BP Finally Stops Oil Flowing

[Pong]

Well, according to BP they cut off the flow of oil into the Gulf. After 200 million barrels of oil. 200. Well at least we can begin the very long cleanup process and no more oil is going into the Gulf.

BP Chokes off the oil leak; Yahoo! News

So I will quote this line from Band of Brothers: "About damn time."

-Arlo

 

[BombTaxi]

It is good news. Bad news is, the sharks are still circling for BP themselves. As well as talk of a hostile takeover, several US politicians are now accusing BP of pressing the UK govt into releasing the Lockerbie bomber from prison in Scotland.

I think the environmental, social and economic fallout from this disaster will be equally toxic and equally difficult (if not impossible) to repair...

 

[vikingBerserker]

200 million gallons, dam........

I think you're dead on about being a toxic environment

 

[BombTaxi]

By all accounts the ecosystem of the Gulf, and the economy it supports have been totally devastated, if not destroyed. A recent report I saw suggests that rising pockets of methane have been killing fish far from the spill itself, as the water is deoxygenated by the rising gas.

The media here also seem to have totally lost sight of the fact that in addition to the thousands, if not millions, of people affected socially and economically by the disaster, 11 people also lost their lives in the first moments of this catastrophe. They should not be forgotten...

 

[Glider]

I strongly suggest that people hold fire on all sides. Its a good move and one that reflects well on the people fixing the problem (but the ones who caused it, who should have the book thrown at them). As for the damages lets wait and see. Theres a huge effort going on and if the example of the Exon Valdis is anything to go on it might only might not be as bad as everyone fears. The figures seem to vary between 60 up to 184 million gallons no one really knows, it frankly doesn't matter, what matters is the damage.

I am not trying to downplay it but suggest that peaple try to avoid the understandable emmotion and stick to facts

 

[B-17engineer]

It could erupt into politics....thats why I didn't post this.

 

[BombTaxi]

I'm not getting political or emotional, merely stating the situation as I have seen it reported. The fact is that the coastal industry of the affected area, based on fishing, has ground to a halt.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Bloody fantastic and about bloody time.

 

[evangilder]

IIRC, the engineers said they want to see it hold for 48 hours before they declare it done. Understandable, considering the length of time it has taken. I also think that there are unknowns that they are concerned about. Sometimes pressure builds slowly that can lead to another blowout.

 

[michaelmaltby]

The comparison is Ixtoc I - the PEMEX spill in 1979 that lasted almost a year.

Worth reading.

The lost legacy of the last great oil spill : Nature News

B-17 engineer ... this is political.

MM

 

[Thorlifter]

I'm currently doing I.T. work at a field office for a major competitor to BP. Talk around the office from people who have been in the industry for 30+ years is BP has a HORRIBLE reputation in the industry for safety.

They have a very large plant in Texas City, Texas, just outside of Houston. If you have never been there, imagine an entire city of oil refinery's. Accidents are so common at their plant, the news doesn't even report them any more because it's too common. Several years ago they had an explosion there and 11 of our employees were killed, plus however many other people from other companies.

And don't let the reports of them doing "everything they can do to clean up and make this right." BP flat doesn't care about about this. They will make up all their money they will have to pay out within a year, plus some.

 

[Wayne Little]

Let's hope it's fixed and stays that way....

 

[lesofprimus]

The coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are in real bad shape guys.... Oil is everywhere, dead fish and mammals washing up everyday... No tourists, which during the summer is the mainstay of these communities....

I see lines all over the place of blacks and hispanics standing around in flouresant yellow vests, waiting to go clean up...

To use the word devastating for the Gulf waters is tame, but whats happening to the peoples of the Gulf Coast region is debilitating...

 

[lesofprimus]

Heres two recent pics from a barrier island called Horn Island, right off the coast from me... Ive fished and surfed right off this very beach...

Never again...

 

[Wayne Little]

Man...that does not look good.....

 

[evangilder]

It's good they stopped additional oil from flowing into the gulf, but the cleanup is going to be a long process. And as Dan's photos show, the effect will be around for a long time.

 

[lesofprimus]

The future of fishing/shrimping/crabbing/oystering here in the Gulf is destroyed fellas.... The true severity of it hasnt even publically been realized yet...

The worst is yet to come, thousands on the unemployment lines... Im so bummed out about it that we are considering a move to Durango Colorado....

Gonna have to see if its gonna be as bad as I think it is...

 

[ToughOmbre]

Not a pretty picture Dan. Gonna take many years.

TO

 

[evangilder]

Between Katrina and this, I can't imagine it looking real bright for that area. The gulf recovered after the spill in 1979, but it took quite a while. I think the same will happen now, and it will take a while to recover.

 

[Hop]

Theres a huge effort going on and if the example of the Exon Valdis is anything to go on it might only might not be as bad as everyone fears

After the Exxon Valdez 25,000 dead, oiled birds and over 1,000 dead oiled mammals were recovered. The total for the GoM so far is 814 dead oiled birds and 3 dead oiled mammals.

A lot more oil has been released in this spill, but it's far offshore, lighter oil (so evaporates faster), in warmer water (which also helps evaporation) and there is a much larger clean up operation underway. BP are currently paying for over 45,000 staff to work on the clean up, and they've chartered over 6,000 ships and boats.

Not a pretty picture Dan. Gonna take many years.

The Sea Empress tanker spill off south Wales dumped a smaller amount of oil (about 500,000 barrels) over a short section of coast line. Within the area covered the spill was more intense:

Tourism and fishing both suffered in the year in which the spill occurred. The reduced fishing in that year meant record catches of fish, crab, lobster and shellfish in the following year, and fishing has continued to improve in the following years. Some migratory sea birds saw smaller numbers arrive for a few years, but they too recovered.

In all the long term effects were far less than had been predicted by experts and the media. I suspect the same will be true of the Gulf. Spills are commonly compared to the Exxon Valdez, and that was an exceptionally damaging incident.