This is amazing. The simple solution might be hay or straw.

Video:
YouTube - CWRoberts Presentation 2.wmv (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5SxX2EntEo&feature=player_embedded)

News:
The Associated Press: Inventors say BP ignoring their oil spill ideas (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9FQ8MKO2)

It certainly can't hurt to try... I can't imagine why they don't.

I like the giant shower curtain idea.:rolleyes: I also hear they are collecting hair and pantyhose for the cleanup.


10,000 fixes people have proposed to counter the growing environmental threat. BP is taking a closer look at 700 of the ideas.

We are in unchartered territory here . The closest comparison I can come up with is the Apollo 13 mission. If it appears that much of this is winging it ,it's because it is winging it. Working at the depth is pretty much like landing on the dark side of the moon.

When all is said and done ,procedures will be established to deal with the next one based on the lessons learned from this one.

This is amazing. The simple solution might be hay or straw.

Video:
YouTube - CWRoberts Presentation 2.wmv (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5SxX2EntEo&feature=player_embedded)

News:
The Associated Press: Inventors say BP ignoring their oil spill ideas (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9FQ8MKO2)

It certainly can't hurt to try... I can't imagine why they don't.

Truly innovative, I wonder how they know about this characteristic, but it could be flown out and dropped but have they tested it with raw crude in salt water? And does it mop up the under surface oil?

A great idea for oil absorbent booms

Hay, who would have thought? Like he said, green, available and maybe burned some of the energy from the lost oil could be recovered.
Thanks



G&P

I like the giant shower curtain idea.:rolleyes: I also hear they are collecting hair and pantyhose for the cleanup.

I saw that story. Actually it was just a photo showing someone getting a haircut for the Gulf, but they really are doing just that (http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html) and have their own demo (http://www.youtube.com/user/matteroftrust#p/u/3/2Q0cL4GsSqw). I think they need to see the hay demo...

Hello:

Doncha just LOVE the Republican reason why we shouldn't raise the cap BP has to pay to clean up the mess, to $10 billion, from $75 million. If we DID raise the cap, they say, then the mom and pop oil companies would be shut out of the drilling... What??

Uhhhh, isn't that what we WANT? Wouldn't it be good to only let drillers drill, who can AFFORD to pay for their mistakes?? No? If the Republicans want mom and pop drillers, who CAN'T pay for their cleanup, whose going to be left to BAIL 'EM OUT? I thought Republicans HATED taxpayer bailouts... But, I guess if its for big oil, bailouts are cool. I understand.

excon

Ex, you sure have a way of digging all kinds of BS out of nothing.

ex, you sure have a way of digging all kinds of BS out of nothing.Hello again, Steve:

Before this spill, had I mentioned it as a possibility, you would have made the same accusation.

The only possible basis for your accusation, is your disbelief that another oil spill of this magnitude could happen. Otherwise, you WOULD only want drillers who could pay for their mistakes... Wouldn't you??

It's that, OR you're perfectly willing to have the TAXPAYER pay for the cleanup that the driller CAN'T afford, and you KNOW he can't afford.

Tell me where I'm wrong.

excon

Silly me, I thought I was just commenting on the technology of hair booms and hay as oil sorbents. I was really talking about all that other stuff?

BP should not get any money from the government.
BP should pay serious fines for every MINUTE that this oil keeps spilling into the Gulf.
BP should do SOMETHING (paid for from their own abundant coffers) about this problem NOW, instead of just yacking about "potential solutions".

Isn't this what every American Taxpayer and decent person should be saying now?

Anyway, I thought it was Cheney's fault.

At the risk of starting a new subject:

Every regime here in America wants to blame the last one(s) for the problems.

Let's stop that crap now and demand (with our votes and letters and emails to our congresspeople) that the people in power NOW change it.

If we don't do that then we are destined to repeat the same old sheet over and over again.

I forgot to engage the sarcasm font on that last post. But to engage Obama's favorite phrase, let me be clear - I blame current and future problems on the current regime.

