It appears an Extinction Level Event is in progress in the Gulf of Mexico.

The seabed has cracked in multiple points and is gushing up 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

Some scientists have put the estimate at around 300,000 barrels of oil per day along with a toxic gas flow of about 1 billion cubic feet per day.

There is no way to stop this blowout by conventional means.

The original well casing has been compromised and oil is forcing out through multiple failure points at extremely high pressure.

Leaks have been discovered on the sea floor over 20 miles from the original well. This is based on the 3 separate underwater oil plumes that have been reported to date.

The relief well is not a viable option any more under these circumstances.

The only way left is to slant drill a hole deep into the crust and detonate a nuke to collapse the well bore and fuse the leaks. However, this is an extremely risky operation. It could make things a lot worse by collapsing the sea floor.

Here is a NOAA computer simulation of the spill trajectory over a span of 132 days. We are at day 54.

http://tinyurl.com/28gqxoo


The oil itself will poison the water and kill off all the marine life in the Gulf of Mexico. However, this is not the worst part. The invisible killer is the toxic gas that it spewing out of the well estimated around 1 billion cubic feet per day.

EPA took some test readings of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Gulf and came up with a startling report.

1. Hydrogen Sulfide = 1200 parts per billion (Safe Level 5-10 parts per billion)

2. Benzene = 3000 parts per billion (Safe Level 1-4 parts per billion)

3. Methylene Chloride = 3400 parts per billion (Safe Level 61 parts per billion)


This will cause respiratory illness for millions, cancer, and result in birth defects of new born babies.

A major hurricane can sweep these deadly contaminants across the Eastern half of the United States. Please see the included JPEG.

Here is a quote from a scary article by Dr. Wickstrom:

"The hole will continue to increase in size allowing more and more oil to rise into the Gulf. After several billion barrels of oil have been released, the pressure within the massive cavity five miles beneath the ocean floor will begin to normalize.

This will allow the water, under the intense pressure at 1 mile deep, to be forced into the hole and the cavity where the oil was. The temperature at that depth is near 400 degrees, possibly more.

The water will be vaporized and turned into steam, creating an enormous amount of force, lifting the Gulf floor. It is difficult to know how much water will go down to the core and therefore, its not possible to fully calculate the rise of the floor.

The tsunami wave this will create will be anywhere from 20 to 80 feet high, possibly more. Then the floor will fall into the now vacant chamber. This is how nature will seal the hole.

Depending on the height of the tsunami, the ocean debris, oil, and existing structures that will be washed away on shore and inland, will leave the area from 50 to 200 miles inland devoid of life."
http://tinyurl.com/32w2os9


The situation is getting so bad each passing day that now LATOC has created a new forum to discuss the Gulf Oil Disaster.
http://tinyurl.com/27skvwc


This forum has a collection of threads discussing various aspects of the Gulf Oil Blowout.

Here is one thread discussing the real leak which is much bigger and more toxic:

http://tinyurl.com/2cn6g54


Gut wrenching scenes from the Gulf of Mexico:

http://tinyurl.com/34pd9fv


Here is a detailed explanation of all failed attempts by BP to cap the well and the ramifications of a �downhole leak�.

http://tinyurl.com/2644tym


The Macondo reservoir is estimated to hold 2 to 2.5 Billion Barrels of oil. If the seabed disintegrates, all of this oil will be released.

BP has sprayed over 1 million gallons of COREXIT to date to hide the underwater oil plumes from reaching the surface. This dispersant which was banned in the UK, is 4 times more toxic than oil by itself. However, when combined with oil, it is 11 times more toxic and would make matters worse.

http://tinyurl.com/35dmda2


Even more alarming is the news coming out that BP has hired Wackenhut Corporation, a private security contractor, to do the spraying of Corexit on populated areas along the coastline. Here is a first hand account by witnesses mentioning how the spraying is being conducted under the cover of darkness in the middle of the night.

http://tinyurl.com/294xuxn


Listen to �Episode 81.1: James Fox - Jun 13, 2010 Update�

People living 300 miles inland can smell the foul air � like battery acid.

We have entered into uncharted territories.

Soon plans will be laid out to evacuate 30 million people living within 200 miles of the Gulf Coast. The highly toxic COREXIT may vaporize forming clouds and raining down the chemicals affecting everyone living on the Eastern half of the US:
http://tinyurl.com/25yxnne

Fellow musicians living along the Gulf Coast, please use this forum to relay your personal experiences and stay in touch.

Let us be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

Peace.

So awful...almost unbelievable. Thanks so much for an obviously in-depth, time consuming fact gathering effort.

The enormity of the irresponsibility, combined with the "spin" to hide the real retails almost defies description.

