Oil leak is 5 times greater than reported by officials

[CLANG]

Source: Pensacola News Journal

The amount of oil gushing from BP's Deepwater Horizon oil disaster is five times more than what the oil company and the U.S. Coast Guard are currently estimating, said a Florida State University oceanography professor on Saturday.

At an oil spill environmental forum at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, Ian MacDonald said the blowout is gushing 25,000 barrels a day.

The Coast Guard and BP estimate 5,000 barrels a day of crude is spewing into the Gulf.

MacDonald said his estimate is based on satellite images and government maps forecasting the slick's trajectory.

Read more: http://www.pnj.com/article/20100510/NEWS01/5100314

---

1000, 5000, 25000, do I hear 125K??

[flamingdem]

1. And BP is sitting around scratching their heads nt

[Hissyspit]

12. Here's a PHOTO to go with the story:

Oil soaked bird struggles Iron Horse supply vessel
An oil soaked bird struggles against the side of the HOS an Iron Horse supply vessel at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana Sunday, May 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

[complain jane]

23. If I see that picture one more time

assuming the reporter simply fired of a bunch of shots of that poor struggling helpless animal and did nothing to help it, I'm going to lose it.

[flamingdem]

29. PS they cannot do anything, only 1% chance of survival once oiled according to scientists

this was reported today.

[Delphinus]

33. What a horrible way to die.

This breaks my heart.

[flamingdem]

39. How can we push back so this stops, that's the only way to handle this for me nt

[liberation]

96. Stop depending on oil, for a starter

start reducing your dependence on plastic: stop using plastic bags for groceries, use linen bags that you can use over and over again. Use metal or glass cantines for water, most definitively stop drinking bottled water or plastic bottled sodas. Recycle as much as you can. Use reusable containers... either plastic if you already have them... or metal/pyrex if you can help it.

Use mass transit, ride a bike if you can, walk. Use a car as sparingly as you can help.

We know by now exactly what needs to be done. We can pretend to be surprised and act all flabbergasted for the week after the disaster happens, and then go back to do the exact same crap which will led to another disaster soo enough, only to cry to high heavens again, rinse repeat. Or we can finally not just say "enough" but actually walk the walk.

I am fortunate enough that I can commute by bike to work. It saves me plenty of money, and keeps me healthy. Plus there is nothing like a good dose of fresh air to get the stress out. Plus I can eat all I want because I burn it right away ;-) Do want you can to start changing the habits which have made us so dependent on oil. At a basic level, we all know what we need/have to do. We can play coy though... but let's stop pretending to be surprised when we are faced with the actual cost of our life style choices.

[complain jane]

100. +1

Thanks, great post.

[Mark D.]

124. My Take Again

Even with the lower estimate true, which it may not be. It's going to take weeks or months, at the current rate of going nowhere, to see this thing capped. The damage to global fishing and oceans will be great. The 'dispersants' are toxic, and dispersing it just helps it spread faster. Great, more ubiquitous oil, globally, with added toxins. The answer isn't easy to find for stemming the leak and finding a non-toxic cleanup solution. But how we get there faster isn't complicated.

The UN is busy telling us how hot the world will be in 300 years. Great. Right now, it needs to be the supposed internationalist force that it is. The word needs to get out. This must be stopped as soon as possible, at any cost. GE needs to stop being the world's largest weapons manufacturer and industrial superpower for long enough to maybe help BP figure out how to cap this. Every available navy in the world should be on its way with containment and clean up help. All of us, together.

The scientists in Switzerland trying to make small black holes need to chill, and focus on how we get rid of oil in a non-toxic way. If such an unprecedented global effort were undertaken, we could possibly control this much faster. I recall the movie "Independence Day". How it seemed if we were invaded, we'd all suddenly pull together as humans, and stop it. Well, we're being invaded by toxic oil right now. Our world is at stake. Every effort should be taken, let BP pay for it after.

[defendandprotect]

47. Thank you . . . but have I been the only one left with the impression that washing

these birds did save them? That's what I believed thru ExxonValdez and the other spills!!

Now we find out . . . NO . . . it doesn't!!

Who let us believe this crap?

And, if you can't save the animals you can remove from the scene, what of the rest of the

animal life in the oceans -- !!!

Too little is being done and we should be shouting that from our rooftops!!

