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Dawg Talker
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Gas and oil drilling ought to be the easiest thing to regulate .. especially in today's world.
Set up a simple system of fines for specific infractions.
For example: Minor oil spill: $1 million fine plus the cost of clean-up.
Major spill (like the current spill) $10 million fine plus the cost of the clean-up.
The structure could be tweaked as needed, and I only chose 2 categories and fines for an example, but others could be added.
Specific violations would lead to specific fines. Eliminate the arbitraty and non-specific and politicized double talk and deal in specific measures.
Then we would get:
Company A applies for a permit to drill in a specific area. There is a problem, and they create a specific violation and enviromnetal problem. The company is fined for their violation, and they also pay 100% of the clean-up costs.
Make the fines steep enough and companies will take extra measures to ensure that preventable accidents do not occur.
Measures that make companies regulate themselves are always more effective than outside regulation with unspecified consequences.
It's much like an auto accident. The at fault party pays for the damages .... and also pays a fine. Why over-complicate everything?
You'd think it would be, but its not. I do a fair amount of work in the sector and its an incredibly complex business.
You can't simply have a fine system in place because you don't want things to go wrong in order for people to clean up their act. The costs are potentially too high to wait, in both the potential for fatality and environmental harm.
Plus you have to account for the government to be involved due to the payment of royalties to government for extracting the resource. The government cannot be hands off through the process as they are part of the business.
Third, I assume there's already a fine system in place. There is here. But that doesn't excuse the state or federal government from getting involved. The government has an obligation to the citizenry to ensure development is undergone safely.
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Dawg Talker
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What I am saying though is that it is almost impossible to regulate and inspect each and every day at each and every site.
Absolutely....which is why its essential the government is involved on the front end and ongoing basis. They are simply the only body to be able to regulate effectively at all.
The unfortunate fact here is that this is likely not a case of gross negligence in any which way. Its a matter of something small going wrong in conjunction with extreme conditions. It will likely create increased regulation in offshore drilling to ensure it doesn't happen again. But its happened...cleanup will be hundreds of millions...and the world will go on drilling for oil---either offshore, onshore or through the oil sands.
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Legend
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Because right now, lives are being ruined, local economies crushed, an ecosystem destroyed.... and our federal government is doing nothing to stop it.
So, theres something new here? 
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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Legend
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Well .. I look at it as if the government were watching every aspect of a person's life trying to figure out what they might do wrong rather than punishing violations of the law. It just seems less productive and more costly.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Dawg Talker
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Quote:
Well .. I look at it as if the government were watching every aspect of a person's life trying to figure out what they might do wrong rather than punishing violations of the law. It just seems less productive and more costly.
I see the logic in what you're saying. But as potential impacts increase, the level of regulation must increase as well as the damage that can be caused is more severe, lasting and damaging to people and the environment.
I don't think many folks would be comfortable to have the same regulation level applied to building a house and building an oil derrick.
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Dawg Talker
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Absolutely....which is why its essential the government is involved on the front end and ongoing basis. They are simply the only body to be able to regulate effectively at all.
What has government EVER done "effectively" except spend money. They are quite effective at that....
I understand what you are saying...but lets put it this way. You have a kid. And that kid constantly gets in trouble. Every week you have to go to school to talk to the teachers because of something "Johnny" did. Johnny never did well in any of his classes. He was always the smooth talker. After school Johnny gets involved in drugs. And goes through rehab several times. He has been in and out of jail many times. He can't hold a job....When he does get any money he either spends it on drugs or gambles it away...He is the stereotypical "problem child". Now you have an executive position that has opened up in your company...you need someone to really take the reigns for you ....Johnny needs a job....Are you suggesting that you would give him that responsibility???
That is our government right now....in the way that they haven't run a single thing in an efficient manner. EVER.....They haven't EVER shown that they can handle this kind of responsibility. Because as soon as they get a little...they blow it up into excess and we are left holding the bag....much like Johnny's parents.
I am not against Government regulation. But franklly I need to start seeing a government that can handle the responsibility.
I thought I was wrong once....but I was mistaken...
What's the use of wearing your lucky rocketship underpants if nobody wants to see them????
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Dawg Talker
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I get what you're saying Pete but that's alot of anti-government rhetoric that deviates from this a bit.
