What a coincidence Brome! I'd just finished putting in my post when I saw yours. Thanks so much for bringing attention to this issue!

So thankful to environmental groups for making good things happen!

(Probably still wouldn't hurt to sign/send the petition)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2010 08:50PM by suncloud.

Here's a link to the EDF turtle petition Suncloud mentioned. It'll still do good to sign it:

[feedproxy.google.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2010 09:19PM by brome.

First Amendment suspended in the Gulf of Mexico as spill cover-up goes Orwellian

[www.naturalnews.com]

Quote

(NaturalNews) As CNN is now reporting, the U.S. government has issued a new rule that would make it a felony crime for any journalist, reporter, blogger or photographer to approach any oil cleanup operation, equipment or vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone caught is subject to arrest, a $40,000 fine and prosecution for a federal felony crime.

CNN reporter Anderson Cooper says, "A new law passed today, and back by the force of law and the threat of fines and felony charges, ... will prevent reporters and photographers from getting anywhere close to booms and oil-soaked wildlife just about any place we need to be. By now you're probably familiar with cleanup crews stiff-arming the media, private security blocking cameras, ordinary workers clamming up, some not even saying who they're working for because they're afraid of losing their jobs."

Go to the site for much more.

Also, here's a link to the EDF action site in case that link above doesn't work:

[www.edf.org]

Thanks again Brome!

Well dang. So far A Whale isn't performing up to expectations. Seems the waves are too high. They're trying again today. And a new hurricane is poised south of the Gulf.

While they're getting this new sealing cap on in the next few days maybe A Whale will get a chance to skim some oil, at least till the Helix Producer and Discoverer are connected, tuned up and collecting up to 50,000 barrels? per day.

So far so good on the cap switch. The massive old flange bolts are undone and the flange removed making way to bolt down the new flange adapter so they can attach the new cap.

Hard at work during the night, pulling off the old flange --

[www.youtube.com]

[www.thelightgate.com]

This audio talks about operation "deep sleep" that will go down tonight. They will nuke the well to creat earthquakes, gas explosions, and tsunami.

The Boa ROV 1 is showing real time video as they attempt to mate the adapter (transition spool) to the flange --

[www.bp.com]

The transition spool has been seated and is probably being bolted down momentarily. Whew! The end of this oil spill is in sight.

Next up is lowering the capping stack onto the transition spool. The Enterprise ROV 2 has it in its sight suspended from drill pipe --

[www.bp.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2010 09:25PM by loeve.

Ah, a new feed of what many ROVs are doing all in one window --

[data.plan9.de]

At the moment the Ocean Intervention ROV 1 is showing the tightening of the bolts.

Great stuff loeve. Thanks!

Hope this will drastically reduce or even stop the leak!

Thanks, loeve!

reading stuff like this just makes me incredibly sad what we are doing to our planet [www.helium.com]

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

That is so scary Jgunn, and so believable (unfortunately).

2012?

HOpe this cap is working, and not just forcing up more methane! Jeez. Hope this cap is working!

The following site has a 3-part series on oil & gas drilling, with the 3rd part dealing with the Macondo well (site of the Deepwater Horizon event). It's lengthy reading but very informative:
[www.energytrainingresources.com]

Wishing you vibrant health

Thanks Pistachio.

Hope people get to checking out your link. It looks very interesting. For me unfortunately, I have to wait until the 23rd. I'm conserving internet usage until then because of a goof-up in downloading a new program. The PDF links use up too much right now. Darn.

Good find though!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2010 03:20AM by suncloud.

This BP static kill (top kill) idea sounds tempting.

pros

1. It would kill the well, and so relieve pressure on the well head setup.

2. It would relieve pressure right down to the oil reservior, for those concerned about possible casing failure and seeps.

3. It would simplify the ultimate bottom kill.

4. Less worries if and when leaving the well shut in for a hurricane.

5. No more oil needs to enter the gulf (though I'm not quite sure oil needs to spill in any case).

cons

1. We wouldn't be able to measure the flow.

2. No more draw down on the reservior pressure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 11:03AM by loeve.

static kill? I don't think I've heard of this, but I haven't been keeping up very well.

It seems the way things are now, the well is plugged up. But it's still being tested, because there are some seepings from the well bore and from the ocean floor. The pressure is apparently surprisingly low, which might be because of leaks. On the other hand, the pressure is steadily rising. Still very scary.