Let's all hope for a better resolution than is predicted.


Russ

Hello Tapas!

Haven't heard from you in a while.................too bad it has to be about such a grim topic. I live on the west coast of Florida and get to see the gulf almost every day. Now when I look I see all the pain and misery where the oil is destroying life and lives. I'm greatful the impact to my coast isn't (yet) expected to be as bad, yet I realize any tropical storm or hurricane could change the predictions. It's hard to accept that such greed and irresponsibility could poison such a huge body of water. The effects will last for years and years............... -charley

Is all US or them?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/opinion/13friedman.html?src=me&ref=homepage

Hi Charley,

Good to hear from you. I am glad to hear you will be safe.

You are correct that greed and irresponsibility has caused this disaster.

I agree with Captain Russ that the �spin� to hide the truth is beyond belief. In the beginning they were admitting to the leak being only 1000 barrels a day.

Now independent observers and scientists are saying the oil gushing out of the seabed from multiple points is around 120,000 barrels per day. Or in other words, this is the same as having an Exxon Valdez size spill every 2 to 3 days, which was our previous record for the largest oil spill in US history.

It takes merely a quart of motor oil to render 250,000 gallons of seawater toxic to marine life.

If this wellhead cannot be capped, the consequences to the ecosystem could be catastrophic.

The Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform was a state of the art engineering marvel. It tested the limits of human engineering for exploring ultra-deepwater oil. This 600 million dollar rig floated on the ocean where the depth to the seabed was 5000 feet.

They had to bore through another 18,360 feet to get to the oil layer trapped under extreme heat and pressure.

The cost of operating this oil rig was $1 million a day. It now appears that they went through a series of reckless cost cutting measures that compromised safety and standard operating procedures that led to the final blow up.

Off shore rigs are generally mandated to be equipped with remote controlled or acoustic shut off switches. They cost half a million dollars � only a tiny fraction of the $600 million project cost. Deepwater Horizon had none. It was assumed a spill or an accident would be very unlikely.

This was an exploratory well. This was not meant for production. Production was to begin in another year or two.

During the operation, they failed to cement and plug the well properly.

On the fateful day of April 20, 2010, natural gas under extreme pressure gushed through the faulty plug and shot straight up the riser to the rig. It blew out all the safety valves, all the way to the last one on the rig itself.

The blow out preventer (BOP) sitting on the seabed failed.

The rig exploded incinerating 11 crew members and sank to the ocean floor.

Was it worth it to speed up the process by a few days to save a few million dollars? The environmental bill will come in to the tune of Trillions of dollars. Who will pay? BP will file for bankruptcy while you and I will pick up the tab.

Rolling Stones has an in-depth investigative report showing how lax regulations led to this mishap. There was no accountability.

http://tinyurl.com/2gyo76c


There is no way to measure the human tragedy that will befall millions losing their jobs, livelihood, homes, and long term health effects.

April 20, 2010 will mark a sad day in US history where greed triumphed over basic decency and thoughtfulness.

Take care and stay safe.

It was only recently that the oil companies were telling us that putting rigs on the Great Barrier Reef would be safe, well I've got something to say, as we all should now, not only should they not be in environmental area's all rigs must be supervised under an international body of safety, and even the slightest hint of problems should mean a shut down until exit strategies can be adopted that work.

I feel for the Americ's today, a disaster of monumental proportions, but this is a world wide problem, that needs to be tackled from the top down, the world needs viable solutions for alternatives, and we know the oil and gas ownerships of the world are sitting on them, why are they buying up accellorated battery developement and not releasing them for general consumption, explain that, why do we keep electric cars still with an internal combustion engine, why haven't we developed ethanol as other countries have and insited that car makers make the carby that works with it as they have in Brazil I think, and why did GM get rid of the most popular fully electric car ever made, and so on..,,

Come on world we are on the edge and we can't afford to go over it....

......yet sadly after reading all of this, all of us sorry sob's will glumly pick up the car keys and say to the pump attendant: "fill'r'up"

Quote
___________________________________________

mr9000 ......yet sadly after reading all of this, all of us sorry sob's will glumly pick up the car keys and say to the pump attendant: "fill'r'up"

____________________________________________


WE all have to do our bit, but dont just accept that you can't make change, I have been wanting an electric car in Australia for years now, but they have made every excuse for not delivering from the Govt down to the manufacturers, push em to the edge, get whats needed its called people power, and it starts with each and every one of us.

If you get your information from a website called 'Doomers', expect worst case scenarios and THEN some!

Aren't these the same sort of people telling us about the end of the Mayan Calendar, too?

This disaster is bad enough without wild speculation and ELE hyperbole.

This may doomsday talk, yes. Then again, hmmm. I am in the oil and gas business, and from day one, this thing really worried me.

