"What the f*** are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do? We're doomed!"
Hey, I take this as a serious environmental problem. DUmmies though, see an extinction-level event.
Contrary1 (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 05:22 PM
Original message
Mother of all gushers could kill Earth's oceans
"Imagine a pipe 5 feet wide spewing crude oil like a fire hose from what could be the planets' largest, high-pressure oil and gas reserve. With the best technology available to man, the Deepwater Horizon rig popped a hole into that reserve and was overwhelmed. If this isn't contained, it could poison all the oceans of the world.
"Well if you say the fire hose has a 70,000 psi pump on the other end yes! No comparison here. The volume out rises geometrically with pressure. Its a squares function. Two times the pressure is 4 times the push. The Alaska pipeline is 4 feet in diameter and pushes with a lot less pressure. This situation in the Gulf of Mexico is stunning dangerous." -- Paul Noel (May 2, 2010)
The original estimate was about 5,000 gallons of oil a day spilling into the ocean. Now they're saying 200,000 gallons a day. That's over a million gallons of crude oil a week!
I'm engineer with 25 years of experience. I've worked on some big projects with big machines. Maybe that's why this mess is so clear to me.
First, the BP platform was drilling for what they call deep oil. They go out where the ocean is about 5,000 feet deep and drill another 30,000 feet into the crust of the earth. This it right on the edge of what human technology can do. Well, this time they hit a pocket of oil at such high pressure that it burst all of their safety valves all the way up to the drilling rig and then caused the rig to explode and sink. Take a moment to grasp the import of that. The pressure behind this oil is so high that it destroyed the maximum effort of human science to contain it..."
More somber news here: http://pesn.com/2010/05/02/9501643_Mother_of_all_gusher... /
http://bytemuncher.blogspot.com/2010/05/gulf-of-mexico-...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8259665earth mom (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 05:30 PM
Response to Original message
1. This is my biggest fear about this one. It doesn't seem like they can stop it.
lpbk2713 (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 05:33 PM
Response to Original message
2. The Gulf of Mexico is about to become one big gooey cesspool.
I had no idea that pipe was five feet in diameter. Those greedy bastards.
Yeah, 4 to 6 inches in diameter would more than make it worthwhile.
dixiegrrrrl (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 05:57 PM
Response to Original message
10. Shit. If this guy is right, we have no more oceans.
I recommend the full read.
Starkly grim.
Had not had time to think about the issues he brings up.
If true, we are so screwn.
flamingdem (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 06:14 PM
Response to Reply #10
20. So the entire Caribbean will become unihabitable + South Coast THANKS FOR THE DEREGULATION AHOLES nt
WinkyDink (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 08:01 PM
Response to Reply #10
48. Well, good-bye, Homo sapiens not-so-sapiens.
Capitalocracy (249 posts) Mon May-03-10 02:28 AM
Response to Reply #10
111. If you do the math, the world's oceans will be dead in a week
At least they would be if this were evenly spread around the world, I guess.
The link provided by the OP says 1 quart of oil can make 250,000 gallons of ocean water incapable of supporting life.
One gallon of oil can therefore poison 1 million gallons
200,000 gallons a day are leaking now (as far as we know)
According to Wikipedia, there are 1.3 million cubic kilometers of ocean water on Earth.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
You're wrong, DUmbshit.
Newest Reality (287 posts) Sun May-02-10 06:25 PM
Response to Reply #14
25. Can we also say thanks so much
for the bountiful black fruits of free market capitalism and how well it works for us all, that is, if our goal was to coat the oceans with a thick layer of gooey, toxic death?
As Frank might say, "Oh My."
BeFree (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 06:22 PM
Response to Original message
24. wow
Remember too that the pressure at the sea bottom is great. 5,000 feet deep.
That would mean that seawater, under great pressure, is flowing into any void left from the oil escaping. It is actually 'pumpimg' oil out of the pocket at great pressure. And since oil floats on water....
Okay. What?
Isn't the oil already at the same pressure as seawater at an equal depth?
bighughdiehl (144 posts) Sun May-02-10 07:10 PM
Response to Original message
39. Ummm...
I haven't heard anyone say how big this oil field is? A million barrels? A billion? if the latter, and not fixed within a few more days, then all life on earth could be well and truly ****ed.
Anyone know?
dotymed (1000+ posts) Mon May-03-10 10:01 AM
Response to Reply #55
132. Yes,
this could make us extinct. Isn't it obvious, to everyone, that the elites and corporations don't care, as long as they profit? If we contain this disaster, will people realize the dangers of capitalism? Has the MSM even mentioned the real severity of this disaster or the fact that it reveals the true face of capitalism? No. Will they? No. The impoverished people (slaves) of this world must rise against "free market" capitalism or face our extinction. If not from this greed fueled disaster, maybe the next one. Besides the inherent evil in a for profit system (using one group of people against the other), and the terrible inequalities it causes, it also guarantees our extinction. Is there any way to waken the sleeping giant that is the great majority of humanity, to stop this genocide?
Desertrose (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 09:26 PM
Response to Original message
66. They've basically hit an artery.....
Could Mother Earth bleed out?
This is really really really bad.
WinkyDink (1000+ posts) Mon May-03-10 03:59 AM
Response to Reply #66
117. Yes. Man has finally committed the suicide we've longed for.
Finally, some badly needed perspective:
Lorien (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
83. Response from a scientist friend:
This is horrendous ecological nightmare BUT -- here is a link (below) to major oil spills that have happened since the 60's. The largest pumped 428 Million gallons (!) into the ocean in 1980 as well as hundreds of millions more from many other spills. The planet didn't die. The current BP disaster in the gulf is now pumping several hundred thousand gallons a day into the ocean. This is sickeningly horrible but if left unchecked, it will take almost 10 years to equal the volume of that single spill from 1980.
This is not the "mother of all spills" and is not going to poison the oceans of the world.
It IS a horrible thing that could have, and should have, been prevented. Those responsible should be held accountable in the harshest way possible.
The key thing is to stop it and I can only believe that there are indeed capable technical people trying to figure out how to do that, and will.
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Statistics/largest_...
CLANG (1000+ posts) Sun May-02-10 11:59 PM
Response to Reply #83
95. The 428 million gallon spill was also in the gulf
But was 2 miles deep, and gushed oil at the rate of 10,000-30,000 barrels a day for almost 10 months before it was finally capped.
SidDithers (1000+ posts) Mon May-03-10 10:10 AM
Response to Reply #83
135. +1...
rational understanding is what's needed now, not doomsday hyperbole.
"The key thing is to stop it and I can only believe that there are indeed capable technical people trying to figure out how to do that, and will."
It's now an engineering problem, and there are very, very smart people working very hard to stop the this situation from getting worse.
Sid
Awwww. You went and ruined everyone's apocalypse.
Poor frightened little rabbits.