Massive Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill

[General Zod]

No, but there's nuclear power.

How long is our supply of uranium going to last?

About 230 years with current consumption, assuming no significant progress on reactor design.

[dragon]

No, but there's nuclear power.

How long is our supply of uranium going to last?

About 230 years with current consumption, assuming no significant progress on reactor design.

Or assume no new sources such as asteroid mining. After in 230 years we should have a significent presence out there, hopefully

[Sea Skimmer]

About 230 years with current consumption, assuming no significant progress on reactor design.

Or assume no new sources such as asteroid mining. After in 230 years we should have a significent presence out there, hopefully

Well as that article points out, if we could economically extract all the uranium in seawater, that would be a 60,000 year supply at current rates. Full scale ocean trials have been done of that technology, it works and we can hope to improve it a damn lot in the future. So fissile is not going to be a problem even with humanity confined to the earth. Breeds and reprocessing waste can extend that supply for more then long enough to spam solar power all over space thousands of years from now.

[Edi]

Nitram's separate thread merged, because his comments point out the conflict of interest that I did not see mentioned anywhere else.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

About 230 years with current consumption, assuming no significant progress on reactor design.

Or assume no new sources such as asteroid mining. After in 230 years we should have a significent presence out there, hopefully

Or no new fuels and cycles like liquid fluoride thorium reactors.

[Erik von Nein]

More wonderful news to make you weep yourself to sleep.

First, thousands of dead sea cucumbers float around the destroyed rig.

Second, an update on relevant bits of news, courtesy of Deep Sea News (links in the post):

Deep Sea News

Oil Spill Update: June 23rd, 2010
By Dr. M, on June 22nd, 2010

Image from the Aquaman Shrine. The oil spill is really an act by Black Manta to destroy Aquaman, the pillar of strength for the Justice League

Its been 64 magical days and 160 million glorious gallons (or is it even more…nobody knows…) since the Deepwater Horizon laid down the ultimate Gulf of Mexico smackdown. Below is summary of the last couple of weeks worth of news sure to make you feel nauseous. But some bittersweet humor on Twitter from @nadaleenatasha “Who lived in a pineapple under the sea? Who died in an oil spill because of BP?”

* Why not cover another body of water with oil and neglect it? How about the Red Sea? Done. Or maybe more Gulf of Mexico oil spills? Done. Double Done.
* On the impacts of the oil spill on the deep-sea life on the Gulf of Mexico seabed: ”The sheer difficulty of trying to fathom the ecological impacts of the spill [has left scientists] dejected”.
* Are we destroying the Gulf of Mexico food web from both bottom-up and top-down? Is the Gulf of Mexico at a tipping point?
* How long will the impact last? Answer: Decades
* Fish and other wildlife are fleeing the oil spill out in the Gulf and clustering in cleaner waters along the coast. Oil spill pictures of coated birds, fish, and crabs. Oil spill may put cold deepwater corals at risk.
* New total Gulf bird numbers: 724 collected, 547 dead, 177 alive oiled, 25 released to date. Great FAQ on oiled bird rescue from IBRRC.
* Oil coats National Seashore near Pensacola, Florida
* More news that government is doing a fine job: Regulators failed to address risks in fail safe devices, Top 10 ridiculous oil-spill quotes from Congress, GOP still thinks this is a natural disaster, and despite moratorium drilling projects move ahead.
* The quote of the week is a toss up between 1) Oil Executives telling congressional committee that the BP spill is an aberration or 2) Sharron Angle stating we need to “deregulate” Big Oil
* Obama’s address (text here) to the nation about the oil spill is criticized for its mediocrity and emptiness. Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, asks if Obama missed opportunity to tell it like it is. Rep. Joe Barton apologizes to BP for the Obama “shakedown”. Biden responds to Barton, “Since you know I never say what’s on my mind…” Rachel Maddow gives the presidential speech I wanted from Obama.
* The check is in the mail. Obama Administration sends third bill for $51.4 million to BP and other responsible parties.
* Obama names Ray Mabus, former Mississippi Governor and current secretary of the U.S. Navy, to develop long-term Gulf restoration plan. Obama also announces members of the Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
* What do thousands of barrels of oil look like? Like a falling s@#$ storm. On twitter Neil Degrasse Tyson reminds us that “Two months of BP’s spill. About 120mil gallons in Gulf. Amounts to 3hr of USA oil consumption. 45min for World.”
* Do not boycott…drive less.

