I predict the oil well leak will be 100% shut off in the next two weeks!

[KansasVoter]

And then we can stop panicking about this (since the volcano is done) and start to panic about something else down the road.

[graywarrior]

Bird flu

We haven't heard about bird flu for a while.

[KansasVoter]

2. True!!

[depakid]

4. That's because you don't know where to look

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/update/en/index.html

[graywarrior]

10. That reminds me that I should feel for lumps as much as possible

[depakid]

13. Maybe you should, depending on your age and lifestyle

Funny thing, science and rational analysis....

[cliffordu]

40. I know I do. I'm feeling for lumps right now!!

[graywarrior]

83. I have several on my elbows

Oh wait....those ARE my elbows

[cliffordu]

87. I find rubbing the lumps on my skull particularly relaxing.

[graywarrior]

94. My skull lumps travel

I think they reproduce, too.

[Walk away]

25. Was bird flu Obamas Katrina? nt

[guitar man]

85. That's because

The bird is securely fastened to the wall where it can't get out and give anybody the flu!

:D

[NM_hemilover]

97. The Haunta Virus is COMMING ! RUN !

[depakid]

1. You forgot the sarcasm tag...

[KansasVoter]

3. I am 100% serious

[Junkdrawer]

78. This expert expects the dome(s) will only get 10% of the oil...

....

According to the fact sheet, this system “could collect as much as 85 percent of oil rising from the seafloor.” However, it also notes, “This is the first time this system will be used at this water depth.”

Even in shallower areas, such devices have a habit of underwhelming people, Miller says. “I’d be very surprised if they get even a minor percentage — say 10 percent — of the oil”

But we’ll all hope for the best because a lot of people and acreage stand to suffer mightily in coming months if these oil-containment measures don't meet expectations.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/58817/title/BP_oil_rig%E2%80%99s_sinking_and_gushing_crude_raise_questions

[aquart]

5. Uh, sweetie, flights disrupted in Ireland and UK due to ash TODAY.

Just because a problem no longer interests you, doesn't mean it has ceased to be either serious or a problem.

The people and animals injured by the Exxon Valdez could probably explain the effects of an oil spill to you.

[KansasVoter]

12. I know that, but some here were predicting a summer with no travel and a global economic collapse!

[csziggy]

6. Guess you missed that Ireland closed their airspace because of the volcano

New ash plume yesterday.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/ash-cloud-disruption-leaves-hundreds-of-passengers-frustrated-14792638.html

Scotland, too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/may/04/flight-disruption-iceland-volcano-ash

[LeftyMom]

7. Then you're the only one.

Last I saw, oil company says three months.

[BeFree]

8. Panic?

Tell that to the fishing people. The environmentalists. The beach front property owners. The dead sea life. Go peddle your bs on them and see how long you run your mouth. Dare ya.

[DURHAM D]

9. no way

[ZeitgeistObserver]

11. Thank goodness for some optimism.

The world ends every day on here.

I prefer the roll-up-the-sleeves attitude.

[Mind_your_head]

16. self-delete

[Turborama]

18. "The world ends every day on here." How would you know

After just over a month?

A month within which a volcano has affected businesses all over the world and potentially the largest environmental disaster in open sea began.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

20. I've lurked here for years.

Doom and gloom seem to be part of the wallpaper most days.

And after living through the 'end of the world' many times, I know better.

[Turborama]

23. Yeah

OK

Sure

[Incitatus]

30. I don't think anyone said this oil leak will cause the world to end.

It will, however, cost billions of dollars and wreck havoc on the economy and thousands of people whose incomes depend on a Gulf of Mexico that isn't covered in oil.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

32. Crisis-of-the-week.

[Kalun D]

60. That

Is an ill-informed statement

The worst oil spill in history and you say it will be over in a week?

the Exxon Valdez (previous worst) was 11 Million gallons.

Despite the extensive cleanup attempts, a study conducted by NOAA determined that as of early 2007 more than 26,000 gallons of oil remain in the sandy soil of the contaminated shoreline, declining at a rate of less than 4% per year.

Thousands of animals died immediately; as many as 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, as well as the destruction of billions of salmon and herring eggs.

Species that have not recovered. Common loon Cormorants (3 species), Harbor seal, Harlequin duck, Pacific herring, Pigeon guillemot.

Some estimates for the Deepwater Horizon say it's already surpassed 11 Mil Gal., and it will be approx 90 days until it's stopped.

It's May 4th, 2010, I'll get back to you in a week ZeitgeistObserver and you can tell us how the crisis is over.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

62. Sometimes crisis-du-jour.

i wasn't commenting on the oil spill, I was commenting on how often the end-of-the-world occurs on here.

[riskpeace]

89. Dumb-comment-of-the-week

I take it you and your family are not affected right now by this tragedy. Millions of people are going to be hurt by this disaster.

