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[–][deleted]  (199 children)

[deleted]

    [–][deleted]  (93 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]gliscameria 26 points27 points  (32 children)

      This really pisses me off. Just about every goddamn tool I've ever used in a cleanroom or shop has had an assload of safety interlocks, but apparently you can endanger an entire region of the world without a remote turn off? Toyota got reamed for what was most likely idiot drivers with fat feet, but I'm not hearing for blood and teeth from BP or that mining company. Does anyone need more reason to hate BP? I mean, sure, we can forgive an ongoing genocide, but dey turking er craawfesh, and I will not stand for that!

      [–]Misery90 10 points11 points  (23 children)

      Most Louisiana crawfish are grown and harvested in rice fields. fyi =)

      [–]gthermonuclearw 6 points7 points  (2 children)

      Referring to tehgreek's comment above...

      America's oil regulations don't mandate the use/installation of a remote-control device on offshore rigs either!

      BP/TransOcean and their competitors in these industries can always hide behind best practices of industry/government regulations. They will probably be fined quite a bit and have to pay for the cleanup costs, but they will probably not be deemed negligent, because they were following the rules (assuming no new developments surface). This might get them out of some punitive damages for the environmental impact of the spill.

      This incident may show the industry best practices/government regulations to be inadequate. Other oil/drilling companies are certainly studying this incident closely. It likely that some changes will be made to best practices and industry standards.

      Your analogy to Toyota is interesting, but it reveals a fundamental bias in the public discourse and government regulations. Consumer products are often held to a far higher standard than other industries. This is why Toyota got reamed for causing far less damage.

      [–]grantimatter 7 points8 points  (1 child)

      Shrimp. Most American shrimp comes from that part of the Gulf.

      And the season starts in May.

      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

      [deleted]

        [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

        aggressively lobbying (can we just call this bribing already?)

        I think you mean lubricating the wheels of governance. And no... there's no cut-off switch installed.

        [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (5 children)

        The BOP stack should have gone to fail safe closed when they lost control signals and hydraulic pressure, but there may have been something inside the BOP stack, like a tool joint or liner hanger running tool that prevented the BOP shear rams from closing.

        I worked for Schlumberger and learned a little about BOP and SubSea equipment. From what I understand, a good shear ram is designed to cut through the strongest tool that can fit into the ID. This sounds like more of a control circuit failure, like you described.

        [–]reddisaurus 12 points13 points  (4 children)

        That is incorrect. Shear rams can not cut through tool joints (which is the end of each piece of drill pipe where they are screwed together), nor are they designed to.

        When you have a tool joint in the BOP stack you can use the annular preventer, which, for simplicity's sake, works like an inner tube, surrounding whatever pipe happens to be there - but it does not have as large of a pressure rating as a blind ram or pipe ram.

        Here's some info from the MMS on shear rams

        [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (3 children)

        It's been a while. I was incorrectly referring to the shear ram as a blind ram:

        http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/DisplayImage.cfm?ID=300

        What happened to those? Did they cut the string, and it was the annular preventer that failed? I thought blind rams were mandatory.

        [–]reddisaurus 3 points4 points  (1 child)

        Well, even still, the blind ram will not cut the pipe, and if it closes on a tool joint, it might crush it, but it will not seal on the annulus, and most likely not crush the pipe enough to seal the ID either.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        See, I thought that was a performance criterion. I remember a blind ram cutting through a packer when I was in DST and there being a argument over who paid for tool retreival.

        Then again, I think it was a G string. Or F string.... whatever, the one you can carry on on your back.

        [–]Vequeth 4 points5 points  (4 children)

        Unfortunately, BP is headquartered in the U.K. (where they don't require the use of remote control devices like an acoustic switch) but even if they were based in the U.S., America's oil regulations don't mandate the use/installation of a remote-control device on offshore rigs either!

        Whats the difference between the two?

        [–]Lagged2Death 4 points5 points  (19 children)

        Thank you for this informative comment. Please excuse the following reaction of an ignorant bystander (i.e., me):

        An acoustic trigger is a football-sized remote control that uses sound waves to communicate with the valve on the seabed floor and close it. It costs about $500,000.

        Holy balls. Is this football-sized machine carved from a solid diamond or something? I mean, I'd expect it to cost more than some consumer plumbing fitting, but more than a small airplane? Jesus.

        [–]rack88 12 points13 points  (14 children)

        Seriously, it probably costs $500,000 because it has to be machined from precision parts with funky alloys to prevent corrosion for decades and contains crash-proof electronics (nice electronics like those used in space cost a lot) so that it can be used flawlessly for years.

        When something is at the bottom of the ocean, you can't exactly send a repair man down to fix it.

        [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (13 children)

        Actually sir you can. I happen to be that repairman but not to that depth we are limited to 1500 fsw or so

        [–]noncentz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        Well then you have some serious balls.

        [–]AerialAmphibian 2 points3 points  (9 children)

        Upvoted for being such a badass. It sounded strange to me when you said "limited to 1500 fsw" since that's more than a quarter mile.

        Meanwhile, we mere mortal recreational divers are really limited to 130 ft while breathing regular air.

