[Liberty Valance]

Hurricane season is like a blender ... ;o)

[Minn]

I’m no expert, and I’m a thousand miles away, but something tells me many people will be working overtime to make sure the assessment of the situation remains bleak.

[Nailbiter]

Since there is no disaster can we expect that Obambi will give back the 20 billion he extorted from BP.

[motor_racer]

The surface area of the Gulf of Mexico is 1.5 million square kilometers, or
approximately 572,900 square miles. It’s average depth is approximately 1 mile.
This means it contains about 631 quadrillion gallons. That’s 631 with 15 zeros
after it.

Estimates of the volume of the Deep Horizon oil spill range from about 90
million gallons to a worst case of about 184 million gallons. That’s a worst
case estimate of 184 with 6 zeros after it.

This puts the total amount of oil into the Gulf from this spill at about
0.29 parts per billion.

EPA allowances for drinking water contaminants (from the EPA’s website):

Arsenic 10 parts per billion
Benzene 5 parts per billion
Mercury 2 parts per billion
Carbon tetrachloride 5 parts per billion
Cadmium 5 parts per billion
Lead 15 parts per billion
Cyanide 200 parts per billion

184 million gallons would cover 1 square mile to a depth of less than 10 inches.

A single supertanker may hold 133 million gallons.

Look at this another way:

A swimming pool 50 feet by 20 feet by 8 feet holds 59,884 gallons of water.
0.29 parts per billion is achieved by adding 0.004 cubic inches of oil. A drop
1/4 inch in diameter is approximately 0.006 cubic inches. Your suntan oil
pollutes our swimming pool much worse than Deep Horizon has polluted the Gulf!

Its true that, for now at least, the oil remains concentrated in some smaller
areas, meaning they are much more polluted locally. But the ocean will disperse
the oil, much of it will be consumed by microbial action, and its concentration
will dissipate.

Can we stop panicking and acting stupidly, and get back to work?

[boycott]

I am told that the spotters would see the oil. Radio in to the boats and the planes. It became a joke because the planes were always there first to spray their dispersants.

Most of the oil never made it to the surface because BP didn’t want to pay more for the cleanup.

I believe we’re going to regret ever allowing them to use these dispersants.

[gitmo]

When I was in graduate school we studied reports of a lake that had been overloaded with mercury in the 1970’s. The mercury levels were the highest ever recorded.

The analysis was that since mercury is an element and cannot degrade into some other substance, the levels would never drop. The statements were that people would see the same levels in the lake for hundreds or thousands of years.

Within a few months, the levels were back down to what was normal for that area.

The mistake, of course, was viewing the lake as a closed system. Birds, insects, and other critters come in an out of the local community and they transport the mercury out of it.

[TigersEye]

Nature healed what man inflicted in 1979 Gulf spill Read more: June 10, 2010

" "A lot of the fishermen around here will tell you that the fish never came back,'' says Vega Morales. ``They'll say, `Oh, in the old days, you could catch fish with your hat, it was so easy.' That's how we are, always talking about the one that got away. But the truth is, after maybe nine months or so, it was back to normal." " (Ixtoc 1)

"Soto, who followed the fish and shrimp population off Mexico closely, found to his surprise that for most species the numbers had returned to normal within two years."

--------------------------------------------------------

Oil Cleanup Expert Comments on Gulf Spill

"Every year 2 million to 12 million tons of oil naturally seep from the ocean floor and into the sea. In fact, many of the deposits in the Gulf of Mexico were discovered by observing these oil seeps, which is why the hydrocarbon degraders are everywhere, waiting for their “dinner” or fuel. Fishermen should be prepared for the extra catches that are coming because after every major oil spill there’s an explosion of local fish."

"But before a fish explosion can happen, the microorganisms need to be able to get to the oil and digest it. Since oil and water don’t mix, adding a dispersant will accelerate the breakdown of the oil, making it more available to the microorganisms."

---------------------------------------------------------

1979's Ixtoc oil well blowout in Gulf of Mexico has startling parallels to current disaster

"Even with those obstacles, fishers still managed to amass an impressive catch in 1979 -- when oil was gushing into the Gulf."

"Researchers in Campeche found shrimping that year enjoyed a high. The total tonnage of seafood caught in the Gulf of Mexico grew by 5.9 percent compared with the previous 12 months, and octopus capture in the Bay of Campeche beat the previous record by 50 percent."

"Tunnell's follow-up research into life near Texas beaches showed that organisms whose populations were apparently reduced by the massive spill replenished themselves within a few years."

[Ptarmigan]

Let’s not forget the 11 people who died in the explosion. Also, it shows the dangers of complacency right there. They turned off the alarm because of false alarms and not wanting to be woken at 3 AM.

[Theo]

I love “oil-gobbling microbes.”

[goat granny]

oil gobbling microbes are great, I always use to day just get them to cr*p out gold and it solves lots of problems..

[luvbach1]

So what will become of the $20 billion slush fund extorted from BP?

[donozark]

As I stated on another thread, BILLY the EXTERMINATOR on A&E HDTV showed lots of oil in the water and on small islands in Louisiana. One area it was like a thick blanket.
Face it all, if W was still in charge, we would see TONS of oil pictures. But media is concerned this spill is hurting Obambi (and it is) so they are down playing it.

[Whenifhow]

Residents are angry with good reason: Video and pics of the skin lesions.

Censored Gulf eyewitness testimonies of coughing up blood and other horror stories

http://www.examiner.com/x-10438-Human-Rights-Examiner~y2010m7d31-Exclusive-Censored-Gulf-news-Coughing-up-blood-Eyewitnesses-horror-stories

BP : Grand Isle Town Hall Meeting: This is what main stream media won’t report!! July, 29 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzOz2KXdmo8