They can't fix the gusher, that's why no one is really addressing it...

[PCIntern]

In "When Worlds Collide", the science-fiction novel published in 1933, the catastrophic end of the Earth is predicted and humankind goes through the sequence of shock, horror, dismay, denial, etc. The mechanism for the death of the planet is the larger of two wandering planets headed for a direct collision, however, the binary pair first make a pass which only partially disrupts the planet, and then comes back to destroy Earth. This works well in a literary sense, for a near-miss gives the writer an ability to observe and report the utter and complete breakdown of society, as the masses realize what awaits them on the next go-around. It is to be noted that a ship or two can get away from the Earth and land on the lesser of the two planets which, coincidentally, remains in Earth orbit...and was once inhabited millions and millions of years before. But I digress.

Isn't it apparent that with all the military, with all the 'advanced' technology, with all the resources of the world at the beck and call of the United States of America, absolutely nothing of substance has been effectively accomplished, postulated, or acted upon? The "Top Hat" scenario was doomed to utter failure and they knew it would be, but, by trying, they showed the MSM that they had grit, ideas, ability to execute a plan, and theoretical creativity. There was no intention of this succeeding, for the vast number of competent scientists knew exactly what would happen when you placed a dome over an erupting volcano of viscous oil five thousand feet under the surface of the sea. Five thousand feet! No one can imagine how far down that is...you may as well be talking light-years...it is an astronomical distance at which place nothing works mechanically as it would on the surface. It can't be done with our technology as it exists now, and the President knows this, the Industry leaders know this, and the military knows this. It is easier for them to allow us our daily lives, with Lindsay Lohan scandals, new releases by The Beatles and Scott Turow, finance bills passing the Senate, in other words, business as usual.

Except it's NOT usual. We have an unthinkably vast oil field leaking oh-so-rapidly into the sea: there is no telling how many billions or even trillions of gallons of oil, sludge, methane gas, and other pollutants are going to express themselves into our water supply, into our food supply, into the land mass, and of course, into our bodies. Ever consider using WD-40 to clean your hands after a day working on the car? Bad idea they tell you, it's full of carcinogens. Well, in line with that concept, what do you think will occur when billions of gallons of crude, some volatile, some not are released into the biosphere? The answer is "cancer". And lots of it. there is nothing 'they' can do to fix this at this time. Nothing. It is as if a giant puddle of oil is moving thru space and coming right at us - inexorably and inevitably, it is going to hit, and the Laws of Mechanics, the Laws of Physics will not deviate. There is no intervention by a God, or Jesus, or prayer, that is going to stop that flow anymore than any of those three can cure an amputated limb.

This is not "Chicken Little", this is not "they're trying to profit from the 'spill' ('Spill' of course, is what you get when you drop a container of mayonnaise on your kitchen floor. Outright catastrophe is what you get when you unleash This Nightmare.), this is not trivial. This is "Earth-changing", truly "Biosphere-shattering", and even if you don't want to subscribe to apocalyptic versions or visions of the future, you better get ready for some life-changes real soon.

[phleshdef]

1. I've thought this from the very beginning.

There is no profit to be gained by allowing this to continue on purpose. There are no political points to score by neglecting to take action if there were actions that could be taken that would produce any meaningful results. Even in the most cynical views of corporations and politicians, there is absolutely no reason to believe that they aren't doing everything that realistically can be done within the confines of not making the situation worse than it all ready is.

[Statistical]

6. Yeah the whole "profit" from the spill (which is costing BP billions) is downright stupid.

The reason the oil if still flowing is they simply had no plan ready for a disaster

The "plan" was:
step 1) Shut blow out preventer
step 2) Oh shit don't tell me the BOP didn't work. I need to get drunk
step 3) Stall for couple months until we drill relief wells.


Of course I expect BP (or Shell or Chevron, or Exxon) left to their own devices to NOT HAVE A PLAN. However it is the role of the government to force them to have a backup and backup for the backup and a backup for that. Not only have it in theory but built and ready to go, and tested by independent third parties, inspected by government regulators and requiring BP workers to show they know how the plan works and practice implementing it and THEN ...

.... AND ONLY THEN DOES THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT APPROVE THE GOD DAMNED PERMIT.

However that didn't happen. The government KNEW BP had no plan and rubber stamped the permit anyways.

Also don't be fooled into thinking this can't happen again. If tomorrow a deep water rig owned by BP, Exxon, Shell, Hess, etc exploded and the BOP failed we would have two massive leaks in the Gulf. It just happened to be BP rig which failed first. On a long enough timeline all the oil companies will fail exactly the same.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Thank you for having the courage to say this like it is.

Proud to K&R

And incredibly saddened, at the same time.

[PCIntern]

3. You're welcome...n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. These two statements are in conflict.

"This is not "Chicken Little""

"This is "Earth-changing", truly "Biosphere-shattering"

[PCIntern]

5. No they're not...

a "Chicken Little" argument is a specious "sky-is-falling" postulate, which is patently FALSE.