I would hate hate hate to work for the government in the states. The fact that the US has been the most powerful country in the world for a half century kinda points to the fact that they've been doing something right.
I think where they have failed (and this begins to deviate from the topic wildly) is that your political system has become broken. And it is broken because there has been an unwillingness to change, despite the fact that change is needed. The world has advanced and running the country in the same way you ran it in the 50s no longer flies. But there are so many people in the States that refuse to budge, that politicans have to cater to it. This catering means less gets done and things get worse.
I'm not an Obama booster but I do believe he's the right person for the States right now as he's willing to challenge some of the traditional American mindsets and shake up the system. I think the US needs this in order to keep its status in the world and is going to start seeing more of it. If change doesn;t happen, you'll continue to see the gradual decline of the United States which will have dire effects on the rest of the world.
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Legend
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Just clicking
Why is it that everytime you hear,, "the government has to get out of our business" it's usually followed by when a disaster hits, like Katrina or this Oil Spill,,, the first thing you hear is "whats the government gonna do about it"?
Why is that?
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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What I want to know is, why is there no safety valve and disconnect underneath these rigs? Something that could have been closed and disconnected while they were fighting the fire, to aid in putting out the fire before the rig collapsed, and this all would have been avoided.
If the only valve is at the bottom of the sea, what kind of emergency planning is that?
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Dawg Talker
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This I don't know. But I would assume there is more than one safety system. Let's face it, the guys who design these things aren't stupid.
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Legend
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There are 3 "fail safes" on the rig, and all 3 failed. What's that say for the intelligence and competence of the designers. I'd be out of a job if I had 3 fail safes on my network that ALL failed and my networked crashed. 
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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So they've got triple redundancy on safety systems. Seems reasonable.
I don't necessarily blame the design of the rig. These are operations that have worked well for decades without issue. Unfortunately, machines fail, mistakes are made or the natural world throws you a curveball you're not prepared for.
It happens and it sucks and design will improve to prevent it from happening again.
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Dawg Talker
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Respectfully, I disagree.....If this political system is broken it is because we have gone away from the principles it was built upon. Quote:
The fact that the US has been the most powerful country in the world for a half century kinda points to the fact that they've been doing something right.
The US has been the most powerful country in the world for some time NOT because of the government..but in spite of it. We have been powerful because we had natural resources that were tapped that Europe had no access to. We had more money than everyone else. And a less restrictive government at one time that allowed for fast growth in the business markets. We have been living on our WWII mobilizations and reputations for 60 years. And luckily for us the rest of the World either fell in line or couldn't keep up with the cash flow. But sitting on that rep for so long is now coming to bite us in the butt. And this more oppresssive government that Obama wants to implement is NOT the answer. Infact it is only going to hasten our demise.
Your right on one thing though. Obama is the right person for the job.....because he is going to hurt us so badly that we might actually get up off our butts and finally get back the fundamentals of what this country was founded on. Individual freedoms and individual responsibilities. The Declaration of Independance says Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Hapiness.....nowhere does it say and free healthcare, foodstamps, welfare payments, and low income housing loans for all....
The American Dream used to be the power of the Individual, BY HIS OR HER OWN MERIT to rise to higher stations. Sadly, there is no American Dream today....for success is now a popularity contest. In order to advance you need to join a specific group whether it be a Union, or clique or whatever. We create corrupt beuracracies in order to do jobs that few people did before, and we create machines to steal the jobs that many people did before. And we show disdain on the ingenuity of the individual or small businesses in favor of the cheaper mega businesses.
You see the coming together of many people working as one... a benevolent government looking over every need of it's people.....and that sounds admirable on the surface....but I see the stripping of the American spirit and what made America Great.
I thought I was wrong once....but I was mistaken...
What's the use of wearing your lucky rocketship underpants if nobody wants to see them????
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Legend
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Quote:
There are 3 "fail safes" on the rig, and all 3 failed. What's that say for the intelligence and competence of the designers.
Those fail safes were designed, then they had to be installed, then I'm sure they have to be tested, then they probably have to be tested periodically... then when the disaster happened, they probably had to be implemented... there are any number of people who could have screwed this up even if the design was flawless...
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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Quote:
Why is it that everytime you hear,, "the government has to get out of our business" it's usually followed by when a disaster hits, like Katrina or this Oil Spill,,, the first thing you hear is "whats the government gonna do about it"?
