US considers setting fire to Gulf of Mexico oil leak

[wm23oh]

I always get a tickle from those who say lets go Green now. Don't get me wrong like most of you I try to recycle as much as possible and do my little part but no matter how you fix this issue ultimately we are only going to make another problem to replace it with.

Everyone calling for electric.. It's a FACT that huge amounts of electricity causes problems with humans, so as much as I'm for getting rid of coal and using water, air and such it ultimately is no feasible to make everything like cars 100% green. I also refuse to live in the city so I will drive my little 4 cylinder S-10 PU instead of a much more powerful one that guzzles gas.

Replacing Oil with other things causes problems in itself as some are EXTREMELY explosive and others ultimately has the same dangers as oil.

Don't forget while we are making these green places we are putting tuns and tuns of bad stuff into the atmosphere while doing it so if we are on the edge won't that send us over it? Sorry the whole global warming thing makes me laugh.

I don't have the answer but spending millions of OUR tax payers dollars to fix their mistake is down right stupid. Then again making them pay to fix it they will screw us by raising prices so ultimately burning it sounds to be the best thing.

Worried about the co2 it will release? Cut down a Forest of pine, spruce, or other trees like them that release tuns and tuns of co2 into the atmosphere.

Ultimately.. It's 50/50. And we are paying for our grandfathers, fathers, and such retirement so yes your kids need to pay too. It will grow hair on there chest

James

 

[BigAl07]

Man I'm LOVING this thread!!

Paul as always it's a pleasure to read your input

James you hit on a sore spot within me (Not towards you in the least) when you mentioned "CO2 and Trees". I still can't get over how many trees are harvested across the planet every day and NOT replanted or replanted with plants that are MUCH less desirable long-term than trees. In Asia/China huge forests of Old Growth trees are being leveled in order to plant "Fast Growing Bamboo" to meet the demand across the globe. Bamboo isn't a BAD plant in that it does consume SOME amount of CO2 but not even 1/20th of the amount the trees it's replacing did. Also the amount of "Embodied Energy" in that Bamboo to get it to the US is HUGE! It's not GREEN! We need to plant more trees in a BAD kind of way. A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings.

Just for fun read this page on Tree Benefits

 

[mbdave]

I really like this post, when I first started reading it I thought "oh shoot here comes the green police" but I see ideas which are interesting. Personally I say burn it, as for the impact to the environment "will it be anything near the recent volcano? I don't know. Now yes there’s nothing we can do about a volcano eruption I know, and this is manmade I know, I'm just making a comparison of the two. I believe the damage done by the fire is much, much less than the damage when it hits the coast "by far" yes some birds will be killed, I believe the fish deaths will be less, and allot of plankton will go, but nothing compared to the death if it hits the estuaries, birds die, fish die, mammals die, and industry and business die.
I have another question, "what caused the explosion and subsequent fire" I'm in the power industry and the same things that provide power to our tanks, provide power to the rig and trust me they are safe and professionally run them, if they are like my plant "believe it or not I am a professional" and there has to be a major "F" up for this big of a bang to happen? Now I am not a conspiracy theorist but something stinks?? Any others have an opinion?
Al beautifully said in one of your posts here, "people do not want to give up their lifestyle for green" myself included I worked very hard for where I am and I will fight to keep it. Now we have hundreds of years of oil and coal and whatever that is not green, "but cant it be" since I started power generation (1980) we have made great strides in cleaning it up (fossil fuels) and I believe this great nation that puts people on the moon, designs computers that are just amazing, missiles that can go 200 miles and hit a target the size of a small window, and bore Megan Fox, can clean up even more the power we are producing now. Yes I know green power will someday have to power our planet no ifs, ands, or buts, but that’s not tomorrow that’s decades away to be fully green so can't we clean up more of what we are using?
Oh man way to long, thanks for reading.
Dave

 

[BigAl07]

Dave you're correct across the board.