About three weeks ago, I found an interview with Matt Simmons on MSNBC. Matt Simmons is a recognized global expert on oil and gas. A top-flight consultant and author. In that interview, Simmons said that the leak they were showing pictures of and the claims of 1000 barrels per day or whatever it was... was NOTHING. That there was a fissure in the sea floor five miles away that was flowing something like 60,000 barrels per day. He said the entire story we are seeing on t.v. is a smokescreen for the horrendous disaster that is really happening.

About a week ago, he was interviewed again. he stated that it is FAR worse than even he reported. He said that the pressure from that well had to be 40,000 psi to 50,000 psi. That is was the largest blowout in the history of the world. That, likely, NOTHING could have prevented this from happening. That is that big of a well. Totally unforeseen pressures and flow rates.

In the past few days, I have seen, in the mainstream media, more talk that is mirroring what he has been saying for the past few weeks!

I'll put it this way... I can see how this could be just as bad as what is written on this page. I hope not, but... it could happen. Could mankind screw up this bad. You bet. If that oil flow is not stemmed, the marine life in the gulf in the ocean depths could die. Which would start a chain reaction that could be catastrophic for the gulf region.

Now, this talk of the sea floor cratering and tsunamis and what not, I dunno, but forgetting all of that, just think how bad it will be if the oil just kills off the marine life.

It's just tragic.

What will happen if it NEVER stops leaking for years to come & they cant cap it
one way or another?

For you, no more of this:



You may have to switch to 'soul food'.

chas

PS: In all seriousness, this is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. As a country, we (those of us who DON'T live on the gulf coast) need to find a way to share in the pain this man-made disaster has caused and also be a part of the solution. One way to start is to curb our appetite for Cadillacs that have OVER 500HP (and only four seats, three of which are rarely filled) http://www.insideline.com/cadillac/cts-v/2009/2009-cadillac-cts-v-to-make-567-horsepower.html . Well, unless you can fuel them with methane created from pig manure. Plus, the purchaser should be required to raise the pigs and process the fuel.

Well, it's a start.



[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 06-16-2010).]

BTW who uses the most oil in the World.Yo pays your money and yo takes your choice!
can't have it both ways guys.
http://www.marktaw.com/culture_and_media/politics/GlobalOil.html

[This message has been edited by Tony Hughes (edited 06-16-2010).]

The only way this kind of problem never happens again is to hold the feet of our politicians to the fire, and keep them there. 98% incumbency means we are NOT doing this. We vote the same people back in after every disaster, ecological, financial, military, whatever.

WE DON'T CARE... until it's too late, then we all forget about it in ten years time.

The United States of Amnesia

SemiLiveMusic makes a very good point by bringing up Matt Simmons� interview on MSNBC.

Mr. Simmons gave another interview on Bloomberg on June 15th that should be watched by all. He repeats the claim that 120,000 barrels of oil is now leaking from the seabed each day. He feels the only option left is to bore a hole deep into the seabed and explode a tactical nuke that would generate sufficient heat to seal off the fissures.

http://tinyurl.com/267ylno


Readings from surface vessels have now confirmed the presence of gas bubbles forming around the wellhead. These bubbles comprising of Methane Hydrate, Methylene Chloride, Hydrogen Sulfide and Benzene have been found to cover areas 15 to 20 miles across and tens of feet deep in the bottom of the ocean.

It is feared that if the Methane Hydrates blow up, it would generate a 400 to 600mph Tsunami wave that would crash over the Florida coastline.

Listen to Richard Hoagland narrating the possible sequence of events that may unfold.

Cloud of Death followed by Tsunami � Part 1
http://tinyurl.com/2atonyr

Cloud of Death followed by Tsunami � Part 2
http://tinyurl.com/2errho5

Every person living along the coast of Florida needs to remain prepared and informed.


What happens if we are unable to seal off the seabed?

In this case, we would be looking at the ecological impact of allowing 2.5 billion barrels of oil to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The next 18 months would be critical to all life forms on earth as the oil circles around the globe doing its damage.

50% of the Oxygen comes from the world�s oceans.

Phytoplanktons living in the oceans generate Oxygen via Photosynthesis. With the help of nutrients from the water and sunlight, they help generate half of the world�s oxygen while fixing 40% of the carbon.

The death of the oceans spells a death sentence for mankind.

Hope we never get to that.


[This message has been edited by Tapas (edited 06-16-2010).]

[This message has been edited by Tapas (edited 06-16-2010).]

Was trying to watch the TV while playing last night. thought i heard that the spill is now confirmed to be much grater than even the 120,000 gallons mentioned here...something like 2 1/2 million a day.

WOW!