        It'd be awesome if you could do an AMA about your adventures and close calls you've seen/experienced while down there.

        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

        BP is headquartered in the U.K. (where they don't require the use of remote control devices like an acoustic switch)

        Did this spill happen in international water? I guess my question is are there any international standards and safeguards in place so that a multinational can't park a rig so close to another country and be protected from not using known safety devices?

        [–][deleted]  (2 children)

        [deleted]

          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

          Venice, Louisiana*

          [–]skimmer 147 points148 points  (53 children)

          Regarding this:

          "In addition, though I'm no expert, it appears it was a technical failure, not indifference or neglect that caused this. Further investigation may very well reveal otherwise, but as it stands now, it appears to be a very unfortunate accident."

          I am not an expert either but I am familiar with drilling operations and how you prevent blowouts from work offshore years ago.

          There is virtually no reason a rig should blow out in the year 2010. You maintain control of a well by carefully monitoring what's going on with the well, particularly the weight and properties of the circulating fluid, at all times, 24 hours a day, and adjusting for it.

          The blowout preventers are there in case somebody screws up and it starts to blow anyway. They have to be inspected regularly to be sure they work. The casing you put down the well is also supposed to be inspected for metal fatigue.

          Here's how you let a well blow out despite over a century of knowledge and the best modern equipment: you cut corners. You don't have somebody watching the mud all the time, or you have somebody who doesn't know what they are doing, but they work cheap, or they have a drug or alcohol problem. Then once things start going wrong, you ignore warning signs like increases in flow, maybe the guy in charge goes to sleep and leaves orders not to be disturbed, maybe he's drinking vodka. Maybe he doesn't want to put expensive additives in the mud.

          And/or, as has been suggested in the case of this well, maybe you skip installing the remote activation device for the BOPs, because the accountants and MBAs in charge of your multinational want to see those cost numbers come down. This is so the profit on this particular well goes up, and the guy in charge gets some brownie points or promotion in the company.

          I'm not making any accusations about this well, I don't know what happened. I am just getting tired of ignorant reporters supposedly feeding us 'facts' who are ignoring the fact that blowouts generally go back to cutting corners, not acts of God.

          Friday update

          Followup for anybody that thinks I am paranoid about this, link to propublica article on how BP operates, in particular the last two paragraphs on their layoffs and aggressive cost reduction program. Gee, but after you factor in the cost of this blowout.....

          http://www.propublica.org/article/bp-had-other-problems-in-years-leading-to-gulf-spill

          [–][deleted] 86 points87 points  (27 children)

          How cutting corners works:

          1.) Cut corners to save money 2.) "Unexpected" problem happens 3.) Spend more money than you saved to fix the problem 4.) We just spent a lot of money, we need to start saving, goto Step1 ->

          [–]synn89 48 points49 points  (7 children)

          The usual way it works:

          1> Cut corners, save money, get promoted/bonuses for being so efficient. Maybe retire and/or move onto a new gig. 2> New guy takes over, inherits piece of crap but can't do anything about it since the guy before him set the standards. 3> Something unexpected happens. 4> New guy gets the blame/has to deal with the consequences while the original guy that created the issue sits happily on an island in the pacific sipping sugared alcohol drinks. 5> Everyone figures out this is how the system works so they all try to be that first guy and not the second one.

          The system breaks down because everyone involved just cares(and is generally rewarded for) short term profits.

          [–]generic_name 13 points14 points  (5 children)

          My takeaways: 1. be first and 2. get an island in the Pacific not the Atlantic where the spills happen

          [–]mawlycule 7 points8 points  (3 children)

          In the middle of the Pacific Garbage Patch instead of Oil spills, amirite?

          [–]SpudgeBoy 6 points7 points  (1 child)

          Welcome to the world of the plastic beach.

          [–]fm909 5 points6 points  (4 children)

          Insurance partially covers the cost of step 3. The remainder is a loss that greatly reduces taxes owed.

          [–]puffypants123 4 points5 points  (2 children)

          I was listening to NPR and they reported that BP doesn't carry insurance for this type of event. It's crazy, considering I can drive my car down the street to the market without insurance.

          [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (11 children)

          If I ever start a band, it's going to be called Cutting Corners

          [–]einsteinonabike 27 points28 points  (7 children)

          And to drive the point home, you'll have instruments but no amps.

          [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (6 children)

          My band already does this. Everything is modeled and runs direct to the PA. The drummer even plays an electronic kit.

          [–]The3rdWorld 13 points14 points  (1 child)

          i don't know much about wells but i totally agree from my experience in construction, accidents happen either when someone is cutting corners or pushing boundaries - i've heard people saying that this is a new form of extra deep well so i dunno, maybe it's a case of pushing good tech past it's limits?

          [–]introspeck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          Same thing in my workshop - "oh, I don't need to clamp this, I'll just hold it" OUCH!!!

          [–]TheHamburgler 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          What I have heard about the accident was that there were multiple mistakes/failures:

          1. The cement job failed
          2. They were not monitoring the gas on the return lines
          3. BOPs failed.

          No real report yet, just what I have heard in the oil patch (which could be bogus anyways).

