The oil spill

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 3, 2010, 10:54 am

It's time this had its own thread.

Even cleaning up the oil spill might be more dangerous than we realize

I really hope the federal gubmint doesn't let BP off the hook too easily for what is probably going to turn out to be an environmental catastrophy of unheard of proportions and duration. The Valdez is easy to forget because it happened in such a remote place, but the lingering affects of this disaster won't be so easy to ignore.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 3, 2010, 2:40 pm

It hasn't reached the proportions of the pemex spill in the south gulf yet, they still have issues from that one.

If the oil gets up into the NE gulf it will contaminate the food chain for generations.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 3, 2010, 5:58 pm

I think you're right, especially because of the damage done to the Louisiana wetlands. The Fed needs to make sure to keep the case against BP open for at least a decade, and not let those bastards skate off with only one year of reparations.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 3, 2010, 10:00 pm

The areas with the swampy mud bottoms are really susceptible to this sort of crap. On the one had the goop on the bottom seals up the contaminants, on the other there's all kinds of base of the food chain critters that live in that nasty goop. Not to mention the oysters and clams that are one of the few industries up in the big bend area.

When we lived in Alameda every time they'd turn a ship around at the Naval base it'd cause high mercury, PCB, etc.. readings off all over the bay area from the crap in the mud getting stirred up.

Running up to Ozello next week to do some fishing and take pictures. Forecast is for the oil not to hit that area but you never know.

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » July 4, 2010, 3:59 am

Every time I see pics of the animals and wildlife it makes me sick to my stomach. Although BP is the culprit here, I think the blame lies with all of us. I'm doing everything I can to lower my oil consumption as much as possible. That's all I can do. The problem is our society is not built in a way that can be changed very easily. I still have to drive to work. The best thing the government can do right now is improve the safe guards and regulation dramatically.

On a side note, I fucking HATE conservatives. Even with a giant oil spill at their fucking doorstep, you still can't convince these idiots their mantras of "drill baby drill" and "deregulate" are completely and utterly fucking asinine.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 4, 2010, 2:37 pm

I think it's because most of those assholes live in some desolate wasteland like Texas or N. Georgia. A decent majority of Florida conservatives are well aware of how much the environment affects our bottom line because of tourism. Unfortunately, a lot of them are teh homogay, and thus ineligible for federal offices because of the fucking fundies.

Ain't it amazing how they hump the Bible for all those irrelevant Old Testament issues, but all the lessons of stewardship directly from Jesus are glossed over.

Gonzoie - Luclin · Post by **Gonzoie - Luclin** » July 4, 2010, 3:12 pm

Down here in the Keys its predicted to hit us by August. Our entire economy is based of tourism, diving, and seafood. It's going to be horrible when we can only fish and dive on the ocean side. Hopefully the Gulf Stream keeps the oil away from the upper keys coral reef, but that is hoping for a lot.

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » July 4, 2010, 6:18 pm

I'm living literally on the beach in Treasure Island, FL. If/when it gets here I will be spending time cleaning it up. From what I understand, as the oil travels it begins to erode a bit. The beaches in the FL panhandle are getting dense tar balls so I'm hoping that if it comes here it will be in tiny little tar balls and will not drastically change the landscape. I'm swimming in that water on a daily basis. The whole thing is just so frustrating.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 5, 2010, 6:40 pm

Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!

valryte · Post by **valryte** » July 5, 2010, 11:03 pm

Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!
Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!

Thankfully the incredibly hot woman in Miami make up for how shitty the rest of the state is

Xyun · Post by **Xyun** » July 6, 2010, 1:05 am

Earth to Winnow ---> You live in Arizona!

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » July 6, 2010, 7:24 am

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 6, 2010, 10:29 am

Wow...that's terribly unfunny. Like, there is totally nothing witty in that entire comic. Wow, just wow.

Sorry for you gulf states, btw. This sucks.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » July 6, 2010, 11:57 am

It's probably unfunny because it strikes very close to home.

For me, living up here, this whole thing seems a bit surreal. I don't think I can begin to appreciate the true scope of the situation.