Russ

Isn't SWEDEN Almost OIL FREE now?
makes you wonder why we can't do the same, greedy money people perhaps .
http://environment.about.com/od/renewableenergy/a/oilfreesweden.htm


[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 06-17-2010).]

Documents are now surfacing showing how BP knew way back in February 13th that they had cracks in the well.

On March 10th, BP informed Mineral Management Service that they were in a �well control situation.� Nothing was done. The government regulators decided to take no action.

BP speeded up the drilling operation ignoring danger signs and standard operating procedures. Profits were given priority over safety.

http://tinyurl.com/2vrp8h6


On April 20th, Deepwater Horizon exploded triggering the worst man made environmental disaster in human history.

This was not an �accident�. This was not an act of God. This was the end result of wanton greed, callousness and total irresponsibility.

Listen to Tony Hayward, CEO of British Petroleum spell it out in his own words the naked truth of what drives his corporation �Our primary purpose in life is to create value for our shareholders ... our primary purpose in life is not to save the world.�

http://tinyurl.com/25rpvzc


Do sociopaths deserve to hold such positions of power and responsibility? Mr. Hayward has been asked to step down today. He is free to have his �life back�.

Unfortunately, for millions of people living around the Gulf Coast, will never be getting their lives back. They face to lose their livelihood, homes, businesses, everything.

We have opened the Gates of Hell, metaphorically speaking.

If this oil gusher cannot be stopped, it will bring death to the Gulf of Mexico and pollute 1/3rd of the worlds water body.

The media released an extremely disturbing piece of news this morning. Very high levels of Methane have been found to be seeping up.

http://tinyurl.com/234aux3


Why should we be concerned?

Methane is a deadly gas 21 times more potent than Carbon Dioxide when it comes to creating a greenhouse effect.

There are enormous deposits of Methane Hydrates on the sea floor. Extreme pressure and cold temperature on the sea floor keeps these deadly gasses trapped as frozen crystals.

If the ocean temperature were to increase by a few degrees, these frozen crystals would transform into a gas and begin to surface. There is so much Methane Hydrate under the ocean, that it could easily trigger a runaway global warming process creating a Martian Climate on earth.

Scientists believe such an event took place 55 million years ago.

The total energy stored in Methane Hydrates rivals all the energy we have in fossil fuels. Japanese scientists have been researching for decades into safe ways of mining this energy source.

Due to its deadly characteristics, all efforts have been proven futile.

It seems we have done the unthinkable.

This hole must be plugged and the cracks on the seabed must be sealed. This is not an ordinary leak in an oil well. We must treat this as a Global Emergency.

Just how much oil is gushing out?

Matt Simmons puts the figure at 120,000 barrels per day. Let�s try to get a visual of this enormous volume of crude.

We are all familiar with the 1gallon milk bottles in the store shelf. Now imagine buying 42 of these plastic bottles filled with dark, heavy crude oil and pouring them into a cylinder 18� in diameter and about 38� tall.

That is your Barrel. It contains 42 gallons of oil.

Watch this animation to see how 25,000 barrels will look like when stacked up around a pillar.

http://tinyurl.com/29ondrm


Multiply that by 5 to get a feel for how much oil is gushing out into the Gulf every single day.

120,000 barrels per day = 120,000 x 42 = 5,040,000 gallons a day.

About 5 millions gallons of crude are being released each day from the bottom of the seabed one mile deep.

Compare this to the Exxon Valdez spill that was a mere 11 million gallons in total. It happened over the surface of the water, so its effect was minimized. Even after 20 years, we are finding oil residues on the sea floor.

How long will this gusher flow?

It is estimated the Macondo Reservoir that Deepwater Horizon tapped into contains around 2 to 2.5 Billion Barrels of oil.

Assuming a constant flow rate of 120,000 barrels per day, it would take 20,833 days or 57 years for the reservoir to drain out.

BP was ecstatic at the prospect of producing 200,000 barrels a day from this reservoir over the period of the next 20-25 years.

In practice, the seepage will increase over time as the cracks widen and the flow will stop when the pressure of reservoir falls to the pressure of the mile high water column.

Scientists feel, that left to its own, the gusher will cease in 9 years.

Obviously, we cannot let this happen.

Not only does life on earth depend on the oceans for half its oxygen supply, but also the seafood comprises a significant portion of the diet for 6.8 billion humans living on this planet.

Phytoplankton covers the oceans surface. Phytoplankton is the primary level in the Marine Food Chain. Zooplankton feeds on Phytoplankton, which are in turn eaten by krill, crustaceans and small fishes, which are then in turn eaten by larger fish followed by penguin, seals, whales and polar bears.

Man stands at the tail end of this food chain.