:crazy:

[tblue]

80. It doesn't save them?!

Gad, this is so depressing. We can't let them die in vain!!! This has to be the end of this crap, or why the hell do we even have a gov't???????!

Sorry, getting emotional over that pic of that bird and finding out they're gonna die no matter what......... :grr:

[defendandprotect]

83. Right . . . we all seem to just now be waking up to this ghastly lie . . . .

Was wondering if I was the only one who had believed that for so long!!

And what a painful way to die --

How cruel --

We have to find a way to stop exploitation of nature -- and since that is

the very basis of capitalism I think the answer is clear!



Damn!!

[liberation]

95. It helps somewhat...

... except that there are so many birds volunteers can wash and treat by hand. And that is assuming the bird did not ingest any of the oil, which is very unlikely... given that they were caught in the water to begin with. So once oil enters their system, is a slow agonizing toxic death. Oil is as toxic for them as it is for us if we were to ingest it.


However, all those volunteers washing oiled birds make for great commercials for dish soap companies. There is no tragedy that Corporate America won't exploit in order to get the tear jerker comercial for prime time.

[caseymoz]

107. I think that's if they're completely covered in oil.

I think with partial covering, they have a better chance. But fully dipped in it? The chances aren't good. Also, I take it if they survive, they're permanently damaged.

[truth2power]

70. Please clarify. That's not what I've always heard...

For years they've been saving these birds by washing with Dawn dishwashing liquid. There was even something on NPR a few days ago.

Said they clean the birds and then let them re-groom their feathers. After that, they're pretty much good to go. Most of them anyway. I think you're in error.

[Prana69]

75. How ironic....

... that they would use Dawn liquid for cleaning these birds. Dawn = Proctor & Gamble. Renowned as one of the worst companies for testing their products on animals.

Just sayin'.

Tragedy all round.

D

[truth2power]

78. Well, yes, you're correct about the animal testing..

But if Dawn is a supreior product in this case, they should use it.

Anyway, I don't think it's as dire as the poster indicated, in terms of saving these animals.

[druidity33]

115. it's not the poster saying it...

it is several well known Marine Biologists. There are articles on HuffPo and i think CNN, discussing this.

99% seems to be an inflated estimate. Apparently it's closer to 95%. Still tragic though.

Sorry.

:(

[The Stranger]

71. I'll take my chances on the 1% and will try to save the bird's life.

Fuck the odds.

[tblue]

81. Me, too. It'd be worth it. I wish I lived closer...in a way.

So I could go help.

[flamingdem]

28. Horrible horrible horrible nt

[defendandprotect]

45. Signaling our own futures? Is this the "bang" or the "whimper" . . .

Humanity . . . RIP . . . Killed by Capitalism

At this point we don't even know how far afield the threat to animal-life will

go!

Government has to take this over!!!

[Ahpook]

53. I can only imagine what the defenders of the oil are saying?

Something along the lines of "who fucking cares" is probably about it? I thought alcoholism was the worst part in my life.

America is a motherfucking drag!

And speaking of addictions? America injects the black crud in their veins.

[flamingdem]

62. got that right, and eats it for breakfast nt

[revolution breeze]

2. I don't think we will ever know how much is actually spilling.

It is so far down and they are putting so many dispersing chemicals out. And do we know what effects those chemicals are going to have on our environment?

[happygoluckytoyou]

26. NO but if i had to BET MY MONEY.... i don't see why i'd believe the guys who can't float their boat

IF THEIR SPECIALTY IS OIL RIGS... HOW MUCH WOULD I BELIEVE THEIR ESTIMATING ?

[kiers]

79. DUDE, their specialty is...

looking in the mirror while they have their power suits on.

The oil "majors" don't really consist of "WORK"ers. just a bunch of "helicopter" management execs. Very top heavy. They collect bonuses. They retain the "equity" postion of their mineral leases. All the "WORK" is outsourced to contractor after contractor. Rig by someone else. Cement by someone else. BOP another contractor. INdependent reserves analysis, another contractor....ON AND ON....

THe execs, then come up with "management strategies" which make Hahvahd busniess school case studies, and get printed up in glossy bizness magazines.

Are u gettin it?

[Ian David]

3. I'm waiting for BP to suggest dropping a nuke on the leak. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I would be willing to bet alot of money, if I had a lot of money, that it HAS been raised

at the Corporate Boardroom Conference Table...:mad: :puke: :crazy: :silly:

[L0oniX]

117. That's really not a bad idea as a last resort but time is ticking away.

How far would a bunker buster go into the earth before exploding? Why couldn't they use some other high explosive? OR >>>Maybe BP doesn't want it blown up?

[Aramchek]

5. so this guy's been down to the leak? or is he just guessing?

[Uncle Joe]

8. Maybe it's an educated guess but from the looks of just what's visible,

I would say it's more than a leak.

[Delphinus]

57. Yeah,

*leak* is a misnomer.

[Are_grits_groceries]

6. I don't think they really know.

I don't know how they are trying to measure it. However, who knows what other leaks or whatever have happened?
They are in a huge oil field with tremendous pressure. They don't know what to do because they never considered it seriously. The problems that can occur at that depth are numerous. They found one with their 'box'.

[flamingdem]

31. The dispersants are making it look better than it is and it LOOKS BAD nt

[truedelphi]

7. K & R. n/t

[AlbertCat]

9. Of course it is!!!!! Duh!

[onethatcares]

10. nothing to worry about, move along, we've all seen this before

do you actually think anyone in our government is going to tell us the truth about this? If you do, send me $1000.00 cash and I'll mail you the rights to all the lennon/mccartney songs from 1964 onwards.

this thing is gonna kill an entire part of the ocean, would you want to be the one telling America that? Or being the one telling America that they saved 500K while drilling the well and this happened?:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Raster]

11. You are right on the money, on all counts!

[Jaye52]

25. You are on the mark, onethatcares.

How many times in the past has our government lied to us? The oil catastrophe cannot be stopped and they know it. I have been around long enough to know a HUGE cover up when I see it.

Imagine all the secret meetings that have been going on since the catastrophe began. All participants probably told to keep their mouths shut - or else. I think the government is trying to figure out a way to tell the world the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast states will be considered a dead zone.

Think of it, millions of people displaced and destitute. Everything poisoned in the water and the air filled with noxious fumes. Who will have the guts to tell the truth?

jmo

[lark]

34. Agreed

Notice the state of FL denying them permits - must keep this hushed up, must not let anyone know that we are breaking the poison into hard to see tiny amounts so the sheeple won't know what made them sick or even what killed them. It's all a cover up for the oil industry's attititude of profit before anything motives and the governments complicity in this.

[whereaminow]

77. It doesn't make sense.

The state can prohibit a person from going out, taking a sample, and testing it, just like that? What kind of people would elect a government like that? Are they that asleep at the wheel? Yeah, and probably with the damn blinkers on...

Maybe somebody from Mississippi can sail a boat out there and sneak back with a couple a gallons.. Sheesh!

[defendandprotect]

48. Shouldn't Obama be directing government to take this over?? How can we leave this in BP,

Halliburton hands??

Look at how much time has already been lost!!

[JDPriestly]

72. BP is responsible. If the U.S. government intervenes too much,

it will be blamed. The U.S. government is not responsible for cleaning up the environmental messes of private parties -- unless the private parties cannot do it. That has not been established here. Best thing for Obama to do is to help without interfering too much.

This is BP's fault and BP's problem. The government did not cause this. It is not a natural disaster. BP did the drilling. They either recklessly drilled without first finding out what hazards they might unleash or they drilled carelessly or they intentionally caused this incident. No matter which alternative is true, they stood to gain from drilling and extracting the oil, and they should bear the cost for fixing the problem, not the American taxpayer. We already bailed out the wealthy cheats on Wall Street. We can't also bail out BP. And please remember, it is a British company.

[northernlights]

87. I disagree. BP is responsible but it is OUR property that is being destroyed

If someone fucking asshole sets my house on fire, I'll be damned if I'm going to leave it to said fucking asshole to put it out.

I will call in the firefighters to get the fire under control and put it out in order to salvage as much of my house as possible.

I'll send the bill to the asshole...and drag his/her sorry fucking ass through court to collect every penny in damages. And if it can be proven to be arson, or criminal negligence, get his/her sorry fucking ass in jail.