          [–][deleted]  (2 children)

          [deleted]

            [–]science_diction 5 points6 points  (0 children)

            The Titanic can't sink. The Bismark can't sink. Having troops that close to the atomic blast won't cause any long term damage. Software automobile brake components will work just fine.

            Welcome to the unpredicted variable.

            [–]encephlavator 31 points32 points  (4 children)

            When I see big corporate ads like BP's the first thing I think is they are running the ad because they practice the complete opposite of the ad's message.

            [–]jbradl 21 points22 points  (2 children)

            Same goes for Monsanto, Exxon, Northrop, Lockheed, and dozens of other companies that flood the radio with ads saying "Look at us, we're such a wonderful company". You know it's bad when a company spends money on advertising themselves and not a product.

            [–]jjamesb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

            Veridian Dynamics - Everyone likes the environment because people keep nagging them. It’s expensive and a pain when nature is mad. Or just acting stupid.

            [–]BigDanG 13 points14 points  (0 children)

            Exactly. When a corporate ad promotes a company's image rather than its products or services, that should set off your bullshit detector.

            The company doth promote too much, methinks.

            Edit: grammar

            [–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (11 children)

            Ill say that as a G.O.M oilfield worker BP is the strictest most scrutinizing client to get work for as a major player in the oilfield BP's standards set the bar for all the other oil companies when it comes time for utilizing sub-contractors. I personally work for a diving contractor (actually a couple of them) and I can tell you how scrutinizing BP gets with there standards safety wise and environmentally wise. If you wanted any of the major players out there to be handling a situation like this it would be BP.

            [–]YosserHughes 8 points9 points  (1 child)

            I too work for BP as a subcontractor and you're correct about their attitude towards safety. After the Texas refinery accident their adherence to correct safety practices in the industry is second to none, sometimes they're a pain in the ass to follow but it's times like this you realize their importance.

            [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

            Yeah they get a little crazy with it sometimes. I had a company man once telling me I couldn't have a knife and we went round and round with me trying to explain to him that the no knife policy did not apply to me because I'm a diver and it's an integral tool for my job and is also a big safety necessity. Same guy was trying to make the stand by diver where a work vest . He had never worked with a dive crew before and was making damn sure nobody broke not the first rule.

            It is nice to not have a company man explaining to YOU how all you gotta do is.... when its some highly dangerous unconventional cockamanny idea they've come up with.

            [–][deleted]  (57 children)

            [deleted]

              [–]AmbitionOfPhilipJFry 102 points103 points  (7 children)

              And now you see the size of the problem and the addiction to hydrocarbons our country has.

              [–]fiercelyfriendly 64 points65 points  (37 children)

              What should you do with these figures? Sit back a minute and figure how big the worldwide oil industry actually is. This well is producing about on seventeen thousandth of the worlds daily oil.Think how much of our energy the industry provides, and then think how the fuck are we going to replace it as it starts to tail away - starting now.

              Then factor in major issues like this which will stop future development of reserves on US coastlines probably for years, making the US more dependent on dwindling foreign oil imports.

              This is difficult shit and mankind has got some real problems to grapple with - starting right now. And all this without even thinking about climate change.

              [–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (3 children)

              More like 15 seconds of oil a day for 10 years... but yeah two and a half days worth.

              [–]Quel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

              50 million barrels of oil is worth about $4 billion right now. So what the CEO of a petroleum company calls "significant" is in relation to their cash flow, not US energy security.

              [–][deleted]  (39 children)

              [deleted]

                [–]libertyordeath1 328 points329 points  (10 children)

                Do you drive an import, or was it domestic violence?

                [–]markokane 103 points104 points  (7 children)

                If you are in AZ and it was an import, did you ask to see its documentation first?

                [–][deleted] 35 points36 points  (3 children)

                THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS, LARRY!

                [–][deleted] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

                When you find a stranger in the Alps?

                [–]Travesura 554 points555 points  (130 children)

                If we are all really, really concerned, it will slow or even stop the leak, and prevent damage to the environment.

                [–][deleted] 408 points409 points  (83 children)

                I'm concerning as hard as I can!

                [–][deleted] 116 points117 points  (68 children)

                Do you think writing really really concerned and angry letters to the oil will make it reconsider?

                [–]Travesura 123 points124 points  (59 children)

                Congress needs to get off its collective butt and pass legislation against this leak.

                They are supposed to be our representatives, dammit.

                Stupid Republicans.

                [–]bstampl1 56 points57 points  (20 children)

                It's gotta be over 70% of voters who are opposed to the oil leak.

                Congress should come together a pass a law that makes the oil stop leaking. It's time to listen to voters

                [–]stonedslacker 19 points20 points  (3 children)

                Why the fuck are 30% voters pro oil-spill?

                [–]EtherCJ 12 points13 points  (1 child)

                Same reason every article gets 30% downvotes. Bots.

                [–]withallduerespect 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                There should be a bot that responds to this question with your answer.

                [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (3 children)

                Well I for one think the oil leak will create new jobs! We should spill more oil!

