This Is A World Emergency

[Mark D.]

If BP admits it has no clue, it may hurt its stocks or future viability for drilling. The US asking for any help would piss off those oil lobbyists partly controlling our government. Enough of them! All focus can come off the blame, there will be time for that later. BP can reimburse the costs of what nations can get involved. Every citizen, scientist and engineer, private/public, every available navy, must focus on two things. HOW DO WE STOP IT? Then implement the solution. Then and only then, we focus 100%, on clean up, in a non-toxic way. It is really that simple, D.U., we must raise every voice, now.

I'm not good at getting threads I start to stay up on the front page, if a moderator or anyone who gets a thread read or popular easily can help, spread the world. Unite DU, get folks like the Raw Story to help, Media Matters, Truth Out, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Foundation, and many more. Get them all in a united front, yelling what BP and government refuses to. To the UN and world citizens. Those who do need the help are not asking for it. But we are. We don't know how to stop this, but if we all work on it, we can. It might be hard to get corporations into it, but their future will be the 'profit'.

Contact what legislator you can. Get friends you have in other nations to get on the horn about it. Europe is at a safe distance now. But if it really is 5-10 times as bad as first estimated. If that really will take months or years to be stopped by BP or the Coast Guard alone, we are talking about the greatest ecological calamity in world history. If Europe waits until oil shows up on its shores it will be too late. If the UN is good for anything, it should be bringing the world together. We form coalitions for war, let's fight this together.

PS: "Just Nuke It" may not be a solution. Even small controlled explosions are risky. (EDITED) Even if there isn't a risk for hydrocarbon combustion in that environment. There is the risk at the very least, of a hole larger than what is there now. It is deep, high pressure, hard to fix. But it is still a pipe. Jaggad and hard to reach, it's better than a massive hole in cracked, or crumbling rock. With more oil leaking from it. Just try capping that. Russia's use of it was on more shallow wells. There's a lot unknown about the shelf down there.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Well said...

I completely agree with your prose...

We need to raise the alarm to the maximum.

It IS a world emergency.

K&R

[Divine Discontent]

16. I just hope the president ignores the 'we've got in under control' voices & doesn't let this go for

even a second. If he does, and he lets BP screw around, we're gonna have oil floating around for years. :*(

[glowing]

20. Its already gone too far. They've been lying since day one when it

was just an "explosion". They are lying about the amt of oil spewing out like a volcano. They are lying when they say they have emergency plans for this type of thing.

[L0oniX]

31. "lying" it's the American way.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. kick!

[snagglepuss]

3. k & r. nt

[obxhead]

4. I think part of the problem is that the people trying to stop

it are far too concerned with getting it running again later.

[icymist]

39. Exactly. They don't want to just plug this hole, they want to also get the oil.

If you look at every attempt to 'plug' this gusher so far (the cone that didn't fit over the hole, and now the 'rubber plug' that conveniently has a pipe line to the surface) it involves collecting the oil as part of the solution. Just halting the flow of the oil is not an option. Kind of reminds me of 'No single payer option' debate.

[jberryhill]

5. First..

It is a certainty that the best minds available are focused on this thing, and the lack of solutions is a strong indication this drilling project should not have been undertaken.

Second, you may want to learn about hydrocarbon combustion, and what is required for it.

[pundaint]

19. Only a senator could refute that logic, Republican from AK, or Democrat from LA

Clearly the Oil Party is a political force all it's own.

[Codeine]

6. How exactly will the oil burn

without air?

[izquierdista]

7. Nuking it

Would take a long time too, even if we had the expertise. As I pointed out before, most of the people who worked on Operation Plowshare and know about the geology of underground nuclear detonations have long since retired. There is no "Nuke It" option sitting on the shelf waiting to be used. Even if there was, it would take months to prepare the logistics, i.e., drill to the right depth to set the device, place it, and ready it for detonation. Would such a detonation work? In theory, if you melt some of the overburden that the well is drilled through, it might, emphasis on might, act to cauterize the hole. I don't think a panel of geological experts could come to a consensus on what the likely result of such a detonation would be.

If the hole can be cased with a plastic, flowable material while it is still spewing, there may be a chance to try to crimp it shut. I used to crimp copper tubes and make really good vacuum tight seals in the lab. However, since I am one of the over-50s that don't seem to be very employable these days (overqualified, you know), rather than trying to calculate how to scale it up, I think I will go download some Lady Gaga videos instead.

[Mark D.]

