Posts
Oil spill: Gulf of Mexico disaster 'growing by the moment'
This article has a nice graphic of the well head including an image taken of the robot submersible of the robot arm doing it's work. I see that there isn't a problem getting up to the well head and its BOP or Blow Out Preventer. So, is the problem electrical with the switches? Or is it a failure of an electronic or mechanical component? Is this something that can be repaired? If not, then why not?
Friday, April 30, 2010
Gulf Coat Oil Spill - Do The Math
Stopping Gulf Coast oil leak could take weeks
Let's do the math
It is 4/30/2010
The leak has been going from the 20th, 10 days so far.
Each day it has leaked 5000 barrels.
The Exxon Valdez spilled 250,000 barrels of oil.
250,000 / 5000 = 50
Which means that it will take 50 days from the 20th to spill as much oil as did the Exxon Valdez.
It has already been 10 days from the 20th of April, 2010. So, we have another 40 days until it is equal in volume to the previous oil spill disaster.
The thing about this situation, is that it is potentially a leak which will keep on spilling oil into the ocean continuously, for months or even years if nothing is done to stop it.
It will take 30 days to cap the spill. Let's hope that it works.
In the mean time, they will try shutting the valve with the submersibles.
Because I really know nothing about the valve or the equipment and surrounding environment, I can't say why the remote control submersibles can't close the valve, but I would find that out exactly to be sure. I wish that I could download all of the camera movies from the submersibles, but that isn't possible. Without knowing I can't offer any suggestions.
I also want to know the pressure of the oil shooting out of the leaks. Is it above normal? Could that be hampering closure efforts?
Let's do the math
It is 4/30/2010
The leak has been going from the 20th, 10 days so far.
Each day it has leaked 5000 barrels.
The Exxon Valdez spilled 250,000 barrels of oil.
250,000 / 5000 = 50
Which means that it will take 50 days from the 20th to spill as much oil as did the Exxon Valdez.
It has already been 10 days from the 20th of April, 2010. So, we have another 40 days until it is equal in volume to the previous oil spill disaster.
The thing about this situation, is that it is potentially a leak which will keep on spilling oil into the ocean continuously, for months or even years if nothing is done to stop it.
It will take 30 days to cap the spill. Let's hope that it works.
In the mean time, they will try shutting the valve with the submersibles.
Because I really know nothing about the valve or the equipment and surrounding environment, I can't say why the remote control submersibles can't close the valve, but I would find that out exactly to be sure. I wish that I could download all of the camera movies from the submersibles, but that isn't possible. Without knowing I can't offer any suggestions.
I also want to know the pressure of the oil shooting out of the leaks. Is it above normal? Could that be hampering closure efforts?
OIL SPILL - A few technical details
Today I spoke with a friend who knows somebody in the oil industry who has exposure to the undersea drilling business. My friend said that it was likely that the reason why there was a problem with the Deepwater Horizon is because this was such a deep well, that there was a tremendous amount of pressure, more than anticipated. The deeper the well, the more pressure there is. Basically, drilling this deep is something new, and people still don't know everything about how to do it properly.
As more and more older wells run dry, more and more new wells will need to be dug. These newer wells will need to be drilled deeper and deeper to get at the oil which is still present in the earth. Much of these new wells will need to be undersea wells.
I am open to suggestions on using less energy, as well as creating new sources of energy which will be less hazardous to the environment.
As more and more older wells run dry, more and more new wells will need to be dug. These newer wells will need to be drilled deeper and deeper to get at the oil which is still present in the earth. Much of these new wells will need to be undersea wells.
I am open to suggestions on using less energy, as well as creating new sources of energy which will be less hazardous to the environment.
Fishing Industry - The Oil Spill - And Industrial Hemp
Gulf Coast oil spill threatens to shut down Louisiana’s commercial fishing industry
Gulf Coast braces for an oily mess
I know that of the several reasons why people eat seafood, that consuming essential fatty acids is one of them. EFAs are essential for many healthy body functions. Our society gets it's EFAs mostly from eating seafood. But, this does put some pressure on the oceans to produce enough for everyone. As a vegetarian, I know that hemp seed oil is also a great source of EFAs. The problem is that it is illegal to grow industrial hemp in the United States. Hemp is a prolific producer. Hemp oil should be the same price as canola oil, or soybean oil. But, rather, it is quite expensive, and not widely available. The U.S. government should lift the ban on growing industrial hemp so that we can have an alternative source of EFAs. This is especially true now because seafood will become more scarce as more oil spills degrade the ability of the ocean to produce seafood. Also, overfishing is a concern. Eventually, fish will be priced out of the reach of poor consumers and they will not be able to afford one of the diet's necessary nutrients.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)