as much as 2.52 MILLION GALLONS of oil per day -- how many days are we at?

[nashville_brook]

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill_is_fl.html

Scientists provided a new estimate for the amount of oil gushing from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday that indicates it could be leaking up to 2.52 million gallons of crude a day.


A government panel of scientists said that the ruptured well is leaking between 1.47 million and 2.52 million gallons daily of oil. The figures move the government's worst-case estimates more in line with what an independent team had previously thought was the maximum size of the spill. "This estimate brings together several scientific methodologies and the latest information from the sea floor, and represents a significant step forward in our effort to put a number on the oil that is escaping from BP's well," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.

The latest numbers reflect an increase in the flow that scientists believe happened after undersea robots earlier this month cut off a kinked pipe near the sea floor that was believed to be restricting the flow of oil, just as a bend in a garden hose reduces water flow. BP officials has estimated that cutting the kinked pipe likely increased the flow by up 20 percent.
The pipe was removed so BP could install a containment cap that is trapping leaking oil and drawing it a ship waiting on the ocean surface.

The new numbers are based on a combination of scientific data, including an analysis of high-resolution video taken by underwater robots, pressure meters, sonar, and measurements of oil collected by the containment device on top of the well.

It is the fourth -- and perhaps not last -- time the federal government has had to increase its estimate of how much oil is gushing. At one point, the federal government claimed only 42,000 gallons were spilling a day and then it upped the number to 210,000 gallons. (as if 42,000 gallons would be negligible -- brook)

As of Tuesday, the maximum amount of oil that has gushed out of the well since the April 20 explosion is 116 million gallons, according to the estimates by scientists advising the federal government.

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. I believe 58

:cry:

[nashville_brook]

3. sotto voce -- i read some really scary stuff today

about the possibility of a larger seafloor blowout.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. If only BP would allow the government to authorize independent scientific research

I would rather read about it in the NYT in a week now than wait to learn/explain it to my great-grandchildren 40 years from now

Side note - I have to wonder if under "need to know", the engineers are working off accurate estimates as they design their leak-stoppage/containment plans.

Only her hairdressers BP's lawyers know.

[nashville_brook]

9. did you know that the number of vessels down here is classified info. wtf.

[Ruby the Liberal]

10. No doubt. In 250 years, they will be dive-spot tourist traps

"Come dive the 2010 wreck that killed all oxygen in the gulf - $750/3hours + Lunch"

[nashville_brook]

12. ack...sounds like the aquarium in New Orleans -- fish LOVE oil platforms!! did you know that?

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. Yep - I did. But fish need oxygen to survive

strip that from the oceans and artificial reefs become meaningless.

[KillCapitalism]

27. I don't know about that.

That thing could still be spewing oil 250 years from now.

[aquart]

2. I don't care if Hayward has to sit and sop it up with a sponge.

I WANT IT GONE. No excuse whatsoever is working for me. This was criminal negligence and everyone involved should hang.

[nashville_brook]

4. we're supposedly finally getting a real contingent of skimmers from the North Sea.

i really don't understand why they couldn't have been called up sooner.

[aquart]

5. Heavy traffic on the high seas? Volcanic ash in the waves?

I cannot think of a single reasonable reason. They've all been acting like there's time. Funny, BP didn't think there was time before the rig exploded.

[nashville_brook]

8. yeah, they were in a gigantic hurry before the spill to get the oil -- how that it's out of the well

they could care less.

[flyarm]

17. because there has been a major cover up going on! and still is! eom

[jeanpalmer]

21. Neither BP nor the government

want the facts to get out. It can only embarrass them. They have a huge incentive to keep the truth under wraps.

[flyarm]

23. you bet they do..and it disgusts me to my core! eom

[Individualist]

18. The SOB should be forced to drink the stuff.

[spanone]

7. too many.

[Cetacea]

11. K&R n/t

[nashville_brook]

14. kickee

[DirkGently]

15. Deleted double post

[DirkGently]

16. Wow -- check the unrec brigade

Welcome back from vacation, guys. Good truthiness, NB.

:)

[Octafish]

20. It's a good way to shout down someone you don't agree with.

It's pure coincidence that so many happen on certain threads that criticize Korporat Amerika.

[Octafish]

19. 50,000 barrels per day is a...lot. And that's the low number.

It could be 100,000 barrels -- we just don't know...at a mile down.

Which goes to show how important it is to have a fail-safe plan in case something should go worng.

[jeanpalmer]

22. Is a fail-safe plan possible?

What plan could have dealt with this blowout?

Seems like there's a choice: drill offshore and run the risk of destroying the Gulf, or don't drill. Which is more important? Many people, apparently including Obama, are willing to take the risk.

[flyarm]

25. because they are not breathing the air or swimming in it..or losing their jobs and livelyhoods..

or health.

[nashville_brook]

29. other countries require fuller protections, such as relief wells drilled along with the main well.

remember, Obama approved expanded offshore drilling based on improved "fail-safe" procedures. they're out there -- just not over here.

[flyarm]

24. 2.52 million gallons a day gushing into the Gulf..

where I live on the Gulf it was reported to many dems today people were swimming in the Gulf Yesterday and came out of the water covered in oil..not oil that could be seen on the surface of the water..thepeople were given and advised to scrub with COMET..and it was kept silent..the authorities closed down the beach then..this was very south on the Gulf..it was not reported in the media.

This is a disgrace of the highest offices of our government! That this shit can be covered up!

But come to our beaches you were told..the water is fine..and eat our fish..who knows ..you might even glow!!! From chemicals that is..

[stevedeshazer]

26. It's all just unbelievable, isn't it? The scope of this disaster isn't really understood.

Holy crap, this is horrible news.

[XemaSab]

28. I think we're about to find out exactly how many a Brazilian is

:banghead: