What happens if the Oil leak in the Gulf can't be Stopped?

[klkwid]

I've read in a couple places that our gas bills will go DOWN partly because of this.  That makes no sense to me at all-anyone else hear this too?

[jordandog]

i think it is going to be the same way it was back on 1989, when the very first oil spill happened and it took them 2 to 3 years to clean up that mess and now it has happened again. the people responsible for this are saying that they are doing the best that they can, but i fear, it they don't work faster, we are going to lose a lot of our sea animal friends in the water due to this mess.

This is already far worse than Exon Valdese ..think in terms or Valdese 10 times over every day for more 50 days day after day and and still gushing with no end in sight!

The very first oil spill was certainly NOT back in 1989, this has happened as far back as the 1950's in terms of major oil spills. I am amazed no one has even mentioned The Gulf War oil spill! That is regarded as the largest oil spill in history, resulting from the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait when all the tankers were purposely emptied into the Gulf of Persia. That spill was 5 times larger than the Exxon Valdez. The effects are still showing up today.

[ro901]

Using video showing the movement of oil spewing from the well, mechanical engineer Steven Wereley of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, estimates that the well is losing 70,000 barrels of oil a day. That's equivalent to an Exxon Valdez disaster every four days, and more than 10 times the 5000 barrels a day estimated by BP.

HOLY SH--*ahem* wow that's horrible. I did not know that! Thanks for the info.

Yes, it truly is horrible. Look into the history of BP. You won't have to look far since nearly every tag including the word oil will lead you directly to their site. BP is one of the richest 'entities' in the world and they view any demands/commands/insults/opinions/accusations, etc by USA as mere annoyance, no more than swatting a fly away. BP cares not the slightest about people on the gulf coast and much less about people are not born yet.

[ro901]

  (Newser)  – Adding to the growing international backlash against BP's botched handling of the Gulf oil spill, US officials said yesterday that the oil giant is collecting for sale so much of the oil gushing out of the broken well that it doesn't have a big enough boat to hold it, the Wall Street Journal reports. BP's latest solution? Burn it at the surface in a smokeless contraption called an EverGreen Burner, reports the AP.

"It's being brought in because it can handle far more oil than this well is producing," says one expert of the burn rig. The move is the latest to call into question BP's preparedness—as well as the true quantity of oil gushing from the busted wellhead, notes the AP, which some experts say could be far greater than official government estimates.

[ro901]

I don't understand why you are asking this question. Do you have a TV? All you have to do is look at the images of the dying pelicans and fish covered in oil. What do you think the possible scenarios could be? Do you see any possible good scenario if the oil continues to flow?
Why don't you ask 'what happens if all the animals in the sea die?

[jordandog]

Maybe the fact the OP started this almost a month ago has something to do with it? At that point in time things were not as full blown as they are now. Or it might have been posted just to get a topic up there, who knows.

[mwybu]

Will this oil eventually sink back into the ocean? Should other deep-sea oil drilling companies be shut down now that it is known the inspectors were taking bribes? Are the business owners other than the fishermen going to be compensated for their losses?

[klkwid]

I wonder if they will allow offshore drilling to continue after this happened.  Are there any talks that I haven't heard of regarding shutting down these operations?