's now chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Barbour has said the oil spill is "not Armageddon," but he believes news coverage has hurt tourism in his state.....
Oil has not started washing up on shore in any large quantities, and Barbour likened much of the spill to the gasoline sheen commonly found around ski boats...."
3. Embattled Chief Executive of BP Tony Hayward come up with some controversial comments regarding the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico.... “…everything we can see at this moment suggests that the overall environmental impact will be very, very modest.”... “…The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to total water volume."
What you have to understand is that these fools actually believe what they are saying. They actually believe that they will be proven right in their opinions and assessments. Even as they are being proven wrong they continue to believe. What can you do with people in powerful places that behave this way?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
How Much Are The Marshall Islands Worth?
One thing we are re-learning from the failure of Wall Street, the robbing of the National Treasure by Halliburton, the fall of ENRON, etc. is that the world is full of crooks, thieves, and liers in expensive suits and that Governments sell out cheap.
It is time for a change.
I propose that any country that flags a ship or allows a corporation to operate under its laws be held ultimately responsible for the damage or criminal activity those they flag or licence commit.
That under international law said country be held liable down to its treasure and/or territory.
Let's Start with the country that flagged the Deep Water Horizon, that being the Marshall Islands.
Of course it is always the poor nations that take on these flags of convenience, The Marshal Islands for example as of 2008 had a Gross Domestic Product of only S135.5 Million. That won't go too far in paying for cost of the harm done by the Deep Water Horizon. But maybe by putting their economy in limbo it would warn off others.
There is another problem. Basically the Marshall Islands are a step child of the United States.
We are its main source of revenue.
"US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. The Marshall Islands received more than $1 billion in aid from the US from 1986-2002. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association, the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2023, at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts. " ---CIA Handbook
Whoopsey Daisey!
So a country for whom we are the main economic support flagged a ship that they don't even inspect that screws up in American waters. Well shit.
Let's take the dang thing back and sell the islands off one at a time to billionaire investors. At least they would not be running the scam of selling flags of convenience to pirates across the world like TransOcean, BP, Halliburton, etc..
It is still a good idea for all the other "nations" that sell corrupt "flags of convenience". Let them be totally liable for the crimes committed by those they licence. You see all these corporations are trans national as are commodities, products, and money. Those CEOs, CFOs, and Board members just chuckle their way to an orgasm thinking about how parochial national laws are when it comes to controlling them . Dear Glenn Beck types, it is these guys who are already the "New World" order. Whatcha gonna do about them? Take your cut and then retire?
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Oran, Orante, Orans, What Is In A Posture?
Sometimes I go off on these tangents of knowledge. This is one of those.
Livia in the Basilica of Otricoli
Symbolism is a marvelous thing. Often we adopt a symbol for one reason and then explain away that reason as we move further away from it in time.
Yes the Orans Posture is pre-Christian but was every bit of a religious symbol as it is now. But, what did it mean?
Livia in the Basilica of Otricoli
Orant is a type of gesture during prayer in which the hands are raised, set apart, and the palms face outward. It was once common in early Christianity, and can frequently be seen in early Christian art. For example, orant gestures are depicted in Roman catacombs as vault frescos that date to the 4th century C.E.
In modern times, it is most common in Pentecostal and charismatic churches. The gesture is also seen in Catholic worship, esoteric sects, and in certain forms of exorcism ritual. It is commonly used in small group renewal weekend settings such as Cursillo. It is common in some charismatic churches during praiseful singing as well.
In more radical thought, the orant gesture is seen as a way of surrendering to the powers that be and submitting to the intrinsic patterns of the universe. As a component of cosmic religion, orant is almost a form of meditation, and a symbol of conscious change. In looking up with arms spread open, an orant practitioner would theoretically feel the chaos of the universe, and yet remain in perfect solace.
In modern times, it is most common in Pentecostal and charismatic churches. The gesture is also seen in Catholic worship, esoteric sects, and in certain forms of exorcism ritual. It is commonly used in small group renewal weekend settings such as Cursillo. It is common in some charismatic churches during praiseful singing as well.
In more radical thought, the orant gesture is seen as a way of surrendering to the powers that be and submitting to the intrinsic patterns of the universe. As a component of cosmic religion, orant is almost a form of meditation, and a symbol of conscious change. In looking up with arms spread open, an orant practitioner would theoretically feel the chaos of the universe, and yet remain in perfect solace.
