Part of the problem has been that most of what we needed to know about the spill was kept from us. We were lied to. We were misled. And they are still doing it. "They" are BP and the politicians they have in their pockets. From the local sheriffs who take orders from BP, to the elected in Federal, State and even local politics.
BP has done more to try and protect their image than they ever did to protect the environment in which they operate to extract the product that creates their boundless wealth.
The camera angles we are given are very likely only the ones they want us to have. My suspicion is that there are more and worse leaks surrounding this one, and they are 'out of sight'.
BP has a history of drilling and killing and getting away with it. It has been more profitable to allow operations to run on the very edge of disaster, often falling into it, than to have kept to a practice of safety, for both their workers and the environment.
The deaths of workers results in payoffs to survivors. The stubborn ones can cost a little more, but eventually, they all give in. It's hard to fight Goliath while grieving, go broke pursuing court.
Their environmental damage is always big, newsy but is always then whittled down to a pittance or a small fine. The end result of the litigation wherein they pay only pennies of what they should pay, typically goes unmentioned by a news media that is more interested in celebrity gossip than in substantive information. A media wherein a minute group of hate mongers who represent no one, is completely generated by Right Wing Lobbying Firms, goes to the expense of 'embedding' their reporters into the 'bus tour' to 'cover' the under attended gatherings.
I would bet that more people are attracted to those gatherings by seeing the big shiny CNN bus show up than they are about the asinine leaders of the non-movement and their nonsensical rants.
The same media geniuses ignore even bigger rallies by real people, who are opposed to the hate mongers. They ignore even bigger rallies that are in support of our current Administration.
These are the people that are bringing us the 'news' on the BP spill. I don't trust them either. They may not be carrying BP ads now, but they have benefited in the past from them. And they expect to, again in the future. It is in their best 'corporate interests' to only promote what BP can live with.
To that end, they are doing all they can to make it the fault of the present government, and highlight complaints about the government, and to not carry the logical questions to their viewers: "How does 30 plus years of de-regulation look to you now?" They act as if it became a brand new world and nothing from the past is at play in this disaster.
They are working just as hard to generate fear and desperation (to make the story more dramatic-- as if it needs that) while questioning the demeanor of the President because he is not 'agitated' or 'emotional' enough.
We don't need emotional staging. We don't need more hysteria. We don't need more desperation. We need cool calm collective thinking. We need to know that people who are capable are in charge. We don't need posturing, posing or dramatic rhetoric.
BP knew that "Top Hat" and "Top Kill" would not work. Yet, they went through this exercise as if it stood a chance. Now, what is floating around scares the crap out of me as much as this oil spill. People are thinking that using a 'small nuke' to blow it up... will solve it.
It is an insane, cartoonish "ACME" solution, ala "Wiley Coyote".
First off, this is underwater. A bomb will more than likely create a crater, not a collapse on itself 'hole'. Nukes will create steam and that will rise to the surface as a plume. See Karoli's blog
for some of the details on that.
Secondly, this is not a vertical well head. This is a horizontal drill. That means that the pipe is just under the floor of the ocean and it travels for miles, both deep and afar.
What we know of the initial explosion is that it was preceded by 'kicks'-- gas escaping into the wellhead. And then 'boom'. Okay, the last part, is in the minds of many, a cartoon image where only the top part of the well head, has damage.
Not in my head. I know that explosions in lines create a 'pressure hammer' also called a 'water hammer' or a 'fluid hammer'. This is essentially, the 'echo' of an explosion. And it ruptures the line in multiple places. This is why I am suspicious that this gusher or 'oil volcano' we can view online, is the only, or even the worst breach.
Now, the idea of a bomb is being circulated by the bought and paid for media, as if it is a viable option. If it fails, and it will, it will effectively do many things that BP wants:
- It will damage the crime scene so that BP can argue and theorize in court and deny how much damage there was initially.
- It will create a sense that the government is responsible for the leak that can never be stopped. It will make drilling a relief well impossible. And that will take BP off the hook.
- those other leaks that I suspect are even bigger but not shown? Well, it will be impossible to prove after the bomb blows it all to pieces.
Now, back to the bomb. It was floated to me earlier today that it would be a tiny bomb. Maybe only half a kiloton. *facepalm*
Ok, let's say you decide to go with that option. How are you going to get it into a 21" pipe? How big is a 'tiny nuke'? Even if it is the size of a baseball, you have logistical problems.
- It has to have a protective casing on it. (that would make it way too big to fit down that pipe).
- How are you going to get it down that pipe? Inject it? With what?
- It will have to go down several miles, both through the damaged wellhead and the miles of horizontal line before it gets to a vertical drop.
- To do all this, there would be enormous pressure to overcome. The same pressure that is spewing out the oil from the one gusher we are allowed to view. (Oops, I think our baseball just got bigger)
- It would also have to get through all the crap that has already been sent down that line, including mud and golf balls and whatever else they put in their "Junkshot".
- What if it got stuck part way through? Then what?
It is a desperation measure thought of by people who are terrified by what is unfolding before our eyes. Just like 9/11 was used to take away our rights, start a war based on lies, and the ongoing damage from both of those to our nation in the present and the future, desperation is not the way to approach this.
Figure that it is a disaster and it will continue to grow until there is a relief well drilled. That will take months.
Meanwhile, BP should pay for the clean up that works. The use of Elastol, a coagulant, not a dispersant, is the only proven method that works. It is non toxic. The oil can then be recovered and refined. It is solid science and it has been around for decades.
Oil companies don't like to use it because it is green tech. It uses no petrochemical products so, essentially, they cannot make money off it as they use it. It's money out, not money out and then in the side door.
Fishing boats can be easily converted to skimmers. Fisherman can be paid to run them. It would mitigate the damage we see now, create local and regional employment which would relieve a lot of the financial strain on both individuals and states. It would create an economic boon of sorts, while the operation is in process, which will take a few years of clean up.
BP should pay for it. All of it. They have the money. And frankly, I don't give a flying crap about their viability as billionaires in the future. They have done enough damage. We don't need to support them while they are avoiding what works and paying for silence and legislation to protect themselves.
It's time we did what works, and what will also benefit the victims who are being directly affected at this time. Allow those impacted to have a sense of empowerment in that it can be done and they can help protect what they love most. It will give them back the ability to take care of their families and help their waters to heal.
BP loves that people are feeling helpless and desperate. It plays right into their game. People get angry, stock price slumps, but the price of oil goes through the roof. They get richer.
It's time we told them what to do. It's time the media took our side, and quit pandering to the fear and helplessness. It's time.
For even more on Elastol: Here
You can also google or bing "Elastol Coagulent" and get much more information, including the data on skimmers. It is designed to work in all waters, including marshes, and oceans.