[Go2Peace]

35. I find it more interesting that a serious environmental catastrophy gets "happy faced" away

That is a far greater "problem" than people hyperventilating. What is going on globally with the environment is deadly serious. The coral reefs are dying, the oceans of the world are being overfished, pollution is rampant and even our own food supply, which has been fairly clean, is becomming polluted with so many toxins from so many sides that your children's lives are going to be seriously impacted, even if we get this all under control.

This oil leak is a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10, and that is a serious matter with consequences to wildlife that will be felt for decades. Seems to me that the reaction is entirely appropriate.

By the way, if you look at history. The people who make serious change in the world, as in turning nations around or bring about fundamental change, rarely do it through "optimism". They almost always do it when they get angry enough to get out and force it (not necessarily via military/fighting). Think about your history.

[MilesColtrane]

92. "Doomsday"

"It was a nice planet while it lasted"

"what's the ETA for Dead Planet Earth?"

"Last chance to get your shotgun and a year's supply of canned goods before civilization comes to an end"

"they did the math and came out with a doomsday scenario"

...and that's just from one thread.

[Webster Green]

14. Not likely.

We shall see. We'll be lucky if that happens within two months.

[Arctic Dave]

15. Sounds wonderful, how will they shut it down?

[ZeitgeistObserver]

17. Engineering and technical know-how.

[TheWatcher]

38. Got any specifics?

[ZeitgeistObserver]

39. I'm sure you've read all the reports

about what they're doing.

[Are_grits_groceries]

79. What precisely?

They have never attempted anything like this at these depths.

[WhiteTara]

21. they will click their heels three times

and say, "I believe, I believe, I believe."

[SmileyRose]

19. Sexting?

[KansasVoter]

27. That is funny!!!

[w4rma]

22. There is too much pressure being created by the flow of oil out of the pipe to patch it.

They will have to build an entire new oil rig and spend time drilling into the vein of oil in order to reduce the oil pressure from the gushing well. This may not reduce it enough to plug the hole, but that is what will need to be done to completely fix the situation.

[KansasVoter]

28. I think these cement containment buildings will work

[pauldg0]

74. I agree....

....the dome method is a great idea. They must be careful however when putting it in place. Three domes are going down over each rupture. The robots are the eyes for the project. This great error is going to teach us technology for other engineering projects.

We have to go to renewable sources however.....no more oil!!!! It's not the natural thing to do....Obama, please go big time "Green"...we need you NOW!!!!

[w4rma]

84. To contain the flow. Not to stop the flow. (nt)

[quickesst]

24. You will find.....

...that many here will equate expressing concern and outrage with actually doing something about it. I get where you're coming from. Many will sit in their living rooms in front of their teevees or computers, and wonder how we can be so "insensitive" to the plight of others. We're actually not, but DU, despite protestations, is prone to "rah rah" or "boo hoo" the "disaster/injustice of the week" like clockwork. Thanks.
quickesst

[Incitatus]

26. Ansd what makes you think that? nt

[KansasVoter]

29. There 4 story tall containment domes. Sounds impressive.

[Incitatus]

31. I hope you're right.

It would have been nice if they considered the possibility of a leak like this and already has them built, just in case.

[pa28]

34. Yes, it does sound impressive.

Even though Transocean, BP, Halliburton and their partners share the blame for this accident let's just trust they will solve the problem in the best possible way. After all we do live in the best of all possible worlds.

[SidDithers]

36. The domes are being put in place to control where the oil goes...

not to stop it.

Sid

[flamingdem]

47. These arrogant sobs are faking it, they are experimenting nt

[marmar]

33. ........

[Go2Peace]

37. Yep, look at history, all that change that occured through telling people don't worry, be happy...

It's overwhelming.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

41. All of it.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

[Go2Peace]

67. Yes, but they energize because they are not content with the state of things

[ZeitgeistObserver]

68. Because people believe things will get better.

That's why they do it.

If people didn't believe that, we'd probably still be 'screaming defiance at the monkey in the next tree'.

[DCBob]

42. Technically even if the dome thing works the leak will still be leaking but contained..

Many are skeptical about the dome technique since it has never been done in such deep water. They could actually make the problem worse if they bang up against the BOP wellhead and damage it further and then fail to cover it entirely. You may be right if everything works as planned but there appear to be a whole bunch of unforeseen complications that could develop.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

43. Contained is good.

But yes, there are always complications that could develop.

[DCBob]

45. Yes, but they are still a long way from "100% shut off"...

All sorts of bad things could happen even if the "containment" works initially while waiting for the capping process to complete. I think best case scenario is 2-3 months to seal it off.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

48. All sorts of bad things 'could' happen.

'Might' happen. Are 'possible'.

Of course good things could happen as well.

[DCBob]

50. In crisis situations like this no one should be relying on "good things could happen"..

Expect and plan for the worst would be the prudent thing to do, IMO.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

52. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what you get.