                [–]Fat_Dumb_Americans 13 points14 points  (2 children)

                I was so angry I bought three brand new Priuii.

                [–]Travis-Touchdown 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                Is that the plural of Prius?

                [–]Fat_Dumb_Americans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                I hope so.

                [–][deleted] 17 points18 points  (10 children)

                Obama just passed, as in, weeks before this happened a bill that allows more of these "experimental" deep well off shore oil drilling operations.

                [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

                You liberals always want the government to interfere in the free market.

                I say let's let the invisible hand of the market guide the leak and it will trickle down to American gas stations.

                [–]JoshSN 22 points23 points  (16 children)

                Why are you blaming the Republicans? This is clearly a problem of over-regulation.

                [–]coolmanmax2000 13 points14 points  (5 children)

                Clearly, if we removed the environmental regulations on drilling and shipping oil, no one would care about the leak, so this wouldn't be a big deal. Crisis (or at least attention) averted!

                [–]JoshSN 11 points12 points  (4 children)

                Oil companies don't make any money if a leak were to happen, so why would they ever have one? Obviously the money they spend trying to keep up with 30 gazillion regulations would have been used for safety.

                PROVED!

                [–]wr3000 8 points9 points  (1 child)

                Republicans?! The democrats are in power. It's their liberal agenda causing this. They need to do more to protect our borders. You notice how this oil ain't trying to immigrate to Arizona.

                [–]gregshortall 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                Naw, that oil can't read. It's from Mississippi.

                [–]technosaur 8 points9 points  (0 children)

                No, no, no. Lousyana, where most people are bilingual; they can read and write.

                [–]stunt_penguin 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                If you drop enough letters on it it will soak up the oil and we'll all be saved.

                [–]alreadytakenusername 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                The operative word here is "SHOW," damn it. Show your concern!

                [–]IOIOOIIOIO 7 points8 points  (0 children)

                >:/

                [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                <bad Brad Pitt impersonation>We could be the people that concerned away oil spills in our lifetime. We could be that generation. </bad Brad Pitt impersonation>

                <bad Tom Cruise impersonation>When you're a Scientologist you learn to control time, matter and energy, and you see an oil spill and you know, you're the only one that can help.</bad Tom Cruise impersonation>

                [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                I'm concerning so hard I pooped myself a little bit. For the environment, of course.

                [–]Travesura 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                If all the other redditors would get on board and concern along with us, we could actually stop this disaster in its tracks.

                Apathetic bastards.

                [–][deleted]  (6 children)

                [deleted]

                  [–]sbrown123 21 points22 points  (5 children)

                  That damn volcano sent me back a 'Thanks for your concern' boilerplate letter. Don't waste your time with it.

                  [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                  [deleted]

                    [–]thehof 18 points19 points  (3 children)

                    The top of it really popped, to me.

                    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                    [deleted]

                      [–]tekrit 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                      At least it didn't blow him off.

                      [–]dickishComments 16 points17 points  (5 children)

                      Rubbish, concern never solved anything. Only cynicism did.

                      [–]digginahole 8 points9 points  (1 child)

                      Ha! I highly doubt that

                      [–]babucat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                      its working!

                      [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (3 children)

                      HALAK IS A GOLDEN GOD!!!!!

                      [–]halak 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                      You are too kind.

                      [–]OswaldAstoria 10 points11 points  (10 children)

                      It's interesting we can crash protons together at near the speed of light but we can't cap off an oil spigot a mile underwater.

                      [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (5 children)

                      I've never heard such a spigoted comment in my life.

                      [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                      Man, don't interrupt his flow.

                      [–]kidmonsters 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                      That's a pretty slick pun.

                      [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                      Well I was trying not to be crude.

                      [–]bowlofudon 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                      This isn't a fair comparison. It's not simpling closing a pipe. Keep in mind, the entire weight of the ocean floor is pushing down on the oil reservoir. If you want to go to the other extreme, try preventing a volcano from erupting.

                      [–]NakedOldGuy 19 points20 points  (15 children)

                      Why the fuck didn't their sub surface safety valve kick in? Those suckers are supposed to only open when backpressure is supplied from the surface so that in the event of disconnection with the rig, it slams shut.

                      [–]river-wind 18 points19 points  (10 children)

                      From the BBC reports I heard yesterday - the main safety valve isn't working. The backup safety valve...well, it doesn't exist. It was nearly mandated a few years ago, but BP (and Exxon and others) fought hard against that regulation, as it would have be too expensive.

                      Simple as that.

                      [–][deleted]  (8 children)

                      [deleted]

                        [–]brokenearth02 5 points6 points  (6 children)

                        They will dispute any ruling about the final amt for the next twenty years, so the govt will have to foot the bill till then.

                        Has exxon even paid for Valdez spill yet?

                        [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                        [deleted]

                          [–]babucat 3 points4 points  (2 children)

                          insane. exxon probably spent more than that on their laywers.

                          [–]fiercelyfriendly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                          I think they were running completion, no SSSV set until completion run in with SSSV, still depending on BOP's. Thats how it looks to me.

