First Video of Oil Gushing from Broken Gulf Oil Well
Demonstrations against BP were held across the country yesterday. (AP/Susan Montoya Bryan)
In case you haven't seen it and you still need to fill your daily quota for helpless outrage, here is the first video of the source of those 4 million gallons of toxic crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's broken oil well. There is no sound, so don't worry about your screams of rage drowning out any edifying commentary. (SPOILER ALERT: At the end, it just keeps gushing.)
Boing Boing's Maggie Koerth-Baker, who posted the video yesterday, writes, "The Joint Investigation Committee says that you're looking at both oil and gas coming out of the broken pipe. Bit of conjecture on my part: I think what we might be seeing here is a methane gas bubble briefly interrupting the flow of oil, which is pretty eerie to watch, given that this was also the cause of the explosion that lead to the oil spill in the first place." And here's another showing the futile attempt to lower a giant containment dome over the leak.
Yesterday, for the second straight day, a House subcommittee questioned executives of the four companies at the heart of the accident. According to confidential corporate documents released by Congress, the 450-ton blowout preventers—which were supposed to shut off the oil flow in the event of emergency—were plagued with bad wiring and even a dead battery. "The blowout preventer apparently had a significant leak," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.). "This leak was found in the hydraulic system that provides emergency power to the shear rams, which are the devices that are supposed to cut the drill pipe and seal the well."
"This catastrophe appears to have been caused by a calamitous series of equipment and operational failures," said Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "If the largest oil and oil service companies in the world had been more careful, 11 lives might have been saved and our coastlines protected."
So what's next? Yesterday Energy Secretary Steven Chu emerged from a meeting with BP execs to tell reporters he was mysteriously hopeful that after more than three weeks of failure, the spill could be stopped. "Things are looking up," Chu told reporters. "Progress is being made." But when pressed to explain the reasons for his optimism, Chu said, "I’m feeling more comfortable than I was a week ago." It will take several months for BP to dig "relief wells" to stop the spill, but other options under consideration—ranging from a "junk shot" to bringing in a second blowout protector—could stop the spill sooner. Maybe even with in a few weeks! Then again, maybe not. Sorry dolphins, our bad.
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I love how an associate professor at Purdue has calcuated a 50k/bbld flow rate based on video analysis. For one, can't we find a full professor? These scientists need some common sense too. Some of the best wells in the Gulf of Mexico flow at 25k / bbld unrestricted. This well is flowing into 2200 psi of ocean pressure. It also has gas which will make the volumes look bigger in the video.
Helen Thomas knows the score
whats your point Jim?
5, 10, 15, 20...its big enough that it can be seen from space?!
That's because you're listening to the inside of your head.
jpeditor
wow man, heavy.
/s
inoyourider
Drill, Baby, Drill!
BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)
funny quotes by the exxon CEO.
"Our industry is one of the most heavily taxed in the world," says Gantt Walton, an Exxon spokesman. "While our worldwide profits have grown, our worldwide income taxes have grown even more." Walton says.
- Proposals by congressional Democrats to eliminate oil industry tax breaks and subsidies would set a bad example overseas and discourage new industry investments, Exxon Mobil's top executive said Thursday. Rex W. Tillerson said moves suggested by leaders of the incoming Democratic congressional majority would encourage similar steps by governments abroad, where Exxon Mobil Corp. generates the bulk of its profit.
"I think the bigger concern I have is not so much the economic direct effect of the fact that they want to take a tax break off here or there. But it's the message it sends the rest of the world that you don't have to provide stable (regulatory) frameworks," Tillerson told reporters after a speech to the Boston College Chief Executives' Club.
"And if that happens, none of us are going to be able to take the risk in this business."
Some Democrats also have suggested seeking a windfall profit tax on the industry — a proposal Tillerson called "a terrible idea."
Even funnier is the compensation for the CEO before him recieved when he left the company - $400 million dollars.
hehehe. but seriously, you folks looking for healthcare, money for education, extended unemployment benifits you're the greedy ones who are going to ruin this country. you lazy bastards.
BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)
you people calling for calm dont know how the game is played.
there will be no justice when all is said and done because the people with power dont give a fck about you or your dolphins.
consider there is 75 million dollar cap on damages BP would have to pay. That cap was set by our govt.
'Take the case of the Exxon Valdez, a tanker ship that ran aground and released nearly 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. Following this spill a court set punitive damages at $5 billion. Exxon litigated the decision for nearly 20 years until 2005 when the Supreme Court slashed the company’s punitive damages to $500 million. Of that, Exxon paid about $300 million after taking its tax deduction for punitive damages. Exxon’s profits that same year totaled $36.1 billion.'
HAHA
Laugh or cry about it, but dont pretend BP is going pay for this. They're going to get away their crimes the same way Goldman, Halliburton and Exxon before them have.
Wza
True.
Guest
What I want to know is why BP has an off-shore drill on what is essentially our property? Why weren't we drilling there and reaping the benefits? Plus, had it been our rig, maybe we would have been a bit more careful so as not to fuck up our coastline. Friggin' Brits!
Just make sure you hold BP liable for every penny. This is an accepted risk-- I don't say acceptable, since that is debatable, but everyone knew this would happen eventually going in. I mean, what did "Drill Baby Drill"ers think? Anyhow, this oil spill is a tragedy...the fix is to make BP pay for the clean up & the follow-up. The down the road consequences. Make them reinvest in the area's biological diversity, in over-all ocean clean-up, etc. Industrial disasters are a fact of life & part of the cost of doing business...just make sure that cost of business falls on BP.
If that makes gas prices higher, so be it. What, do you people with cars think your oil comes from magical consequence free Gasoline Trees? Heck, if I had my way there would be a tax on plastics, gasoline & other petrol products to pay for the huge war debt.
moocowtoo
I'm going to make a video of this video of a video.
Radbecca
What inspires my screams of rage is the release form oil rig workers were forced to sign after the incident or they couldn't go home to their families. Steve Newman should be tar-and-feathered ... using oil and dead pelicans. Inexcusable and inhumane.
Hadn't seen that before. Upsetting. I know that I never sign anything without looking closely at it (or having a lawyer do so), but in a moment of emotional distress and coercion, it would be difficult for anyone to be careful what they sign.
Radbecca
Right. They held some of these men for up to 12 hours, and each survivor had to pee in a cup for drug-testing. They weren't allowed to call their families until released. And -- drum roll please -- BP knew there was a problem hours before the explosion yet refused to suspend operations.
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