[Prometheus Bound]

44. So is this one aspect of BP's social media damage control strategy?

It's a good idea I guess. Focus on the positive, blah blah.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

46. ALWAYS suspect a plot.

[Prometheus Bound]

49. Not a plot. Just good PR. Oh look! Here's another one.

Re: Oil Spill. I think everything is going to be OK
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8274275

[ZeitgeistObserver]

51. Yes, because optimism is evil,

and must be avoided at all costs.

[Prometheus Bound]

54. Whatever. Congratuations on your 1000th post.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

55. Good heavens it was!

Never noticed. Thank you!

[DCBob]

56. I wonder how many of those 1000 had any worthy content..

The few I saw here were hardly worth the effort of clicking on.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

57. All of them were solid gems. Trust me.

:rofl:

[Prometheus Bound]

58. LOL. Still laughing.

You noticed!

[ZeitgeistObserver]

59. Then see, it was another gem if you laughed!

But no, I really didn't notice. Last time I remember seeing my post count was when I was in the '700 Club' as it used to be called on here, and wondering when that idea died.

[MellowDem]

95. I think they have been great...

and am always happy to see the posts. They inject some sanity and reality into discussions that are usually ruled by group-think and "purists".

[nadinbrzezinski]

53. It will be off the news

but not done for...

If past is prologue the Ixtoc I took nine months, and it was far less deep.

[Ellipsis]

65. What concerns me in all of this is where this scenario will be come hurricane season.

This could be one major clusterfuck come then as far as potential disaster.

[Go2Peace]

71. Yep, like Barbara Bush said.. once it is off the radar.. not to worry our little minds about it ...

Science never moves forward on "optimism". It moves forward by embracing the challenge and determining to make things work better. The OP is completely off here. Instead of saying, "hey, it could have been worse", we should be saying, "This is not acceptable, what do we need to do to make sure it never happens again".

Because destroying that large of an ecosystem is not acceptable "collatoral damage". The fact that the OP exists shows that the author does not understand the ecological significance and consequences of the spill.

[scheming daemons]

61. Within the next two weeks, Obama will name his SCOTUS choice, and this will be off the front pages

...even though it shouldn't be.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

63. It's only Wednesday.

I'm sure something will happen before the weekend to take everybody's mind off it.

[corpseratemedia]

81. however, people will still be living around the gulf

and all the dead animals and pollution will continue to bother the residents because they can't avoid it to think positively and click their heels, so it will be like an oozing scab on our national SOMA

[ashling]

64. Even if that comes to pass - which it won't

this enviornmental and economic crisis will not be over by a long shot.

[Go2Peace]

72. Exactly, the OP shrugs the significance of this event.

There should be some gnashing going on, this was a serious ecological event.

It just shows a lack of understanding of science.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

73. Thing of it is, there is ALWAYS something going on.

Earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, shootings, illnesses, scandals...everyday brings something different.

[Bluebear]

66. I predict Cloris Leachman will deliver twins.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

69. Quite possible.

Unless of course they call a doctor to take over. ;)

[ZeitgeistObserver]

70. Dupe-delete.

Not sure how I did that!

[nenagh]

75. Agreee.. Wheeee.. A Giant UFO will land right on the spot...

Meanwhile, I can't help but worry about the silent contamination caused by the dispersants BP is spraying 5,000 ft down in the GOM.

[Rex]

76. Oh no! The volcano just started up again (BBC).

Would you guys please stop telling the world what not to do! It seems we are having wireless problems with the Earth, one moment please...

[Are_grits_groceries]

77. How???

Please elaborate on this.

[gleaner]

80. Ah, another opt eyed cocktimist ...

Yeah. That oil spill will stop gushing in two weeks on the dot. Yup. There goes another pig flying by my window. Life is just great. And I remembered the sarcasm tag.:sarcasm: OP however seems to be for real.

[northernlights]

82. the volcano is not done

it's just off the front page temporarily. It will be back.

And, much as I wish I were wrong, the oil geyser will not be shut off in 2 weeks, nor will the slick already out there magically disappear in 2 weeks.

Hopefully, the flooding in Tennessee will have receded in 2 weeks. That's probably more likely than either of the above.

[Silent3]

86. That may be a bit optimistic...

...but it's closer to reality than people running around with their hair on fire screaming that all life in all of the oceans will die.

[DURHAM D]

88. If you were from central Kansas you would know more

about oil/gas wells and would not be optimistic.

[riskpeace]

90. This is at least the third thread that you've started and

downplayed the significance of this event. I find it offensive.

[Turborama]

91. It's attention seeking flame bait

Very self absorbed attention seeking flame bait.

[Bluebear]

96. I do too.

[SargeUNN]

93. I wish you would be correct but I seriously don't think so

I grew up and lived in South Mississippi until 3 years ago, and still have family there. The area, which is very aware of what all is involved in such a situation since many of them work on rigs, are not as optimistic. If they don't share your optimistic view I think they would be the ones I would go with since they are experienced and speak from a more informed view. It is much like the "illegal immigration" issue here in Arizona. Since we who live here know the facts and temperments of the state that doesn't get reported, I would tend to listen to those of us who are here before I would assume too much about it.