But FIRST THINGS FIRST. BP is fucking up with the ENTIRE GULF OF MEXICO, OUR NATIONAL SEASHORES THERE, EARTH'S CREATURES. Shove BP out of the fucking way, get experts who have one priority -- AND ONE PRIORITY ONLY -- TO PLUG UP THE FUCKING GUSHER AND CLEAN UP THE MESS.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT LEAVE IT TO THE FUCKTARDS WHO ARE TOO BUSY TRYING TO 1. MAKE IT SOMEHOW PROFITABLE FOR THEM, 2. TURN AROUND THE BAD PR, and 3. HIDE THE MESS THEY'VE MADE, and oh yeah, 4. stop the gusher.

[D23MIURG23]

108. +1. This is a public problem; it needs to become a public solution.

We aren't going to get the results we need from BP.

[Winterblues]

13. Well that calls for a "DRILL BABY DRILL"

I wonder if we can screw up the Arctic as well? Polor Bears need some black to go with their solid white..

[saigon68]

16. DRILL BABY DRILL

[lonestarnot]

99. Yeah we can call them Panda's and sell them to China.

:eyes:

[greencharlie]

14. sigh...

no words from me. It's just unbelievable. Can't ANYONE do something? If BP can't do it, is there some GOV'T AGENCY that can? If we can get to the frickin' moon, we can seal an oil well before the 3 months it will take for BP to drill the relief well.

[daleo]

46. The moon trip was researched carefully

Building the required knowledge with each phase of the overall mission. This deep sea drilling looks to be "let's give it a shot and see how it goes". With that attitude, the moon missions would have led to failure and death too.

[defendandprotect]

50. Hardly . . .

the Russians were 12 years ahead of us at the time and they publickly went nowhere --

Privately they've suggested that lives were lost -- that some may have gone to the moon

and never returned.

And we certainly never went anywhere further than near space --

[whereaminow]

73. Wha Wha Wha???

And we certainly never went anywhere further than near space --

You're messin' with us, right? You just forgot the smiley thingy?

[defendandprotect]

82. Seriously?

You're kidding, right?

"Only fools never doubt" --

[whereaminow]

89. I am so sorry

I promise I won't bother you ever again.. Please, I beg of you, Pretend you never heard from me..

[defendandprotect]

91. Do you really think I'd take a chance on missing debate as enlightening ....

as yours???? !!!

Who would take a chance on that!?

:evilgrin:

[whereaminow]

109. NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

:scared:

[defendandprotect]

49. Well . . .

start by rethinking that moon thing --

And I'd say we have to have government jump in here and take this over --!!

[Dr.Phool]

15. There goes my Gulf.

Saturday night, the wife and I went out to a nice non-touristy oceanfront bar. A good band, $2.00 margaritas, a wonderful gulf breeze.

In another fucking week, it'll smell like a refinery.

[onethatcares]

35. you're right there Dr.

no more moonlit nights walking on the beach at Caddys' or Sheperds, no more early morning swims.

Dammint, I'm one of those metal detecting nuts and this means, no more tourist jewelery to be found.

No more snook in the swash channels, or dolphins off the beach or manatees bumping into folks.

the partay is over.

[defendandprotect]

51. It's taken us too long to understand the suicidal nature of capitalism . . ..

exploitation of nature and animal-life, natural resources --

and even other humans according to various myths of inferiority.

Couldn't work out any other way --

[thereismore]

17. Why not try a stick of dynamite? The crust is several miles thick there.

The blast could just be the thing.

[DRex]

18. I was thinking that too...

If they used nukes to close up these kinds of holes before, well, couldn't we just bring it down a bit from nuke, and up a bit from stick of dynamite?

But my suspicion is that they don't want to close this hole. They just want to stick another pipe down in there to save themselves some money and keep that oil flowing.

[zeemike]

32. Don't even think about it.

An explosion could make it much worse as the problem with the blow out in the first place is the Methane hydrates.
That explosion could rupture the hydrates and the pressure of the gas could increase the size of the leak.

[thereismore]

64. That's what I thought initially too, but the reservoir is a few MILES below sea bottom.

I don't see how a blast could open that hole bigger. The hole has the thickness of a pipe and a length of a few miles!

[zeemike]

116. But before you get to the oil you have layers of hydrate.

And this gas locked in ice can be changed to gas by heat.
So it seems to me it could be a dangerous thing to do.

