Say a prayer (or two or three) for success with the Top Kill attempt that is coming up. The odds are favorable - 60-70% - that it will work. The consequences of not getting the flow stopped very soon are dire for LA and probably MS too, but could easily spread to all the Gulf states in the next few weeks. If you live in the US it will have local impact on you in multiple ways. If this isn't stopped very soon it will become a major global environmental catastrophe (it may already be but we just haven't figured it out yet). For now just pray for success.
BP has committed to keeping the live video feed going throughout the procedure (I am watching the ROV's working on the line connections as I type).
Been saying a lot of prayers for this one.
I wish them luck.
I am by no means an environmentalist, but what has happened down there is a damn shame. I feel for all the businesses that rely on the fishing business. I'll be keeping an eye on what is happening tomorrow.
Uh huh... Whatta mess.
That whole situation is so sad. I do hope it gets under control soon. By the way, what channel are you watching the action on BLSH?
I think the whole thing is horrid...my hubby and I have been talking about it for a month....I find it hard to believe they can't do ANYTHINKG ABOUT THE SURFACE OIL. Get a big mega roll of paper towels...dump flour/corn meal...get the Brit guy who did the Dyson vacuum cleaner to come up with a solution...get PT boats to scoop up the paper towels...ANYTHING.....
I know this all sounds silly...but JC do something.
Where the hell is the government? Oh...that's right the president is in California at a fund raiser for Barbara Boxer...I must have lost my mind there for a friggin minute....(sorry). >:(
Quote from: DarqMan on May 25, 2010, 09:17:55 PM
That whole situation is so sad. I do hope it gets under control soon. By the way, what channel are you watching the action on BLSH?
Live video feed is readily available from two sources - BP and CNN. Most of the time they are the same, but about a third of the time CNN is showing the feed from a different ROV than BP. For the
BP feed go here (http://www.bp.com/bodycopyarticle.do?categoryId=1&contentId=7052055), the link is about 2/3'rds down on the right side. For CNN go to
http://www.cnn.com/ and look for the
LIVE: Underwater view of oil leak link. Lately I've been running both side by side.
Words cannot express all of the different emotions I feel about this situation. BLSH is absolutely correct about praying that this "top kill" works. We can worry about who did or didn't do what and when they did or didn't do them later. Right now, we have GOT to get this thing stopped for 100 different reasons.
Yes sir say bunches of them for this disaster thats going to affect all of us.
Wicaša is raping mother earth.................Tashunka Witco 1867
Been checking in on the camera on occasion today, looks like something is finally starting to happen.
Just checked CNN again at 12:45 Alaska time and still no real action going on. We sure hope for the best on this shot. This is starting to look worse than Valdez did. >:(
Been watching the video feed for several days. The feed that;s showing right bow (8:15 pm ET) is on the riser right at the top of the BOP where it fell over and creased. A week or so ago it showed one small streamer. Over the past few days it became 3 small breaks but they have been growing in size. When they started pumping you tell because the flow picked up appreciably - part of the fluid will go out the riser and part of that will go out the breaks at the crease. That's the challenge - they need to pump hard enough and fast enough to get it going down the well as it tries to escape out the riser, while at the same time the riser is deteriorating. It's a delicate race against time.
Ice,
I'm so afraid this is going to make the Valdez look like the oil that may drip on your driveway when an old pickup truck is parked for a day or two.
BLSH, thanks for the continued updates. I heard a shrimper out of Grand Isle this morning and his comment really smacked me between the eyes. He said " the oil on our beaches took a month to get here so if they stop it now, we still have a month's worth of oil coming this way to look forward to".
That really puts in reality for me. BTW, hurricane season starts 6/1. There's some more really good news. :'(
KyNOLA
I still can't believe the BP CEO said the damage was "modest" at worst...
Good Gawwwwwwwwwwwwd... modest?
They need to can that idiot.
Better yet - throw him in the Gulf.
New development today - the cracked, kinked section of the riser immediately above the BOP has new leaks showing today. If this keeps up it looks as if the riser may completely rupture at that break. Don't know if this is a bad thing or not, but the kinked riser is providing some restriction at the top of BOP.
