Oil Containment Solution Randomizer

[DetroitDad]

Shortly after I was whatching the three stooges [[BP, Transocean, and the U.S. Government) run around trying to put the first cap on the major leaking oil well, I cam across Steven Colbert's nifty Oil Containment Solution Randomizer.

Now, who is donating some hair?

[Sstashmoo]

That is absolutely going to devastate the Gulf cost economy.

[DetroitDad]

That is absolutely going to devastate the Gulf cost economy.

Amid Gulf Oil Spill, 11 Families Grieve

[[AP) This was supposed to be one of the best months of Michelle Jones' life: giving birth to her second son, her husband Gordon at her side.

Instead, she must prepare for the birth without her baby's father.

Gordon Jones, 28, was among the 11 who died when an oil rig exploded April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly two weeks after the tragedy, relatives of the dead have held memorial services, sued rig operator BP-PLC and grappled with waves of grief as the catastrophe plays out on a worldwide stage - with barely a mention of their loved ones' names.

"It seems like people have forgotten," said Michelle Jones, who, at nine months pregnant, will give birth any day.

She and other victims' family members aren't casting blame; they understand the environmental impact is the reason why the spill has gotten so much attention and their loved ones, so little.

Yes, poor, poor, poor economy.

[Sstashmoo]

Oh I think it's terrible those folks lost their lives. Did you somehow think I thought otherwise? Jumping to idiotic conclusions as always. I also think comedians should not be making jokes about it. Anything on that DetroitDAD? Or are you just content to try and insult me?

[DetroitDad]

No, no, I folded up my jump to conclusions mat long ago, but posting about money when people and fish are dying was awkward.

Still... finding comedy in tragedy bolsters the spirit. And these guys have absolutely no idea about what they are doing.

[Papasito]

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/...-build-it/?dbk

Disturbed by the effects of the Valdez spill in Alaska, Mr. Costner bought the nascent technology from the government in 1995 and put $24 million of his own money into developing it for the private sector.
....
On Wednesday, BP’s chief operating officer, Doug Suttles, said that the company had approved six of Ocean Therapy’s 32 machines for testing. All boast centrifuge processing technology — giant vacuum-like machines that suck oil from water, separate the oil, store it in a tanker and send the water, 99.9 percent purified, back into the gulf.
....
He said that the largest four machines have the capability of separating 210,000 gallons of oil from water a day, 200 gallons a minute.

[Whitehouse]

Didn't see this option on the disc.



Okay, who's got the phone number of International Resque??

[Sstashmoo]

Quote: "but posting about money when people and fish are dying was awkward."

"Economy" effects people. Unemployed, loss of income, suffering. When I said "economy" that's what I meant.

Quote: "finding comedy in tragedy bolsters the spirit. "

Oh really? Making jokes about an incident where many died and many will suffer for years to come is not my idea of comedic fodder.

[Papasito]

Talk radio is humming today about some clause in the Clean Water Act that gives the President near dictatorial powers to lead a Federal takeover of environmental disasters such as oil spills, and are quick to point out how Obama has been slopping the blame for the damage and the cleanup on BP when the Fed has had the legal authority to take over the operation since day 1.

I've been searching for the actual text on this Act to verify whether or not this is true, but haven't been able to locate the portion of the Act that spells this out. Did anyone else hear anything about this? How true is it?

[Detroitej72]

and are quick to point out how Obama has been slopping the blame for the damage and the cleanup on BP

The blame lies completely at BP and Halliburton's door. They put profit ahead of safety, plain and simple.

I wouldn't trust too much of what talk radio has to say since we know that unless its NPR, it is a bunch of propaganda for entertainment purposes.

[ghettopalmetto]

Talk radio is humming today about some clause in the Clean Water Act that gives the President near dictatorial powers to lead a Federal takeover of environmental disasters such as oil spills, and are quick to point out how Obama has been slopping the blame for the damage and the cleanup on BP when the Fed has had the legal authority to take over the operation since day 1.

Wouldn't that just be another government bailout? Couldn't the private sector do the cleanup cheaper and more efficiently?

You can take your hypocrisy and shove it plumb up your ass.

[sturge]

Wouldn't that just be another government bailout? Couldn't the private sector do the cleanup cheaper and more efficiently?

You can take your hypocrisy and shove it plumb up your ass.

Yeah, I find it that funny. If you can't trust the government to run healthcare how can you expect them to clean up an oil spill?

[oladub]

Yeah, I find it that funny. If you can't trust the government to run healthcare how can you expect them to clean up an oil spill?

Yeah, really funny especially since the EPA had the option of doing an environmental survey a year ago under Obama and foreign company rigs in US economic waters are not inspected to the same standards as US rigs in those same waters. Had the federal government not squandered it's focus on regulating and micro-managing our personal lives, then perhaps it could focus on real problems such as this and its Bush era maintainace of New Orlean's levies. Actually, it was more Louisiana's job to maintain it's own levies but the feds decided it was their job. International water and defense is more of a federal responsibility though.