Kyiv
Orans (Latin, praying), (or Orante) is a female figure with extended arms [1] or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbows close to the sides of the body and with the hands outstretched sideways, palms up.
The Orante is a figure with open arms, a symbol of the soul at peace in paradise, a representation of the soul in the other world as a figure (orante) with arms extended in prayer.
Noah
Daniel (with lion cubs?)
Symbolism is a marvelous thing. Often we adopt a symbol for one reason and then explain away that reason as we move further away from it in time.
Yes the Orans Posture is pre-Christian but was every bit of a religious symbol as it is now. But, what did it mean?
Snake Goddess Crete (did they keep a snake under that bell like skirt?)
Knossos
Dove Goddess
German Minerva
Astarte (my personal favorite)
Gilgamesh (He is cheating, he is using the lion's legs for the upright portion of the posture.)
Knossos Mycenae Horns of Consecration
(Did the Hebrews adopt theses for their alter?)
This is from the same place, notice that the horns have changed names but could this orans be mimicking the horns? Does this go back to the bull stuff after all?
Poppy head, guess what she used to predict the future.
This goes on and on and on...
Friday, May 14, 2010
It Is Now Official: It Is The Methane Hydrates Stupid
You know why BP wouldn't release this picture?
Number one: The white stuff coming out is not natural gas it is methane hydrates converted to methane. That's why the containment domes froze up for sure.
Number two: There is much more oil coming out than they have been claiming. Maybe 5 to 8 times as much, and the amount of methane is not even being discussed.
Now it is a crime scene.
It is time.....
It Is STILL The Methane Hydrates Stupid
For millions of years sea life has been forming methane hydrates as it dies.
It is in layer upon layer at the bottoms of the worlds oceans. What happens when our upper world drills into that lower world?
BP et. al. are lying through their teeth.
They are so far out of their league that it would be laughable if it was not so damn serious.
The Coast Guard Admiral in charge on the government side of things was asked on MSNBC this morning was this anything like the EXXON Valdez spill, he said no, "It is more like the Apollo XIII disaster."
Yes it is Admiral, yes it is, but the oil companies are proposing terrestrial solutions to a problem way far out of what they know. The world down there at 5000 feet below sea level on a surface unknown to man might as well be on the moon.
Watch this lie: "It is ICE CRYSTALS"
The Containment Dome failed because of ice crystals.
The Top Hat isn't going to be used because of ice crystals.
We are going to insert a smaller pipe into the broken pipe to avoid ice crystals from forming.
Them there "ice crystals" are high explosive methane hydrates. If they actually drilled through methane hydrates, which is highly probable given their location, then every time they heat them up, say with concrete to seal in the well, they will expand into a deadly explosive gas. BP et. al. know this. They are playing a game of Russian Roulette here. Every attempt to stop the flow is a chance that it will blow up. That's why they have set aside their two "containment cap" efforts. The dome and the hat could have concentrated the methane hydrates and then melted them and ....well....boom. A normal proceedure of an explosive collar to crimp the pipe could do the same thing.
As one U.S, Senator said yesterday, they are making this up as they go.
Using the Admiral's Apollo XIII metaphor, the problem is BP et. al. are no NASA.
Well who can do this then?
No one is going to step in and take this over. Why would they? BP et. al. can't get off the tiger or it will eat them. God help BP et. al. to find a solution. Pray that I'm full of shit and they get lucky or smart.
Meanwhile moms and pops and kiddies all along the Gulf are in a lose lose world.
The oil/gas companies other than BP et. al. may pay for these guy's hubris with their very existence.
The hydrocarbon world will drown in a nasty sump, once called the Gulf of Mexico.
In that world, Cassandra will be the optimist.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Vivienne, The Cat, Spent Her 1st Birthday Up A Tree
Vivienne our foster cat is one year old today. When I walked outside with my coffee this morning the first thing I heard was a plaintiff meow. She was back up the tree she climbed last week and would not come down.
So I spent the morning trying to get her down.
This video is of Vivienne up the tree!
This video is why I have spent the afternoon in bed fortified with pain killers.
Yes, Vivienne is now down out of the tree.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
You Must See To Believe
Thanks to the Erudite Redneck for pointing this out and for sarah212 for sharing it with NewsOK.com.
Crazy Okie and the Lariate Tornado!
Video from May 10, 2010 outside Yukon, Oklahoma....
Crazy Okie and the Lariate Tornado!
Video from May 10, 2010 outside Yukon, Oklahoma....