8. Crimping That

Dozens of ways it can be done. This is the sort of thing I'm getting at. Those with the best available under-sea robotics contributes that. The nation with the best means to assemble. GE is the largest weapons manufacturer. They could help. The nations should be angry bees, descending on the bear (the oil) attacking their nest (the oceans). A solution, rapidly implemented, is guaranteed then.

I remember two Zen stories that fit. How bad does the world want to stop this? A boy and the master teacher are in the field. They see a rabbit run by, then followed by a hungry fox. The boy asks the master who'll win that race. The master responds: Usually the rabbit. The boy asks why. The fox is running for his lunch, the rabbit is running for its life. So we have to be the rabbit in this case.

Next story. A master and pupil learning martial arts, in shallow water, training. He asks how he can overcome what seems impossible. The master holds his head under the water. The pupil flails and struggles with all he has, to break free, so he can breathe. When he emerges from the water, the master says: When you want it as badly as you wanted to breathe, just now, you will overcome that.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. good story

[Mark D.]

10. Good Solution Here

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gulf-oil-spill-supertankers-051310

[izquierdista]

11. A good interim solution

A supertanker with a LARGE intake hose would be better than the current collection of Bubba Gump's trawlers and buckets.

What this incident shows up is Republican planning, right here:











































That's right, Dimbulb and the Dick had no plan. Plans cost money. Smart people who get paid to think come up with plans. Obama has not had time to even get people who know how to make plans confirmed by the Senate, what with the number of numbnuts holds the Repubs have thrown into the road. Plans up expenses and cut into profits. Kind of like acoustically operated blow-out prevention switches do. What they really need to come up with is a way to put a bigger diameter collar around the top of the well, one that has redundant valves built into it and once installed, close off the valves one by one. If they can cut the leak by 90%, and then cut the subsequent leakage by 90%, and then cut the next leak by 90%, that is the way to approach the problem.

[progressoid]

12. Now that's something worth trying.

NOW!

[walldude]

13. 700 million gallon spill unreported till now!

Did you catch that? You should start a thread with this link. The idea might get some traction...

[femrap]

33. The simplest ideas

are usually the best. This 'nuke' idea is absolutely INSANE. Little boyz just love to blow shit up...remember W with his frogs.

Mother Nature is going to teach these dudes one nasty lessen...and it's too bad the innocent will have to suffer from these Corporate dildo's ignorance.

It just makes me sick.

Get those supertankers out there before hurricane season starts up. The Middle East spills didn't have to worry about that.

[AmericaIsGreat]

14. I have a bad feeling

that this really isn't going to hurt BP in the long-term, at least not with the Southerners. They're the ones impacted the most and they're right wing and religious; if you want to see beaten-wife syndrome in action just look no further. BP spilled oil on our shores? Well they cleaned it so what's the problem? Drill, baby, drill!

Seriously, I would not be surprised.

[Jamastiene]

18. Not this southerner. n/t

[marions ghost]

25. oh yeah, brilliant

let's take this opportunity to blame this on the South.

There are people from everywhere else in the South (including many corporate exploiters), and right-wing religious nuts are all over the country.

So, uh, what's your point? :shrug:

Other than a crude flame-war attempt?

[Tutankhamun]

48. BP is seriously fucked. Their execs don't get it yet though.

It's like what happened with Exxon. They're not really interested in actually cleaning up and/or preventing further damage. They're still just messing around, not really doing anything effective. BP is still trying to make sure they can still get their oil later!

If BP really understood what this is going to do to their profits, this thing would be stopped a lot sooner. They will just try to protect their profits, and in doing so they will lose an enormous amount of future profits.

Maybe they can merge with Mobil in a decade or two, as Exxon did, in an effort to become less visible and harder to boycott.

[donheld]

15. Maybe the biggest disaster ever!

[daughter of liberty2]

17. k&r.

[northernlights]

21. Obama has FINALLY taken the reins -- Energy Secretary Chu is hands-on involved

This was one of the few appointments Obama made -- very early on before he veered hard right -- that made me happy and believe change was indeed coming.

When I read yesterday that Dr. Chu was coming up with plan B, C, D, and E, the article was mocking :grr: and didn't even hint that Dr. Chu meant that literally.

Dr. Chu has hand-picked top physicists, space scientists and other scientists from around the country -- experienced in working in very difficult environments -- who will be working directly with BP's engineers to come up with and implement a solution.

My guess is that not only now will an actually solution get worked out and implemented, but it will be geared toward saving the gulf as opposed to saving the oil, saving face, etc.

