Oil Spill in Gulf

[Relentless]

that's what we were saying above...the renigged on their words when people got wise to the game...

[cupnglide]

Here's what ticks me off. They had a contingency plan authorized and available to execute if something like this ever happened. Just forgot to buy the equipment -- in 1994. http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/fire_boom_oil_spill_raines.html

[CBrown]

This is a good article off of Tom Fitzmorris website.

Will Creole Cuisine
Survive The Oil Spill?

The extent of the damage that will be done by the oilfield accident two weeks ago is still not known. British Petroleum (successor to Gulf Oil) still hasn't figured out what to do about it or how long it will take. The entire industry and the governmental agencies that oversee them are in Code Red.

I'm worried.

Not about the shrimp, crabs, trout, and redfish. The seafood that dies (mostly next year's crop) will come back a year later. In the meantime, all the estuaries west of the river are as yet untouched by any more than the usual amount of oil floating around (there always is some). They will likely remain that way, since the circulation in the Gulf is counter-clockwise, carrying the stuff east. That gives us plenty enough seafood to keep restaurants from closing.

Restaurants closing? Who said anything about that?

Only about three dozen people who wrote me or called me on the radio or posted on the messageboard. One caller said he thought it would be a good idea for restaurant to post a sign on their doors saying, "All seafood from fish farms and West Coast."

Most of what's been said has been alarmist overstatement. Yes, seafood prices will rise for the same reason that the stock market went down after Greece's bonds were declared junk--then went back up a few days later. Markets react to everything, whether it means something or not.

The oil spill will be very bad for fishermen and dealers whose produce comes from east of the Mississippi River. But the majority of fishing areas remain open. Fish are inspected and tracked extremely well in Louisiana. It's one of the few benefits of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' draconian oversight of commercial fishing. They are able to determine exactly where fish come from, and they check it all the time. The origin of oysters is tagged on each sack. Penalties are very severe. The possibility that tainted fish will get into the stream is slight. If you want to worry about something, be worried about fish you get from your buddy who came back with 100 trout, though, since the tracking of recreationally-caught fish is relatively light.

In other words, the restaurants will have plenty enough shrimp, fish, and crabmeat to keep from losing tourism to China, or whatever other doomsday scenario you may hear. Crawfish, of course, are entirely unaffected. Lake Pontchartrain fish and crustaceans are also in more danger from morons who change their oil and dump it in the nearest ditch than they are from this spill.

It's also worth noting something that the Times-Picayune's superb, extraordinarily well-informed reporter Mark Schliefstein mentioned in an article last week. Even if the oil keeps coming up for another couple of weeks, it's only about a fourth of what got loose in the aftermath of Katrina. And, as we know, the fish, shrimp, and oysters came back within a month after that.

And one other datum: no significant amount of oil has yet washed up onshore.

Why are predictions of doom more entertaining than equally plausible predictions that the end of the world may not be upon us? This too shall pass, and sooner than panic would have us think. In the meantime, enjoy eating Louisiana seafood as usual. The restaurants will not allow you to be poisoned.

So what am I worried about? The birds, mainly. Oil-covered birds break my heart. There will be many bird deaths. Oil-covered water looks like water to them. But fish and shrimp? They get a whiff of oil, and they move quickly away to cleaner water. Most of them will make it.

[quack_a_tack]

After thinking about it today seeing as I work alone for 12-14 hrs a day, I have alot of time to think. It came to my attention that every boat that runs offshore leaves oil in the water, even in fresh water which some goes down the MS to the Gulf. You just say 25,000 boats a day that leave 1/4 quart of oil a day in the water is alot of oil. Not saying that I am taking up for the oil spill or trying to make light of the situation. Just something that dawned on me today, not supported by fact. I also have decided I will not blame anyone for the accident itself, the only thing the government or BP should be blamed for is the slow clean up. It is the citizens that drive cars, ride atv's/UTV's, Tractors, wells,boats, or anything else that runs on gas, are just as responsable for the original spill as anyone.

Some may not agree with this opinion, and even bash my opinion. This is just my thoughts I wanted to share.

[mottlet]

You know, I hope they're right and that everything will end up ok. I really do. Even if that's the case though, would anybody disagree that we dodged a HUGE bullet? But by my math...

5,000 barrels a day x 3 months (possibly) to cap the damn well = to HELL with anybody that says this ain't that big a deal. Are you listening Gene Taylor and Haley Barbor????

Neither do I blame BP or the government for having a rig explode and sink. But I DO have an issue with not installing/requiring measures that could have averted this disaster. Brazil, F'ING BRAZIL, requires remotely triggered blowout preventers. But not the good ol' U.S. of A. I guess MMS was too busy paying for strippers and blow to be bothered with it. And heaven forbid BP or anybody else have to shell out half a million bucks to be able to close a valve remotely, as opposed to using little submarines. Probably can't afford it...

[MudHog]

You know, I hope they're right and that everything will end up ok. I really do. Even if that's the case though, would anybody disagree that we dodged a HUGE bullet? But by my math...

5,000 barrels a day x 3 months (possibly) to cap the damn well = to HELL with anybody that says this ain't that big a deal. Are you listening Gene Taylor and Haley Barbor????

