gross

[bigsky]

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625 ... e-20009724

[citycatred]

[spatman]

what a nightmare.

[lundysd]

The sad thing is that we initially dodged a bullet on this thing -- at least as far as one fragile ecosystem goes. The Texas Flower Gardens are one of the few legit coral reef ecosystems we have, and the initial wind/currents took the oil slick away from them. I've heard from multiple people, however, that this can easily change in the near future and destroy an absolutely spectacular dive area and habitat for big pelagics.

[ktb]

What a CF. My only hope is that people who formerly didn't think about the condition of the oceans will now be more aware.

[jeffgerritsen]

BP is in "Ready, Fire, Aim" mode. In the name of political expediency they make the worst decisions possible. And BP continues to make these increasing poor choices that we will have to live with for at least two generations. Just think what our children and grandchildren will have to put up with?

Since corporations now have real person rights, BP needs the corporate death sentence, their assets seized to pay for this mess, and ALL of their upper level management JAILED for putting profit before employees and environmental safety. BP has clearly demonstrated they are incompetent, and all they care about is profit!

Not that I'm mad as hell.... but I'm furious and absolutely sick over this fiasco. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

[Grateful Diver]

The chemical dispersant is a great idea ... once the oil/dispersant compound sinks to the bottom where nobody can see it they'll declare "mission accomplished" and get back to business as usual. Who cares that it'll cover the bottom and kill the marine life that anchors the food chain, sending the health of the Gulf into a tailspin for decades. After all, if what happened to Prince William Sound proved nothing else, it demonstrated that there are limits to a company's responsibility for its actions, and that the courts will block any claims by the "little people" whose lives were impacted by the company's malfeasance.

Carry on ... the oil will continue to spew into the Gulf until one of the major multinational corporations figures out how to make money off the cleanup ... most likely at taxpayer expense ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Mongodives]

Dont remember this kind of outrage when Mexico had an oil well leak for 9months in the gulf, also no reports of environmental damage. Granted it was 30 years ago when the US was more concerned about Mt St Helens.

[Anthony]

I'm surprised its still going on. That is a ton of money just spilling out into the ocean. I figured someone would have found a way to catch whats coming out of the spill site since thats just money dumping into the ocean.

Honestly, it makes me sick. One of the most beautiful places in the world with an abundance of life will be seriously damaged if not completely destroyed for decades on decades.

[Grateful Diver]

Dont remember this kind of outrage when Mexico had an oil well leak for 9months in the gulf, also no reports of environmental damage. Granted it was 30 years ago when the US was more concerned about Mt St Helens.

This ain't hardly a leak.

First they said 1,000 bbls per day.

Then they said 5,000 bbls per day.

Then they said it's closer to 100,000 bbls per day.

Last estimate (that they're admitting to) is one Exxon Valdez worth of oil every 3-1/2 days.

This has been going on for a month ... that's 10 times the pollution of the Exxon Valdez ... with no end in sight.

The planet hasn't ever seen a man-made disaster on this scale before ... nobody really has a clue what it will do. But it's hardly on a scale with any previous oil leaks we've experienced.

And if it makes its way into the Gulf Stream and up the Atlantic coast, we're well and truly screwed ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Mongodives]

my point is the spill in 79-80 for 9 months had a daily flow close to what this well has and there is/was no lasting negative impacts. (At least that were reported or easily found now)

A simple google search shows that Oil spills/leaks aren't a US only problem and there have been some big ones in the past that didn't make US news. I also find it hard to believe North Korea,China the forme USSR and several dictatorships in the middle east have accurately reported the amount of environmental damage they've done with oil leaks and what kind of global impact they may have had that we don't know about.

And lets not forget about all the oil spilled out onto the desert at the end of the first gulf war, nobody has even tried to get an accurate estimate how much came out or what kind of lasting environmental impact the burning wells caused.

perspective and realistic solutions/remedies are needed, not rage and knee jerk reactions

[Old Nubbins]

Coverage is different now than in '79-80. Back then we didn't have live feeds from a mile down. News is much more global and immediate now - 24 hours of b.s.

However, I believe the impact will be far worse than what is being reported now. Thats just my gut feeling based purely on conjecture.

[Mongodives]

Nubbins, I don't know but since the really bad news managed to be supressed for a few days, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[1up]

Wow...

Thats horrible.

[TCWestby]

The b ig issue is that BP has to run everything they intend to do by the government first. They wanted to build a barrier island to catch the oil before it hits the marshes, Corps of engineers are dragging their feet and refusing to allow it to be done.

Kevin Costner is partners in a company that has a centrafuge that can clean 200 gal of oil from sea water a minute. BP wants permission to try them out but the WH won't let them.

Say what you want about the cause and how bad they were, it is the government who is just as liable. I'm told that 2 weeks prior to this disaster, the federal inspectors gave the rig an award for safety. The feds by law were supposed to have fire boom on hand but didn't have a single foot in the gulf, hence the burning it off idea went away.

Not to take any blame from BP but the government is doing very little, and don't blame Bush. Remember the Valdeze incident? The Feds were all over that one and things got done unlike what we see today. Obama is even turning away international offers for assistance which we need right now.