Why is that?
The short answer is.. because it's two different groups of people. One group who wants a more limited government, then another group that wants the government to handle all problems... Not that there probably aren't some who try to play in both groups.
Hypocrisy does abound though and, while mac would be loath to admit it, it exists on both sides... ever heard the traditionally liberal group stating they don't want the government in their bedroom? This is the same group that DOES want the government in their retirement account, their healthcare, their social programs, regulating their CEOs wages, their company safety plan, their kids education, their kids diet..... but damn it we don't want them in our bedroom... evidently they can wait outside for that. 
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
There are 3 "fail safes" on the rig, and all 3 failed. What's that say for the intelligence and competence of the designers.
Those fail safes were designed, then they had to be installed, then I'm sure they have to be tested, then they probably have to be tested periodically... then when the disaster happened, they probably had to be implemented... there are any number of people who could have screwed this up even if the design was flawless...
I agree. They failed because no one checked to ensure they would work in an emergency. Like people with smoke detectors, they just assume they will work even though it's still got a battery from 1977 in it, just because they know it's there.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Dawg Talker
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1974 thank you very much 
I thought I was wrong once....but I was mistaken...
What's the use of wearing your lucky rocketship underpants if nobody wants to see them????
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Legend
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1974 thank you very much
I knew there was something I'd been meaning to do ....... 
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Hall of Famer
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OP
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we should spend 2 billion to make sure this doesnt happen again, also go all in with solar, wind, tidal and geo who drills in the Ocean without a shut off valve?  USA x amount of money is already being lost due to the spill, no jobs created 
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Legend
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just clicking...
First this information (excerpts) from a Global research article dated May 6, 2010.. web page
...Investigators delving into the possible cause of the massive gulf oil spill are focusing on the role of Houston-based Halliburton Co., the giant energy services company, which was responsible for cementing the drill into place below the water. The company acknowledged Friday that it had completed the final cementing of the oil well and pipe just 20 hours before the blowout last week.
...A 2007 study by the U.S. Minerals Management Service found that cementing was the single most important factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period -- more than equipment malfunction. Halliburton has been accused of a poor cement job in the case of a major blowout in the Timor Sea off Australia last August. An investigation is underway.
According to experts cited in Friday's Wall St. Journal, the timing of last week's cement job in relation to the explosion -- only 20 hours beforehand, and the history of cement problems in other blowouts "point to it as a possible culprit." Robert MacKenzie, managing director of energy and natural resources at FBR Capital Markets and a former cementing engineer, told the Journal, "The initial likely cause of gas coming to the surface had something to do with the cement."
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Now this article dated May 12, 2010... web page
Whistleblower Claims That BP Was Aware Of Cheating On Blowout Preventer Tests
As the federal and congressional probes continue into the causes of the Gulf oil rig explosion, new information is coming to light about the failure of a key device, the blowout preventer, to shut off the gushing well, which could have prevented the growing catastrophe.
And new questions are being raised about the testing of the preventers. At today's hearing before a House subcommittee, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., revealed that the blowout preventer had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system and had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion. And at a hearing in Louisiana on Tuesday, the government engineer who gave oil giant BP the final approval to drill admitted that he never asked for proof that the preventer worked.
In addition, an oil industry whistleblower told Huffington Post that BP had been aware for years that tests of blowout prevention devices were being falsified in Alaska. The devices are different from the ones involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion but are also intended to prevent dangerous blowouts at drilling operations.
Mike Mason, who worked on oil rigs in Alaska for 18 years, says that he observed cheating on blowout preventer tests at least 100 times, including on many wells owned by BP.
As he describes it, the test involves a chart that shows whether the device will hold a certain amount of pressure for five minutes on each valve. (The test involves increasing the pressure from 250 pounds per square-inch (psi) to 5,000 psi.) "Sometimes, they would put their finger on the chart and slide it ahead -- so that it only recorded the pressure for 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes," he tells HuffPost.
Mason claims that a BP representative was usually present while subcontractors performed the tests.