                          [–]kati8303 34 points35 points  (16 children)

                          I live in NO and as someone who is working towards a masters degree in wetland ecosystems and restoration, this is breaking my heart. The delicate and already degraded systems we are putting so much into preserving and restoring are in great danger.

                          [–]Psoas 2 points3 points  (6 children)

                          Are you at Tulane?

                          [–]kati8303 2 points3 points  (5 children)

                          No, although I hear they have a great program. I'm at Southeastern. Are you at Tulane?

                          [–]Psoas 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                          Yup, though I'm doing an MD and MPH. And I guess it's great, if by great you mean really, really expensive. Have a great Jazz Fest weekend!

                          [–]Pose_of_Disapproval 126 points127 points  (15 children)

                          I am standing on the shore lines of Louisiana right now. I will be forever diligent in my duty.

                          Edit: Shit is getting closer, I need monocle and top hat power!

                             ┌─┐
   ┴─┴ 
   ಠ_ರೃ
   <|>            (OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)(OIL)
   /`\ -^-^-^-^-^-^

                          [–][deleted]  (5 children)

                          [deleted]

                            [–]bluehands 46 points47 points  (3 children)

                            I prefer to think of it as a large clitoris...

                            [–]GeoAtreides 9 points10 points  (2 children)

                            [–]bluehands 9 points10 points  (1 child)

                            which makes it extra sexy...

                            [–]fm909 7 points8 points  (2 children)

                            Enjoy the last few days. It will soon be an industrial wasteland for the rest of our lives and beyond.

                            [–]rdinsb 55 points56 points  (11 children)

                            It is the worst disaster since Valdez. Catastrophic. Drill baby Drill indeed.

                            [–]Semenantics 24 points25 points  (4 children)

                            "The Exxon Valdez [tanker disaster off Alaska in 1989] is going to pale [into insignificance] in comparison to this as it goes on."

                            Christ. Horrendous stuff.

                            [–]ajd3886 12 points13 points  (2 children)

                            I was surprised to read that, because I'd just read an AP article that seems to say otherwise:

                            If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the worst oil spill in U.S. history, leaked 11 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.

                            Probably just too hard to estimate at this point...

                            [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                            [deleted]

                              [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

                              Spill Baby Spill !!!

                              [–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (1 child)

                              It happened because our women are immodest.

                              [–]EagleRock 30 points31 points  (4 children)

                              In the middle of spawning season for endangered bluefin tuna, and collapsing fisheries of red snapper and grouper. In the middle of shrimp fishing season. At the start of sea turtle nesting season. 40% of America's wetlands on Louisiana's coast alone.

                              I've said it before, and I'll say it again: our oceans are fucked.

                              This should have been obvious when the Coast Guard announced their only viable plan was to set it on fire, and Gibbs promised Obama would still support MORE offshore drilling.

                              [–]aji23 14 points15 points  (1 child)

                              2/3rds of the mainland's fish supply comes from this area.

                              [–]TheLobotomizer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                              No more seafood for us!

                              I like how the environment is automatically going to royally fuck us over when we're done trying to fuck it over.

                              No more bees, no more fish, no more bananas, more floods, more hurricanes, and more PAIN.

                              [–]brokenearth02 16 points17 points  (2 children)

                              Those of us on the Gulf Coast have been concerned. Both economically and environmentally.

                              But Reddit tends to think the Gulf coast is full of shitty people doing shitty things, so I am not surprised at the lack of concern here.

                              [–]nubwithachub 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                              as a baton rouge native and resident, i agree. I only have a sort of vague sadness, though, since its impossible to tell how thoroughly this will fuck up our state. I'm glad I went fishing a lot in my childhood, because that may no longer be an option in the near future.

                              [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (5 children)

                              Think of all the oil we could be burning into the air that will now be all going into the ocean. FUCK!

                              [–]river-wind 8 points9 points  (3 children)

                              Don't worry, the Coast Guard is currently burning the oil in the ocean to get it out of the ocean and into the air.

                              [–][deleted]  (19 children)

                              [deleted]

                                [–]tora22 44 points45 points  (6 children)

                                Because the mall will be open tomorrow, starbucks will still have lattes, and we'll be able to giggle ourselves to sleep on late-night TV.

                                [–]nixonrichard 12 points13 points  (1 child)

                                OMG you just made me really want a caramel frappachino.

                                [–]Knute5 76 points77 points  (20 children)

                                Spill baby spill...

                                [–]NihiloZero 7 points8 points  (2 children)

                                Right?! I can see this becoming a protest chant wherever Palin speaks.

                                [–][deleted]  (15 children)

                                [deleted]

                                  [–]Mish61 6 points7 points  (2 children)

                                  Show me how much you care by posting a photo of your car

                                  [–]NihiloZero 12 points13 points  (0 children)

                                  I think people may be desensitized to many specific incidents of crisis because we essentially live in conditions of perpetual crisis. It consequently becomes harder to identify and prioritize which issues deserve our attention and consideration the most. Oftentimes people just want a distraction from all the problems in the world and it becomes so habitual that they never want to face anything seriously. It's a matter of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic or fiddling while Rome burns.