Federal Mines Management Service Allows Trucking Firm to Mine Our Moon
What if the American Government, you know the government that 20% of Americans say we don't need, allowed one of our most able trucking companies to go to the moon and mine it? Far out idea, right? Not really.
We pretty much did that by allowing a group of oil companies to drill holes in a surface of our earth less well understood than the surface of the moon. Now we can see that they were using technology designed for earth to explore the "moon" of the the deep ocean.
These aren't bad people, as they themselves know. It is not enough to say that they are "greedy" and "stupid", and full of "self importance", and "hubris", and potentially "criminal" in their actions, because our own Government gave them permission to explore this "moon". Why? Maybe because those responsible in our Government were greedy, stupid, full of self importance, hubris, criminal,and...did I mention criminal.
What would we do to NASA if they let the Union Pacific Railroad take over moon transport tomorrow?
Everybody is pointing figures:
WASHINGTON (AP) — BP PLC told Congress Tuesday its massive Gulf oil spill was caused by the failure of a key safety device made by another company.In turn, that company said BP was in charge, and that a third company that poured concrete to plug the exploratory well didn't do it right. The third company, which was plugging the well in anticipation of future production, says it was only following BP's plan.The blame game shot into the open Tuesday as the Senate began a hearing into the oil spill that has been contaminating water in the Gulf of Mexico for three weeks and threatens sensitive marshes and marine life from Louisiana to Florida.Executives of the three companies, testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, acknowledged investigators have yet to pinpoint definitively the cause of the well explosion April 20 or why the oil was not contained, but they spent little time before trying to shift responsibility for the environmental crisis to each other....
"Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the panel's ranking Republican, said the future of domestic oil development in this country rests with finding out what went wrong, correcting the failures and shortcomings and assuring the public offshore drilling can be conducted safely.Murkowski and several other senators made clear they didn't like the finger pointing."I would suggest to all three of you that we are all in this together," she told the executives, who were sitting shoulder to shoulder at the witness table, "because this incident will have impact on developing of our energy policy for this country""...
"Lamar McKay, chairman of BP America, pointedly noting that it did not own the rig and that "responsibility for the safety of drilling operations" belonged to Transocean.Of the 126 people on the Deepwater Horizon rig when it was engulfed in flames, only seven were BP employees, he said.But Transocean CEO Steven Newman emphasized BP's role."Offshore oil and gas production projects begin and end with the operator, in this case BP," said Newman. His said it was BP that prepared the drilling plan and BP that gave the go-ahead to fill the well pipe with sea water before a final cement cap was installed, reducing the downward pressure.The executives said this was a practice that was being used frequently and that BP got approval from the federal Minerals Management Service."...
---AP
It is sort of like listening to a bunch of forth grade boys out on the school play ground explaining to the teacher why they are all dirty and have bloody noses.
Oil is a commodity. There is really no such thing as "domestic oil". If BP had by some miracle brought that well into production that oil would not have gone directly into the gas tanks of American cars buying gas in Kansas. It would have gone into the commodity pool of world oil being traded world wide. Drill Baby-Drill is a triple lie at best.
The Senate, The Government Regulatory Agencies, Wall Street, The Chicago Traders, and so forth and so on, want this to be solved and swept out of public view as fast as it can be. Then they can go back to business as usual. Trouble is they way over reached on this one. They poked a big hole in one of mother earth's vital arteries.
Government should now do what Government was created to do, protect those it governs by consensus. Not those who buy them whores, or send them on trips to exotic places, or finances their individual appetites, but We The People, and despite the SCOTUS thinking corporations are not included.
In 1995 during the tragedy of Katrina, eight million gallons of oil were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the waters of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Corporate interest and Government culpability in this tragedy were masked by the immediate human suffering caused by the same storm. Now here we are again. How much more can we all endure?
How much more till we damage the Gulf beyond repair in our life time?
Every time I post on this subject I feel like a toad croaking in a polluted swamp.
We truly are ALL of us in this together. What shall we do?
We pretty much did that by allowing a group of oil companies to drill holes in a surface of our earth less well understood than the surface of the moon. Now we can see that they were using technology designed for earth to explore the "moon" of the the deep ocean.
These aren't bad people, as they themselves know. It is not enough to say that they are "greedy" and "stupid", and full of "self importance", and "hubris", and potentially "criminal" in their actions, because our own Government gave them permission to explore this "moon". Why? Maybe because those responsible in our Government were greedy, stupid, full of self importance, hubris, criminal,and...did I mention criminal.