The thing I have not yet heard is if all the drilling fluid pumping is successful at pushing things back down how they will hold it in place if the BOP isn't operational ?
MSN is my hope page and I just saw this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37353392/ns/gulf_oil_spill/?GT1=43001
BLSH,
After they fill it full of the mud, I think they start pumping a special type of concrete in it to seal it. The BOP is apparently totally inoperable. The "top kill" is being used because the BOP is shot.
Quote from: KyNola on May 27, 2010, 12:49:16 PM
BLSH,
After they fill it full of the mud, I think they start pumping a special type of concrete in it to seal it. The BOP is apparently totally inoperable. The "top kill" is being used because the BOP is shot.
Yeah, I guess that's the plan. I was under the impression that cementing required a static and stable hold against the reservoir, and without and ability to hold the kill closed it sure isn't static.
Keep praying !
Apparently the concrete used is a specific formula that sets in 6 hours. I assume they would pump it in and continue to hold it under a distinct pressure until such time as the concrete had cured and then gradually begin to release the pressure and pray to God that the plug holds.
I feel a lot better today. The Federal Government proclaimed that they had been in charge of the situation from day one and the President himself took full responsibility for the outcome. Be careful what you wish for sir, as you may surely get it. ;)
Looks like they need to get some better sense of a seal on the riser. Based on the reports this evening of the 16 hr shutdown of pumping overnight and the flow that was coming back, the reservoir pressure is way up there - it pushed a 5000+ foot column of mud back up.
Been watching tonight and the kinked riser at the top of the BOP now shows another new break and leak. From the reports I have heard as they resume pumping tonight they are including bridging material (ie.e., junk) in an attempt to plug up some of the rider leaks so they can develop greater pressures. New video is going to extreme closeups of the riser leaks and if I am seeing this correctly I am seeing the bridging junk getting trapped in one of the leak holes. Looks like the idea is trying to work but not much of a plug yet. So now my question is if they plug up the riser that appears to be very weak in the kink zone, to develop greater pressure down hole, what happens inside the riser?
Right now I am hopeful, but I have not yet seen anything that makes me believe this is going to work.
Top Kill ain't going to be the answer. That operation has been stopped and they are now moving on to a cap of the LMRP, which is the region of the riser that attaches to the BOP. This will not kill the leak but is intended to enable them to capture the majority of the flow. After the cap package the next step is a second BOP on top of the first as they continue to work on the ultimate solution, the two relief wells.
Bottom line - the leaking is going to continue for a while yet. This is NOT good. Folks in LA coastal regions are getting hit hard, and it will probably soon extend to MS and AL.
<sigh> :'(
What a joke. Why aren't these things fitted with some kind of breakaway sleeve or valve?
Looks like this has all happened before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHmhxpQEGPo
So much for the brains of the operation.
Quote from: Smokey the Bear. on June 02, 2010, 04:17:17 PM
Looks like this has all happened before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHmhxpQEGPo
So much for the brains of the operation.
That was Ixtoc1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtoc_I_oil_spill). You would think in 31 years that something would have been learned about how to deal with these events, but apparently not. What disturbs me most is the complete lack of preparedness given this has happened before.
They tell the govt what to do and that is basically keep out of it.
Of course if the government steps in then they are likely responsible for the clean up too.
QuoteOf course if the government steps in then they are likely responsible for the clean up too.
Very true. That is a bullet you wanna dodge fur sure. Their mess, let 'em pay and not the tax payer.
QuoteThe thing I have not yet heard is if all the drilling fluid pumping is successful at pushing things back down how they will hold it in place
I read where it was a failure.
I don't know what it is going to take to get the political will to get off of oil but we can. Just look at California and their hydrogen filling stations. Or Compress Natural Gas. You can even get a set up that will take Natural Gas and compress at your home to fill up your car.
Look at the French and how they have limited their need for oil or even better Brazil.