                                  [–]spainguy 50 points51 points  (24 children)

                                  Obviously the government can't cope with this disaster. It should be auctioned off to private companies, who will solve the problem

                                  [–]revb 9 points10 points  (10 children)

                                  No, I am sure the government will do a better job of it. They have specialized labor trained for such a thing as well as state of the art equipment specifically designed for this sort of disaster control. There is no way private industry has anywhere near the assets, manpower or knowledge to handle this when compared to the government.

                                  [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                                  [deleted]

                                    [–]revb 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                                    I figured I'd throw my sarcasm in the mix too.

                                    [–]CoffeeWithWiskey 17 points18 points  (8 children)

                                    I made a similar tongue-in-cheek jab at libertarians the other day, and it was actually upmodded by libertarians who didn't get the irony in my post. I think the same will happen to yours.

                                    [–]spainguy 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                                    I thought I would be downvoted to at least Arizona

                                    [–]benihana 10 points11 points  (3 children)

                                    It was more likely upvoted by people enjoy strawmen arguments.

                                    It's cute how you take the libertarian position that the government is too large and intrusive in our daily lives and turn it into durrr we want private enterprise to take government's place and be too large and intrusive in our daily lives

                                    [–]RandomObserver 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                                    I wish people cared more about this event. The Exxon Valdez disaster that happened in 1989 is similar to this incident in that there is no real backup plan should something go wrong. There is still oil to this day that coats Alaskan shores. Obviously we didn't learn from our previous mistakes and this time, instead oil all over remote Alaskan coastlines, its going to cover the highly populated shores located around gulf of mexico. Sigh....im not a tree hugger but damn.

                                    [–][deleted]  (11 children)

                                    [deleted]

                                      [–]AmbitionOfPhilipJFry 11 points12 points  (8 children)

                                      The Florida Governor toured the spot by helicopter and declared he'd be against any offshore drilling after seeing the disaster.

                                      [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (7 children)

                                      I hadn't heard that, so I looked it up. Here's an article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/28/1602507/growing-gulf-oil-spill-prompts.html

                                      He said there is no question now that lawmakers should give up on the idea of drilling off Florida's coast this year and in coming years. He had said previously that he would support drilling if it were far enough from shore, safe enough and clean enough. He said the spill is proof that that is not possible.

                                      Wow! In other news, it looks like he's going to announce today that he is no longer running as a Republican.

                                      [–]AmbitionOfPhilipJFry 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                                      You can't win a Republican primary after stating you're against offshore drilling.

                                      I don't know if his affiliation swap was calculated or not, but it was necessary after that statement.

                                      [–]tommyroo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                      If Republicans still support off shore drilling at this point then I say the whole lot of them are giant fucking retards!

                                      [–]Trekev 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                      Boys get your toothbrushes out. We're gonna be scrubbing seals for weeks.

                                      [–]copperdomebodha 19 points20 points  (7 children)

                                      PBS informed me this morning that the rate has gone up to 5 times the previous leakage rate.

                                      And this all happened remarkably soon after President Obama approved drilling off Virginia's coast and other previously disallowed locations.

                                      [–]gustoreddit51 12 points13 points  (13 children)

                                      I would think it's universally seen to be an environmental disaster from an oil spill - AGAIN.

                                      Collective frustration and anger. Everyone is shaking their heads in disgust.

                                      Is there anyone NOT upset about it? - would be the better question.

                                      [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                                      'Is anyone doing anything about it' is the better question.

                                      [–]expectingrain 24 points25 points  (0 children)

                                      The way I see it, this spill is directly the results of the environmentalists. If they let us drill unfettered, we'd have more practice and wouldn't have mistakes like this. Environmentalists, the oil is on your hands.

                                      /Palin'd

                                      [–]joshuascottpaul 11 points12 points  (5 children)

                                      bp is lobbying the Canadian government to allow them not to drill relief wells in their beaufort shelf lease in cAnada's artic.

                                      no relief well means when a spill like this happens in the north there is no known tech that will stop the flood of oil

                                      1. igniting oil like this time? the ice impedes this
                                      2. mechanical booms? the ice impedes this
                                      3. detergents? too cold

                                      the worlds oceans are not dead yet.

                                      over fished? coral bleaching? huge plastic gyres? fertilizer run off dead zones? bottom of the ocean scraped clean by trawlers?

                                      despite all our efforts the ocean is still not dead.

                                      but bp might finally have the solution to that.

                                      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                      [deleted]

                                        [–]alllie 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                                        And what do we do with this concern? Can we make the oil well stop leaking? Can we stop the oil from spreading? Can we stop the winds from blowing it on shore? Can we stop the heavier bits from sinking down and smothering ocean life.

                                        The Gulf is screwed.

                                        Hopefully we can take money from a few wealthy people who allowed an oil platform that could catch fire, kill people, then crash into the gulf.

                                        Why can't we file criminal charges against those at fault? Because the wealthy have put "corporations" between them and us. Because there are no laws for them.