Death of the oceans will put mankind in peril.

Matt Simmons feels that a tactical nuke is the only option left to seal the seabed.

http://tinyurl.com/267ylno


The Russians were able to stop gas fires on ground wells using tactical nukes. They were successful several times in the past.

Detonating a nuke deep under the seabed under 1 mile of water has never been done before. It could make matters a lot worse by opening up the entire seabed and releasing the radiation including the oil and natural gas.

Byron King, who served in the Navy, makes a counter argument as to why nukes should never be used at such extreme depths. He feels this is a crazy idea.

http://tinyurl.com/29coqbx


Willard Wattenburg, a nuclear physicist has a novel idea. He feels that dropping steel balls down the well could stop the gusher. Willard was in charge of putting out the oils fires in Kuwait in 1991.

http://tinyurl.com/26cn7nb


Time is running out. We cannot stand by and allow us to poison ourselves.

Highly dangerous levels of Benzene, Hydrogen Sulfide and other Volatile Organic Compounds have been measured along the gulf coast.

Here is a report on the Air Quality. Be sure the read the comments posted. People are understandably frustrated and concerned.

http://tinyurl.com/23867vr


We should make it our top priority to assemble an international team of the best and brightest minds to find a solution to seal the ocean floor. It would take a super human effort and a lot of cooperation to cap this underwater volcano.

We should never give up hope.

We have successfully sent man to the moon. We have coded the human genome. We have built spacecraft that can travel 5 times the speed of sound.

If we can pull this off, it would be mankind�s finest hour.



[This message has been edited by Tapas (edited 06-19-2010).]

The sollutions where available and presented by some dutch companies, but the US of A and BP decided they would solve the problem themselves and it got only worse.

Now it might be to late for these sollutions that would have worked well early on.

THey should have never let BP try and do it on their own, they should have made this an international priorrity issue right from the start and juts have presented the bill to BP.

Tapas thank for posting some very elightening information. Bottom line imho, "greed." And it's everywhere!! I remember it from religious studies and have been reminded of it from time to time from another program I'm involved in. One of the "7 Deadly Sins."

A bit off the subject of the oil spill, but yesterday I was in supermarket where the computer system that runs the check out cash registers crashed. An announcement was made that the store would be closing until the system was up. Customers were asked to proceed to the checkout they would not be charged for what was in their shopping carts. You should have seen the the customers loading extra items into their shopping carts. Talk about "greed" What a surprise those who loaded up their carts only to discover that a few minutes later the cash registers were back in service.

A properly placed underwater tactical low level nuke could end the problem.

Matter of fact, the above scenario is in the US government's data on the subject, in the "what if" scenario section.

The properly placed and detonated underwater tactical nuclear explosion has the capability of fusing sand, rock, etc. into a permanent PLUG CAP on the sea floor.

"Low level" tactical nuke of 12 kiloton or less. That is half the power of the first atomic bomb ever used against our fellow humans. And a lot less than stuff detonated in the ocean in past times for testing.

However bad the nuke may be for the environment, it is a lot less impact than the current oil and gas situation.

With so many people scared to death already due to their own scientific and engineering ignorance on such subjects, however, it is unlike that an administration interested more in the political than the fundamental is going to allow such solution to the problem, though.

"Never waste a good crisis" -- That's what they actually said.

People more concerned with punishing than solving the problem.

Doesn't make much sense to me.

I like how they only show the broken pipe spewing 5000ft down there.."nothing to see on the sea floor" however..betcha when they proclaim loudly with their eternal uncaring ego's: "we've stopped the spill",we will never be shown all the other cracks a spewing on the floor down there..i mean how the hell am i to believe anything that comes out the mouths of these current demons. That's what they are,it's all part of the anitchrist's little EU agenda this little oops of "whosh,boom"

[This message has been edited by mr9000 (edited 06-19-2010).]

You see there's that word again, "shareholders" who the hell are they?? just mostly normal folks like you and me, we weren't the one's to cause the GFC, it was the high and greedy, who even after the disaster were taking the cream from the top like the filthy fat cats they are.

This situ is no different, we have reached the crossroads people, this is it, yes we need an answer for the greatest environmental castastre we have ever caused but we need a way out, not only environmentaly, but also the stock markets are not the way, and neither is the alternative (Communism) we need answers and solutions, its obvious this oil blowout is much bigger than anyone expected, that is ofcourse unless you were high on the tree of BP as it looks like.

I said previously in a post here "an international body not connected with the companies with the power under force to shut down opperations if necessary until they are deemed safe", and don't be fooled by the other oil company people saying "oh we wouldn't have done what bp did" they are also beholden to thier shareholders to, and probably after this major mishap all stops have been pulled by them to clean up thier act, as it should be.

