The Gulf, Oil, and Consequences.

[Speederlander]

These were stolen shamelessly from thunderstruck in the xtremespeakfreely forum. Some of these have been posted here already by others.

After it is done decimating the environment in the immediate term, this oil should stay safely in the environment (and the food chain) for years.

[Sparky]

It's a mess.

But oil is a necessary "evil" given that not only is it a source of fuel, but lubricant, plastics... heck most stuff has something petroleum-based in it.

My thoughts on this, to avoid it happening, is to just drill on land. A busted pipe is then no big deal. Not to mention cheaper and safer on land than in the water. Analyze what went wrong with this, what to do to prevent it from happening again... I'm not against offshore drilling, just needs to be done carefully.

This isn't the first, nor the worst, oil spill in the world. Its just really deep and hard to get to the source (but I heard BP may be near stopping it up soon?). It isn't like BP doesn't care about this, heck they do, their image is getting dragged through it, not to mention how much this is costing them in fines and cleanup, and of course the lost revenue from the well....

Now I'm just rambling.


I do, however, think that this does NOT belong on XS, for the very reason that it is 99.9% likely to turn political in nature, which is not permitted here.

[Hondo=TFD=]

Very very sad and disgusting! Just wait until hurricane season, it will dump all this inland

[thunderstruck!]

This isn't the first, nor the worst, oil spill in the world.

Yes, it is the worst oil spill in world history. That is a fact.

But oil is a necessary "evil" given that not only is it a source of fuel, but lubricant, plastics... heck most stuff has something petroleum-based in it.

So how about moving away from oil? The only reason deepwater drilling has ramped up is because land reserves are drying up.

[Sparky]

Yes, it is the worst oil spill in world history. That is a fact.


So how about moving away from oil? The only reason deepwater drilling has ramped up is because land reserves are drying up.

It says "if", not fact. Just saying

What do you propose we replace oil with?

It's called, accidents happen. BIG ones too... gotta learn from it, and move on. So what do we learn from this spill? What precautions need to be taken before drilling the next well? That's what we should be asking ourselves, how to prevent such a thing from happening in the future.

[[XC] riptide]

Looks to me like one of those open sewers in Ohio...

[Speederlander]

That's what we should be asking ourselves, how to prevent such a thing from happening in the future.

Item one is guaranteed personal consequences (financial and criminal) for everyone involved if safety is knowingly bypassed, from the line guy to his supervisor right up to the CEO and the board of directors and not forgetting the regulator who may have shirked his/her job.

[Sn0wm@n]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo they allready got to the dolphins .... poor creatures

It says "if", not fact. Just saying

What do you propose we replace oil with?

bio-butanol and bio diesel for diesel engine

[demonkevy666]

can we hire all the people out of jobs for clean up ?
only way I can think of not making this become worse for the gulf economy.

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Those pics say it all.

/offtopic/i hope this doesn't turn into another thread where everyone is having a major rant about the oil spill.

[saaya]

thx for the pics

but hey, lets continue to drill, people might lose their jobs if we stop and i dont want gas prices to go up!

[Judaeus Apella]

/offtopic/i hope this doesn't turn into another thread where everyone is having a major rant about the oil spill.

I thought you'd never ask!

What we need to do is strictly watch these oil companies and watch the people watching them to avoid bribing and corruption. We need to strictly control them, and make them pay for the R&D needed to be prepared for the next time this happens. Oil companies have been getting away with a LOT for a very long time, but no one does anything... despite all the exposed corruption and greed over the years, not enough is being done. I just don't feel like the government has as much control as corporations do in this country, and that NEEDS to be rectified! I always see someone talking about it, and occasionally the topic is raised (car companies, oil companies, food companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc)... but in the end, it blows over and everything goes back to the way it was. And now all these poor animals are suffering because of the greed of this miserable company of sharks.... and after weeks and weeks and weeks... not nearly enough is being done still. It really just makes me sick. I'm just disgusted with the whole thing.

I heard someone left a pipe bomb on the front porch of a oil company big wig... and it exploded in his wife's hands. And you know, I don't blame who ever did it. I don't condone it, but I don't blame them. After all the years of corruption and greed, and now this... I don't blame them at all. I won't be surprised if this starts happening more often.

[gillll]

don't have words to describe the feeling.
actions are needed words are kind of meaningless for now.

[n00b 0f l337]

Well damn, now the mermaid's are extinct

[Kallenator]

bio-butanol and bio diesel for diesel engine

That unfortunately is no solution. Our planet is not big enough for us to be able to make fuel out of food.

I have an idea, a very "strange" one that consumers don't generally like, drive less and buy less.