Crude oil washes ashore in Orange Beach, Ala., Saturday, June 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
* Oil spill on track to reach Atlantic by October? “No matter what you do it’s very, very hard in our model to find a scenario where [it] is kept within the gulf for a period of longer than six months.”
* CEO Tony Hayward still in charge? Maybe not? And how British is BP, anyway?
* BP’s shares slide further but still finds money to hires private security to block oily beaches. I wonder how much of the current US$1.25B is spent on PR and security?
* BP’s appalling safety record in US graphically illustrated.
* Are we close to the ultimate doomsday scenario? Some evidence points to a well casing crack. And here’s why top kill and every other procedure like this will fail. Did BP and US authorities ignore superior Belgian technology? Perhaps we need, James Cameron to dive the oil wreck and help stop flow.
* At least they said they were sorry: BP says it’s sorry and guarantees $20B for Gulf and after 57 days BP CEO Hayward’s finally states, “I fully grasp the terrible reality of the situation.” On the other hand, a massive flow of bullshit continues to gush from BP headquarters.
* Shrimpers opting for cleaning Gulf of Mexico oil over shrimping
* “We have 4 seasons in Louisiana~SHRIMP~OYSTER~CRABS~CRAW FISH & we will continue that tradition”~Donna Brazile

[Temujin]

Well I heard Robert Redford talking on Olbermann, and he basically echoed a point I made during an earlier post that perhaps the disaster had to be this bad for us to actually wake and start looking at seriously transitioning off of oil.

And now they're talking that the gusher alone might be putting out 100,000 barrels a day.

BP estimates oil spill up to 100,000 barrels per day in document

Sun, Jun 20 2010

By Ernest Scheyder

BURAS, Louisiana (Reuters) - BP Plc estimates that a worst-case scenario rate for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be about 100,000 barrels of oil per day, according to an internal company document released Sunday by a senior U.S. congressional Democrat.

Its estimate of up to 100,000 barrels (4.2 million gallons/15.9 million liters) of oil per day is far higher than the current U.S. government estimate of up to 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons/9.5 million liters) gushing daily from the ruptured offshore well into the sea.

BP spokesman Toby Odone said the document appeared to be genuine but the estimate applied only to a situation in which a key piece of equipment called a blowout preventer is removed.

"Since there are no plans to remove the blowout preventer, the number is irrelevant," he said.

The British energy giant, still struggling to stop a leak that began on April 20 and is causing an economic and environmental disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast, is planning to raise $50 billion to cover the cost of the largest oil spill in U.S. history, London's Sunday Times reported.

The oil spill is now in its 62nd day and has dealt a blow to fishing and tourism industries across four Gulf states, soiling coastlines that are a playground for tourists and vital habitat for wildlife.

The amount of oil spurting from the well has been a matter of considerable controversy in the past two months, with critics saying BP consistently understated the flow rate.

The internal BP document, which is undated, was released by U.S. Representative Ed Markey, chairman of a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The document appears to estimate the highest potential flow of oil if key components of the well fail. It does not indicate that the 100,000 barrels per day is BP's estimate of the actual amount gushing from the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well.

"Right from the beginning, BP was either lying or grossly incompetent," Markey told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"First they said it was only 1,000 barrels, then they said it was 5,000 barrels."

But BP's Odone said, "I don't think there's been any underestimating. We've always said we would deal with whatever volume of oil was being spilled and that's exactly what we're doing."

The document was posted on the Internet here

RAISING MONEY

London's Sunday Times, without citing any sources, said BP planned to raise $10 billion from a bond sale, $20 billion from banks and $20 billion from asset sales over the next two years to cover the cost of the spill.

BP said last week it would suspend dividend payments to its shareholders and increase the pace of asset sales to $10 billion this year to offset liabilities from the spill, which began after an explosion on an offshore rig that killed 11 workers.

The Financial Times reported BP is considering doubling the $10 billion asset sale program as part of a push to strengthen the company's liquidity as it comes under financial pressure.

BP said 21,040 barrels of oil (883,680 gallons/3.34 million liters)) leaking from the well was collected by its siphoning systems Saturday. A large amount of oil continues to leak into the sea from the ruptured well a mile below the ocean surface despite the BP containment systems.

Kenneth Feinberg, the independent administrator appointed to run the $20 billion fund set up by BP to compensate victims for financial losses due to the oil spill, said he would make sure that "every eligible, legitimate claim is paid and paid quickly."