What would we do to NASA if they let the Union Pacific Railroad take over moon transport tomorrow?
Everybody is pointing figures:
WASHINGTON (AP) — BP PLC told Congress Tuesday its massive Gulf oil spill was caused by the failure of a key safety device made by another company.In turn, that company said BP was in charge, and that a third company that poured concrete to plug the exploratory well didn't do it right. The third company, which was plugging the well in anticipation of future production, says it was only following BP's plan.The blame game shot into the open Tuesday as the Senate began a hearing into the oil spill that has been contaminating water in the Gulf of Mexico for three weeks and threatens sensitive marshes and marine life from Louisiana to Florida.Executives of the three companies, testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, acknowledged investigators have yet to pinpoint definitively the cause of the well explosion April 20 or why the oil was not contained, but they spent little time before trying to shift responsibility for the environmental crisis to each other....
"Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the panel's ranking Republican, said the future of domestic oil development in this country rests with finding out what went wrong, correcting the failures and shortcomings and assuring the public offshore drilling can be conducted safely.Murkowski and several other senators made clear they didn't like the finger pointing."I would suggest to all three of you that we are all in this together," she told the executives, who were sitting shoulder to shoulder at the witness table, "because this incident will have impact on developing of our energy policy for this country""...
"Lamar McKay, chairman of BP America, pointedly noting that it did not own the rig and that "responsibility for the safety of drilling operations" belonged to Transocean.Of the 126 people on the Deepwater Horizon rig when it was engulfed in flames, only seven were BP employees, he said.But Transocean CEO Steven Newman emphasized BP's role."Offshore oil and gas production projects begin and end with the operator, in this case BP," said Newman. His said it was BP that prepared the drilling plan and BP that gave the go-ahead to fill the well pipe with sea water before a final cement cap was installed, reducing the downward pressure.The executives said this was a practice that was being used frequently and that BP got approval from the federal Minerals Management Service."...
---AP
It is sort of like listening to a bunch of forth grade boys out on the school play ground explaining to the teacher why they are all dirty and have bloody noses.
Oil is a commodity. There is really no such thing as "domestic oil". If BP had by some miracle brought that well into production that oil would not have gone directly into the gas tanks of American cars buying gas in Kansas. It would have gone into the commodity pool of world oil being traded world wide. Drill Baby-Drill is a triple lie at best.
The Senate, The Government Regulatory Agencies, Wall Street, The Chicago Traders, and so forth and so on, want this to be solved and swept out of public view as fast as it can be. Then they can go back to business as usual. Trouble is they way over reached on this one. They poked a big hole in one of mother earth's vital arteries.
Government should now do what Government was created to do, protect those it governs by consensus. Not those who buy them whores, or send them on trips to exotic places, or finances their individual appetites, but We The People, and despite the SCOTUS thinking corporations are not included.
In 1995 during the tragedy of Katrina, eight million gallons of oil were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the waters of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Corporate interest and Government culpability in this tragedy were masked by the immediate human suffering caused by the same storm. Now here we are again. How much more can we all endure?
How much more till we damage the Gulf beyond repair in our life time?
Every time I post on this subject I feel like a toad croaking in a polluted swamp.
We truly are ALL of us in this together. What shall we do?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
It's Methane Hydrates Stupid (Annotated)
So what happens when you drill at 5000 feet below sea level? Eleven years ago the Lawrence Livermore Labs said:
"As scientists around the world learn more about this material, new concerns surface. For example, ocean-based oil-drilling operations sometimes encounter methane hydrate deposits. As a drill spins through the hydrate, the process can cause it to dissociate. The freed gas may explode, causing the drilling crew to lose control of the well. Another concern is that unstable hydrate layers could give way beneath oil platforms or, on a larger scale, even cause tsunamis."
--- Science & Technology Review March 1999
As I have discussed this in various forms I have discovered that people have simply never heard of the ice that burns, Methane Hydrate. The BP keep talking like this is water ice with methane in it. Bullshit, it is highly volatile compound that may or may not have water ice in it. Take a look at this article from 1999 discussing the "little known material" and the dangers it poses to oil drilling. METHANE HYDRATES: A Surprising Compound
Here is a facebook conversation that started last night before BP announce this:
Deep-sea ice crystals stymie Gulf oil leak fix.
Junior Bear Was it Halliburton after all? Pressure, Volume, Temperature, at 5000 below sea level Boyle's Law formed in the year 1622 still applies. When cement cures it gets warm, methane hydrates are frozen crystalline at 5000 feet and very compact. A couple of cubic feet of methane at 5000 feet under the ocean is one damn big bubble of gas on the surface.
