The Cover-up: BP's Crude Politics and the Looming Environmen

Madsen is a doom cryer and conspiracy lover, and uses adjectives and adverbs without regard to reality. Inexcusable.

 

What I'm saying --

"WMR---------- magnitude of the volcanic-level
Overstatement designed to stir emotions, not rational thought.

oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be called a "mega-disaster."
Obama and his senior White House staff, as well as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, are working with BP's chief executive officer Tony Hayward on legislation that would raise the cap on liability for damage claims from those affected by the oil disaster from $75 million to $10 billion. However, WMR's federal and Gulf state sources are reporting the disaster has the real potential cost of at least $1 trillion.
Extrapolation to worst case, but has no basis in fact; strictly guessing. Could be accurate, but is as stated a bit inflammatory.
Critics of the deal being worked out between Obama and Hayward point out that $10 billion is a mere drop in the bucket for a trillion dollar disaster but also note that BP, if its assets were nationalized, could fetch almost a trillion dollars for compensation purposes. There is talk in some government circles, including FEMA, of the need to nationalize BP in order to compensate those who will ultimately be affected by the worst oil disaster in the history of the world.
What good would that do? Simply inject federal incompetence into the mix and raise the costs. Again, rumor. Who are these "sources"?
Plans by BP to sink a 4-story containment dome over the oil gushing from a gaping chasm one kilometer below the surface of the Gulf, where the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and killed 11 workers on April 20, and reports that one of the leaks has been contained is pure public relations disinformation
Rubbish. These appear to be facts, reported as they happen, and by no means designed to avoid panic and demands for greater action by the Obama administration, according to FEMA and Corps of Engineers sources.
Who are these self styled experts? Sources within these agencies say the White House has been resisting releasing any "damaging information" about the oil disaster. I can't attach any credibility to that sort of source without knowing what their credentials are. As you are well aware, I do NOT think much of the administration or its agencies, the more so if they are speaking out their unqualified and unauthorized posteriors. They add that if the ocean oil geyser is not stopped within 90 days,
Who picked that number and why? What data was cherry picked for that SWAG? there will be irreversible damage to the marine eco-systems of the Gulf of Mexico, north Atlantic Ocean, and beyond. At best, some Corps of Engineers experts say it could take two years to cement the chasm on the floor of the Gulf. Chasm? If it was covered by the "outhouse" thing, it hardly is a chasm. Minuteman can correct me if it's relevant, but it is a 21 inch pipe. Gross overstatement.
Only after the magnitude of the disaster became evident did Obama order Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to declare the oil disaster a "national security issue."
If that is true, it's an extreme stretch to qualify the mess as a security issue.Although the Coast Guard and FEMA are part of her department, Napolitano's actual reasoning for invoking national security was to block media coverage of the immensity of the disaster that is unfolding for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and their coastlines. That implies a wish by the dot gov to choke off the First Amendment. That I can believe true, but the reasoning behind it is fallacious (as always.) What possible gain is there to conceal the magnitude when it will be obvious later and interfere with real preparations now?
From the Corps of Engineers, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency, Coast Guard, and Gulf state environmental protection agencies, the message is the same: "we've never dealt with anything like this before."
Good time for learning. Never dealt with a Katrina level mess before it happened either. Irrelevant and exculpatory, dodging the blame.
The Obama administration also conspired with BP to fudge the extent of the oil leak, according to our federal and state sources.
Get that one on paper, and zero won't survive the day in office. Even Pelosi will push for impeachment. Those sources should see the advantage to them (politically) by going public. After the oil rig exploded and sank, the government stated that 42,000 gallons per day was gushing from the seabed chasm. Five days later, the federal government upped the leakage to 210,000 gallons a day. Dot gov hadn't the least clue, and still doesn't, as to what the actual leak rate is. Neither does BP, but they are in a far better position to measure and publish the right numbers. That they haven't is another question entirely.
However, WMR has been informed that submersibles that are monitoring the escaping oil from the Gulf seabed are viewing television pictures of what is a "volcanic-like" eruption of oil. I have an opinion on the choice or words that will probably wait until the actual vids hit the web. I'll admit that it is a bit curious why they aren't there yet, but I'm not so sure the average joe would be able to interpret them beyond hand wringing. Moreover, when the Army Corps of Engineers first attempted to obtain NASA imagery of the Gulf oil slick -- which is (? Looks to me that what shows about covers reality.) larger than that being reported by the media -- it was turned down. I could ask why they were turned down, but at this point it's looking over the shoulder. --------------------
There is other satellite imagery being withheld by the Obama administration that shows what lies under the gaping chasm spewing oil at an ever-alarming rate is a cavern estimated to be around the size of Mount Everest. Pure, unadulterated inflammatory tripe. I'll believe it when something comes out to substantiate it. That said, I've puzzled over the reasoning behind moving the outhouse further away from the well head. Jeez, could it be true the hole in the sea floor is growing? (All that while still talking about cutting the pipe and doing a junk injection.) This information has been given an almost national security-level classification to keep it from the public, according to our sources. Rot and rotten sources seeking to acquire credibility with Mr. Madsen.

The Corps and Engineers and FEMA are quietly critical of the lack of support for quick action after the oil disaster by the Obama White House and the US Coast Guard. Aside the fact that the administration is handcuffed by laws and operating on third and fourth hand information, the WH was "in charge and on top of (the situation)" from the first. Slow? Additionally, the COE has nothing material to do with it other than preps for when it hits the coast. Notoriously poor in preps and design and maintenance of the preps (witness Katrina) the COE has no business being critical either in public or private. Only recently, has the Coast Guard understood the magnitude of the disaster, dispatching nearly 70 vessels to the affected area. What means recent? They have had access to the same information all along. Landry isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but she need not be. Again, the flow of info didn't get up the ladder as fast as might otherwise be expected. That's a comms fault that I'm sure the CG will fix if zero gives them the budget. WMR has also learned that inspections of off-shore rigs' shut-off valves by the Minerals Management Service during the Bush administration were merely rubber-stamp operations, resulting from criminal collusion between Halliburton and the Interior Department's service, and that the potential for similar disasters exists with the other 30,000 off-shore rigs that use the same shut-off valves.
Inflammatory, or, if true, a real mess indicative of a tremendous conspiracy involving thousands of people. I can't swallow that, there are too many honest people working out there.
The impact of the disaster became known to the Corps of Engineers and FEMA even before the White House began to take the magnitude of the impending catastrophe seriously.
That I can believe, even tho' the WH was on top of it from the gitgo. The first casualty of the disaster is the seafood industy, with not just fishermen, oystermen, crabbers, and shrimpers losing their jobs, but all those involved in the restaurant industry, from truckers to waitresses, facing lay-offs.
A glimpse of the obvious.
The invasion of crude oil into estuaries like the oyster-rich Apalachicola Bay in Florida spell disaster for the seafood industry. However, the biggest threat is to Florida's Everglades, which federal and state experts fear will be turned into a "dead zone" if the oil continues to gush forth from the Gulf chasm.
If they fear that, then there is a problem (barring a hurricane of planetary proportions, and even then problematic.) The Everglades are above sea level. Even an oil slick will have trouble going uphill. (I'm ignoring the "chasm" this time.) There are also expectations that the oil slick will be caught up in the Gulf stream off the eastern seaboard of the United States, fouling beaches and estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay, and ultimately target the rich fishing grounds of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.
That's a real stretch --
WMR has also learned Can't help wondering where that came from -- that 36 urban areas on the Gulf of Mexico are expecting to be confronted with a major disaster from the oil volcano in the next few days. Although protective water surface boons One more challenge to the credibility of Mr. Madsen. Use spell check, then check for proper use. That woud be "booM'. are being laid to protect such sensitive areas as Alabama's Dauphin Island, the mouth of the Mississippi River, and Florida's Apalachicola Bay, Florida, there is only 16 miles of boons(!) available for the protection of 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline in the state of Florida.
Emergency preparations in dealing with the expanding oil menace are now being made for cities and towns from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Houston, New Orleans, Gulfport, Mobile, Pensacola, Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, Sarasota-Bradenton, Naples, and Key West. Some 36 FEMA-funded contracts between cities, towns, and counties and emergency workers are due to be invoked within days, if not hours, according to WMR's FEMA sources. Ah-HA! Another set of dot gov contracts signed without oversight or understanding. (I'm resisting a shot at FEMA's ability to monitor the expenses vs. the outcomes. However, see the results from the Katrina lessons.)
There are plans to evacuate people with respiratory problems, especially those among the retired senior population along the west coast of Florida, before officials begin burning surface oil as it begins to near the coastline.
There is another major threat looming for inland towns and cities. With hurricane season in effect, there is a potential for ocean oil to be picked up by hurricane-driven rains and dropped into fresh water lakes and rivers, far from the ocean, thus adding to the pollution of water supplies and eco-systems. Now, there is an early warning that actually makes some sense, if only the problem is approached with some thought rather than knee jerks.

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I have to agree with Ghrit. There is too much of this story that is nonsense. First a $71,000 donation to a politician is chump change. Not nearly enough to buy them off.

And as to how much oil is spilling out of the well, that is all speculation. There is no way to accurately estimate it. The riser pipe falling to the ocean floor is acting like a kink in a water hose and restricting much of the flow. It could be much worse. But as to how much, it's all just a guess.

Then this:
"There is other satellite imagery being withheld by the Obama administration that shows what lies under the gaping chasm spewing oil at an ever-alarming rate is a cavern estimated to be around the size of Mount Everest. This information has been given an almost national security-level classification to keep it from the public, according to our sources."

That is pure fantasy. A chasm? And a mountain sized cavern? Ok then, time to call in the boys with the white suits. He just lost any creds he had with that nonsense.

No one needs this type of wild eyed, Henny Penny, alarmist garbage. It is a disaster and it will affect a lot of people before it's over, but no one, no one, at this time can predict with any degree of accuracy how big that impact is going to be.

No matter how many safety precautions there are, no matter how modern the equipment, no matter how trained the people are, occasionally airplanes are going to crash, cars will wreck, trains will jump the tracks and boats will sink. And occasionally an oilwell will blow out.

There have been over 4,000 deep water wells drilled in the Gulf in the last decade and this is the first one to have a major problem. That's a damn good record in any indusry.

For insightful analysis from people in the industry who actually know what they're talking about go here;

http://www.drillingahead.com/profiles/blogs/plausible-scenario

 

I feel for you Sea. It's like the saying "An inconvenience is when it happens to someone else. A tradgedy is when it happens to you."

But a lot of the loss of revenue from cancelled vacationers, fishing trips etc. the drop in real estate values, all of that at this point is based on fear. The hype and doom and gloom is fueling this to a very large degree and is responsible for a much greater impact on the Gulf Coast economy than the oil spill.

So far there has been very little actual impact. A few "tar balls" have washed up in Alabama. The majority of oil is still offshore and is settling everyday to the bottom where it will seep back into the seabed.

People don't seem to realize that oil is a natural, organic, substance. It comes from the ground and will return to the ground eventually. Oil seeps to the surface everyday. More oil seeps naturally from the ocean floor in the Gulf each year than was spilled in the Exxon Valdez spill.

This will be a mess. It will impact the fishing and tourist industries. It may lead to diminished property values, for awhile. But it is not economic or enviromental armaggedon. The hype and the wild eyed speculation is doing more harm right now than anything else.

 

Exon's mess was far more damaging to the environment than this will be, ever, even if they don't get it stoppered up. Exxon was a heavy thick crude, this is much lighter and will degrade way faster. On the plus side also, even the enviro-whackos are conceding that Momma Nature heals herself way faster than previously thought. Yes, there will be damages and the shrimp are going to be pricey (for real, beyond the fear factor) if things don't get controlled pretty soon. However, that's a good excuse to start the grill on midwest steaks.