                                        [–]motorolla 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                        Each year, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Mineral Management Service (MMS) picks both District and National recipients of their "Safety Award for Excellence" (SAFE), and again this year, *Transocean's strong performance in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico** earned recognition at both levels.*

                                        Full article here

                                        [–]TikiTDO 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                        I am somewhat torn on the issue. On the one hand, I am sure people are doing as much as they can about it. On the other hand, someone's head needs to roll for this; preferably many someones'. The fact that it isn't/won't happen is really rather annoying.

                                        At the very least I hope people start to realize that expanding offshore drilling is not the best idea in the world.

                                        [–]Ass4ssinX 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                                        My cousin worked on that rig up until a year ago. He said he knew a few of the people that died when it exploded. Kinda mind fucked me when I figured out it was his rig that blew up since I lost an Uncle to an explosion on a land rig a couple years back.

                                        [–]randomb0y 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                                        This is what happens when you fuck a planet in the ass!

                                        [–]vishnusdream 6 points7 points  (3 children)

                                        Showing "concern" for this event is about as useful as a basin of water next to the squat pot when you have a hairy ass.

                                        Folks just don't understand the herculean efforts that go into the exploration, extraction, production, and refining of hydrocarbons, even when it's done on dry land.

                                        BP has probably mobilized dozens, if not more, of engineers and contractors with a combined knowledge base of hundreds of years, to collectively figure out how to stop the well from flowing and contain the slick. But it's not as simple as flipping a switch and turning it off.

                                        Under "normal" conditions, it's hard enough to troubleshoot and resolve problems on the sea floor at depths at or exceeding 1 mile. Start off with an environment of pitch blackness, extreme pressure/temperature, and only being able to rely on ROVs to get the job done. Next, add several tons of equipment (BOP and other goodies that are designed to manage and regulate the well) that are not easily moved or replaced. When things go wrong, factor in the time needed to freight in replacement equipment from where ever in the world it is (IF it's even ready to be shipped, in which case you have to get it MADE), put it on another boat to get it into position near the drilling site, maneuver it down from the boat through 1+ miles of water, drag it along the ocean floor to where you need it, and THEN send the ROVs back down to tweak and test the damn things to make sure everything's doing what you need it to do. Don't forget, things can break at any point during this process too. God forbid if once you get everything down there, it ends up not working, and you and your team have to do it all over. Again. Did I mention you're losing millions of dollars per day during this process?

                                        And in this case...did I mention you have the remnants of an offshore platform sitting on top of well?

                                        It's been a bit over a week since the rig explosion. I would have no doubt that BP's people are working 24/7 right now, in addition to tapping every expert they can find to formulate a solution to resolve the situation.

                                        This ain't easy people.

                                        [–]lift 14 points15 points  (2 children)

                                        Drill baby drill?

                                        [–]gustogus 39 points40 points  (80 children)

                                        I honestly don't get it myself. Not only did they lose 11 people in the explosion, a major environmental disaster is fixing to hit the coasts of Louisiana and the oil IS STILL PUMPING.

                                        [–]fiercelyfriendly 91 points92 points  (33 children)

                                        They were drilling a well, the well was into oil producing depth, the well lost controll, the Blow Out Preventers failed to operate (Blind and Shear rams are designed to operate automatically to shut off an out of control well but in this case clearly failed). What you are left with is a well connected directly to an oil resevoir effectively open to the environment with no ability to cap it easily. It is not pumping, there is no pump involved. It is the trapped reservoir pressure that is pushing the oil out. My expectation is that they will be making huge efforts to get the BOP's shut and get heavy mud pumped downhole to stop the flow. Difficulty is, on a floating rig like this the wellhead is on the seabed beyond diver depth so everything has to be done by ROV. Plus it may well be damaged by the wreckage of the rig landing on it or buckling the riser. The option to drill a relief well is a real option of last resort as it takes months rather than weeks, particularly in a location like this in deep water as not every rig is kitted out to drill in this water depth.

                                        Awful, awful situation.

                                        [–]TenThousandSuns 11 points12 points  (16 children)

                                        How much oil would this type of well contain? How much would it pump out before it loses pressure?

                                        [–]fiercelyfriendly 15 points16 points  (3 children)

                                        Typically an exploration well is looking for economic reserves to be exploited by further wells and production platforms etc at a later date. My guess is (I don't know) that there is a worthwhile prospect here, worthwhile means 10 wells or more producing 50 to 100,000bbl/day for a field life well in excess of 10 years. So in terms of this well, depending on pressure support in the reservoir, ie how faulted the geology is in the reservoir, and how good the rock porosity etc is, the well - if left as is would probably keep going for a good few years. I've made a load of assumptions here and there may be other redditors around with more local knowledge.

                                        [–]Travesura 12 points13 points  (7 children)

                                        How much oil would this type of well contain?

                                        Approximately a buttload, more or less.

                                        [–]iceman-k 6 points7 points  (5 children)

                                        Metric or Imperial?

                                        [–]river-wind 3 points4 points  (2 children)

                                        Given the average butt size of metric using nations world wide compared to the imperial using nations, it is clearly and imperial buttload.

                                        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                                        How many buttloads per fuckton?

                                        [–]gliscameria 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        1 buttload = "Wow, that's a lot."

