from SLATE: > Worst-Case Oil Spill Scenario Terrifies Readers > The editors of the Oil Drum, a long-running group blog about the future of > energy, posted a lengthy guest post from a reader that spells out a > frightening worst-case scenario for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The piece, > incredibly well-sourced and cited with quotes from BP executives and other > officials, argues that the pressure building in the oil reserve that the > Deepwater Horizon rig was tapped into is building and may soon erupt through > the ocean floor. It has been picked up everywhere from ScienceBlogs to Mother > Jones to Gawker. A cap on the riser pipe that sticks out of the ocean floor > "will undermine the foundation of the seabed in and around the well area," > dougr writes. "It also weakens the only thing holding up the massive Blow Out > Preventer's immense bulk of 450 tons. ... When enough is eroded away the > casings will buckle and the BOP [blow out preventer] will collapse the well." > It won't be long after that that the entire system fails, dougr argues. The > pressure will open a giant gusher at the bottom of the ocean where 150,000 > barrels of crude or more will spill out every day. "It's a race now ... a > race to drill the relief wells and take our last chance at killing this > monster before the whole weakened, wore out, blown out, leaking and failing > system gives up its last gasp in a horrific crescendo." While the piece is > riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, reads a bit like a conspiracy > theory, and is disputed by several in the comments, others are still taking > it—at least a little—seriously. "For those who think it is strange that I be > highlighting a comment in a thread, I should note that [The Oil Drum] > attracts many, many petroleum geologists and other professionals, and while > sometimes the comments are the same 'pulled it out of my ass' as on every > other website, often, the technical knowledge on offer is pretty astounding," > Sharon Astyk wrote. "This one passes my smell test, which is usually pretty > good."
> Read original story in The Oil Drum > [http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593/648967] | Thursday, June 17, 2010 < -- Jim Devine "Those who take the most from the table Teach contentment. Those for whom the taxes are destined Demand sacrifice. Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry of wonderful times to come. Those who lead the country into the abyss Call ruling too difficult For ordinary folk." – Bertolt Brecht. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