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," Feinberg rejected the complaint of a senior Republican congressman, Joe Barton, who said last week that the fund set up by BP under pressure from President Barack Obama amounted to a government "shakedown."

"I don't think it helps to politicize this program," said Feinberg, an arbitration lawyer who dispensed hundreds of millions of dollars to victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"This a voluntary program. No one is compelled to come into this fund."

'NOTHING IS SATISFACTORY'

Despite assurances of swift compensation, Louisiana Gulf residents remained skeptical.

"Every time they say there's a fund for fisherman, we wait years and years," said Tal Plork, whose fisherman husband, Phan, faced long waits for aid after two hurricanes rampaged across the Gulf region in 2008. "It was like that for Gustav and Ike. Hopefully now they will go faster."

Plork, 42, has had to go to work since the oil leak began because her husband's fishing income has dried up. She works at a cafeteria at the BP camp in Venice, Louisiana, and has been supporting her five children mainly on credit cards.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, also appearing on "Meet the Press," said he was anxious to see the well capped, the spill cleaned up and BP cover the entire cost.

"Nothing is satisfactory until the well is shut in. When the well is capped, then clean up the oil, and then BP pays the bills. Until all of that is done, nothing is satisfactory," said Barbour, a Republican.

Barbour said he thought the U.S. federal government "has done more right than wrong" in its handling of the disaster.

After falling 6.8 percent last week, BP's shares are down 26 percent so far in June, their worst month since the October 1987 market crash.

Despite the battering to its reputation and stock stemming from the disaster, hedge fund T2 Partners said it likes shares in the British oil firm, according to a Barron's article published Sunday.

In a column titled "Other Voices," T2's managing partners said their reasons for recently taking a new position in BP are that it is "extraordinarily cheap," and that the firm is "highly likely" to be able to cover clean-up, damages, fines and lawsuits relating to the disaster.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Will Dunham in Washington, Michael Erman and Martinne Geller in New York, Bruce Nichols in Houston and Victoria Bryan in London; Writing by Tim Gaynor, editing by Chris Wilson)

And BP has big plans for the Arctic:

BP Plans to Move Ahead with Offshore Oil Drilling in Arctic

AlaskaDispatch.com
Telling the story of Alaska
Posted: June 2, 2010 08:30 PM

This fall, BP hopes to pull off a record-setting feat: Using a high-tech drill from a gravel island in the Beaufort Sea, it plans to reach two miles deep, turn and bore another six to eight miles horizontally to tap an oil reservoir in federal waters.

The moratorium imposed on new deep-water drilling and drilling in Arctic waters, imposed in the aftermath of the Gulf spill and BP's inability to contain the leak, imploded Royal Dutch Shell's plans to begin exploratory drilling in Alaska this summer. But BP still has hope of seeing its latest Alaska venture succeed.

Wednesday, the U.S. government confirmed the drilling "pause" does not apply to BP's new project, called Liberty.

"The deep-water moratorium does not apply to this particular project, which is based from a man-made island and would potentially be drilling directionally into formations under shallow water. If drilling permit applications are submitted for the project, the Department of the Interior will review them at the appropriate time and determine, based on safety and other considerations, whether the project should move forward with drilling under federal waters," said Kendra Barkoff, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Before it drills, BP will need state and federal drilling permits -- permits for which it has not yet applied, according to the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, the state permitting agency, and Barkoff, speaking on behalf of the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the federal permitting agency.

Operators typically apply for a permit about one month in advance of the intended drilling date, according to AOGCC commissioner Cathy Foerster, adding that Liberty, which launches from state waters to reach a federal reservoir, is an unusually complex project.

"If they want to start in September I'd hope they get us something pretty soon," she said.

Asked to clarify Liberty's development timeline, BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said the company, which plans to begin its first development well this fall, "will apply for permits in line with that schedule."

Guy Schwartz, a senior petroleum engineer with AOGCC who handles BP's permitting requests, said he hasn't seen anything yet from the company.

"It appears their timetable is slipping a bit for getting a well spudded with the new rig," Schwartz said.

In prior interviews BP has said it plans to start producing oil from Liberty next year.

Foerster expects AOGCC to take a hard look at the entire project, including segments of the drilling operation that travel outside the state's jurisdiction, because "if something goes wrong it's going to affect state land or state water."

"If we see something that they're doing outside of state waters that we don't think is safe, we're not going to approve the permit," she said.

