I’m not sure what to make of the news these days. So what else is new, right?
Yesterday, The Washington Post and others headlined the fact that the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico gushed oil 12 times faster than the government and BP estimated in the early weeks of the crisis. According to the latest estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy, BP’s Macondo well spewed 62,000 barrels of oil a day initially, and as the reservoir gradually depleted itself, the flow eased to 53,000 barrels a day until the well was finally capped and sealed July 15. Yesterday’s news was that BP’s free-flowing oil well had spewed a whopping total of 4.9 million barrels — or 205.8 million gallons — into the Gulf.[i] Thus, this has been the worst off-shore oil accident in history.
So much for yesterday’s news! This morning’s headlines trumpeted the word of the Interior Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which reports that nearly three-quarters of the oil — more than 152 million gallons — has been collected at the well by a temporary containment cap, been cleaned up or chemically dispersed, or naturally deteriorated, evaporated or dissolved, according to. The report goes on to indicate that only about a quarter of the spilled oil remains in the Gulf and is degrading quickly, with the rest having been contained, cleaned up, or otherwise disappeared.[ii]
It’s that final phrase that grabbed my attention – “otherwise disappeared.” It seems that over the past 24 hours a major miracle has occurred… or at least a successful public relations spin has been accomplished!
You see, buried deep within yesterday’s news was the report that BP had managed to capture roughly 800,000 barrels of oil with its various containment strategies — a riser insertion tool, a “top hat,” and flaring from a surface rig. (This represented only about one-sixth of the crude that surged into the gulf over the course of nearly three months.) In all, it now appears that about 1.2 million barrels of oil have been accounted for, either burned, captured or skimmed off the ocean’s surface. That’s about a quarter of yesterday’s new estimate for the total oil spill.
So where has the other three-quarters of the oil gone? Well, the “experts” are unsure! They theorize that some of the oil has evaporated and some has been consumed by microbes. But scientists remain troubled by the possibility that large amounts of oil remain underwater in cloudlike plumes. [iii] [Ah, the “blessing” of dispersants!]
According to Ron Kendall, director of the Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University. who will testify before Congress today about his fears that dispersant chemicals have helped much of this oil sink into deep-sea habitats, “[The case of the missing oil] further confirms that a lot of the oil is still at sea.“[iv]
I feel as if I’m back with my seven month old grandson, playing peek-a-boo. Just by placing his hands over his eyes, Talon thinks I can no longer see him and I’m convinced that he’s no longer there. Obviously in the minds of the spinners and powers that be (BP and the feds), it’s simply a case of out-of-sight-out-of-mind. Presto, change, millions of gallons of pesky and polluting oil has marvelously disappeared!
While I’m fairly confident Talon will grow out of such a childish perception, I’m not nearly as confident when it comes to the BPs of the world or much of government for that matter.
[i] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080204695.html
[ii] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38556106/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/
[iii] www.washingtonost, op. cit..
[iv] Ibid.
August 5, 2010 at 12:07 am |
Scary business. Where is the total responsibility we hear about on the ads everyday?
August 5, 2010 at 2:40 am |
The news tonight (PBS NewsHour) even had the president singing “the disapperance song.” This line was countered in their reporting by several folks from the Gulf Coast rightly questioning how the worst deep water oil spill in history can suddenly be all fine 2 weeks after the well’s plugged.
Is the American public so dumb (Or are we simply so tired of this oily mess?) that we’ll accept that just because the oil is no longer visible on the surface of the water that all is okay? Our troubles have simply disappeared?
There are some “experts” who are warning that all the dispersants used on the spill has kept much of the oil beneath the surface, pushing it into the lower levels and sea bed, where who knows what will happen over the years to come.
If the beaches can be/are seemingly clean (as reportedlysome have alread been cleaned), the fishing is back (which it is reportedly for recreational fishermen, but not for commerical), and the visual (though strictly superficial) appearance of the Gulf is restored (which reportedly it is in several spots), then surely its one of the greatest miracles (or magic tricks or PR feats) of all time… as all that oil simply disappeared.
I hate to admit it, but I’m just skeptical enough to think President Obama needed this ugly mess off his plate and a “victory” recorded so the fall’s elections might be assisted. I also think Gulf coast businesses needed all the PR help they could get as soon as they could get it. And I further believe that there are those who would manipulate a quick “restoration” of the Gulf in order to give the appearance of their wisdom and to imply they truly did know what they were doing to stem, stop, and control the spill.
However, my money is still on a “peek-a-boo” game! We should all stay tuned for the next round.