Dave,

I read that post at AB. Its really interesting how you have examined it. I wonder why BP has not been more proactive with this.

Hey Dave,

Very Good article!

Funny,
I have NO IDEA why these corporate schmucks are NOT asking the general public for help????

There's MILLIONS of us "regular folk" with great ideas that (I'm SURE) would love to help. Sad, because we probably could have had this thing nipped in the bud WEEKS AGO!

Even my Father and I had come up with a great idea that should work!

Damn shame

Chris

The American public is too accustomed to quick fixes. BP and the Oil Industry knew from the start that the only solution to the problem was drilling a relief well. Problem: drilling a relief well can take 2-3 months but people want fast solutions. Problem: the relief well has a slim possibility of not working and the oil may be gushing for another 6-7 months.....etc........

The main culprit, IMO, is Barack Obama. The man should have started cleanup operations 2 months ago. Other culprits: environmentalists who have forced the oil industry into the water because they want to protect forrests, national parks etc....

You Americans?!?! Quick fix?!?! That well is leaking with 70,000-100,000 P.S.I. What do you think happens if that well head fails, or a breech in the Ocean floor opens up? You think it's just going to be an American problem then? You ready for BILLIONS OF BARELLS of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico? You think it would stay there? Or would billions of barrels of crude oil travel throughout the worlds oceans? There were problems with this well long before the blowout. They're calling for the first relief well to hit in August. Yet another lie! I will consider it lucky if it's done by September and won't be shocked if it goes into October. That well may not last until then. If it doesn't the world will feel its wrath, not just the Gulf coast. If that happens and you start seeing the pictures that you see from the Gulf now only it's Nova Scotia you will be singing a different tune!

Did you even read my article?

Dave

Dave,

Well, I just read your article.....Man, just when I thought I had blocked some crap out of my head for the day..I read that!!!!

Your examples are perfect for the layman and the folks that don't like to get too technical.

And yeh, I fear that there is a major issue just as you pointed out, that they are not telling the rest of the people. If it WAS as simple as clipping it off, or capping it, it would have been the "easy" fix. The media has only talked abou the difficulty of working on things at that depth and the water pressures, etc. And only in the interview you posted have I seen anything about the crack or seam in the seabed.

I did hear one "expert" try to blow off the size of the thing by stating (paraphrasing here) 'there are natural oil leaks all around the world that have little impact, so why should we think this is going to do such major damage as long as they get it closed soon enough'. That was several weeks ago!!

Your spot on and I think we are going to see some major impact on all of us (not just the cost of gas!) in the near future.

Thanks for the insight and work.

Andy S.

This I feel IMHO needs to be considered a World Wide problem and a big lesson must be learned from it so that we can reduce the likelihood of this happening again on such a large scale.

Thanks for taking the time to read it and the kind words Andy.

Dave

If the problem could have been fixed, don't you think BP would have fixed it by now? My main point was that no matter how long and loud you bark the problem will continue until the relief wells are completed and even then it may not be enough to resolve the issue. If it were up to me I'd concentrate more on the cleanup operations which have been pretty stagnate from the start. I also wonder how many other oil companies passed inspection for their deep-water drilling platforms. What qualifications do these government inspectors have? Where is their accountability in all this mess? I never said "You Americans"!!!

The American public... you Americans... sounds like semantics if you ask me.

Sorry, I have no faith in BP. So, for me to think if they could have fixed the problem they would doesn't fly with me. I'm not barking about it, I'm pointing out the facts about a secondary leak. Let me tell you there are far brighter minds in the world than working at BP. The problem like almost any problem CAN be solved. Just because BP can't solve it doesn't mean someone else can't. So, rather than p--- and moan about it I'm working on a solution. Will it work? Perhaps. Will they use it? Of course not! But, that's really not the point. The point is to try. Or should I just tell the young people who I influence in my life that this solvable problem is just too hard?

Dave

You sound annoyed. The phrase "The American public" denotes respect whereas "you Americans" doesn't. There is a difference.

BP has called upon all the world's top minds to find a solution but it seems that the relief well is their best bet. They are progressing as fast as is humanly possible. If they go any faster they'll miss their mark. Are TransOcean and Halliburton also partly responsible? Who knows or maybe no one is telling the complete story.

"The problem like almost any problem CAN be solved. Just because BP can't solve it doesn't mean someone else can't."

So why hasn't anyone stepped up to the plate with the solution? My guess is that there are no realistic quick solutions at this time. BP is at the point where they'd use anybody's solution just to get out of this mess.

You should tell young people to read American history, all the solutions are there.

I'm not annoyed yet, but you're splitting hairs. I am simply saying how I feel. If you want to get caught up in the blame game and clean up that's fine with me. Who should we blame? Let's see... BP used a well design not suitable for the substantial pressure of the well itself. They have an under engineered well casing and a bad concrete job. They replaced drilling mud with sea water to speed up drilling. Then you can use the other hand to point at the corruption in the MMS and go from there.