While all permitting requests are thoroughly evaluated, with the shadow of the Gulf spill still looming, BP can expect heightened scrutiny with Liberty, according to AOGCC. Gone are the days when regulators, which send inspectors to the sites and check out the drill plans, assume everything has been done top notch, Foerster said. Questions will be asked twice, and reviews will be conducted with "a different mindset" -- looking for what might be wrong instead of expecting to find that an operator -- in this case BP -- has done everything right, she said.

"I think everybody trusts BP a little bit less than they did six weeks ago," Foerster said.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Follow AlaskaDispatch.com on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/alaskadispatch

[weemadando]

I hear that the damn liberal activist judiciary are at it again and have overturned the temporary ban on offshore drilling in Louisiana.

Damn their liberal eyes.

[Temujin]

That was my first thought when I saw the article.

But remember, they're not being activists if they're supporting the GOBP corporate agenda.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

But remember, they're not being activists if they're supporting the GOP corporate agenda.

Especially if they and the regulatory agencies are shareholders in the industry they're supposed to be watchdogging. Then it's good old-fashioned Capitalism.

[SirNitram]

Link

Salazar will be putting the Moratorium back in place. Of course, we can expect oil-funded judges to eagerly run over and rubber-stamp them going back to drilling.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and has owned stock in a number of petroleum-related companies, sided with the plaintiffs.

"If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all are?" he asked. "Are all airplanes a danger because one was? All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavy-handed, and rather overbearing."

If they're all subject to the same operational and maintenance schedules and standards (and failure modes thereof) across the industry as the one that failed, and the industry is known to have captured the government regulatory body for the industry and effectively written its own standards for the purpose of maximizing short-term profit No Matter What®, then yes, it stands to reason that all units of like kind and working under the regulations as the one that failed should be taken offline, inspected, repaired, etc., and the regulations toughened up and corrupt officials removed and prosecuted as necessary. This goes triple if said failure can result in Super Jumbo Family-Size Consequences™ that no one on Earth really even knows how to stop once the failure happens.

This is really the Chernobyl or 9/11 of this decade. I don't think we can sustain too many more Events of this magnitude and expect to keep any semblance of life as it was, especially if it's simple greed writ large responsible.

[The Spartan]

That's not necessarily true, Einy. BP's own released documents showed they went around those safety regs and if their refinery safety records are any indication BP's competitors don't actively seek to get around good practices for the sake of expediency and/or money.

Which isn't to say we should trust them without reservation or relax safety rules or inspections.

[salm]

No, but there's nuclear power.

How long is our supply of uranium going to last?

About 230 years with current consumption, assuming no significant progress on reactor design.

It should be noted that numbers that tell you how long a resource is going to last at current consumption are pretty useless if you want to predict how long a resource is going to last.
If consumption increases at a significant enough rate this could just as well be 40 years. Or two years if you want an extreme case.

[The Yosemite Bear]

and whats the estimated life span an maxmum broadcast power output of that hydrogen to heliun nuclear reactor?

[Kuroji]

and whats the estimated life span an maxmum broadcast power output of that hydrogen to heliun nuclear reactor?

Impossible to estimate as current fusion reactor prototypes consume more power than they produce, to begin with. We do not have fusion power, only fission, and there are no dedicated facilities meant to produce power. Only prototypes.

How the hell does that question even fit into this thread, actually?

[Broomstick]

Technically we DO have access to fusion power - but we collect it as solar power, the sun being a natural fusion reactor. Oh, and as food. Indirectly, we're all fusion powered if you go back far enough.

Neither method is a very efficient means of energy collection. Pity.

[/nitpick]

[General Zod]

It should be noted that numbers that tell you how long a resource is going to last at current consumption are pretty useless if you want to predict how long a resource is going to last.
If consumption increases at a significant enough rate this could just as well be 40 years. Or two years if you want an extreme case.

I assumed it was largely self evident. If you increase consumption the number will change, etc.

[The Yosemite Bear]

someone missed the refrence to our native nuclear reactor utilizing both fusion and fission. (give you a hint our planet revolves around it)

[Simon_Jester]

someone missed the refrence to our native nuclear reactor utilizing both fusion and fission. (give you a hint our planet revolves around it)

The sun is not a fission reactor, not to any meaningful degree, Bear.

[chitoryu12]

Somehow, BP is trying to find a silver lining in all this.

(June 24) -- If images of gushing oil, fouled beaches and pelicans coated in crude get too depressing, BP may have just the antidote.