Next I read a letter to the editor of our local newspaper that stated that if we don't do the drilling then Cuba, or the Chinese or some other country will drill. To that statement I say if it was going to happen then we would need another JFK. It is all about political will. (Cuban missile crisis.)
Today because of our change in direction here in the Tampay bay area for the first time we have rock lobsters back and I can go out any night on the flats and fill more 5 gallon buckets with good shrimp that 20 years ago was unheard of. The fishing is just great....
Drill Baby Drill is great...just do it in your own back yard and not mine. Leave my gulf and bay out of the program.
Olds
Hmmmmmmmm,
Why were SWAT teams the first ti be called down there?
They claim thety put a man on the moon {oh really} but can't fix this.
Why were the survivors forced to sign papers that they couldn't talk to the news about the blast before they could return to their families, otherwise be detained.
Obama is bought and owned by BP, does anyone believe that he is going to find some"ass to kick", when he's in Chicago playing b-ball with Shaq?
Why are the workers down there not wearing respirators knowing that the fumes are poisonous?
Seems like another 9/11 clean-up.
Why are the talking heads not aloud near the site. Not that they would give us the true story.
Why is the area a no fly zone.
Stock up on food folks, this isn't going away any time soon.
QuoteObama is bought and owned by BP...
IMHO both parties, congress and presidents are bought and paid for by large companies. Doesn't matter who y'all vote for - you get the same corruption. They can be dumb as a post like GW or Palin or well educated and articulate like Obama. Bottom line is they are all owned by the lobbyists. Yes, I am pretty pi$$ed off at the whole damn system. Whew, now I feel better.
Gulf coast fishermen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTiDVbXMCBg&feature=player_embedded
Just like 9/11 the "FIRST RESPONDERS" here will eventually succumb to the toxic pollutants that they are not made aware of. America THE WORLD, when will it be time for YOU to Stand Up and so NO MORE????
Sadly I have little hope for the populace of America to do anything, as Dancing with the Stars is on and that is so much more important then giving a good god damn about the world, or our country. Hey we will reap what we sow...
Quote from: HCT on June 12, 2010, 02:03:31 PM
Gulf coast fishermen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTiDVbXMCBg&feature=player_embedded
Just like 9/11 the "FIRST RESPONDERS" here will eventually succumb to the toxic pollutants that they are not made aware of. America THE WORLD, when will it be time for YOU to Stand Up and so NO MORE????
Sadly I have little hope for the populace of America to do anything, as Dancing with the Stars is on and that is so much more important then giving a good god damn about the world, or our country. Hey we will reap what we sow...
I don't see you out there doing anything about it.
Here's part of a plan I submitted a while ago.
(http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/63KevinG/Bradley%20General/BPCAP.jpg)
Sure is funny how it's only Americas problem yet it's BRITISH petroleum who did the drilling and it is the entire world who utilizes the oceans. Seems there should be a little bit more help coming from everywhere.
"I don't see you out there doing anything about it."
I'm honored to know that you're so involved in my life.
Think and research before you speak, you just might have to eat those words.
Looks like you put just as much thought into your comment about Americans doing nothing.
What I find interesting is the portrayal of BP. I would think if ANY corporation would want to stop this it's BP. They are losing perhaps billions of dollars...NOBODY knows how to deal with it....not us...not BP...Exxon...Chevron...it"s unprecedented...yet the politicos demonize the company...yet offer no solutions.
I don't mean to be a political dog here...but maybe those guys who did the demo on throwing hay on the surface oil should get a friggin "beer summit"?
FAA Imposes Flight Restrictions Over Oil Spill Area
June 14th, 2010
admin
In other words, no media related aircraft below 3000 feet.
Via: FAA:
All aircraft operations are prohibited except those flights authorized by ATC, routine flights supporting offshore oil operations; federal, state, local and military flight operations supporting oil spill recovery and reconstitution efforts; and air medical and law enforcement operations.