The new BP scandal is this Lockerbie thing. My understanding of it is this: Libya informed BP that BP would not get a huge Libyan oil contract unless Scottland released the Lockerbie bomber. A BP rep - who was formerly the head of UK counterintelligence - lobbied for the release, and the UK prime minister signed on to approve it. However, Scottland still says the man was released because of concerns for his health.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 10:01PM by suncloud.

suncloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> static kill?

Yes, static kill is BP's term for their latest top kill idea. They could have simply called it a top kill (where mud is injected from the top to kill the well). The authorities sound receptive to the idea.

The first top kill attempt back in May(?) was a bust with lots of mud escaping out the BOP and the authorities calling it quits over pressure concerns. This time the well is relatively static with lower pressure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 11:53PM by loeve.

Gosh, Top Kill II.....(nerveracking)

Correction on my previous post. It was the British foreign minister (not the prime minister) who signed off for the UK on the release of the Lockerbie bomber. I think Scottland had the final say, but don't know for sure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 11:58PM by suncloud.

With Top Kill I they were pumping mud at very high pressure to overcome the formation pressure and momentum of the oil blow-out. I haven't seen those pressure numbers from that attempt but, just guessing, they may have been pumping mud at 10000psi to try to overcome a formation exerting, say, 8000psi at the BOP. If it had worked the well would have been killed two months ago.

The well is shut in. I can't understand why they don't just kill it with mud from the top, now.

"think twice, act once" is the message boldly printed on the new Cameron capping stack. PB vice president Kent Wells said yesterday they were using an "overabundance of caution" in waiting until the relief well casing is cemented before attempting the static kill, that is, provided unified command gives the go-ahead.

I guess BP is now waiting to see if they have to evacuate Macondo temporarily because of the storm that's coming. They've already halted work on the relief well and installed a plug. But if they evacuate, the main gusher will be uncapped for up to 2 weeks.

I saw Thad Allen's comment earlier in the day that they might open the gusher for the duration of the storm. Late last night they released his final decision --

"As I stated earlier today, I have directed BP to continue with the well shut in procedure while the work to kill the well is temporarily suspended. I have also directed BP to take measures to ensure the vessels operating the ROV's are the last to leave, and the first to return in order to maximize monitoring of the well. Monitoring of the site during the well integrity test remains one of the government's highest priorities."

[app.restorethegulf.gov]

Thank goodness! There will be no new oil spilled into the gulf hopefully asside from a few minor leaks on the BOP and cap.

I heard the nuclear sub Jimmy Carter might be in the gulf and has ROV capabilities and so could watch the well during the storm. Maybe that's top secret.

Yes. Thank goodness! I hope all goes OK with the well during the storm.

Looks like the storm is now downgraded to a tropical depression. Hooray!

Now if we can only figure out how not to burn a billion barrels a day,
two steps forward one back. two hundred Valdeses vaborizing every day.
B.P. bombing people out of the sky

I've turned off my water heater and refrigerator and ride my bike whenever possible, though still have burned a lot of dynosaurs in the past.

What's BP up to? They just got the go-ahead to cement the well and are wasting no time pumping it as I write this post. I think they are going to surprise us again like they did with the latest cap shutting it in.

It looks like things have stabilized. I am just concerned that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg concerning damage to wildlife and ecosystems. There's what seems a barely plausible conspiracy theory going around the interwebs about how BP has been stealing away in the night with truckloads full of dead dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, and whales to keep the death tolls artificially low. Hoping against hope this isn't true, because I am almost out of cynicism to get me through such things . . .

That's where the "unknown unknowns" come in. If there is an Invasion of the Body Snatchers type conspiracy with concealing turtle, dolphin and whale deaths I suppose it will come out eventually. There are so many people involved it'll be hard to keep many secrets.

It's also the little sea animals that tend to be forgotten, like sand fleas and countless zooplankton, cute little crustaceans that are hardly visible that are blotted out with the oil. The tip of Florida is also expected to take a hit from the plumes of dispersed oil eventually when the currents eventually shift that way.

On average 53,000 barrels of oil per day is the figure the Unified Command has come up with for a total spill of 4.9 million barrels, far exceeding the Ixtoc Gulf spill of '79. It sounds like the remaining million plus barrels of intact oil is going to swirl around the gulf for a while.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2010 11:43AM by loeve.