The company's blog has proved adept at finding the positive, hopeful side of America's worst-ever oil disaster. In its reports, BP is congratulated for its straight talk, being able to see the spill with your own eyes is a "privilege," and one of the big causes of complaints is boat owners unable to sell their services to the oil giant.

In one entry, BP reporter Paula Kolmar describes the cleanup operation as a "mesmerising ballet at sea."

"Miss Jasmine, the most experienced local shrimping vessel, beautifully painted with a colourful dragon streaming along her sides, pulled the folded boom in place," the blog reads. "With barely a pause, the two boats moved apart at the same speed, spreading the boom into a v-shape just like birds form in the sky."

BP's public relations response to the spill so far has been plagued by missteps, including company CEO Tony Hayward saying "I'd like my life back" and downplaying the scale of the disaster by saying that the Gulf of Mexico is "a very big ocean."

The disaster began April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, rupturing the oil well below. Eleven workers were killed in the explosion, which left oil spewing into the water.

Marylee Orr, executive director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, said the BP blog isn't an accurate representation of the reality of dealing with the oil spill.

"I find it strange that they'd describe it as like a ballet because to us it looks like a nightmare," Orr told AOL News. "Everything is at peril."

The upbeat reportage on the blog highlights the positives of the cleanup and extols the stoic, constructive attitude of all the workers involved. "These men don't want to be heroes, complainers or blamers," one blog entry reads. "They want one simple thing: to put their backs to Alabama and their eyes to the water and do what needs to be done."

Another entry describes an information center where most of the people complaining are just upset that BP isn't renting their particular services at that time.

Orr said that the complaints she's dealing with are usually related to health problems from exposure to the cleanup.

"We're getting calls dealing with air quality issues, fishermen getting sick," Orr said. "They're suffering nausea and vomiting."

In another blog entry, a taxi driver identified only as Paul says he empathizes with BP's image problems and says he likes to follow the facts.

"If I would try to spin it one way or the other, I'd run the risk of losing my credibility and offending somebody at the same time," Paul said. "That's why I see a similarity between how you and I both have to operate. Just stick to the facts and you can't go wrong."

Trying to find something positive in tens of millions of gallons of oil pumping into the Gulf of Mexico every day and downplaying the complaints as being upset that BP won't rent out their services is somehow reminding me of a stereotypical evil, world-controlling corporation from a cyberpunk novel.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I'm seeing Hayward now as The Old Man from RoboCop, looking down at the spill covering every animal and square metre of ocean beneath his ship and seeing the irate fishermen on the shore, and turning to a lackey saying "This could look bad for BP." (time index 6:10)

[Quetzalcoatl]

During Exxon Valdez there were complaints among the cleanup crews of respiratory problems. The conspiracy whackaloons have been going nuts over these toxic vapors vis a vis the Gulf Spill. I was intially dismissie, but then I read several articles and saw this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIlyqCDf ... re=related

Does the threat of toxic gas/vapors extend beyond the cleanup crews to residents of the Gulf States themselves?

Edit: Seems this lady is kind of an alarmist (according to some other videos I've seen). Here, however, is a news report (same lady featured, similar buzzwords).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L20Au98q ... re=related

[Covenant]

It's not only whackaloon stuff, there's a variety of dangerous air-borne chemicals that are given off by oil, and it's a remarkably big spill out there. Benzene is a good example since it's very dangerous and pretty common, and the effects are well documented. Part of that 'oil smell' is benzene, and it's really nasty, cancer-causing stuff, and it can hang around for weeks, and thus get spread pretty far on wind.

So is it worth being concerned about? Certainly, but at least for benzene there are testing methods to determine exposure, so it's within our power to test for it, and it's not slipping under the radar of oil and environmental groups. The occupational safety organizations are also aware of the risk to workers, so if they seem remarkable benzene and other toxic gas exposure, they should alert coastal authorities about it.

It'll be worth keeping an eye on, and testing to monitor, for the duration of this mess. Lots of people are trying to make money off it regardless, I've seen ads for testing kits and air filtering equipment. So there will be some alarmist talk from some groups, but it's a legitimate concern that merits a bit of testing. With all luck little of it is blowing onshore and we can just make sure the work crews are properly equipped to handle exposure.

[The Yosemite Bear]

whack-a-loon? has anyone ever told you about Bophol India?

which does set a precident, we could charge BP execs with depraved indiferance/manslaughter under existing laws, though I doubt that our government could get the execs to serve the two years that the guys in India got.