Our view on the Gulf oil spill: BP says it's baring all; facts say something else
June 14th, 2010
admin
When a CNN camera crew tried to talk to workers cleaning oil-drenched birds on the Gulf Coast last Thursday, it was turned away by a man from the Louisiana State Animal Response Team, a group that says it's working with BP to help wildlife. Never mind that the crew had federal permission to visit the site. "I make the final call," the man said brusquely.
Not far away, on Grand Isle, La., a reporter from New Orleans' WDSU-TV was barred from interviewing cleanup workers. "I can tell you where to go because I am employed to keep this beach safe," a private guard said, even though the beach is public.
And last month, according to the New Orleans' Times-Picayune, a man identifying himself as a BP contractor told a private charter pilot that he couldn't fly a reporter over the restricted spill area. "No media or press on any planes," the charter's owner said he was told.
BP maintains these are anomalies. But every such attempt deepens the impression that BP, having caused the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, is trying to manipulate what the public sees about it.
On one level, it's tempting to believe BP's denials simply because trying to hide embarrassing acts is so obviously futile when a company is caught in a spotlight this bright. What the news media don't find, government investigators and plaintiffs' lawyers will. Meanwhile, every attempt at secrecy raises suspicions.
But secrecy plainly has been part of the game plan since the disaster's earliest days in April. Although BP made feeds from itsunderwater cameras available to the government, it initially failed to open them to the public. The world didn't get its first glimpse of the gushing oil until late May, after Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., demanded that BP make the feed public. Scientists quickly recognized that BP was low-balling the spill rate.
In another controlling move, when BP signed up U.S. fishermen to help with the cleanup, the company's contracts barred them from talking to the news media. After much criticism, Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles proclaimed last week that BP wouldn't stop anyone from talking. But if the incidents since then are any guide, many workers haven't gotten the word.
Just as outrageous have been the government's controlling actions.
Some Coast Guard personnel claim to be enforcing a rule requiring a 500-yard buffer — nearly a third of a mile — around any vessel involved in the cleanup, the Associated Press has complained. At that distance, a camera can't document what's going on and reporters can't conduct interviews. Also, no private planes may fly below 3,000 feet for miles around the spill area — far too high to get meaningful photos. Do a few news media flights really pose a safety risk?
The bulk of coverage so far — and there has been a lot — has been by media "embedded" on government flights, which means the government controls what the reporters see. That's how wars are generally covered. But this is not war, nor even a fast-moving disaster like Hurricane Katrina, where lives are at stake. It's tough to see why so many restrictions are necessary.
The public will be living with the effects of this catastrophe for many years. Neither BP nor the government should be getting in the way of what the public sees as events unfold
Reports: BP and government blocking coverage of oil damage
June 14th, 2010
admin
By Muriel Kane
It is becoming apparent that efforts to prevent the oil gushing out of BP's blown-out Deepwater Horizon rig from ravaging the Gulf Coast may be largely ineffective. An increasing number of stories are also starting to circulate concerning deliberate attempts by both BP and government officials to block coverage of the damage and the clean-up attempts.
In a video clip obtained by ThinkProgress, a local news team from WDSU in New Orleans was told by a private security guard that they were not allowed to talk to cleanup workers on a public beach or come within 100 yards of cleanup operations.
"Who's saying that?" reporter Scott Walker asked the guard. "Because no one can tell me that, unless you're the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, you're the Coast Guard, or you're the military, can you tell me where to go on this public beach."
"I can tell you where to go because I'm employed to keep this beach safe," the guard replied, adding, "You are not allowed to interview any workers."
CNN's Jim Acosta similarly reported on Thursday that his efforts to film attempts by the Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Service to rescue oil-covered birds had been blocked, even though his news team had received permission from the state Fish and Wildlife Service to enter the bird triage center.
"I'm going to have to ask you to stop taking pictures," a National Guardsman told them.
"It's more important for the animals to have a quiet, calm, controlled area at this point," a Fish and Wildlife Service representative insisted when asked for an explanation.
CNN's Anderson Cooper also recounted being "prevented by federal wildlife officials from photographing birds covered in oil being brought ashore. ... They actually now have this area where the birds come in roped off and guarded by National Guard troops."