It's shocking how such and "Accident" came about and for it to cause so MUCH damage and so easily


I saw this morning where some of the oil is officially ready to hit the shore-line in parts of Louisiana :cry1:

 

[mbdave]

Burn it!!

 

[BobBursek]

As we said in Vietnam, " Burn Baby Burn"!!!! let the air get cleaned up, not the beaches and the whole aqua system!!!

 

[HEREFISHYFISHYF]

I just want to throw this out there... no one seems to have any clue why this happened, what are your thoughts on someone intentionally making this happen?

I to do my best to reduce and reuse whatever I can, and if I had the spare change I would go further to invest myself into a greener home. The price at this time just cuts me out of being able to do it.
Looks like it has hit shore now....

 

[deehz]

I read that it is getting ready to hit the Keys by the weekend. Latest is this Sunday they project. Especially w/a cold front moving in on the east coast. It will definitely have a HUGE effect on the tides in the Gulf and push all the slick into Florida and the Keys. Either way, it is bad on all levels whether the oil is burned or not. I am not much of a conspiracy theorists, but I wouldn't pass it by our government to do such a thing.

Other than the ocean, the rain forest and trees through out the world, scrub out the EXTREMELY high levels of CO2 already present in the atmosphere. The Amazon rain forest is losing about 50-100 acres/day to sell trees to the markets around the world and are not being replaced w/new growth. The rain forest of the Amazon and China produce about 40% of the earths Oxygen and scrub out (respiration/photosynthesis) 60% of the CO2 levels. But yet, they are being cut down at break neck speeds and not being replaced which adds another dilemma to the equation. But I like how BigAl stated, James you hit on a sore spot within me (Not towards you in the least) when you mentioned "CO2 and Trees". I still can't get over how many trees are harvested across the planet every day and NOT replanted or replanted with plants that are MUCH less desirable long-term than trees..

Here is some info from NOAA in regards to CO2 levels. It is not current, but is good reading to understand why CO2 is significant to us and the ecosystems in which we are trying to understand still, and have a symbiotic relationship with. Sorry this post is LONG, but I am really liking this thread!
Thanks!

"Global combustion of fossil fuels and other materials places almost 7 billion tons of carbon, in the form of CO2, into the atmosphere each year. On average, Earth's oceans, trees, plants and soils absorb about one-half of this carbon. The balance remains in the air and is responsible for the annual increase..."Reducing scientific uncertainties of carbon sources and sinks is a priority for the Climate Change Science Program, as carbon dioxide is the single largest forcing agent of climate change," said James R. Mahoney, NOAA deputy administrator and CCSP director."
NOAA News Online (Story 2412)

 

[PEMfish]

"More than 139,000 gallons of chemical dispersants have been dropped on the oil, NOAA said."

 

[1Reefer]

Well I was against burning but using more chemicals just doesn't seem right...

 

[seafansar]

Could they not burn it because it's been too windy? It's been very windy in Florida this year.

 

[PEMfish]

I think burning it would have been a better option as more would've been pulled from the water.

 

[burning2nd]

another well thought out plan,

get ready guys... the world is about to do something that we all are not going to like

mother nature has the kick ban button in here hand.

what ever the worse case thought is, its going to be well worse then anything they are reporting..

did some crunching and ive came up with 276,000g a day (or more) @ least for one well... the platforms services 5-30 wells at a time, some of them can be 20 miles away from the platform,

really its such a large amount of oil out there that, they have no way of calculating the gallons lost...

AND the fact that the worse thing is fines (kindda e relevant) and lost of money (all the world cares about)

 

[Frankie]

I wonder how many people will develop cancer from breathing in the fumes from burning it?
This is not the answer imo.
Great discussion everyone.

 

[HEREFISHYFISHYF]

Over the weekend I did my normal nice weather weekend routine and boated around the Chesapeake and couldn't help but wonder how long it will take for some of this to reach my area. They are already talking about it wrapping around the tip of Florida and over to the resort areas which inevitably will slow vacationers and will take more money away from the area.