Isn't this what every American Taxpayer and decent person should be saying now??Hello again, Rick:

I can't speak for the decent people, but us taxpayers are on board.

excon

BP should do SOMETHING (paid for from their own abundant coffers) about this problem NOW, instead of just yacking about "potential solutions".


If there was an immediate fix don't you think they would've employed it by now ? They are in the business of pumping oil into tankers and pipelines .They don't make any money from having the oil spill all over the sea floor .

It's not like they haven't tried anything . One attempt failed completely and the most recent one has had a degree of success. What they haven't done is completely shut off the breach.
I am 100% sure it is not for lack of trying . Wouldn't you at least admit that this is quite an engineering challenge ?

Wouldn't you at least admit that this is quite an engineering challenge ?Hello again, tom:

Further evidence of our complete unreadiness for such an event. This should have been anticipated and planned for. SOMEBODY should have asked about it? What happens if we can't EVER get it to stop? What happens if the entire contents of the oil field spill?

Don't tell me I'm creating BS out of nothing. That absolutely could happen.

excon

Hello again, Rick:
I can't speak for the decent people, but us taxpayers are on board.
excon

Don't mix sarcasm or joking with truth in the same sentence. Many of us know you but you should know that there are thousands who read your posts who don't know you.

I, and those who have seen many of your posts know you better than that, Excon: You are a good (aka decent) person and a taxpayer.

... so I must presume that you agree with the quoted line unless you say "I disagree because..." ;)

I don't disagree the possibility exists. Anticipate ? I'm sure they did ,and all the safeguards employed to prevent it failed.

When the Apollo 13 blew a tank in space NASA engineers effectively winged it and created a fix that thankfully worked .There was no manual describing step by step procedures for what to do if the safety systems failed .If their duct tape solutions hadn't worked the mission would've been an unanticipated disaster .
I'm sure after the fact they redesigned the Apollo craft to have standard size filtration systems as I'm sure AFTER this procedures will be adopted and stricter regulatory oversight employed .

There are plenty of what if questions that needs answering later . I think there should be a concerted effort now at plugging the leak instead of finger pointing .

unless you say "I disagree because..." ;)Hello again, Rick:

I don't disagree... But, Dude! You're ruining my street cred.. ;)

Ex

I don't disagree the possibility exists.Hello again, tom:

How big is the oilfield? Sometimes I make noise. But, when YOU concur, I get worried.

excon

I really do hate to be the bearer of bad news .

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/business/global/03oil.html

Edit see my reply below

Hello again, tom:

Oy vey!

excon

Did more digging . The field is called 'Macondo Prospect' .Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, estimated the Macondo well contained about 50 million to 100 million barrels of oil in an interview with the Houston Chronicle on May 6. This would make it a relatively modest discovery.

It is not as big as the link I posted above .But in my view 100 million barrels is big enough .

The EPA has stood in the way of the development of genetically engineered bacteria that can break down and eliminate oil from spills that remain in the ecosphere decades after a spill event.
Scientists Break Down Oil-Eating Microbe: Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-break-down-oil)
The likelihood of bacteria helping the cleanup is very high, yet the EPA insists that it is not safe.

Yet the EPA and BP continue to use dispersant chemicals as an alternative. A perusal of the MSDS sheet for the chemical being used is revealing .
http://lmrk.org/corexit_9500_uscueg.539287.pdf
Here are some highlights :
WARNING
Combustible.
Keep away from heat. Keep away from sources of ignition - No smoking. Keep container tightly closed. Do not get
In eyes, on skin, on clothing. Do not take internally. Avoid breathing vapor. Use with adequate ventilation. In case
Of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice. After contact with skin, wash
Immediately with plenty of soap and water.
Wear suitable protective clothing.
Low Fire Hazard; liquids may burn upon heating to temperatures at or above the flash point. May evolve oxides of
Carbon (COx) under fire conditions. May evolve oxides of sulfur (SOx) under fire conditions.