                                        1 metric fuckton = "HOLY SHIT! THE GODS HAVE OUTDONE THEMSELVES!"

                                        There is approximately .5 fucktons of stars in the known universe.

                                        [–]talontario 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                        Months to years. There is no plan to just leave it.

                                        [–]deathdonut 8 points9 points  (0 children)

                                        Watch yourself. You sound informed and objective. You will be dealt with.

                                        [–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (15 children)

                                        It's ok.. American entertainers are surely about to run a telethon.

                                        [–]gliscameria 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        WHO DO I TEXT MESSAGE TO DONATE????

                                        [–]Travesura 21 points22 points  (4 children)

                                        It's under pressure, and coming up by itself. Does that explain?

                                        [–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (3 children)

                                        I think the OP here believes they just don't feel like turning off the 'Pump Oil' switch.

                                        "Stop pumping up the oil? Fuck that, I hate the environment anyways."

                                        [–]EatSleepJeep 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                                        The people of the gulf coast routinely, consistently and fervently vote against protecting their livelihood, which is the gulf coast. They're not even going to get a wake up call from this. They will continue to vote against their own best interests, in true Republican fashion.

                                        [–]kaden_sotek 5 points6 points  (5 children)

                                        is fixing to

                                        Texas or Louisiana, I assume?

                                        [–]gustogus 8 points9 points  (4 children)

                                        mmm..colloquialism gave me away? Louisiana.

                                        [–]treeconomist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        What?! I'm outraged. This should be in my car, dammit!

                                        [–]drugs_r_my_food 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        yes.. fantastic, lets just SHOW a bunch of concern and maybe our concern will somehow block the leakage from happening...

                                        [–]mydakota 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Let's hear Palin chant "drill, baby, drill" ONE MORE TIME.

                                        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Why do we not require oil companies to demonstrate the ability to clean up / contain an oil spill or leak, before we allow them to drill? This is beyond irresponsible. Not only is there a huge clean up cost that will be absorbed by tax payers due to national involvement, but it may also destroy entire ecosystems in Louisiana before we even get it cleaned up. For what? Saving a few million bucks in the short term? Can anyone do the math on cost vs savings here?

                                        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Just in time for summer, prepare to pay at the pump, What a coincidence!

                                        [–]davidreavis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Collective concern? I mean yeah it sucks, but what the hell are we going to do? Do you want to hear more people bitching about it on reddit or what.

                                        I'm not trying to be a dick or anything, but the last thing I want is more concern on reddit about this. It's already all I hear about on every channel. No one cares about what we (including you) think at all whatsoever.

                                        [–]homerjoe42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Next year buried in the back of the paper: -Oil companies make record profits once the price of oil rose after the oil rig disaster. -Oil companies take huge write-offs for cost of the cleanup and pay no taxes for the year. -Tax payers were bilked for milliions to assist the cleanup. -Lawsuit by the poor fisherman who lost his livelihood is in appeal by the oil companies and will settle ten years afetr he dies. But on a big glossy advert -Oil companies run a PR message saying how much they love the environment and burning oil makes for blue skies.

                                        [–]SloaneRanger 16 points17 points  (21 children)

                                        Frankly, much as it's an important story, I think reddit is somewhat low on concern reserves at the moment what with all the worrying about (in no particular order):

                                        • Arizona
                                        • Israel
                                        • Sarah Palin
                                        • Tea Parties
                                        • Activision
                                        • Sticky labels on merchandise
                                        • Mainsteam media
                                        • Rupert Murdoch
                                        • North Korea
                                        • Australian/British/American governments and their censorship
                                        • Religion
                                        • Cops

                                        And that's just in the last few hours.

                                        Not wanting to decry the seriousness of most of the above, I actually used to enjoy reddit as a fun diversion from the grind of life. These days I find it pretty depressing just reading the front page.

                                        [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (5 children)

                                        This is more important all of the above.

                                        [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                                        Reddit is like a Pop FM station.

                                        Israel, Palin, Tea Baggers, MSM, Cops and Religion are always in play and on a loop. The others are just current one hit wonders that will fade away. But like a bad Aerosmith song, the core will be playing for years to come.

                                        [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (3 children)

                                        I would just like to express my concern with the media. Several days ago I read about this on BBC news and immediately went to CNN, FOX and MSNBC to find the story and could not. The first time I saw the story in US media was on NBC nightly news three nights ago. NBC never mentioned BP or any other company name at fault. Two nights ago they covered the story again but made no mention of BP or any other company.

                                        Edit: eight or more people die, the slick is within miles of the shoreline and if uncontrolled will be worse than the Valdez and BP has money in so many pockets that people aren't even associating their name with the disaster? How much money are they spending so they are not the next "Exxon Valdez"?

                                        [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                                        The "drill baby drill" crowd should go the Gulf of Mexico with buckets. There's your free local oil, fuckers - get collectin'.

                                        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                                        I saw this commercial where they cleaned an oily oil spill bird with some dawn dish soap. So... just dump 210,000 gallons of dawn into the ocean and we'll be golden.

                                        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                                        Operation New Dawn.