Yesterday at 10:24pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (10)Hide Feedback (10)
Lynn D. Minton
Bermuda Triangle Bomb !
Yesterday at 10:29pm ·
Dolores Mize
A big fart from Cheney?
Yesterday at 10:53pm ·
Jeannie Alford Hagy
Good grief, Junior. I didn't know you knew all those big words. You're getting too smart for me!
3 hours ago ·
Junior Bear
I'm going to have to change my password. Fatman hyjacks my site sometimes. He has serious problems with his alter ego shifts on occasion. I'll have to watch him closer.
2 hours ago ·
Junior Bear
Fatman says he is sorry. He will just use duress directly on me when he wants to say something. Sometimes this relationship is a bummer!
2 hours ago ·
Junior Bear
Fatman says methane burps are real and do happen, especially on deep water slopes. It is possible that if the burp (fart/bomb) is large enough anything, ships, fish, logs, plankton, airplanes, above it will lose buoyancy and sink. Would that be called the Cheney Effect?
2 hours ago ·
Lynn D. Minton
JB - Gotta quick hanging out with cross-duressers !!! Their guages all swing violently - we'll never keep up...
about an hour ago ·
Junior Bear
Dang, Fatman was right, it is the methane hydrates that they can't figure out. That big old dome they put down there is now clogged with frozen hydrates, and they have set it aside on the sea floor.
37 minutes ago ·
Junior Bear
Holy mackerel and sacred salmon, they want to heat up the water around the dome to release the clog. Fatman says he hopes someone is taking video when the BP ship falls through the water like a rock. The Cheney Effect just keeps on giving. Is it an accident when stupidity kills a ship load of people. CNN get your cameras ready.
31 minutes ago ·
Junior Bear
Drlobojo tells me that if that big dome thing becomes packed with hydrate it will float to the surface. But along the way the melting methane will expand violently and shoot the thing up. He predicts that BP may have their own space station. This could be fun. Never underestimate the entertainment value of dumb.
24 minutes ago ·
KEEP CNN ON THIS WEEKEND, THE STORY COULD BE A REAL BLAST!!!!
"As scientists around the world learn more about this material, new concerns surface. For example, ocean-based oil-drilling operations sometimes encounter methane hydrate deposits. As a drill spins through the hydrate, the process can cause it to dissociate. The freed gas may explode, causing the drilling crew to lose control of the well. Another concern is that unstable hydrate layers could give way beneath oil platforms or, on a larger scale, even cause tsunamis."
--- Science & Technology Review March 1999
As I have discussed this in various forms I have discovered that people have simply never heard of the ice that burns, Methane Hydrate. The BP keep talking like this is water ice with methane in it. Bullshit, it is highly volatile compound that may or may not have water ice in it. Take a look at this article from 1999 discussing the "little known material" and the dangers it poses to oil drilling. METHANE HYDRATES: A Surprising Compound
Here is a facebook conversation that started last night before BP announce this:
Deep-sea ice crystals stymie Gulf oil leak fix.
Junior Bear Was it Halliburton after all? Pressure, Volume, Temperature, at 5000 below sea level Boyle's Law formed in the year 1622 still applies. When cement cures it gets warm, methane hydrates are frozen crystalline at 5000 feet and very compact. A couple of cubic feet of methane at 5000 feet under the ocean is one damn big bubble of gas on the surface.
Yesterday at 10:24pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (10)Hide Feedback (10)
Lynn D. Minton
Bermuda Triangle Bomb !
Yesterday at 10:29pm ·
Dolores Mize
A big fart from Cheney?
Yesterday at 10:53pm ·
Jeannie Alford Hagy
Good grief, Junior. I didn't know you knew all those big words. You're getting too smart for me!
3 hours ago ·
Junior Bear
I'm going to have to change my password. Fatman hyjacks my site sometimes. He has serious problems with his alter ego shifts on occasion. I'll have to watch him closer.
2 hours ago ·
Junior Bear
Fatman says he is sorry. He will just use duress directly on me when he wants to say something. Sometimes this relationship is a bummer!
2 hours ago ·
Junior Bear
Fatman says methane burps are real and do happen, especially on deep water slopes. It is possible that if the burp (fart/bomb) is large enough anything, ships, fish, logs, plankton, airplanes, above it will lose buoyancy and sink. Would that be called the Cheney Effect?
