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The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico worsens literally by the minute, with the addition of an estimated 3.5 barrels of crude. That's more than 200,000 gallons of oil a day adding to a slick that now covers an area roughly the size of Delaware. And some experts estimate the spill could actually be as much as 10 times worse.
That would make BP's Gulf spill already worse than the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which discharged roughly 11 million gallons of oil off Alaska. But it would take two more years of spillage to catch up to another deep-water catastrophe: a blowout in an exploratory well off the coast of Mexico in 1979.
That spill took more than a year to stop, spewing an estimated 140 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. And that is dwarfed by the willful spill of oil by Iraq's Saddam Hussein, who dumped roughly one billion gallons of oil during the 1991 Gulf War, at least a quarter of it into the Arabian Gulf.
Regardless, the aftereffects of an oil spill are likely to last for a long time. Twenty years after Exxon Valdez, puddles of crude oil can still be found in Prince William Sound.
—David Biello
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16 Comments
Add CommentThing is, this one is just getting started. Unlike the Exxon Valdez, this is a gusher with an unknown upper limit. And unlike the IXTOC I (the record-holder) which took a year to stop, this well is 5000 feet down.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscan the pollution of sea due to oil spillage be eradicated by using soap solution ?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisChuck Darwin - Yeah, but, see, on the bright side, it's not so bad, now, is it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://bp.concerts.com/gom/crater_plume.htm
Oil is obviously flowing from the lower part of the mangled pipe while something much lighter in color (methane?) is bubbling from the top. It looks like it'd be a difficult job to pump anything in there, even if it was at the surface. Again, this 'junk shot' may or may not work under these 'gassy' conditions - I hope it does.
it's clear that this is a disaster, however I'm wondering what was the outcome from the previous disasters? could it be the outcome is not as damaging as predicted?I'm not being obnoxious here these are real questions considering I have not heard of long term damage from the earlier spills in Mexico or in Iraq. Are there long term reports from either of those.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suspect soap would change the problem, but where are you going to find megatons of soap. Solvents in use now keep it off land but it's just spreading on the seafloor.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere have been some long term studies made of past disasters.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisdrafter - Did you follow the dynamic links (highlighted, underlined text) in the story above? There's a lot more info there than it appears...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishave you been to school Mr. Biello? Arabian Gulf? you mean the Persian Gulf? it makes me wonder......
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs it my imagination or have the fossil fuel energy companies simply run amok in this country? A West Virginia coal mine operating company kills dozens of its own workers and endangers hundreds of others after hundreds of safety violations; an oil company in the Gulf of Mexico kills eleven of its workers while endangering perhaps a hundred others and shuts down the country's second largest seafood industry for God only knows how long.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMeanwhile it points its fingers at its subcontractors as the culprits but claims that "we will pay for all the damages anyway" while knowing full well
that the US Congress has limited its liability to a piddling $75 million (less than half of the James City County budget for next year) in TOTAL damages out of what will likely be untold billions!
When will the US Government and the American people wake up and demand that we switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, if not to "save the
Planet", but then simply to put a leash on these fossil fuel energy companies
That threaten our very way of life and well being with seeming impunity?
Transocean, the company that actually did the drilling, had a I have read that very high insurance contract in case of a disaster like this. The company not only will cover its participation in compensations and cleanup costs, but will actually make a net profit of 270 million dollars. This should be enough to make all, especially the governments, to re-think our environmental, financial and energy policies. It's time to get our priorities straight.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the machine industry we use a water soluble oil as a cutting fluid to cool and lubricate the cutting tool during machining.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis coolant is constantly contaminated by the oil used to lubricate the machine itself, drastically shortening the life of the
coolant.
To get around this problem we use a device called a skimmer.
This is nothing more than a plastic wheel, partially submerged in the coolant, that slowly rotates.
The contaminant oil sticks to the wheel and is removed from the coolant. A scraper on either side of the wheel then scrapes
most of the oil off of the wheel, which runs down a channel and into a storage container for proper disposal later.
This simple device could easily be upscaled and used in the gulf to remove and reclaim the crude oil contaminating the water.
They would be relativly inexpensive and quick to manufacture. The oil could be removed to barges which would be replaced
as theyb fill.
The point is, do SOMETHING!
As an incentive to get BP moving, the government should round up all BP officers, seize assets and introduce them to some
of the wonderful prison inmates they'll be sharing quarters with if they don't remove their heads from their asses, stop pointing
fingers and get their act together.
soaps or solvents are by far worse for the environment -- all things considered -- it sounds rather strange in light of what is going on and all the uproar overthis but we have to understand that oil is afterall a natural product however displaced and as such is counteracted itself naturally by the dilution , currents and salinity / other natural chemical presence-- us dumping soap in there would have much --MUCH-- worse
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShad, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Gulf, some things have more than one name.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShad. Calm down and take a breath.....those of us having been to school would know that the Arabian Gulf is the Persian Gulf; albeit not "properly" named so. Still many of us who in the area refer to it as the Arabian Gulf. I would not say he is incorrect for stating so.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhy don't we all just ride our bikes and walk to work/school? then we can stop killing millions of sea creatures as well as getting some fresh air. silly human beans...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this