Oil slick "the size of Hong Kong" at Gulf of Mexico well: 42,000 gallons a day spilling into Gulf

[Bluebear]

“Right now we don’t have anyone on scene actively engaged (in spill mitigation) due to the weather."

An oil slick covering 400sq miles is threatening a slow-motion catastrophe for the Gulf of Mexico’s delicate marine life, with 42,000 gallons (160,000 litres) a day now gushing from an uncapped well after a rig explosion.

Two days after declaring that there was no leak and that oil on the surface was residue from on board the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform that burst into a fireball on Tuesday, officials revealed that the slick was coming from the seabed and was now 25 times the size it was on Friday.

“It’s 1,000 barrels emanating from 5,000ft below the surface,” said Rear-Admiral Mary Landry, of the US Coast Guard, who is overseeing the emergency response. “Absolutely, this is a very serious oil spill.”

BP, which leased the rig, said last week that it was doing everything in its power to contain the spill and resolve the situation “as rapidly, safely and effectively as possible”, using underwater robots, 700 personnel, five aircraft, 32 vessels, and nearly 200 miles of floating booms...

Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas have been warned of the threat of the slick coming ashore...

The spill comes at a sensitive time, with President Obama moving last month to allow oil drilling closer to shore.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7107956.ece

[rfranklin]

1. Hong Kong is the size of a postage stamp...

A city block there is worth a hundred million dollars.

[Bluebear]

2. We'll tell all the wildlife that there's nothing to worry about from a postage stamp, then.

[JBoy]

3. Never seen a 426 square mile postage stamp.

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

[rpannier]

4. This posting brought to you by BP and the Oil Industry

[Bluebear]

7. +

[defendandprotect]

20. No difference between the Mafia and the oil industry . . .

[xchrom]

11. I have a bridge in Brooklyn tocsell you --

And you're the right Patsy to buy it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. oh no.

[malaise]

6. Spill Baby spill

I heard earlier that the Louisiana coastline is also in trouble.

[Bluebear]

8. --

:(

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. NBC Nightly News Sunday. "...could be creating fears of an environmental disaster"

Really? In other words, the "news" is telling us that it's not an environmental disaster yet.

I suppose they'll let us know when it becomes one...

[xchrom]

10. But DUers said it wasn't as bad as the Valdez?!?

And others who said this spill was bad -- but drilling on the
coast is good.

Well this is just - well - awesome - right?

And Obama enviromentalism is the 'bomb!'

[SidDithers]

12. It isn't as bad as the Valdez...yet...

The Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil. At 42,000 gallons per day, this spill has to go for more than 260 days to spill an equal amount.

I'm not trying to minimize how bad this rig explosion and spill is. Hell, I was the first one to post in GD about the rig on fire, on Wednesday morning. But I want us to be accurate, and recognize just how monumentally horrible some of the really big spills have been. Exxon Valdez doesn't even make the list of the top 10.

http://envirowonk.com/content/view/68/1/

The Exxon Valdez, the tanker responsible for the worst oil spill in American history, has come back into the news this week, as the Supreme Court finally decides the price that Exxon will pay for ruining the fishing industry in Alaska. But it will likely surprise you to know that the Valdez spill was actually only the 34th largest oil spill in history.

These ten oil spills, all massively larger than the Exxon Valdez, were all smaller new stories, either because the ships were offshore, or dropped their toxic loads in less developed parts of the world. The Valdez spilled 10 million gallons off the coast of Alaska, the smallest spill in the top ten was four times larger.

List at link.

Sid

Edit: Wednesday morning's thread, which sank like a stone.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8187726

[rpannier]

13. Thanks for linking to your previous post. Sorry I missed it

I think it's odd that I can't post to that story.

Thanks

[malaise]

14. Excellent post

:hi:

[retread]

17. DUers also said the well head wasn't leaking and the spill was much less than

originally thought.

[Bragi]

15. The solution is more offshore drilling

That way we will learn from experience how to clean up these spills, or maybe even learn to enjoy oil-soaked beaches. At minimum, we will make spills more routine and desensitize the public to them, and the media will eventually stop covering spills like it's a big deal. Problem solved.

[SidDithers]

16. Kick...nt

Sid

[slampoet]

18. My goodness, the size of Hong Kong, How many Rhode Islands is that?

[Bluebear]

19. Don't know but you'll be happy to know that 24 hours later the spill is much larger

and threatening the coast.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8218738

[slampoet]

21. Why would that make anyone happy?

[BoWanZi]

22. Just light it on fire

Then it will burn off.

That's a good idea, right?