The 48-year-old veteran oil worker claims that in the oil industry, particularly at BP, "the culture is basically safety procedures are shoved down your throat and then they look the other way when it's convenient for them." He claims that oil operators often wouldn't report spills and that when he spilled chemical fluid in 2003, he was told by his superiors not to report it. Mason, who now runs a small operation hauling freight in the Alaskan bush and owns guest cabins, says he was fired by a drilling company in 2006 after he wrote a letter to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News to condemn the firm for incorporating overseas and thereby avoiding taxes.
Mason and another oil worker provided sworn statements in a 2003 lawsuit that rig supervisors "routinely falsified reports to show equipment designed to prevent blowouts was passing state-mandated performance tests," reported the Wall Street Journal in 2005.
Mason was interviewed by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2005 during a probe into allegations that Nabors Drilling, a subcontractor to BP, falsified such tests, among other claims that BP failed to report blowouts at the massive Prudhoe Bay oil field. The probe was spurred by oil industry critic Charles Hamel, who forwarded his allegation to then-Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Hamel claims that BP is at fault for the falsification because "Nabors had nothing to gain by shortening the time because they got paid, and BP rep was on rig at all times." He adds that BP was the beneficiary of a falsified test, claiming that the company rushes work and cuts corners to save money.
Hamel sent a letter to Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, in advance of Wednesday's hearing into the Gulf oil rig disaster, urging him to ask BP about the falsification claims:
"You and your fellow Committee members may wish to require BP to explain what action was ultimately instituted to cease the practice of falsifying BOP tests at BP Prudhoe drilling rigs. It was a cost saving but dangerous practice, again endangering the BP workforce, until I exposed it to Senator Ted Stevens, the EPA, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission."
After a four-month-long investigation, the commission in Alaska found that a single Nabors employee "violated rules regarding testing of blowout prevention equipment ("BOPE") on Rig 9ES by falsifying test results with a practice referred to as "chart spinning." The AOGCC proposed a $10,000 cost assessment on Nabors to reimburse it for the expenses incurred during the investigation.
As part of the probe, BP officials were interviewed, says AOGCC investigator Jim Regg, but the company was not assessed any costs or found to have committed any violations in its role as operator of the well. The commission did not find any evidence of the other allegations regarding BP. A spokesperson for BP did not return repeated calls for comment.
AOGCC commissioner Cathy Foerster explains that investigators didn't find widespread evidence of such falsification at oil drilling operations, calling it "an isolated incident" and adding, "It cost the state $50-60,000 and all that came of it was this poor kid got fired."
Foerster, who said that the commission is funded through a surcharge assessed on oil operators, dismissed industry critic Hamel's allegations regarding malfeasance in the oil industry: "It's a light breeze and he declares a Category 5 hurricane." She added that there is usually a "shred of truth" to his claims, before warning that reporters who misrepresent her comments could face "legal ramifications."
Hamel, who is on the board of the Project on Government Oversight and formerly worked as an oil trader, has a long history with BP -- the company was forced to pay more than $1 billion in safety-related improvements to the 800-mile Alaska pipeline as a results of investigations prompted by Hamel.
Alyeska Pipeline, he company, which operated the pipeline on behalf of BP, responded by hiring a private security firm, Wackenhut, to conduct surveillance on Hamel in the 1990s.
"They tapped my phone at my home in Alexandria, Virginia, had keys to my house -- I discovered that they went into my house twice," he says. And he claims that they sent a group to follow him up in Alaska, including a woman dressed provocatively who tried to get him into a hotel room with her.
A congressional hearing was called to examine the spying of Hamel and Wackenhut later settled a lawsuit filed by Hamel. And Alyeska apologized to him in full-page newspaper ads.
"These oil interests are very powerful -- they will stop at nothing to stop you."
FOOTBALL IS NOT BASEBALL
Home of the Free, Because of the Brave...
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JC... Finally some postive news on the oil spill. Quote:
By JASON DEAREN and JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press Writers
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Oil company engineers on Sunday finally succeeded in keeping some of the oil gushing from a blown well out of the Gulf of Mexico, hooking up a mile-long tube to funnel the crude into a tanker ship after more than three weeks of failures.
Millions of gallons of crude are already in the water, however, and researchers said the black ooze may have entered a major current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and around to the East Coast.