This obstruction of the media is occurring even though BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles sent out a message to BP employees and contractors on Wednesday, stating, "Recent media reports have suggested that individuals involved in the cleanup operation have been prohibited from speaking to the media, and this is simply untrue. BP fully supports and defends all individuals rights to share their personal thoughts and experiences with journalists if they so choose."
BP guards have continued to block reporters from interviewing the cleanup workers, and the workers themselves have spoken off camera of threats that they will lose their jobs if they talk to reporters.
The WDSU reporter specifically mentioned the Suttles memo to the BP guards who were blocking his access to cleanup workers and asked, "Still hasn't trickled down to you all?"
The guards' unhelpful response was, "We already heard that one too. ... The e-mail did not explicitly give you permission to do that."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZHnStD690U&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZHnStD690U&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZHnStD690U&feature=player_embedded
Obama Issues Executive Order Mandating "Lifestyle Behavior Modification
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is fond of saying, "You don't ever want a crisis to go to waste; it's an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid." Well, the Obama Administration certainly has not let the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig crisis go to waste, using it as a smokescreen to silently assault and further diminish American citizens' personal freedom.
While the nation has its eyes and ears focused on the blame game ping-pong match between President Obama and BP top brass, President Obama on Thursday, June 10, quietly announced a new Executive Order establishing the "National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council."
You will "change" to my liking!
Claiming the "authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America," President Obama has truly gone off the deep end this time in his most atrocious attempt to date to control every aspect of Americans' lives.
According to the Executive Order that details the President's "National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy," the Council will be charged with carrying out " lifestyle behavior modification" among American citizens that do not exhibit "healthy behavior."
The President's desired lifestyle behavior modifications detailed in Sec. 6 (c) focus on:
smoking cessation;
proper nutrition;
appropriate exercise;
mental health;
behavioral health;
sedentary behavior (see Sec. 3 [c]);
substance-use disorder; and
domestic violence screenings.
Making matters even worse, if that is even possible at this point, President Obama will create an "Advisory Group" composed of experts hand-picked from the public health field and various other areas of expertise "outside the Federal Government."
Let's consider who the President has sought advice and mentoring from in the past:
Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who the Anti-Defamation League calls a "Messenger of Intolerance," and
Bill Ayers, leader of the 1960′s domestic terrorist group "Weatherman" that was "responsible for 30 bombings aimed at destroying the defense and security infrastructures of the U.S."
Now, President Obama is going to seek medical advisors who will be charged with modifying lifestyles and behaviors of those citizens he deems unhealthy? "Paging Dr. Kevorkian! You're wanted in the White House STAT by President Obama!"
Whether you are a child, a parent, a worker, or retired, the President's approximately 25-member "Advisory Group" will soon be present in every aspect of Americans' lives, as the Executive Order prescribes in Sec. 4 (b). Specifically, our new so-called lifestyle behavior modification advisors will be actively carrying out the President's orders in:
worksite health promotion;
community services, including community health centers;
preventive medicine;
health coaching;
public health education;
geriatrics; and
rehabilitation medicine.
President Obama's sweeping plan to enforce "lifestyle behavior modification" is chock full of open-ended target areas, especially when it comes to issues of "mental" and "behavioral" health, "proper nutrition," "sedentary behavior," and "appropriate exercise." The President's Executive Order is a blatant and forceful attempt to adjust the way Americans young and old think, behave, eat, drink and whatever else free will used to entitle our nation's citizens to enjoy as prescribed by the Founding Fathers.
If you are feeling stressed-out, sad, confused, hungry, thirsty, bored, or tired, do you honestly trust President Obama and his "Advisory Group" to act in your best interests?
So what are we to do? Draw plans that go into the garbage or demand action. Call your Congressman and Senator. Demand answers. This is our country's future at stake and our children's and grandchildren's future also.
Hello Members
Due to the overwhelming amount of emails I received regarding this topic starting to get out of hand and out of its original content
This topic will be locked.
Please refrain from posting topics on political affairs on this forum.
Thanks
Brian.