More funny stuff:
If the rock gave way due to the out-of-control gushing [[or due to a nuke being detonated to contain the leak), it could become a Yellowstone Caldera type event, except from below a mile of sea, with a 1/4-mile opening, with up to 150,000 psi of oil and natural gas behind it, from a reserve nearly as large as the Gulf of Mexico containing trillions of barrels of oil. That would be an Earth extinction event.
Breaking News: Reports Say Huge Explosions Cause Seafloor Collapse Beneath Gulf Oil Spill

"Barack, your're doing a heck of a job"

[Papasito]

The blame lies completely at BP and Halliburton's door. They put profit ahead of safety, plain and simple.

You can take your hypocrisy and shove it plumb up your ass.

WOW. You guys don't like Obama being criticized do you?
Are you really content letting the Gulf be full of oil while expecting one piddly oil company to be in complete and total control of the cleanup effort? While you post dead fish and bird pics and point a finger? This is a disaster, and Government is made to handle disasters, not point fingers and play the blame game.

Had the federal government not squandered it's focus on regulating and micro-managing our personal lives, then perhaps it could focus on real problems such as this

Exactly.
Government is designed to step in in times of crisis, like this disaster.
Instead they spend all thier times focusing on crap they shouldn't.

The Act also establishes a national response system and requires the preparation of a National Contingency Plan by the President to provide for efficient and coordinated action to minimize damage from oil discharges, including containment, dispersal and removal. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established under 26 U.S.C. § 9509 is made available for purposes of the Act. Further provisions on oil discharges can be found in the Oil Pollution Act, summarized separately in this Handbook. § 1321.

http://wildlifelaw.unm.edu/fedbook/fwpca.html

How's that National Contingency Plan working out for Louisiana?

When responding to a spill, many considered the lines of responsibility under the pre-OPA regime to be unclear,

33 with too much reliance on spillers to perform proper cleanup.34 OPA strengthened and clarified the federal government’s role in oil spill response and cleanup. OPA Section 4201 amended Section 311[[c) of the CWA to provide the President [[delegated to the USCG or EPA) with three options: perform cleanup immediately [[“federalize” the spill), monitor the response efforts of the spiller, or direct the spiller’s cleanup activities. The revised response authorities addressed concerns “that precious time would be lost while waiting for the spiller to marshall its cleanup forces.”35

The federal government determines the level of cleanup required. Although the federal
government must consult with designated trustees of natural resources and the governor of the

state affected by the spill, the decision that cleanup is completed and can be ended rests with the

federal government. States may require further work, but without the support of federal funding.

36

http://www.marklevinshow.com/goout.a...sc-RL33705.pdf

[Jimaz]

Yep. Here we go down the "privatize the profits but socialize the losses" path again.

I noticed Palin is turning all "socialisty" on this issue too.

You can't make this stuff up.

[Sstashmoo]

Good point Jimaz. I personally think any industry engaging in such activities with potential environmental impact on the order of magnitude as offshore drilling, should be required to have contingencies in place for any potential disaster. Not simply insurance, or capital available to satisfy fines. A ways and a means in which to contain and control. If that is not possible, then the activity should not be possible as well. In short the Fed should take them to the mat for that alone. Wreck the fuckers.

[oladub]

Jimaz, I agree with you that BP and other private concerns should pay for the cleanup. Right now there is a $75M cap on how much BP has to pay just as there are caps on how much utilities have to pay if their Nukes Chernobylize. That is sort of the problem here . We have an oily Chernobyl on our hands. One question is if BP has the resources to deal with this. BP could always pay back the government and other private entities for help received. Gov. Jindal is now openly complaning about the level of help Louisiana has received. We have an oil slick out there the size of Florida and 80% of the oil is still below the water's surface. This is an economic catastrophe and President Obama does not seem to treating this for the Chernobyl size catastrophe that it is. This requires the likes of a Pearl Harbor attack response. I don't see that happening.

[Papasito]

Our government should have thrown everything and anything we have down there to address this disaster by now.
Meanwhile, Kevin Coster's oil/water separating machines are still collecting dust because of corporate [[BP) and governmental [[Obama/Fed) red tape http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/...-build-it/?dbk

I know my post a few posts up sounds very anti-Obama, but even as a Democrat, you gotta call it as you see it. One of the problems with Bush II era Republicans was they were partisan blind and didn't call out Bush II for the stupid things he did. If Democrats don't call out Obama when he drops the ball, you are not going to get his very best, and you'll be dooming the party by letting leaders go uncriticized or unchecked.

[Sstashmoo]

Quote: "Obama does not seem to treating this for the Chernobyl size"

Obama is not capable of dealing with anything like this. I've said it and I'll say it again, the man is slow on his feet. Give him a teleprompter, he can rally the troops, make a decision on his own? Forget it. Just as Hillary bulldozed him around during the debates, he is being bulldozed by everything. The only decisions he;s making are the one's made for him by his supporters, Goldman Sachs, Insurance Industry etc. Ecological disaster in the Gulf? Where is Obama? Did BP fund his campaign? That is the real question.