Real alternatives thats what we need, I said it before and I'll say it again (Scully and Moulder), the answers have been bought and paid for by the high and mighty, thge select few also involved in the GFC and we need governments brave enough to force them the reveal the technologies they own for humanities benefit before its all too late.

Robbo, you make a very good point. We need answers, we need regulations, and we need an international body free from influence by big corporations to oversee the safety of such risky ventures that threaten the livelihood of millions.

Just to put matters in perspective, the top 5 largest oil companies made $23 billion in profits (not revenue), in just one quarter. Compare this $23 billion in profit per quarter to the $1 billion that was spent in total by both parties in the US Presidential elections.

Big oil has enough money to buy out both sides. It is chump change to them. Do you think the puny Mineral Management Service stand any chance of being an effective regulatory agency?

MMS is nothing but a rubber stamp for Big Oil. MMS has been reduced to being nothing but their cheerleader and PR agency.

The Oil Drum has an excellent thread detailing the causes that led to the Deepwater Horizon Blowout.

http://tinyurl.com/27yhyox


Everything that went wrong was a result of a cascading series of willful negligence where warning signs were ignored in favor of cost cutting measures.

Yet, when Tony Hayword, CEO of BP was asked in front to Congress to be forthright, come clean and answer a few direct question, he stonewalled and evaded with his classic defense � �I do not recall�I was not responsible�I cannot discuss the details��

Beyond Pathetic.

Here are some clips:

http://tinyurl.com/269kvmq

http://tinyurl.com/24m4mff

http://tinyurl.com/2bmj27l

While Big Oil and their shareholders are living their big life with $23 billion in profits per quarter, the entire $2.2 Trillion dollar Gulf Economy is going to the gutters.

Watch these 14 slides to see the economic and environmental impact to the 5 Gulf States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

http://tinyurl.com/2auaef3


The Guardian published a heartfelt article by Naomi Klein on Saturday. Naomi explains the whole saga behind the Gulf Oil Spill and focuses on the human element behind the tragedy.

At the end of this article, there is a short 20 minute video that informs the viewers what the local residents have to say, how their hopes and dreams have been dashed, how their environment has been polluted, their bodies poisoned.

http://tinyurl.com/25tyz4p


In the 60 days since the rig exploded, an enormous amount of information has been assimilated by various websites. Here is the most detailed documentation I have found on the Deepwater Horizon. This is a master reference to the spill related activities.

This document has dozens of pictures and schematic diagrams explaining the technical aspects.

http://tinyurl.com/22su84a


Wikipedia is also doing a good job keeping up with the facts as they are surfacing:

http://tinyurl.com/265vh38


The History Channel ran a series on Mega Disasters.

Dr. Gregory Ryskin of Northwestern University has a theory of how Methane Explosions have originated in the oceans several times in the past. He explains how Methane Eruptions were responsible for mass extinctions eradicating 95% of all species from the face of the earth.

Deep pockets in the ocean allow methane to accumulate over long periods of time. A trigger event releases the deadly storm of methane bubbles with the explosive force of a nuclear bomb.

A similar event was witnessed in a small lake in Africa.

Here is a short 5-minute clip showing what could happen in a Methane Explosion.

http://tinyurl.com/27ew7ac


If Methane levels continue to increase around the Gulf Coast, all inhabitants will be asked to evacuate. FEMA will not be able to handle the evacuation of 8 to 10 million people along the coastal regions. They ran short of resources while dealing with Hurricane Katrina over New Orleans.


[This message has been edited by Tapas (edited 06-20-2010).]

this is too important to let slip down the page. please let's keep this going, we're talking half the planet in dire peril

------------------
Miami Mo

Keysvocalssax, I agree with you 100%. We must keep track of this event as the outcome will affect us all.

The oil began gushing out at an alarming rate this morning when BP removed the well cap for inspection.

The Oil Drum presented dozens of informative posts related to today�s incident.

http://tinyurl.com/2cu5olm


One observer made this remark:

"This well is completely out of control and is getting worse. We have been reviewing the telemetry and I must report that the velocity exiting the well is approaching 15ft/sec. this velocity along with the abrasive sludge will erode the casing. If this velocity isn�t reduced to under 2ft/sec, the casing will fail. this translates into over 45 cuft/sec. If 40% of this is gas and 60% is oil, then the flow rate of oil is 415,000 barrels/day or 17,000,000 gals/day. This is out of control."

Before the cap was removed, the total amount of oil coming out from the seabed was estimated to be 120,000 barrels per day.

The original thickness of the pipe was 2�. It has worn down to 1 inch after 2 months due to the abraisive flow of oil and sand as high speeds. This well will not hold up very much longer.