[Hannah Bell]

22. k/r

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

23. Sucking it up at the surface ...

may not be a bad idea for a little of the oil. something needs to be done. But what of the stuff still underwater it may not always rise to the surface.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8340198

I posted an article for the blog " Gulf Oil Slick" my link above has some excerpts from the article and a link to the main story.

We need to get very pissed.

[icee]

24. The first thing we need to do is get BP out of the scene. They

have lied about everything associated with the drilling, the explosion and now the resolve of the problem. What good are they? We waste precious time having to translate their lies into facts so as to take action. So what next? Turn it over to the government? That in itself just switches the remedy from one bunch of liars to another bunch of liars. We need to find a Red Adair type now and put them on the job!

[HowHasItComeToThis]

29. THE HUGE MONEY ATTRACTS HUGE LIES AND CON-MEN

[BlancheSplanchnik]

26. Kick. Rec.

no words to add.

[Dystopian]

27. KandR.

peace~

[femrap]

28. I've had the unfortunate

experience of working with these asshole HQ Corporate types. They're lucky to be able to tie their shoelaces...that's why most wear loafers.

They never admit mistakes and NEVER ask for help. They just babble on and on and on and on in some sort of unrecognizable bullshit techno-lingo that means nothing. The busiest people during times like these are the PR folks. They're looked upon as a the saviors. It's beyond belief.

Obama needs to get the best of the petro engineers on this job. And I don't care who they work for.

We're killing our Planet...maybe that's what they want to do. Those Corporate HQers are sadistic, short-dicked reptilians. That one from BP looks like a slimy little lizard. Seriously...look at him. I wonder at times if these Corporate assholes are even human or what kind of drugs are they on????

I want them dressed in orange sitting behind bars given bread and water...and OK, a daily vitamin C to fight scurvy.

[Karenina]

37. So their "insertion pipe" failed.

Things that make ya go hmmmm...

[femrap]

41. 'Insertion pipe.....'

Yep, the Corporate dudes are always thinking about s-e-x. If they only knew how silly and stupid people think they are.

[Karenina]

42. It doesn't matter a whit what the plebes think

as these guys are raping EVERYONE with impunity. Just a drop in the ocean, indeed.

[femrap]

43. I guess that's why in

Mexico, they kidnap the Corporate assholes.

[Mark D.]

30. Tea Party, Right Wing.

Notice nothing from them but desperation from Limbaugh to say eco-people did this? To blame the exact opposite of the actual culprits (the deregulators and the corporate elite that pay them to deregulate). That's perfect Nazism. Nazism = Not-See-Ism. Say something so outrageous and hope the sheeple do Not-See you're doing a 180 with the truth. I swear to God, Sean Hannity or Sarah Palin could walk up and slap one of them in the face. What would they say then? "OK, where's the Democrat that paid her to do it?"

I've seen little 'outrage' posts in other forums by righties, busy demonizing those opposed to continuing the wars or whatever. Ready to grab a sign to protest a woman somewhere far away making a personal medical decision that doesn't involve them in their first trimester, ready to protest a largely corporatist giveaway in HC reform as 'socialism' because of the few actually GOOD things about that bill. But when Transocean and BP will dodge the regulations, and Haliburton 'seals the deal', hey, Capitalism, no problem!

[L0oniX]

32. Say goodby to my little friends.

[chillspike]

34. I wish we could drown these bp mother fuckers in a vat of oil

[mother earth]

35. World emergency? Hell, yeah...this will be felt for generations

to come. This is our last wake up call...what does it take for humanity to realize that we are all connected?

What does it take for the power to be restored to the people, damned the corporations that wreak havoc to our world, its people and all creatures.

We've given our all to the profiteers by hook or by crook, and they still want more. Damn them all to hell.

[Uncle Joe]

36. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Mark.

[Liberal_in_LA]

45. one more kick

[Swamp Rat]

38. Yes it is

[icymist]

40. Man, Swamp Rat, That's hypnotic!

I must have stared at it for a full minute before realizing that I was staring!
Cool man, like spirograph!

[Liberal_in_LA]

46. nice logo but don't put this oil slick on Obama's back

[Swamp Rat]

49. Where does the buck stop?

[november3rd]

44. Get in and get them out

It's time to get corporate influence COMPLETELY out of government. It's time to get the tools of corporations out of government.

It's time for every citizen to get IN.

[earth mom]

47. Problem is that there are zombies here on DU who think their precious Obama can do no wrong.

What's it gonna take for people to wake the fuck up and realize we only have one mother earth?! :argh: