Obama's energy advisor now warns oil might leak until late summer.

[Karmadillo]

I don't remember Obama telling us this sort of thing was possible when he was telling us to move beyond the tired (or was that stale) debates of the environmentalists and expand drilling in the Gulf. Who gave him such poor advice? Will they be held accountable?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-obama-20100531,0,7619505.story

Reporting from Washington —A top Obama administration official warned Sunday that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill might not be stopped until late summer after BP's latest attempt to plug the leak failed.

The "American people need to know" that it's "possible we will have oil leaking from this well until August, when the relief wells will be finished," said Carol Browner, the White House energy advisor.

more...

[Enrique]

1. 'who gave him such poor advice'?

Great question. Who told him to say this, way back in April 2010?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm8gLmuTvJ4

[bananas]

2. Obama: Move beyond "tired debates" on offshore drilling & "stale debates" on nuclear.

See: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8268565

[frebrd]

3. "might leak until late summer"......

Which year? What decade?

:banghead:

[Karmadillo]

4. Or is she misleading us? Are relief wells a sure thing? Is August now the best case scenario?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/05/are_last_best_hope_relief_well.html

Are BP's Last, Best Hope Relief Wells Sure Things?

So the question is, are they 100 percent effective? The answer seems to vary according to which source you consult.

For instance, note the conditionality in a Discover magazine article quoting Jerry Milgram, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor the article describes as one of the world's leading experts in marine engineering.

"In this case it's kind of hard," said Milgram. "You are drilling through mostly rock. It's not going to be fast."

When the same oil-bearing rock is eventually reached by the relief well drill rig, the sealing of the broken well can finally begin.
First, seawater is pumped into the rock through the relief well. If all goes according to plan, that water should make its way into the lower end of the leaking well, displacing oil. If that succeeds, the next step is to pump in a mineral mud, which follows the sea water up the broken well. Once that mud fills the well, concrete can be pumped into the relief well.

"If you get a tall tower of mud, and if you're lucky, you'll stop it," said Milgram. "The next day you pump concrete and then the well is dead."

The mud and concrete work by their by density and shear weight, which is enough to counter the highly pressurized oil moving up the well.

There are a lot of "ifs" in that passage. Clearly, many pieces will need to come together if the relief wells are to work.

more...

[Scuba]

5. Did he say what year???

[northernlights]

6. well now there will be a fresh debate

I hope he finds this one interesting. x(