SKIN CONTACT :
May cause irritation with prolonged contact.
INGESTION :
Not a likely route of exposure. Can cause chemical pneumonia if aspirated into lungs following ingestion.
INHALATION :

METHODS FOR CLEANING UP :
SMALL SPILLS: Soak up spill with absorbent material. Place residues in a suitable, covered, properly labeled
Container. Wash affected area. LARGE SPILLS: Contain liquid using absorbent material, by digging trenches or by
Diking. Reclaim into recovery or salvage drums or tank truck for proper disposal. Clean contaminated surfaces with
Water or aqueous cleaning agents. Contact an approved waste hauler for disposal of contaminated recovered
Material. Dispose of material in compliance with regulations indicated in Section 13 (Disposal Considerations).

No toxicity studies have been conducted on this product.


Scientists have been advancing the technology of oil eating bacteria as part of an oil spill response for some time now . They enhance the efficiency of naturally occurring bacteria that consume hydrocarbons and spit out carbon dioxide and water.

The bacteria consume the oil until there is no residue left .
When the food (oil) runs out, the bacteria die .

Hello again, tom:

I hear they're getting ready for plan D - Sham - Wow.

excon

great idea !!
:p:p:p:p:p:

Why don't they just turn the valve off?

... Yeah, I know, that's a silly question.

The valve is broken and they don't have a backup plan. So let's not take more money from the taxpayers to help this multi billion dollar company fix the problem that they let happen.

They are a FOR PROFIT organization, let's do what we can to hold them accountable and make them fix this problem that they have caused.

The best option to shut off the valve is the relief wells being drilled now . Conservative estimates have that project completed in August. Everything else they are attempting is ad hoc temporary fixes.

Today their attempt to saw off a piece of the pipe failed . This has been an exercise in Murphy's law.

I think the life expectency of BP is low right now . I hope they will complete this before they go completely belly-up. If the President continues to threaten criminal accountability to the company he is depending on fixin the leak then they may end up one of those "too big to fail " companies that get Tarp-like consideration. Alot of good it will do suing a corpse.

The latest idea gaining steam is nuke it (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/us/03nuke.html?partner=rss&emc=rss).

The Sham-wow might work for the cleanup, but we need something better and more powerful than a nuke to shut it off.

‘Mighty Fixit’ Self-Fusing Silicone Tape:

NvDbBYTL15E

The way Russia cleans up large and small oil spills in the ocean is with the use of guess what? Butter. Yep. Plain, old, natural butter. It's taken out to sea in specially heated containers and then put onto the surface of the water. There is specially designed heated boom that is used also. If you have ever cooked with butter you will know that butter goes into other material. The is basically the same thing only on a much larger scale. When the butter grabs ahold of the submerged oil it then floats to the surface and congeals into a readily skimmable mass. This skimmed mass is then broken down and the oil is salvaged from the butter. They have been doing this for years and their waters after any kind of an oil spill are just as pristine as before the spill. The Russians perfected this technique years ago but America was and is still not interested in it. America would rather use toxic dispersants and kill every living organism in the ocean instead of actually cleaning the oil out of the water. Russia does not use any kind of oil dispersant as they want their oceans to continue to have sea life in them.

And then when it's separated the butter goes to the market and sold as clarified butter .

The latest idea gaining steam is nuke it (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/us/03nuke.html?partner=rss&emc=rss).

]

That is a really bad idea

and then when it's separated the butter goes to the market and sold as clarified butter .

Yes innovative those Russians and who would have thought the Russians had a butter surplus big enough to clean up an oil spill. So what the US needs is some Russians initiative

Contrary to those here who are ignorant of this Russian clean up system. No, the butter is NOT recycled - just the oil. The Russians don't use a bazillion gallons of melted butter for a spill. The amount needed in ratio to the oil to be "mopped up" is very low in comparison.