(like the boobies though)

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 6, 2010, 12:24 pm

Kluden wrote:Wow...that's terribly unfunny. Like, there is totally nothing witty in that entire comic. Wow, just wow.

Sorry for you gulf states, btw. This sucks.

In bad taste? Yes. Funny? Absolutely

For us living here it's pretty surreal too, like waiting for a car wreck that has a ~30% chance of happening sometime in the next few weeks.

Hurricanes you can run away from and they'll be gone when you get back. I've sat through 9(?). In a well built structure on high ground they're scary but not super dangerous. The storm surge is what'll kill you, I'm 43' up.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 6, 2010, 12:35 pm

I don't mean from a bad taste/timing side that its unfunny. I think its unfunny because it lacks substance and humor. Its amateur to the extreme side, and was a waste of someone's time, that's all. But if you guys like it, laugh away, comedy is in the eye of the beholder

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 6, 2010, 12:56 pm

The last frame made it for me, the rest was just, meh.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » July 6, 2010, 1:36 pm

you don't need stupidly bad comic strips for comedy....you can find much better IRL

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 6, 2010, 3:56 pm

See, now that is funny! Well played. Also, you can't get fuel from BP stations here in DC...its 25 cent cheaper per gallon and people are gobbling that shit up. So quick to forgive when it saves you a few dollars. Sorry gulf states

masteen · Post by **masteen** » July 6, 2010, 4:06 pm

As much as I'd like to completely blame BP for this, the government has to bear its share, because their regulation of the oil industry is a fucking joke.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » July 6, 2010, 8:05 pm

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » July 8, 2010, 8:16 am

BP Oil Spill: 11 dead, 3+ presidential visits, $20bn compensation agreed in 2 months.
Bhopal: 15000 dead, 0 presidential visits, $450m compensation agreed after 25 years.

Just sayin'.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » July 8, 2010, 7:39 pm

valryte wrote:
Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!
Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!
Thankfully the incredibly hot woman in Miami make up for how shitty the rest of the state is

Well I am sure she is a busy woman then.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » July 9, 2010, 8:13 pm

vn_Tanc wrote:Bhopal: 15000 dead, 0 presidential visits, $450m compensation agreed after 25 years.

Those are brown people, it's OK.

Of course I think their own govt turned a blind eye too, so... Can't stop those kickbacks afterall.

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » July 10, 2010, 4:40 am

Canelek wrote:
valryte wrote:
Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!
Lets see...Florida...

Hurricanes, Oil Spills, God Awful humidity, flat as a pancake, rednecks galore, no waves to surf, bible belt right above it, bugs

omg! Sign me up for this wonderland!
Thankfully the incredibly hot woman in Miami make up for how shitty the rest of the state is

Well I am sure she is a busy woman then.

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » July 12, 2010, 8:41 am

Aabidano wrote:
vn_Tanc wrote:Bhopal: 15000 dead, 0 presidential visits, $450m compensation agreed after 25 years.
Those are brown people, it's OK.

Of course I think their own govt turned a blind eye too, so... Can't stop those kickbacks afterall.

Ah so perhaps the two disasters are more similar than I originally suspected!

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » July 12, 2010, 10:40 am

The've finally got the old head off and freed up the flow...

Noysyrump · Post by **Noysyrump** » July 22, 2010, 4:11 am

Xyun wrote:Every time I see pics of the animals and wildlife it makes me sick to my stomach. Although BP is the culprit here, I think the blame lies with all of us. I'm doing everything I can to lower my oil consumption as much as possible. That's all I can do. The problem is our society is not built in a way that can be changed very easily. I still have to drive to work. The best thing the government can do right now is improve the safe guards and regulation dramatically.

On a side note, I fucking HATE conservatives. Even with a giant oil spill at their fucking doorstep, you still can't convince these idiots their mantras of "drill baby drill" and "deregulate" are completely and utterly fucking asinine.

So how comfortable are clogs anyway? I'm guessing your wooden computer is solar powered? I dont think you get exactly how dependant modern life is on the gooey stuff. Plastics are found in everything... Need oil to make the plastics. Need oil to trasport the goods to your airconditioned stores. It's not just driving.