[thereismore]

120. Yes. I just don't know how much of what is there. nt

[Epiphany4z]

19. this whole thing is just

so freaking sad......it is heart breaking....sigh...

[revolution breeze]

21. Not to mention stressful

Hubby works for the Parish government and has been on call for two weeks, monitoring information twelve to eighteen hours a day

[freebrew]

22. SAD!? I'm Pissed!

These fuckers have no right to be living.
BP should be nationalized by the US. Screw them.
All of this for $$. All of this for greed.
But we can all rest assured that that will never, ever happen.
That wouldn't be in the best interests of the USA...or the Corporations, i.e. the politicians pockets.

There are other nations that border the gulf as well, are they going to forgive BP? Are they going to get a hefty check
for damages?

Good luck to all. I sure as hell hope they fix this, SOON. But I'm not holding my breath.

[complain jane]

20. One million, fifty thousand gallons per day

is what that adds up.

Gulf of Mexico, fish, plants, animals, environment, ecosystem is being bombarded with 1,050,000 gallons of crude oil every single day and will be for 90 days at least.

95,000,000 gallons of oil will be spewed at that rate, in the three months we're told this thing will continue spewing suffocating filth into wildlife and marine habitats.

2,250,000 barrels.

Has their ever been an oil holocaust that gushed nearly one hundred million gallons of oil?

Horrifying.

[boppers]

56. For comparison:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill#Largest_oil_spills

[complain jane]

97. So this

is going to be right up there with the biggest, if we really are spewing 25,000 barrels per day.

[truthisfreedom]

103. Yes, in the Gulf in 1979, one gushed well over 100M gallons of oil over 9 months.

See post #65 below.

[AtLiberty]

24. Because it just wasn't bad enough before, right?

I also read today that the air pollution is deadly along the coast and will remain so for a long time, causing cancer years later...

Not that we'll need to worry about later...

If this black sludge continues to gush for weeks and months, well, I cannot wrap my brain around the devastation on so many levels.

[happygoluckytoyou]

27. IF THEIR SPECIALTY IS OIL RIGS... HOW MUCH WOULD I BELIEVE THEIR ESTIMATING ?

[flamingdem]

30. This is close to an extinction level event if they can't stop it nt

[CLANG]

40. Bingo

And nobody in the media wants to mention the true possibilities of this disaster.

[flamingdem]

44. msnbc Ed was hinting at it but he's more about attacking BP

what good does that do us if the damage destroys the life cycle down the road..

[CLANG]

52. Absolutely, someone needs to start giving the American people the truth.

Because as long as there are no bad photos 24/7, people will live in blissful ignorance.

[whereaminow]

121. The people CHOOSE to live in blissful ignorance as an excuse to do nothing

There are plenty of pictures. You only have to make the feeblest of efforts to find them. Notice how they come from individuals, not corporate or government. Mass media will catch up when you make enough noise.

[Delphinus]

60. Why?

I would think, since everything's about money and ratings, a good doomsday scenario would benefit them greatly.

[defendandprotect]

54. True -- we need government to take this over right now . . .

[flamingdem]

58. Would that really help ? Has any expert suggested other ways to handle it? nt

[defendandprotect]

68. Well, even if they didn't come up with anything new . . . it would help us have

a better of idea of what is ACTUALLY going on --

here we have a spill 5X what we've been told!!

PLUS, BP/Halliburton don't seem to have a clue as to what they're doing!!

Can you really imagine 90 days of this spill?

Yes -- I think we'd be better off if government took it over --

[OakCliffDem]

36. Out of all the horrors of this take heart, BP is losing five times as much money as everyone thought

[defendandprotect]

69. This latest assault on nature should make clear how little a dollar is worth . . .

as natives said long ago of it -- you can't eat it or drink or --

and you can stare at it forever but you'll never get a sunrise out of it!!

It's time for us to move on from capialism --

we have to STOP judging everything -- or permitting anyone else to judge -- our

world, humanity, animal-life, natural resources -- whatever by the yardstick of a dollar bill!!

[caseymoz]

37. So, instead of about 4.5 million gallons spilled . . .

If MacDonald's estimate proves true, we now have an estimated 20 million gallons spilled. It's already reaching twice as large as the previous record spill, the Gulf War Spill. We are going to have the equivalent of the previous record spill every eleven days, indefinitely.