[ghettopalmetto]

Quote: "Obama does not seem to treating this for the Chernobyl size"

Obama is not capable of dealing with anything like this. I've said it and I'll say it again, the man is slow on his feet. Give him a teleprompter, he can rally the troops, make a decision on his own? Forget it. Just as Hillary bulldozed him around during the debates, he is being bulldozed by everything. The only decisions he;s making are the one's made for him by his supporters, Goldman Sachs, Insurance Industry etc. Ecological disaster in the Gulf? Where is Obama? Did BP fund his campaign? That is the real question.

What does the President--ANY President--do in an instance like this? It's not like the federal government has a giant tool shed full of shit that can be used to fix a disaster like this. BP is the company with the equipment, and they know how their equipment works. BP has the highly-paid petroleum engineers. Why should Uncle Sam have to fix something that BP fucked?

Just shove Rush Limbaugh down the well already and be done with it.

[oladub]

gp, What did Roosevelt do when Pearl Harbor was bombed? He helped mobilize the nation to address the problem at hand. Other things can wait. The reason Uncle Sam has to help fix BP's mess is because it is destroying at least a good part of the Gulf; it's fishing, tourism, ecology. Gov. Jindal has been complaining that Louisiana can't even get the booms it needs to protect its beaches and estuaries. The federal government can't even protect our shores from an invasion of oil in good weather. We have thousands of parked fishing boats which could be used to corral oil. We have a huge navy somewhere that could similarly be carrying out chores. We have unused industrial capacity that could be fabricating other rigs to relieve the pressure and other containment equipment. BP has had over 30 days and the leakage may be getting worse. If it is necessary to build a 5000 foot caisson, we better get going on this. Send BP the bill. The spill will only get bigger

[Sstashmoo]

Howard Hughes would have resolved this already/

[Pam]

Just shove Rush Limbaugh down the well already and be done with it.

Best solution I've heard so far.

[Jimaz]

A nearly mile-deep caisson?! Fantasy.

The veneer's worn conspicuously thin on this universal privatization scam.

Now the oilists are back to blaming the "government." It's not the government. It's the lack of government. The corrupt private-sector/lobbyist/legislature triad once again are resorting to wagging their fingers at themselves as if that will somehow magically deflect the blame away from themselves. That won't work anymore.

The private sector has been vilifying their own sugar daddy "government" for decades for "over regulating" them when exactly the opposite has occurred. Then the moment their biggest private-sector heroes create disasters they come crying back to demand their formerly alleged socialist "oppressors" rescue them from their culpability with a "socialist" [[make those who neither caused nor profited from the problem pay for the) solution. And their "oppressors" immediately consent! Explain that. The same stale scam over and over again.

It's jumped the shark. It's all too obvious. The thieves have taken for granted for far too long that no one can see through this scam. Well, permit me to call attention to the elephant in the room. Everyone can now see through the scam and I'm not referring to the teabaggers. The parasitic saboteurs in power have exploited the scam to the point that John Q. Public knows that teabaggers are nothing more than cheap shills used to distract the populace from this scam.

Please. Pretend it isn't so.

[Papasito]

Why should Uncle Sam have to fix something that BP fucked?

Because it's thier job, and because there are laws and legislation that require it.
refer to my post above, which refers to the
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT
http://wildlifelaw.unm.edu/fedbook/fwpca.html
and the
Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/FWS_...bilities05.pdf

Every time you guys see a dead fish or whale, every time you see a sea turtle wash up on the beach, every time you see the news reports where they stick a pole in the water and it comes out dripping with goo, just say to yourself
"Why should Uncle Sam have to fix something that BP fucked?"

I'm sure that will fix everything.

OPA Section 4201 amended Section 311[[c) of the CWA to provide the President [[delegated to the USCG or EPA) with three options: perform cleanup immediately [[“federalize� the spill), monitor the response efforts of the spiller, or direct the spiller’s cleanup activities. The revised response authorities addressed concerns “that precious time would be lost while waiting for the spiller to marshall its cleanup forces.�35The federal government determines the level of cleanup required.

This should have happened as soon as the Federal Government was aware of the magnitude of this disaster.

What does the President--ANY President--do in an instance like this? It's not like the federal government has a giant tool shed full of shit that can be used to fix a disaster like this.

It is the President's [[and the Fed's) responsibility to be prepared for this. That's why they have taken our tax dollars and put them in a fund specifically designed for this type of emergency. Refer to http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/lawsregs/ncpover.htm

The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, more commonly called the National Contingency Plan or NCP, is the federal government's blueprint for responding to both oil spills and hazardous substance releases. The National Contingency Plan is the result of our country's efforts to develop a national response capability and promote overall coordination among the hierarchy of responders and contingency plans.