Neither do I blame BP or the government for having a rig explode and sink. But I DO have an issue with not installing/requiring measures that could have averted this disaster. Brazil, F'ING BRAZIL, requires remotely triggered blowout preventers. But not the good ol' U.S. of A. I guess MMS was too busy paying for strippers and blow to be bothered with it. And heaven forbid BP or anybody else have to shell out half a million bucks to be able to close a valve remotely, as opposed to using little submarines. Probably can't afford it...

For your information, the BOP is a remote operated device. This device is connected to all the safety systems topside and is located 5,000' below the water level. The manual operation is a backup.

[Bankermane]

Got this email forwarded to me by a State Farm agent. Looks worse than the news allows.

Just received following account of conditions at the Chandeleur Islands.

Jim

From: Frank Willis [frank@willisandcompany.net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 7:56 AM
To: Michael David Miner
Subject: Chandeleurs

Was there yesterday. Slick is on both sides island. Reddish brown stuff is
about 1/4 inch thick and like grease gun grease. Sheen looks not bad from
air but landed in it and it is AWFUL way worse than imaginable. Absolutely
no efforts are being made to protect it.

Please forward to Alex. Maybe He knows someone who can do something. You
would have to see this to believe it. Seaplane pilot and I were only ones
within 10+ miles.
Frank Willis

[marty lee]

Got this email forwarded to me by a State Farm agent. Looks worse than the news allows.

Just received following account of conditions at the Chandeleur Islands.

Jim

From: Frank Willis [frank@willisandcompany.net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 7:56 AM
To: Michael David Miner
Subject: Chandeleurs

Was there yesterday. Slick is on both sides island. Reddish brown stuff is
about 1/4 inch thick and like grease gun grease. Sheen looks not bad from
air but landed in it and it is AWFUL way worse than imaginable. Absolutely
no efforts are being made to protect it.

Please forward to Alex. Maybe He knows someone who can do something. You
would have to see this to believe it. Seaplane pilot and I were only ones
within 10+ miles.
Frank Willis

So these guys are landing airplanes in oil spills to look at it........Brilliant

[LODI QUACKER]

Pardon my ignorance but why the hell not land in it? Other that getting your plane dirty seems like about the only way to see whats actually happening. I dont think you would run an outboard very long in it.

[Bankermane]

prolly landed on the beach.

[Wingman]

prolly landed on the beach.

Landing a seaplane on the beach ain't the problem. Taking off is. It's a sea plane. Water.

Blaming oil users for this spill is like blaming hunters for a munitions plant explosion.

[ACEINTHEHOLE]

Got this email forwarded to me by a State Farm agent. Looks worse than the news allows.

The words got this forwarded to me always makes me skeptical....and I can not imagine the news media makeing things better than what they really are.......not calling anyone a liar, just sayin I have a bit of trouble beleiving it.

[mottlet]

You know, I hope they're right and that everything will end up ok. I really do. Even if that's the case though, would anybody disagree that we dodged a HUGE bullet? But by my math...

5,000 barrels a day x 3 months (possibly) to cap the damn well = to HELL with anybody that says this ain't that big a deal. Are you listening Gene Taylor and Haley Barbor????

Neither do I blame BP or the government for having a rig explode and sink. But I DO have an issue with not installing/requiring measures that could have averted this disaster. Brazil, F'ING BRAZIL, requires remotely triggered blowout preventers. But not the good ol' U.S. of A. I guess MMS was too busy paying for strippers and blow to be bothered with it. And heaven forbid BP or anybody else have to shell out half a million bucks to be able to close a valve remotely, as opposed to using little submarines. Probably can't afford it...

For your information, the BOP is a remote operated device. This device is connected to all the safety systems topside and is located 5,000' below the water level. The manual operation is a backup.

For the record, the system I'm referring to is the acoustic trigger that was not in place on Deepwater Horizon, nor is it in place on any rig in U.S. water. I understand that the normal operation of the BOP went out the window when the rig exploded and sank. The men supposed to activate it were either killed immediately or in all liklihood died trying to activate the BOP. The next line of defense, the dead man switch, failed. Nobody yet knows why; maybe we never will. That's it. Those are the defenses. Next step is what we see now, sending in deepwater subs to try and find the damn BOP amid the wreckage of the rig and 5,000 barrrels of oil and activate it with robots arms. In water that is nearly a mile deep. The acoustic trigger activates the BOP from a boat nearby after a blowout has occurred and other prevention measures have failed. I'm sure it's not any more failsafe than the dead man's switch, but it's another strike to burn before striking out and what we see happening now.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 36798.html

[BAY KINGFISHER]

Thanks Mudhog for clearing that up, maybe they mean remotely like from the beach? I dont know? I do know that the same system would operate the BOP regardless of where the button is pushed!! As far as the e-mail from the State Farm agent, Im not sure of the accuracy there either, but who knows, a lot of mis-information coming out now. Seems like one of the many "connected" fishermen from around here would be talking about it. I know some guys are venturing out that way Friday, Ill let youll know what they see!!!


Edit: Mottlet we posted at the same time, I agree more steps should be in place to stop this from happening again. I m not sure if the remote valve would be the answer here but something needs to be done for next time!!! When I worked offshore and we were bs-ing about all the new deepwater technology many times the "how to stop a run away well at 3000+ feet subject came up!! Seems nobody ever was concerned enough to address the potential problem we are seeing now!! They obviously had a lot of faith in the safety systems.

[Agua]

Just read on a news page that the concrete / steel dome / cap thing they're going to put over it is finished and they're going to take it out on site today. Said they could have it covered within a few days. Keep your fingers crossed.