I have said in my other posts that I thought BP was trying to ease us into the bad news, the way their estimates seemed to get bumped up daily. I hope they had stopped, and were finally giving us the bad news. I really hope MacDonald is wrong. If BP is still trying to hide the seriousness of this, I really think their executives should be drowned in oil.

[hugo_from_TN]

65. The Ixtoc I spill in the Gulf of Mexico was 126M gallons

Ixtoc I

[caseymoz]

76. Sorry, I should have checked my reference instead count on my memory.

Of even days ago. My memory isn't what it used to be. Intox according to this other wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill

was 3.3-3.5 million barrels. At 42 gallons per barrel this does come out to 139-147 million gallons.

If this spill is closer to a million gallons a day, that means we have twenty million gallons, and we'll have approximately three and a half months before it surpasses that spill.

Whereas the biggest spill, the Gulf War spill, was between 9.7 million and 830 million barrels of oil. That's between 407 million and 34 billion barrels.

And we all want the Gulf of Mexico to be as alive as the Persian Gulf.

[truthisfreedom]

102. Staggering. But that was far enough away that we had 2 months to prepare for its arrival.

This time, it was only a matter of weeks until oil hit shore.

[complain jane]

106. Call my cynical

but I think this is probably worse than they even still want to let on

[Change Happens]

38. WTF? Is this a new five times bigger? Is this five times the five times we know about?

[Daemonaquila]

55. Yes! F*** F*** F***!!!

This is insane. We are no closer to having this leak partially or totally plugged than we were on day 1. They're now talking about a slew of other options, but these don't sound so likely. Also, why the @*#$%&(@*% weren't they working on these half-assed measures from day 1?

[alp227]

41. Shut down BP (Bastard Polluters) NOW!!!!

Hell, those b____es should've been gutted YEARS ago. BP has a long track record of safety issues. Oh yeah, I forgot. "Heckuva job, Brownie" and "I'm not in the Oval Office during disasters" and "Flyover Katrina" Bush was in office during those disasters.

The fat cats running Bastard Polluters are really gonna say goodbye to their high-flying, tax-evading, big-spending lifestyles pretty soon. Maybe the government should bring them to justice and send them to federal prison.

[Javaman]

42. queue the right wing attack on the "sciencie" stuff.

this turns my stomach.

I hate when I predict things.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8264000

[defendandprotect]

43. The government has to take this thing over -- permanently ... nationalize oil industry--!!!

[Change Happens]

67. Best idea I have seen on the Internets in a long longtime....!

[tango-tee]

94. That's exactly what I've been saying. Nationalize them.

And in the meantime... on another thread mention was made that there are specially equipped Dutch ships which could skim the oil off the surface, but the EPA is not giving them permission?

[DallasNE]

59. That Follows The Forecast

The sand mixed with the oil would slowly eat out the size of existing holes, presumedly where crimps are in the pipe, and eventually result in a complete rupture where 200,000 barrels a day will leak. Time appears to be rapidly running out.

[glinda]

61. file this under "terrorism"

[flamingdem]

63. heh nt

[Strelnikov_]

66. Speculation I saw on a oil industry forum yesterday was that the 'dome'

failed because the flow rate was much higher than expected.

Another 'insider' stated that there was a structural failure.

Trying to push 5x the flowrate an oriface was designed for would cause problems, such as excessive back-pressure and possible uplift.

Don't sound good.

[complain jane]

101. Deregulation working its' magic.

[That Is Quite Enough]

74. Doesn't surprise me if it's true

Fuck any and all who have ever supported offshore drilling.

[Politicub]

84. I hope trying to plug the leak and fines (ha ha) bankrupts them.

I know... I'm in a dream world, but that would be justice.

Well, that and bringing criminal charges against the highest execs at the company.

(on edit - above all, I want to see this underwater oil gusher stopped. But in the highly unlikely event that BP goes bankrupt trying to solve this, their assets should be seized immediately to recoup costs incurred by the gov't or whatever company tries to fix BP's fucked up mistake.)