[Sparky]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo they allready got to the dolphins .... poor creatures




bio-butanol and bio diesel for diesel engine

OK - say we take care of an alternative for gasoline and diesel fuel.

What about all the other stuff? Crude is used for so much more than fuel. Various types of plastics, used for everything. Vinyl too, I believe. And nylon as well. And all sorts of other stuff we use every day has components make from crude. What to replace all of that stuff with?

[Chumbucket843]

what's with the idiots touching the oil (or even swimming in it)? even if you dont know why it's bad for you dont you see it killing everything?

[Speederlander]

What to replace all of that stuff with?

Until there is an incentive to do so, either through shortage or excessive damage to the planet or other sources, we won't know what other options exist. Keep in mind, we have been a "plastic" society only really for the last 40 years or so. Where is the VAST MAJORITY of plastic going? My guess is packaging. Perhaps there are paper substitutes? Perhaps other alternatives? Perhaps we don't need everything in clear plastic in Toys R Us? Cut plastic consumption and you cut the need for the petroleum which is required to make it. You need a substantial change in both consumer and producer attitudes.

[Chumbucket843]

this is where there plastic is going. maybe this wasnt the best thing to add to this thread.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_P..._Garbage_Patch

[Sparky]

Until there is an incentive to do so, either through shortage or excessive damage to the planet or other sources, we won't know what other options exist. Keep in mind, we have been a "plastic" society only really for the last 40 years or so. Where is the VAST MAJORITY of plastic going? My guess is packaging. Perhaps there are paper substitutes? Perhaps other alternatives? Perhaps we don't need everything in clear plastic in Toys R Us? Cut plastic consumption and you cut the need for the petroleum which is required to make it. You need a substantial change in both consumer and producer attitudes.

So.... your solution to finding something else, is to force the issue by creating the shortage before there is anything else known to replace it with? Like with fuel, forget the fact we don't have something else to replace gasoline with, let's just force it anyway...

How about no. I'd rather be looking for something else, while we still have the current stuff to work with. I'd rather not destroy people's wallets, budgets, and economy by trying to force something that frankly there may not be a good replacement for. Packaging, yes, I agree with you there - I HATE those bulletproof clamshell packages anyway. There are alternatives for that kind of thing. I've seen corn husk-based "plastic" before for cups for example. But other, more important stuff, that's harder.

[Speederlander]

So.... your solution to finding something else, is to force the issue by creating the shortage before there is anything else known to replace it with? Like with fuel, forget the fact we don't have something else to replace gasoline with, let's just force it anyway...

How about no. I'd rather be looking for something else, while we still have the current stuff to work with. I'd rather not destroy people's wallets, budgets, and economy by trying to force something that frankly there may not be a good replacement for. Packaging, yes, I agree with you there - I HATE those bulletproof clamshell packages anyway. There are alternatives for that kind of thing. I've seen corn husk-based "plastic" before for cups for example. But other, more important stuff, that's harder.

Funny, I don't recall putting a specific path forward that involved forcing anything on anyone. Perhaps you could point that statement out to me? I did indicate that the only major incentives ultimately will be shortage, or extreme environment damage, etc. But future problems never seem to provide an incentive for today in our throw-away culture of consumption and waste and living for the moment.

[Sparky]

Funny, I don't recall putting a specific path forward that involved forcing anything on anyone. Perhaps you could point that statement out to me? I did indicate that the only major incentives ultimately will be shortage, or extreme environment damage, etc. But future problems never seem to provide an incentive for today in our throw-away culture of consumption and waste and living for the moment.

This is where I concluded that from:

Until there is an incentive to do so, either through shortage or excessive damage to the planet or other sources, we won't know what other options exist.

Maybe I took it a little too far, but it sounded to me like you were suggesting it needs to be forced. You state it as an either/or, nothing in between. Obviously you wouldn't be pushing to cause damage, so I concluded you must be pushing for the other that you listed - a shortage.

[Sn0wm@n]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_o...el_crop_yields look at the bottom for algea and how much it can yield

and im sure that they will figure out what crop or means to produce oil derivative so that we can make plastic and all those other by products for our everyday life .....

[Judaeus Apella]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_o...el_crop_yields look at the bottom for algea and how much it can yield

and im sure that they will figure out what crop or means to produce oil derivative so that we can make plastic and all those other by products for our everyday life .....

According to wiki:

To be competitive and independent from fluctuating support from (local) policy on the long run, biofuels should equal or beat the cost level of fossil fuels. Here, algae based fuels hold great promise, directly related to the potential to produce more biomass per unit area in a year than any other form of biomass. The break-even point for algae-based biofuels should be within reach in about ten years

10 years?

[Sparky]

According to wiki:

10 years?

10 years isn't that bad. Even the lowball estimates of how much oil is left gives us much more time than that.