"So why hasn't anyone stepped up to the plate with the solution? My guess is that there are no realistic quick solutions at this time"

So, what is it you are saying? Just because the problem hasn't been solved yet everyone should just give up trying? If you want to wait for BP to solve the problem that's fine. I'll pass on that one. If they have the brightest minds working on this thing they aren't very bright! Furthermore, the whole point of my article was to point out the potential for a secondary leak or leaks. Therefore, those who are trying to solve the problem have a much better shot at doing so because they know the dynamics of the problem. Dynamics that BP and the Government aren't saying. You seem to keep missing the intent of the article.

All that being said if you think only BP and the people working with BP can solve this problem I will respect that. However, I will wholeheartedly disagree with you as well.

"You should tell young people to read American history, all the solutions are there."

American history isn't something I will be relying on to teach the young people in my life. You lead by example, not by tossing a book at them and saying "read that".

Dave

American history is very important because in it you'll find that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around. Don't you think that a lot of people who are talking now will change their story when the investigation and trials begin?

If the secondary leak or leaks open up in the ocean floor nothing else will matter. Not who's fault it is, not who is guilty, none of that will mean anything! Will that happen? I don't know! Nor does anyone else. I sure HOPE it doesn't happen!

Now one thing YOU obviously don't understand about our judicial system is justice is green. How do you think O.J. Simpson got away with murder? I hate to rip your blinders off but justice is bought and sold in this country every day. You are right though. At the core of it is an honorable system. But, thats not the system that is used in the country. Its ALL about money isnt it always?

Dave

To be honest with you I really can't understand why we're drilling for oil on the ocean floor when there are safer places to get it. I know justice doesn't really exist, most of the people responsible will probably get suspended sentences with community service or minuscule fines. The funny thing about OJ is that he's doing time for trying to get his property back.

I feel your pretty off base here Adriano, especially in your defense of BP. I think your comments ares misguided and insensitive.

Never forget that BP has a ton of self interest in reclaiming the oil, not just saving their public relations. It's this simple fact that, IMO, caused so much time to be wasted in trying "solutions" that involved being able to still reclaim oil, as opposed to just shutting the leak down. To do that wouldn't be in BP's financial interest's, would it? I believe this to still be at play when BP discusses "solutions", including relief well drilling. BP is the biggest corporate pig involved in this mess, and the entire spill is a result of their greed and incompetence.

I think perhaps you assume that BP has a significant amount of knowledge in dealing with this sort of problem...THEY DO NOT! They spend all their money and resources on trying to get oil, NOT on how to clean it up. For heaven's sake, Kevin Costner has put more thought and resources into such a venture with his centrifuge effort!

Off shore drilling should be illegal and should be ceased immediately, IMO. It's not safe and the amount of oil that is captured does not justify the environmental danger and damage.

The government definitely has earned critism, including Obama, but if you really want to blame some one, blame the previous administration who changed the laws to take power away from the government to respond to an oil leak accident, and put in the hands of the responsible corporation. Thank you Bush, thank you Exxon, thank you political corporate corruption.

At least Obama was tough enough to make BP put billions in escrow for people effected by this disaster, a move that is unprecedented.

If you are a European, you should be concerned not with defending BP, but with the natural gas drilling which could soon take place in your own backyard...a misguided venture that Europe is about to embark on due to their own energy shortages that would have catastrophic consequences on the environment and water supply.

Perhaps you need to read more "american history"...or better yet, current events.

Rant complete.

BP may go bankrupt because of this, so how is not stopping the leak in their best interests?

Stopping the leak is in everyone's best interests.

I think most people expect that a company that deals with oil wells everyday would have been more prepared for potential problems like this one.

What if nuclear power plants...............................................we're cooked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!

One would hope that they have emergency plans and preparations in place too. I don't happen to live near one. There was a problem several years back at Three Mile Island.

Yeah, I live near T.M.I. and it was not the most enjoyable ride. My family all took off and left the State. It was just me and my Dad left. I asked him if things got worse would we be leaving. He said he couldn't leave his cattle! Damn farmers!

Dave

I was trying to stay away from this thread but Adriano, we would be toast except for the Cockroaches. Either that or we would have muted severly.

If a relief well is needed, do we know if it has even been started?

They started two of them. The first is supposed to hit the well pipe in August. They say they are ahead of schedule. It's about a 50/50 chance they work.

Dave

Dave, nicely written and thought-out piece of work. Really.
Makes me think that we need more chemical engineers and far, far fewer bass players.
(toungue in cheek, certainly).
I will, however, need to saute' me seafood in far less olive oils!
Nice to see ya keeping us straight. Take care, Bud
Craig

LOL! Just had to get that little bass player jab in there didn't ya...LOL!

Yep, seafood is coming pre-oiled these days!

Thanks Craig,

Dave

And we can tell the tourists it's good for their skin. A free hot-oil treatment with every swim!