[tomm2thumbs]

85. not only again, but worse

history repeating itself

[Divine Discontent]

86. just imagine if a million barrels come out of the gulf all over the world?

that is very possible, because the numbers keep changing all the time, they have no real clue what they're saying. The massive pocket of oil under the gulf was huge, and if they cannot stop this for 90 days or so (hopefully no longer), then things are gonna get ugly.

[northernlights]

88. How do they plan to hide the death of the Gulf of Mexico?

Seriously. Behind closed doors they are already discussing it. They know they are looking at killing off the entire Gulf.

How do they plan to hide *that* from us?

And is that why the administration granted 27 waivers from environmental studies since the supposed "moratorium?"

I can't help but wonder...does Obama now figure the Gulf is dead, may was well drill at will there now?

[CLANG]

90. It's hard to comprehend that the Gulf may already be sentenced.

[northernlights]

92. it's inconceivable....but not impossible if this keeps gushing

or if BP fucks up worse, and increases the gushing? And continues adding toxic chemicals into the mix?

The death of the Gulf of Mexico is a worst case scenario...but it's not impossible. It's inconceivable...and we may end up witnessing it. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[MiddleFingerMom]

93. Isn't this the SECOND 500% increase in estimated oil flow...

.
...since this thing started.
.
No time to read right now and maybe this has already been
pointed out, but the original estimates were 1000 barrels
a day... which was increased to 5000 barrels a day within
days -- and now 25,000 barrels a day?
.
What -- a WEEK before they estimate 125,000 barrels a day?
.
By June 625,000 barrels a day?
.
They're (sorry) leaking the bad news to us bit-by-little
bit... and it's so bad that they have to up their "estimates"
EXPONENTIALLY?
.
Shut them DOWN.
.
Shut them all down NOW!!!!
.
.
.
Sorry, I just noticed my "brilliant" insight in the OP.
.
Although it didn't have my UBER-brilliant add'l step up.
.
:rofl:
.

[CLANG]

104. I knew someone would up the ante!

:toast:

[complain jane]

98. Fucking idiots.

[deacon_sephiroth]

105. I hope they are wrong

reading the article, it seems like two guys, looking at images and projections from BP, the govt, and coast guard, who might all be idiots, are doing their own math here. I sincerely hope they are wrong on this one.

[V_Byl]

118. Same here... Google maps has a way to super-impose

the image of the oil slick over any metropolitan area.... Gives you an idea of how huge it really is: http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/

[Odin2005]

110. Good God Almighty...

:cry:

[shellgame26]

111. This is so fucked up

[WillyT]

112. K & R !!!

:kick:

[lurky]

113. So, that would be an Exxon Valdez every 10 days.

Until someone can figure out how to stop the damn thing. Will it be weeks? Months? Years? Forever?

[readmoreoften]

114. Who to trust? BP and the US government? Or the professor who's an expert on oil spills

that they won't allow near the scene of the crime. :(


I'm really nervous about this. My personal speculation is that they want to keep stocks as floated as possible.

[KansDem]

119. That's why they're called "officials"

"Off-icials," and at five times greater than previously estimated, "Way Off-icials."

[The Old Creak]

And more potential victims

http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/05/11/2299450.aspx

This REALLY sucks!!

[Turborama]

122. Why don't they use quantities everyone understands? 5,000 barrels is 1,000,000 gallons!

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[nc4bo]

123. Very good point and probably exactly the reason you will never hear it that way. nt

[earth mom]

125. So f-in disgusted and heartbroken that I can barely reply to this thread.

:grr:

:argh:

:cry:

[Baclava]

126. Three day forecast has oil spill heading west, towards Texas

A southeast wind is expected to persist through the week, continuing to move the ever-expanding Deepwater Horizon oil spill away from Florida and toward Texas.

The National Weather Service said that winds which had been blowing north and northeast had shifted and were now encountering the oil spill from a southeasterly direction.

It said “significant” winds would continue to move the oil slick north and west through Tuesday. That means not only will the oil be traveling away from Florida, but also that sensitive areas on the Louisiana coast could receive more devastating sludge.



http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/oil-28829-subtopic-topic.html

[Nihil]

127. Looks like Floridans pray more than Texans ...

... or is that only applicable to droughts & hurricanes?
:crazy:

[Lagomorph]

128. Last time this happened...

...it took nine months to stop it.

[Lagomorph]

129. Here's the last one...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtoc_I