Their robot camera is looking studiously in another direction at the moment, but at about 9:10 AM the live feed was showing what looked like a cloud of flying stones. From the industry experts at The Oil Drum:
What the hell just happened?
Was watching - monitoring ROV turned camera away and then whoosh -- the chunky debris has me suspecting a sizable rupture in that kinked and perforated section of the riser.
And here's a low res screen shot from somebody's twitter account:
That's just one piece of debris. Watching an hour ago, there was lots more of it.
And here it is, courtesy youtube. Shit starts to happen around the one minute mark:
Update: or were they just trying to knock mud off the ROV (Robot vehicle?)?
Update to update: Nope. Something exploded. Frame by frame here.
14 comments:
The Gulf is already f@cked.
Oil companies love to talk about the shoreline impact of oil spills - because THAT is all the public can really usually see - and they pretend if it doesn't hit shore there's no real environmental impact. Kind of like their "chemical stew" solution to the problem: just add some toxins, and let it all sink to the bottom of the sea.
Thing is, the impact on the subsurface biomes in the Gulf are far more catastrophic than can be imagined. Right now, reefs are beginning to die, entire hatching areas are being engulfed, and full sized (mature, breeding) sea species are being wiped out.
This is not only going to kill off the shrimp/shellfish fisheries (don't let anyone ever feed you shellfish from that area again - even 25yrs after Valdez we're still seeing toxins in the sea life), but it is also going to eradicate the general fishery for years to come.
One of the greatest tourist attractions in the Gulf region is deep sea fishing - catching the prized Marlin, etc. That just won't be happening - and where there will still be a few left, they're probably not going to reproduce for long. Swimmin' with the dolphins? Nope. Petting live sharks? Maybe in an aquarium.
There is ONE solution to all this: ban offshore drilling. Period.
Begin a full infrastructure investment in electric technology/hydrogen fuel, etc.
This (however unfortunately) is just what Obama needed to force the US into a "Green Shift". The US - if focusing it's tech on this event - can become THE leader in green tech around the world. If they led the petroleum revolution at the turn of the last century, imagine the golden lining in leading the electric revolution? Imagine how the developing world (that is awash in sunshine) would pay for advanced solar technologies, wind tech, etc.?
Offshore platforms should only be used to house wind turbines, and as oceanic research stations. Drilling should cease, and all oil companies need to pay for the cleanup around the rigs (the environments are usually toxic because there is always leakage before, during, and after drilling).
The oil sands wont destroy no stinking Gulf of Mexico, nor will it harm N.Alberta.
Alberta’s total oil sands resource covers about 140,000 square kilometers. Only two percent of the oil sands can be mined from the surface, causing significant surface environmental impact. The minable region covers an area one-third the size of metropolitan Edmonton.
The remaining oil sands deposits require various in situ techniques, involving drilling into the reservoir from central pads. In situ oil sands production causes far less surface impact than mining production.
Producers are required by law to return the land to a natural state after operations.
Good post. I'll have a full video up momentarily. This one only shows the end. They appear to be looping the "live" feed back to before the junk shot/explosion presently...
Elroy's totally off-topic post supporting the Alberta oilsands is brought to you by the Harper Government...
CBC - Bureaucrats monitor online forums
The Harper Government - your tax dollars are ours.
Not only is elroy off topic he is also wrong. Perhaps he should as the natives living north of the oilsands how their health is these days. There is ample evidence that rivers and lakes are being affected by the tar sands operations.
Producers are required by law to return the land to a natural state after operations.
By law they're suppose to post financial security equivalent to the cost of reclamation. The money's returned when a reclamation certificate is issued. There's a subtle difference between this and being forced by law to restore the land since companies could just walk away from the security they posted.
There is some discussion on what restoration means. Environmentalists want the lands restore to what it was like before. The government and industry are happy with "equivalent land capability."
So far, the leader at restoration trumpets at 22% of their "disturbed" lands as reclaimed.
"The oil sands wont destroy no stinking Gulf of Mexico, nor will it harm N.Alberta."
Nah, the stinking tar sands will just destroy the coast of BC when the first tanker goes down, if Gordo gets his pipeline.
Is the debris we see coming out from the junk shot?
Perhaps he should as the natives living north of the oilsands how their health is these days. There is ample evidence that rivers and lakes are being affected by the tar sands operations. - double nickel
Ample evidence my eye. You shouldn't rely on kooks who don't understand simple statistical analysis or the musings of incompetent doctors.
@Paul...you could be right, the people living off the land are probably only imagining that they're sick. Regardless, they're just Inidians, right?
All types of people get cancer double nickel, not just Indians.
Holly, can you quote a reputable source? Zealots rarely make good critics.
PNAS, Dumstrum.
Of course I realize a science-hating rube like you will just continue to believe whatever the industry tells you.
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/52/22346.full
Thanks Lenny.
That study, like all others, fails to demonstrate any increased cancer risk to citizens living there.
Do you have any legitimate studies backing up the increased cancer rate fable?
You haven't heard about the cancer study?
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/06/edm-fort-chip-cancer.html
This oil spill affect coral reefs,I hope government take an action. anyway government employee must be wear Tuxedos or any formal wear.
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