BP PLC engineers remotely guiding robot submersibles had worked since Friday to place the tube into a 21-inch pipe nearly a mile below the sea. After several setbacks, the contraption was hooked up successfully and funneling oil to a tanker ship. The oil giant said it will take days to figure out how much oil its contraption is sucking up.
The blown well has been leaking for more than three weeks, threatening sea life, commercial fishing and the coastal tourist industry from Louisiana to Florida. BP failed in several previous attempts to stop the leak, trying in vain to activate emergency valves and lowering a 100-ton container that got clogged with icy crystals.
A researcher told The Associated Press on Sunday that computer models show the oil may have already seeped into a powerful water stream known as the loop current, which could propel it into the Atlantic Ocean. A boat is being sent later this week to collect samples and learn more.
William Hogarth, dean of the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science, said one model shows oil has already entered the current, while a second shows the oil is 3 miles from it - still dangerously close. The models are based on weather, ocean current and spill data from the U.S. Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other sources.
Hogarth said it's still too early to know what specific amounts of oil will make it to Florida, or what damage it might do to the sensitive Keys or beaches on Florida's Atlantic coast. He said claims by BP that the oil would be less damaging to the Keys after traveling over hundreds of miles from the spill site were not mollifying.
"This can't be passed off as 'it's not going to be a problem.'" Hogarth said. "This is a very sensitive area. We are concerned with what happens in the Florida Keys."
BP had previously said the tube, if successful, was expected to collect most of the oil gushing from the well. On Sunday, the company said it was too early to measure how much crude was being collected and acknowledged the tube was no panacea.
"It's a positive move, but let's keep in context," said Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president for exploration and production. "We're about shutting down the flow of oil from this well."
Crews will slowly ramp up how much oil the tube collects over the next few days. They need to move slowly because they don't want too much frigid seawater entering the pipe, which could combine with gases to form the same ice-like crystals that doomed the previous containment effort.
Two setbacks over the weekend illustrate how delicate the effort is. Early Sunday, hours before a steady connection was made, engineers were able to suck a small amount of oil to the tanker, but the tube was dislodged. The previous day, equipment used to insert the tube into the gushing pipe at the ocean floor had to be hauled to the surface for readjustment.
The first chance to choke off the flow for good should come in about a week. Engineers plan to shoot heavy mud into the crippled blowout preventer on top of the well, then permanently entomb the leak in concrete. If that doesn't work, crews also can shoot golf balls and knotted rope into the nooks and crannies of the device to plug it, Wells said.
The final choice to end the leak is a relief well, but it is more than two months from completion.
Top officials in President Barack Obama's administration cautioned that the tube "is not a solution" to the spill and said they are closely monitoring the situation.
"We will not rest until BP permanently seals the wellhead, the spill is cleaned up, and the communities and natural resources of the Gulf Coast are restored and made whole," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, scientists warned of the effects of the oil that has already leaked into the Gulf. Researchers said miles-long underwater plumes of oil discovered in recent days could poison and suffocate sea life across the food chain, with damage that could endure for a decade or more.
Researchers have found more underwater plumes of oil than they can count from the well, said Samantha Joye, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia. She said careful measurements taken of one plume showed it stretching for 10 miles, with a 3-mile width.
The hazardous effects of the plume are twofold. Joye said the oil itself can prove toxic to fish swimming in the sea, while vast amounts of oxygen are also being sucked from the water by microbes that eat oil. Dispersants used to fight the oil are also food for the microbes, speeding up the oxygen depletion.
"So, first you have oily water that may be toxic to certain organisms and also the oxygen issue, so there are two problems here," said Joye, who's working with the scientists who discovered the plumes in a recent boat expedition. "This can interrupt the food chain at the lowest level, and will trickle up and certainly impact organisms higher. Whales, dolphins and tuna all depend on lower depths to survive."
Conservationists in Florida said oil could wreak havoc in the Keys or the environmentally fragile Everglades.
"Obviously this is a fear that we had about where the oil might go next," said John Adornato, regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Oil has been spewing since the rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and sinking two days later. The government shortly afterward estimated the spill at 210,000 gallons - or 5,000 barrels - a day, a figure that has since been questioned by some scientists who fear it could be far more. BP executives have stood by the estimate while acknowledging there's no way to know for sure.
News of the tube's success was met with tempered enthusiasm by the leader of a coastal parish in Lousiana that includes environmentally sensitive marshes and islands.