Personaly I'm for nationalization, not deregulation, but hey I'm not the guy with the checkbook who actually found the stuff, so I have little say about the matter.

However, realisticly... this spill, as bad as it may be, will be forgotten by the masses the second Starcraft II hits the shelves, or Paris Hilton's boob next shows up on the internet. Everyone will have forgotten it in 5 years (or less).

miir · Post by **miir** » July 22, 2010, 10:52 am

Just like everyone has forgotten the Exxon Valdez, righjt?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 22, 2010, 12:47 pm

miir wrote:Just like everyone has forgotten the Exxon Valdez, righjt?

Nope! That was the name of the boat in Waterworld.

BTW, what up with google's image search? They went all ajax on us.

Noysyrump · Post by **Noysyrump** » July 23, 2010, 7:58 pm

miir wrote:Just like everyone has forgotten the Exxon Valdez, righjt?

Yeh cause the Valdez incident gets regular air time and is often the topic of discusion at my parties... That was sarcasm by the way...

Walk outside right now. Find a 20something and ask them about the Valdez. 20 plat says they wont have a clue. Now people who were there, as in us old folks, will remember when its brought up. But honestly it's not something I've thought about more than once after they cleaned that mess up until this current mess.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » July 24, 2010, 12:26 am

This photograph was taken in 2008:

Mak · Post by **Mak** » July 24, 2010, 2:41 am

Spang wrote:This photograph was taken in 2008:

That really makes me sad.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » July 24, 2010, 8:42 pm

Noysyrump wrote:
miir wrote:Just like everyone has forgotten the Exxon Valdez, righjt?
Yeh cause the Valdez incident gets regular air time and is often the topic of discusion at my parties... That was sarcasm by the way...

Walk outside right now. Find a 20something and ask them about the Valdez. 20 plat says they wont have a clue. Now people who were there, as in us old folks, will remember when its brought up. But honestly it's not something I've thought about more than once after they cleaned that mess up until this current mess.

I can honestly say I've thought about it every time I've needed gas and drove past an Exxon (or Mobile now) in search of another station. To this day I refuse to shop at Exxon/Mobile and now BP.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 30, 2010, 11:23 am

BP plans $100M fund for jobless riggers

I totally misread that headline today.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » August 2, 2010, 1:45 pm

Now we've got the question of where did the oil go? I've heard guesses that it's pooled up on the bottom, drifting in suspended clouds, etc...

The wife and I were at North Beach this weekend, absolutely beautiful. Parking lot was mostly empty when we left at noon, didn't see a single out of state plate. It's usually packed.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » August 2, 2010, 2:44 pm

We have a local oil spill in Marshall, MI, which has made the national news. About a million gallons (850,000 total from the company) was lost into the Kalamazoo River due to a broken pipe. The entire area (20+ mile spread at least) reeks of oil. It smells like you're in a garage with no ventilation. Our hospital has treated an alarming number of asthma attacks and also a surprising amount of direct exposures. I'm not a wuss by any means, but the smell is often unbearable (especially mixed with high heat and humidity). Local animal shelters have reported about 250 animals that they have managed to clean up, with about 50 deaths.

I took a tour of the river yesterday, taking pictures along a 5-6 mile stretch at various points. Holy shit it's so very, very bad. There's a 2-3 foot black oil mark along both banks of the river for the entire distance that I saw. The river itself has an oil sheen across it's entire length. Globs of black oil the size of beach balls float across the surface, with hundreds of smaller globs flowing with the current. The river is shut down. I posted the pics on my Facebook for my friends that are unable to see it for themselves.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » August 2, 2010, 2:49 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fixNwHrGr0

Here's a good youtube of our local spill. He even visits some of the same sites that I did for my pictures.

miir · Post by **miir** » December 15, 2010, 6:23 pm

I'm sure the right will find some way to spin this and make Obama look bad.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-1 ... spill.html

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » December 15, 2010, 6:46 pm

The Obama administration sued

Seems an odd way to word it. I'd think the people involved could easily predate Bush and likely Clinton.