2 hours ago ·
Lynn D. Minton
JB - Gotta quick hanging out with cross-duressers !!! Their guages all swing violently - we'll never keep up...
about an hour ago ·
Junior Bear
Dang, Fatman was right, it is the methane hydrates that they can't figure out. That big old dome they put down there is now clogged with frozen hydrates, and they have set it aside on the sea floor.
37 minutes ago ·
Junior Bear
Holy mackerel and sacred salmon, they want to heat up the water around the dome to release the clog. Fatman says he hopes someone is taking video when the BP ship falls through the water like a rock. The Cheney Effect just keeps on giving. Is it an accident when stupidity kills a ship load of people. CNN get your cameras ready.
31 minutes ago ·
Junior Bear
Drlobojo tells me that if that big dome thing becomes packed with hydrate it will float to the surface. But along the way the melting methane will expand violently and shoot the thing up. He predicts that BP may have their own space station. This could be fun. Never underestimate the entertainment value of dumb.
24 minutes ago ·
KEEP CNN ON THIS WEEKEND, THE STORY COULD BE A REAL BLAST!!!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Ghost Forest: Oregon's Ancient Tree Stumps
Beach combing is one of my most favorite of past times. You find so many things.
They have been covered by all of the sediment layers shown in the cliff photos since they were buried.
There are several prominent "Ghost Forest" along the Oregon coast. These pictures are of one that doesn't seem to be recorded anywhere.
Some of the Ghost Forest stumps may look like just old limbs or trees washed up onto the beach. Closer examination however may reveal that they are actually the ancient submerged root system in the process of being uncovered.
It is a strange feeling to find these things along the beach, especially when and where you aren't looking for them.
The Oregon coast has been a very active geologic and geomorphic area for many thousands of years. Earthquake subsidence, Lake Missoula outflow, Tsunami depositions, giant coastal slumps, these and other geomorphic mechanism at different times over thousands of years have buried standing forest along the shore almost instantaneously.
Click these photos to enlarge them and you can easily see the layers left by these type of activities. These cliffs North of Yachats, Oregon are 15 feet high and are now being eroded back from the beach by wave and tidal action. As they go they are uncovering stumps and roots of ancient trees submerged and buried from 2,000 to 10,000 years ago.
The stumps in this blog are 2 to 3 feet wide.
They have been covered by all of the sediment layers shown in the cliff photos since they were buried.
There are several prominent "Ghost Forest" along the Oregon coast. These pictures are of one that doesn't seem to be recorded anywhere.
Some of the Ghost Forest stumps may look like just old limbs or trees washed up onto the beach. Closer examination however may reveal that they are actually the ancient submerged root system in the process of being uncovered.
It is a strange feeling to find these things along the beach, especially when and where you aren't looking for them.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Why I Cancelled My Newsweek
They done went dumb. After years of reading it, I cancelled my multiple year subscription.
1. Karl Rove on the Opinion Page
Now these aren't all mind you. The list could go on, but the point is the IQ of the magazine was going down 10 points an issue.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
55 Years Ago: Blackwell, Oklahoma F-5 Tornado, May 25, 1955
My wife was seven years old and living in Blackwell, Oklahoma in 1955. When the tornado came through town she, her two year old sister, and pregnant mother were hiding under a bed in their small house a few blocks from the tornado's path. Her father, of course, was watching it go through town. I recently found these pictures from LIFE Magazine published in a May 1955 issue. I'm posting copies of the pictures for her and for her family and friends that lived through this F-5 monster storm. Better and more pictures from LIFE are available from their archives.
1955 Great Plains Tornado Outbreak
"The 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Plain States on May 25-26, 1955. It produced at least 46 tornadoes across 7 states including 2 F5 tornadoes in Blackwell, Oklahoma and Udall, Kansas. The outbreak killed 102 from 3 tornadoes while injuring hundreds more. Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire ...
The Blackwell tornado formed in Noble County at around 9:00 PM CDT before crossing through the eastern portions of the Kay County town of Blackwell as a 500-yard F5 wedge. It claimed the lives of 20 people in Blackwell and injured over 200 before crossing and dissipating into Cowley County, Kansas. In addition of destroying nearly 200 homes, the tornado also demolished the town's main employers including the Acme Foundry and the Hazel Atlas Glass plant. The local hospital also sustained major damage. Most of the western half of the town spared the worst of the damage..." ----Wikipedia
Photos from LIFE Magazine.
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