To make matters worse, a Tropical Storm Alex (Invest 93L) is forming in the central Caribbean.

http://tinyurl.com/2fzqp3r


As hurricane season begins, it will be a race against time to finish the two relief wells in progress.

Oil rains have been reported in Louisiana.

http://tinyurl.com/2bdout7


Louisiana is also reporting people falling ill from the oil contamination.

http://tinyurl.com/2u87vhl


Here is an article that states that North America will face years of Toxic Rain from the oil and chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://tinyurl.com/36oyk5p


BP is using the highly toxic COREXIT 9500 to suppress the oil from rising to the surface.

It has now been revealed that Carl Casale who is the Director of Nalco, makers of Corexit, is also the CFO of Monsanto, the makers of GMO seeds.

http://tinyurl.com/36vmdct


Why is this connection curious?

If Corexit rains destroys the crops, the farmers will be more reliant on GMO products. It should be pointed out, that there were several other less harmful dispersants that could have been used. BP chose to use Coexit, a product that is banned in Europe and UK.

People have begun to leave Florida.

Here is a first hand account of a person who is relocating this family. The author has included a set of pictures he took from the airplane showing the extent of the spill.

http://tinyurl.com/2c45zwb


The New York Times has published an article that gives an elaborate technical overview of the situation in layman terms. The also provide an animation to explain how a Blind Shear Ram was supposed to function to choke the well and stem the flow. It failed.

http://tinyurl.com/3ymw4tp


Mining and drilling operations, specially in deep water are inherently risky operations with unknown outcomes. Utmost care and caution should be exercised to check and double check and triple check every single step.

It does not pay to expedite a few hours of work to save a few million dollars. The damage cannot be reversed when the gamble fails.

Here is an account of the mining disaster in Lake Peigneur, along the Southern coast of Louisiana documenting how the lake drained into an underwater salt mine when an oil well accidentally bored into a salt mine.

http://tinyurl.com/2fpsb2y


The world will hold its breath as we approach the end of August when the two relief wells are scheduled to be completed. This is our last best chance of avoiding a full-scale environmental catastrophe.

Please, if you are living on the Gulf Coast, give us your first hand account of what is going on and keep us informed.

The deadly combination of Oil and Corexit 9500 is creating a toxic concoction that is threatening marine and land life including humans within a 200 mile radius of Deepwater Horizon located about 50 miles from the coast of Louisiana.
Plans are being put in place for mandatory evacuation of the following 18 Gulf coast cities:

New Orleans
Baton Rouge
Mandeville
Hammond
Houma
Belle Chase
Chalmette
Slidell
Biloxi
Gulfport
Pensacola
Hattiesburg
Mobile
Bay Minette
Fort Walton Beach
Panama City
Crestview
Pascagoula

http://tinyurl.com/25wpsrt


The highly volatile and inflammable oil vapors can be carried by hurricane winds into a major city along the Gulf Coast and cause a firestorm burning the place from top to bottom.

http://tinyurl.com/2ba4sh4


John Wathen presents a 9-minute video to show the extent of the oil spill when he flew over the Gulf on June 21st. It is disturbing to see pods of dolphins on their death throes, and whales coated in oil surfacing for a gasp of air.

http://tinyurl.com/26kfj2c


Reuters is reporting that methane levels in the Gulf have been found to be astonishingly high, as much as a million times the normal level.

In some parts the oxygen depletion has reached 30%.

http://tinyurl.com/2fkbnzr


Petroleum World has published a short summary describing Deepwater Horizon as Well from Hell.

A large methane gas bubble has been discovered 15 to 20 mile across and tens of feet thick under the ocean floor.

A bubble this large if allowed to escape, has to potential to create an explosion like Mt. St. Helens, only under water.

http://tinyurl.com/3xy2ay3


People who are working to clean up the oil spill are reporting illness from the effects.

http://tinyurl.com/27y7eun


This is especially troubling, knowing that almost all of the 1989 Exxon Valdez Cleanup Crew are now dead. There were 11,000 workers. An estimated 8000 have died since 1994.

http://tinyurl.com/23p63od


BP has dumped 1.4 million gallons of Corexit 9500 in the Gulf. This could be the cause of the mysterious crop damage in the Gulf area.

http://tinyurl.com/26bj9r2


Here is an animated forecast of the Surface Currents and Wind Drift in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://tinyurl.com/26xl5se


Here is an animated set of images from Geostationary Satellites covering the Gulf of Mexico. This is useful in watching in real time how the hurricanes are forming.

http://tinyurl.com/26a3xl2


Watch Kindra Arnesen express her outrage at the dog and pony show being presented by BP. You can feel the raw emotions in her voice.

