Gulf coast oil spill

[Shawnee123]

Jesus H Christ that's sad.

I have a hard time looking at that.

I have a hard time listening to trolls trying to turn such a horrible tragedy into political gain or personal "I told you so." Fucking assholes should be ashamed of themselves. Also whoring is this type of behavior, selling self and compassion for the greater good to seem so fucking goddam smart and right about everything, when the opposite is so obvious.

[glatt]

That picture needs something...

[glatt]

There. That's better.

[HungLikeJesus]

That reminds me of Toxic Avenger.

[ZenGum]

That is so horrible. Worse is knowing that it is going on thousands and thousands of times all along the gulf coast. These areas are ecologically very important and are in the process of being repeatedly kicked in the nuts.

Although it is not so dramatic, what is going on under the water is probably more important. Bacteria are feasting on all that oil, using up oxygen as they do. There have been transient anaerobic dead spots in the gulf for years - largely due to run-off coming down the river - but this is going to be the big daddy of dead spots. Even after the leak has been plugged, and the oil scooped up, broken down or dispersed, it is going to take years - decades - to fully recover from this.

Roll on hydrogen cars.

Newsflash: a clean-up crew with mops was dispatched to central Chicago after over 6 liters of H2O leaked from processing facility...

[TheMercenary]

Now if we get another CAT 3 storm to hit the coast we can just put it in a box and forget about it. It will not be the same for at least the next 20 years.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Roll on hydrogen cars.

Newsflash: a clean-up crew with mops was dispatched to central Chicago after over 6 liters of H2O leaked from processing facility...

Are you serious?

Hydrogen safety

• "Hydrogen-air mixtures can ignite with very low energy input, 1/10th that required igniting a gasoline-air mixture. For reference, an invisible spark or a static spark from a person can cause ignition."
• "Although the autoignition temperature of hydrogen is higher than those for most hydrocarbons, hydrogen's lower ignition energy makes the ignition of hydrogen–air mixtures more likely. The minimum energy for spark ignition at atmospheric pressure is about 0.02 millijoules."

• Leakage, diffusion, and buoyancy: These hazards result from the difficulty in containing hydrogen. Hydrogen diffuses extensively, and when a liquid spill or large gas release occurs, a combustible mixture can form over a considerable distance from the spill location.
• Hydrogen, in both the liquid and gaseous states, is particularly subject to leakage because of its low viscosity and low molecular weight (leakage is inversely proportional to viscosity). Because of its low viscosity alone, the leakage rate of liquid hydrogen is roughly 100 times that of JP-4 fuel, 50 times that of water, and 10 times that of liquid nitrogen.
• Hydrogen leaks can support combustion at very low flow rates, as low as 4 micrograms/s.[5]

I think the explosions will make the news first.

I watched a hydrogen powered car race at Bonneville (on tv), it needed an escort everywhere it went to make sure it kept a safe distance from everything else - as it was considered an explosion risk.

[ZenGum]

Yeah, I wonder what a good hurricane will do to all this. One will probably come through just about the time they've capped the well and are siphoning oil onto a ship - just enough to force the ship to dump the siphon hose and flee, letting the spill resume.

The effect on the shore will be terrible - oil bloody everywhere - but possibly the turbulence might help reduce the anaerobic dead zone. Maybe. [clings to hope].

Merc, your nearest coast is facing the Atlantic, isn't it?

[ZenGum]

Jinx ... yeah, true, think of that as a self-cleaning spill ... very clean.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Yeah, I wonder what a good hurricane will do to all this. One will probably come through just about the time they've capped the well and are siphoning oil onto a ship - just enough to force the ship to dump the siphon hose and flee, letting the spill resume.

The effect on the shore will be terrible - oil bloody everywhere - but possibly the turbulence might help reduce the anaerobic dead zone. Maybe. [clings to hope].

Merc, your nearest coast is facing the Atlantic, isn't it?

Yes, but the Gulf Stream is 50 miles from our coast, head 2 hours South and the Gulf Stream is a few miles away. It is unlikely that we will get effected.

We are here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...44603&t=h&z=12

[ZenGum]

Gulf stream ... could this oil end up on English beaches?

[TheMercenary]

I have no idea, but I seriously doubt it.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Yeah, I wonder what a good hurricane will do to all this.

It'd probably drive the oil several miles inland, maybe coating everything in the process.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by glatt

There. That's better.

Time to disseminate that to my enviro-friends. Fuck that is horrifying.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

It'd probably drive the oil several miles inland, maybe coating everything in the process.

I would guess that a hurricane is just what is needed to reduce the concentration of oil to a survivable level. Hardly an ideal solution...