"It's definitely good news," Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said after a BP vice president called to brief him.
"It will be better news when they get it stopped," he said, noting the underwater oil plumes. "We have a large mess out there."
http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=12491540
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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This may seem like a stupid question,, but can any of the oil that has leaked out into the gulf be reclaimed?
I've never heard of that happening but to be fair, I don't follow this stuff closely at all..
Just wondering, does anyone know?
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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Quote:
This may seem like a stupid question,, but can any of the oil that has leaked out into the gulf be reclaimed?
I've never heard of that happening but to be fair, I don't follow this stuff closely at all..
Just wondering, does anyone know?
that doesnt seems like a stupid question to me. It seems to me that it shouldnt be all that hard to filter the oil out of the water somehow,keep the oil and pump the clean water back.
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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My guess would be that it is scientifically possible to seperate them but practically impossible on the scale required to make a difference.
yebat' Putin
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Water and oil don't really mix, so separating the 2 wouldn't be difficult, then the processing of the crude would burn off any left over salt water contaminants.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Quote:
My guess would be that it is scientifically possible to seperate them but practically impossible on the scale required to make a difference.
Right...how would you suck up every bit of oil from the water? I wish it could be done, but I'm with you in not seeing how they could get it all.
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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So then, you guys think it's possible?
The Oil and Water not mixing thing was what I thought of... not sure how it plays out...
#GMSTRONG
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Daniel Patrick Moynahan
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Damanshot
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Quote:
Quote:
My guess would be that it is scientifically possible to seperate them but practically impossible on the scale required to make a difference.
Right...how would you suck up every bit of oil from the water? I wish it could be done, but I'm with you in not seeing how they could get it all.
Well you are not going to suck up every bit of oil,but at least as much as possible. If you put these " sucker upper machines"  in the area where it is worst and just let them run non stop filtering oil and water it seems like at least a big dent can be made in it over time.
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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Yes, I agree that getting some oil out of the water is better than doing nothing. I hope they figure something out soon.
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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For the most part they won't bother reclaiming the oil already spilled. They will use booms chemicals and microbes to absorb, disperse and breakdown the oil.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Sounds like an opportunity for somebody to make themselves extremely rich if they could invent a way to do it on a huge scale.
yebat' Putin
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No kiding,, an oil skimmer/retriever thingy doodle machine type contraption... 
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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The Bubba-Gump Oil Reclaimation Company?
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I'm in. I've got start-up capital of $254.98 and all we need is a giant barge and a team of scientists to develop a sort of desalination process only it seperates oil from water and not salt from water... On the bright side, since we will be billing the oil companies, the public will allow us to charge them as much as we possibly can.. 
yebat' Putin
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Hey,, great, I'll match your initial investment amount...
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe."
Damanshot
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In theory, it shouldn't be hard since, as mentioned, oil and water don't really mix and most of the oil is supposedly sitting on top of the water in a thin film. That article stated that there are plumes underwater, though, which is news to me.
Still, theoretically it should be relatively easy to skim the top of the water and collect the oil and filter the water back into the ocean.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
-PrplPplEater
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Quote:
In theory, it shouldn't be hard since, as mentioned, oil and water don't really mix and most of the oil is supposedly sitting on top of the water in a thin film. That article stated that there are plumes underwater, though, which is news to me.
Still, theoretically it should be relatively easy to skim the top of the water and collect the oil and filter the water back into the ocean.
Except for, as DC mentioned, the matter of the salt in the water. If the gulf were a feesh water body of water, then you could do exactly as you suggest, and evaporate the rest of the ater away. (or use a water drying agent and then filter the oil)
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Well, I was thinking of filtering the oil/seawater mix by density and pumping the filtered seawater back into the ocean.
That being said, you're probably right and it's impossible/too hard to pull off on the scale required. I'd like to think that if it were possible, it would be done right now.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
-PrplPplEater
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If that were the case they could literally siphon the oil slick into a "strainer", and collect the oil while dumping the filtered salt water back into the gulf.
I'm sure that there is some long, involved, and expensive process involved.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I think the problem is "scale" ... I'm guessing it would be similar to dumping a jug of cooking oil in your pool, and trying to strain it out by dipping a needle in the water and wiping off the oil that comes out on it.
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