This lady has more balls than our elected officials to convey the truth.

http://tinyurl.com/2v7fvf7


We are watching the slow destruction of the Gulf. We have set into motion the worst environmental disaster in mankind�s history.

It has been 70 days since Deepwater Horizon exploded. We put people behind bars for shoplifting a doughnut. Yet, not a single individual, either from BP, Transocean, Halliburton, or the Government or the MMS has been jailed or charged for this crime against humanity.

Where is the justice? Where is the accountability? If there is no consequence for such irresponsible action, then how do we guarantee a repetition will not occur?




[This message has been edited by Tapas (edited 06-29-2010).]

Crime against Humanity ???? Has this accident been investigated yet and has it now been deemed a crime ? Certainly its a disater and there may be corporate negligence (we dont know that yet) but this is not a crime against humanity. If we are going to provide information that is credible here, leave out the emotive language please.

Hi Spalding1968,

You are correct. I agree with you that we should not resort to hyperbole and lay blame on individuals without due process. We should evaluate the situation with calm nerves and focus our attention towards containing the loss.

However, at the same time, we as citizens must stay vigilant and informed and listen to a wide range of news sources to form our own conclusions and chart our individual destinies.

There is a wide discrepancy between the filtered news coming from the mainstream media and the facts that are being slowly leaked from independent news outlets.

I would encourage all readers who have been following this thread, to spend 20 minutes of their time to listen to the latest interview given my Matt Simmons.

Mr. Simmons is warning residents within 20 miles of the Gulf coast to either evacuate now or buy a gas mask. He talks about a worst-case scenario that may be unfolding before our eyes. There will be no resources available to manage a disaster of this magnitude involving so many humans.

Information is power. Planning and readiness is everything when it comes to a matter of life and death.

This is the scariest interview I have heard to date summarizing the Gulf disaster.

Please download this 10MB mp3 file and start listening to Mr. Simmons from the 8 minute 15 second mark.

http://tinyurl.com/2uejafz

At this juncture, it is almost a given that broad evacuation plans will be put in place affecting the lives of millions. The plans will be unveiled at the last minute giving residents hardly any time to prepare.

The people are naturally nervous. Wives of Fishermen on the Gulf Coast are reporting trauma, economic insecurity and nervous breakdown.

http://tinyurl.com/2ce6kly


The people are getting sick after swimming in the waters. EPA has opened public �Decontamination Stations� along Florida beaches. 400 beach goers have sought medical care.

http://tinyurl.com/2v5xe4k


Methane Release From the Gulf Oil Spill: What Does It Mean? How Bad Could It Get?

ZeroHedge presents an article taking a comprehensive look at the ramifications of having this well spew out methane into the atmosphere. Methane is 33 times more potent than CO2 in causing Global Warming.

http://tinyurl.com/26d9gak


We are expecting a worse than usual hurricane season this summer. Typically the Gulf of Mexico gets 8 hurricanes. This summer we have identified 14 that are building up.

If our last efforts to cap the well fail by December, we must be prepared for our lives to be changed. It took as many as 4 failed attempts and 10 months to cap the Ixtoc 1 underwater oil well in 1979. And that was under just 150 feet of water.

http://tinyurl.com/35v6fe2


Unfortunately, no lessons were learned from this tragedy that occurred 31 years ago. The giant oil companies did not spend enough money researching into ways in handling oil spills.

Case in point. BP did not spend a single dollar!

http://tinyurl.com/24dmsw7


What a shame.

so people seeing tht there is toxic oils/chemicals in the water decided that it was ok to take a swim ?????

I know this is serious stuff but i cant help but think that some people are only seeing compensation money available like dollar signs. I dont mean to and am certaimnly not making light of this disaster but i suspect for some people this has turned into some kind of obscene opportunity.

Well stated.


I would only add that the "obscene o;purtunity" is unfortunately shared by our political "leaders" right on up to the highest levels.


"Never let a good crisis gi ti waste..."

--Who said that and when?

The White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel in 2008(?): You never want a "serious crisis" to go to waste.

Capped : http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/15/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T2

Hello All - let's hope that BP can get this thing stopped far below the seabed before a storm gets into the Gulf. I haven't tried to make my claim to BP yet but have lost several beach weddings due to concern for the beach conditions. Last weekend I played a wedding and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in Destin and the beaches were still pristine. This part of the coast has been very fortunate as the winds and the tides have kept the oil away for the majority of this horrendous event.

Hopefully some very important lessons will be learned from this very painful and expensive catastrophe. I pray the folks in Louisiana will be able to recoup their ability to ply the Gulf and continue their livelihoods.

Best wishes to all for a speedy recovery from this horrible event!

Randy

[This message has been edited by saxxman (edited 07-20-2010).]