There is no doubt that this will affect everyone in the US over then next few years, the south is going to take theirs up front and for years. Really is an awful situation....

 

[ASH]

Al I love this thread I wish I would have to come RS sooner and saw it.

I'm all for burning the oil. Do whatever to keep it off our beach. I live in Bay co. Fl and I'm terrified it's going to ruin our beaches. Which I read today in the newspaper that we won't have waves of oil on our beach but "tar balls" and oil sheen.

My biggest concern is our wildlife but also if our beach did get hit with oil how is that going to effect the tourist that come every year. My fiance and myself work at restaurant and no tourist = no money for me or my fiance. We would have to move and that's not something I'm wanting to do.

 

[DrHank]

It's not a question of if it hits the beaches here in the FL panhandle, but when. Prince William sound has still not completely recovered from the Exxon Valdez spill and that was 30 years ago if my memory serves. This is expected to far surpass that spill.

From reports that I've heard, containment efforts, chemical dispersant, burns, etc are lucky to remove 20%-30% of the oil. Most will disperse due to wind and wave action but unfortunately there will be plenty left to adversely effect the local environment.

Commercial and recreational fishing in federal waters has already been banned. What we have is an inevitable disaster.

 

[burning2nd]

The needs of meny ( the planet) out way the needs of few (our way of living)

dont wanna be rud be really people? Ur telling me that the idea of burning oil sounds ok? Isnt it enough damage? Burning oil is not ok, not anymore then pouring oil in ur driveway, u dnt have to be told not to pour gas down ur drain, bottem line this conversation is pointless until the leak is stoped

 

[Frankie]

The needs of meny ( the planet) out way the needs of few (our way of living)

dont wanna be rud be really people? Ur telling me that the idea of burning oil sounds ok? Isnt it enough damage? Burning oil is not ok, not anymore then pouring oil in ur driveway, u dnt have to be told not to pour gas down ur drain, bottem line this conversation is pointless until the leak is stoped

I have been and always shall be, your friend Burning
I full agree. Burning it is not the answer.
I think the first thing we need to do is learn our lesson and dump BP from our import list. Then we need to fine them, then we need to make them clean up their mess.
If anything, they need to lower their price in oil as a sign of good faith to the american people for all the billions of dollars they have made from us while they figure out how they are going to fix this disaster.

 

[Val]

Fine them?

Current federal laws designed for these situations limit non-clean-up liability of the offending company at $75 million, a hefty sum but no where near the full cost, easily into the billions, that some analysts are projecting may be required for a spill of this magnitude. Will British Petroleum Get Off Easy? - The Gaggle Blog - Newsweek.com

I think BP won't have a problem with that.

By all accounts, the disaster is certain to cost BP billions. But analysts said the company could handle it; BP is the world's third-largest oil company and made more than $6 billion in the first three months of this year. The oil spill has drained $32 billion from BP's stock market value.
Gulf Coast watches, waits for path of oil spill - Environment- msnbc.com


The oil companies own that particular "briar patch". So fining them is ok with them. I really don't know what it will take to fix this problem, my experience with oil companies have just been with local small operators. They have no fear of leaks/spills around this area. This is just on soil and small bodies of water. These people just laugh about spills because they know they are limited on what they have to pay. It's sickening that these oilmen are so arrogant and they could care less about the enviroment.

The land I live on is riddled with old equipment, pipes and plugged wells. When we first moved here the government did come in and removed a ton of old contaminated pipe, but there are no records of where all the pipe was laid so we are still finding more. When it comes to dealing even with small oil companies they have the power to open a well on your property with few limitations. I could have a well on my property anytime the operator decides they want one. I would have no say where it would be.

I'm just saying the government probably will not do much because the laws are in place and were lobbied for by the major oil companies, they spend alot of money in DC and on particular politicians to insure things stay in their favor and I don't see that changing much in the future.