Posted on 05/27/2010 10:37:15 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
COVINGTON, La. – An untested procedure to plug the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico seemed to be working, officials said Thursday, but new estimates showed the spill has already surpassed the Exxon Valdez as the worst in U.S. history.
A team of scientists trying to determine how much oil has been flowing since the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 and sank two days later found the rate was more than twice and possibly up to five times as high as previously thought.
The fallout from the spill has stretched all the way to Washington, where the head of the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling resigned Thursday and President Barack Obama sought to counter criticism by announcing a series of new steps to deal with the spill's aftermath.
Even using the most conservative estimate, the new numbers mean the leak has grown to nearly 19 million gallons over the past five weeks. If the oil filled gallon milk jugs lined up side by side, there would be enough to reach from New York to Chicago and back.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
If you plot the rate of oil spillage vs. time, it looks like a hockey stick.
One piece of good news from BP’s perspective is that the tar balls on Key West shores are not from the disaster well. The chemical composition of the oil tested different.
“plug try going well”
I can see how this will be spun!
Bambi says “Plug the damn well”. BP plugs the damn well. Bambi is a genius, and a leader of men!
/yawn
Another girbilist who can’t do math or research recent history.
“.. the tar balls on Key West shores are not from the disaster well.”
Thor Heyerdahl (KON TIKI, AKU AKU) found tar balls in the Atlantic when he made his VOYAGE OF THE RA back in the 1960s or 70s.
“If the oil filled gallon milk jugs lined up side by side, there would be enough to reach from New York to Chicago and back.”
I’ll have to check their math.
That makes it seem like not that much really.
I found tar balls on my feet as a little girl at the New Jersey shore during and after WWII. About 1944 to 1949. Came from torpedoed ships at sea. The turpentine my mother used to clean stung like hexx.
I wish we lived in a dreamworld where there was a contingency plan for every possible disaster.
Maybe Obama will usher it in, right after he lowers the sea levels.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.