I say that it isn't false...it's TRUE.

[tularetom]

7. Thanks for brightening up my day Pollyanna

Guess I'll cash in all my assets and go blow everything in Las Vegas, or else just go shoot myself now and get it over with.

[Upton]

8. I haven't felt this depressed since 9/11

and I'm somebody who generally doesn't get worked up over the news, but this thing has got me seriously worried..

[dgibby]

9. I am 100% in agreement with you,

though it pains me greatly. I do not think we're going to get this Genie back in the bottle.

What outrages me is that our govt. thinks we're so stupid that they can just hide the facts, and we won't notice/figure this out. I am fed up with the American public treated with such callous disregard.

[JDPriestly]

10. I agree with you, PCIntern.

That is why we are hearing relatively little from the press on the damages being inflicted. The news is beyond depressing. The press doesn't think people want to know or could deal with the truth.

That's also why the government isn't doing anything. You cannot expect the government to know what to do if BP doesn't know. This is BP's field. BP has the experts on drilling, not the U.S. government.

Nobody has a clue. It is unreasonable to expect the American press to know how to report this or to expect the U.S. government to know what to do at this point.

Remember how Agatha Christie favored poison as a means for murder. Well, that oil is poison for our environment. The easiest way to get someone to take poison in the old murder mysteries was to put it in a person's favorite food -- the marmelade, the liquor, in somethin in which the victim would take it willingly and without suspicion.

Well, we have used oil willingly and without nearly enough suspicion. We think of it as a necessity, not as something we could choose not to consume, or at least choose not to consume in such huge quantities.

And so, we have chosen to poison ourselves. And now we expect somebody else to rescue us from our own choice to poison ourselves.

Eventually, BP may stop the oil spill. Nevertheless, the injury to the Gulf will change life in that area for many, many years if not forever.

Assuming that we humans will survive this disaster, we must change our lifestyle, reduce or eliminate our use of oil for transportation.

It's no longer up to corporations or the government. We have to start using alternative energy. Ride trains and buses whenever possible. Walk. Bicycle if you can. Carpool if you must go somewhere.

Again, assuming we will survive, change is up to each of us -- not anyone else.

[dgibby]

12. The Press is being denied access by BP and the Coast Guard.

I do not enjoy being treated like a mushroom by my Govt. (being kept in the dark and fed BS).

[TwilightGardener]

11. Of course they can't--at least not soon enough to prevent ongoing massive damage.

Seriously, if they could, they would--BP and government agencies have all just had their asses exposed. The answer to "What do we do if a deep-ocean oil well ruptures?" is "Let's just hope that doesn't happen".

[JuniperLea]

13. You're right...

Absolutely correct. I've felt this way from the beginning. I grew up around oil wells and oil derricks. Whenever one caught fire, it was extinguished the same day and that was that. When this went on for over 48 hours, my heart sank... when it went on for a week... I knew we were doomed.

It's the end of the world as we know it. "They" aren't saying anything, because, well, what can they say? We fucked up so royally this time that we will never get another chance to fuck up again?

[frebrd]

14. Yep, humanity has finally succeeded in permanently fouling its nest.

If only humans were affected, I'd say "Tough shit!"

Unfortunately, all the other species are affected as well.

It's the inevitable result of all the religious crap about humans having "dominion" over the earth, which humans were only too happy to believe in!

I'm truly ashamed of being a human.

:banghead:

[indepat]

15. Your stark appraisal and summation are, sadly, highly likely to be right on target: this eruption

surely has the potential to dwarf any previous man-made catastrophe of which there have been so many. :cry:

[Feron]

16. They'll be able to fix it eventually with a relief well.

The problem is finding a fast, temporary fix to stopping the leak until then.

Either way, there's going to be a lot of environmental and economic damage. I hope this top kill thing works.

Good link for info about the situation: http://www.theoildrum.com/

[PCIntern]

18. Sure about that?

There may be problems posed by this situation which are so unusual,so unanticipated, that a simple solution may not do. Remember, old premises so far have not held true in any aspect of this situation. what happens if they finally, after months of anticipation,drill the well and it winds up exploding, or not reaching the proper point to pump the cement in...or something really weird happens?

[KharmaTrain]

17. I Agree This Is A Catastrophe...But The End Of The World? Not So Much

The ecological damage to the food chain in the Gulf as well as the affected costal and estuary areas will be devestating and the impact in the immediate area will be felt for many years to come, to not sound too understated, the volumes flowing are a literal "drop in the ocean"...a very big one. I'm not trying to downplay the damage, which could have widespread affects in that part of the world, but it's affects once it hits the currents and moves into the vast Atlantic would dilute the concentration. Mother nature in her beauty will adapt...will humans?

While no fan of how BP is handling this problem...they have no short term fix. The best solution is a new well to relieve the pressure and shut off the gusher. This will take a couple months...and it's going to get uglier before it gets better, but it will get better. I don't see crops failing across the globe, just a slow motion disaster that nature will eventually correct. Our job will be to speed up this process.