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[Jackrabbit]

So at what point will it be thick enough that the ocean actually can catch fire? Tomorrow? I'm betting it's tomorrow.

[Lumbajak]

I want to throw a match into that.

Although I'm pretty sure you need something bigger to ignite it.

And I'm also pretty sure this was explained in detail some 30 pages ago

[Jackrabbit]

I know but at this point I'm expecting the ocean to be solid sludge within the week. Then, we send a signal fire distress call big enough to be seen by aliens. They'll save us!

[Aqizzar]

And I'm also pretty sure this was explained in detail some 30 pages ago

I linked to an article about the Coast Guard corralling oil with floaters and igniting it, but it's outdated now.  Fire is actually the biggest disposal method they're using right now.  The oil that was being pumped directly out of the riser was being burned on the spot, because they couldn't get tanker ships in fast enough to collect it.  Hearing that kind of thing really makes me wonder how these oil wells are supposed to work.  Do normal oil wells have to constantly burn what they can't store or pump at the moment, because they can't just shut off the valve?  Everything I learn about petroleum drilling in this whole sticky black saga makes me wonder why anyone ever wanted this crap around in the first place.

Beyond the oil being pumped and burned, there's the oil in the water, and the oil on the beaches.  The oil in the water is being burned when it can, but oil that gets frothed up enough can't ignite because it's too diluted.  The oil on the beaches isn't being lit, because God knows this is already deadly and disgusting enough.

[nenjin]

Do normal oil wells have to constantly burn what they can't store or pump at the moment, because they can't just shut off the valve?  Everything I learn about petroleum drilling in this whole sticky black saga makes me wonder why anyone ever wanted this crap around in the first place.

I think when a well is running as it's supposed to, it can be throttled or shut down so tankers can come in on a regular basis. This is like trying to collect pop shooting out of a pop bottle with a straw....and having that pop shoot out for what, 70 days now? I'm losing count.

And you know whose job it is to make them financially responsible?  The government's, that's whose.  It's a little silly how often people need to be reminded of that.

Minerals Management Service. Been mentioned/linked too many times in this thread to bother restating it...but yeah. They don't need regulation. They need prosecution.

[Jackrabbit]

I wonder how far it's going to go before we simply can't recover. I mean, they crashed a robot into it?

How stupid are these people?

[RAM]

They desperately need regulation. Mostly in relation to how much they can spend on public servants...

P.S.
 Whatever happened to those Israeli-blockade runners?

P.P.S.
 To be fair, they are trying to drive a robot through oil, they probably can't see much and the robot is probably designed for water... On the other hand, if a robot can damage it, then it probably wasn't going to last, unless they were taking the robot for a joyride at 100 knots...

[MetalSlimeHunt]

We already cannot recover it, that is clear. We'll have to build new oil wells and drain the deposits. This is going to end up the largest human caused ecological disaster in history. BP has already lost all sympathy, except from a few of the most die-hard republicans. If President Obama has any sense of justice in this world, he'll force BP to take responsability. Consider this: Corporations are legaly considered single fictional people, and what BP has done is is a crime of great seriousness. This is, at least, dozens of cases of  negligent manslaughter. That isn't even counting the lasting harm of the spill itself. I think that that is easily a crime against humanity, introducing large amounts of toxic material into our only biosphere. BP should be prosicuted, and unlike my normal stance on the issue, the death penalty sounds rather nice right now. Before you freak out, I am not suggesting mass execution of BP's employees. I am suggesting the corporation itself be undone and its money all used to repair the harm they caused.

[Aqizzar]

To be fair to the Obama Administration if nothing else, they did threaten BP with a veritable black-hole of lawsuits, so they'd put up that $20bil escrow fund out of pocket, with the guarantee that the amount could be raised.  Even for a company like BP, $20bil is not a small number, especially not when you're talking about liquid cash.

Aside, how long is it going to take before Firefox spellchecker recognizes "Barack" and "Obama" as correctly spelled words?  They're not exactly uncommonly typed names anymore.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

CNN has put a counter on their front page tracking the aproximate amount of oil lost in the spill since it began.

[aurixdarastrix]

CNN has put a counter on their front page tracking the aproximate amount of oil lost in the spill since it began.

LOST IN SPACEILL

That could be an awesome movie if handled correctly.  A team of divers is sent to explore an underwater cavern when a small earthquake causes an oil deposit to open, filling the caves with black water.  Now, the team must escape the caves blind.  But, they are not alone. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The divers enter a peculiar chamber in the caves, filled with charred bone and ash.

[nenjin]

I just get the impression that short of stuffing new borns in the pipe instead of golf balls and tires, BP is going to get to walk away from this. Their stock may stuck, their prestige may be shot, but the people who run it still get to be rich and free. I wish we could some see some actual justice. Instead, we just tack some zeros on and call it "corporate justice."

[sonerohi]

Which is why my idea of sending the top guys in the company down there works so well. The angry Gulfers will kill them with their fists. Then they can use the bodies to plug the hole in one go.

This post was a pun. 

[Grakelin]

These are anger responses. The oil spill is shitty, but forcing the companies to pay for their own mess really is justice. Are you really suggesting that we guillotine these guys? It's not like they were being malicious, nobody wants to lose their vital resource and have to spend millions of dollars, even if they can actually do so.

[KaelGotDwarves]

Anyone post this yet?