The public relations television campaign states that BP now means beyond petroleum no longer appears on air. British
Petroleum inescapably and unremittingly is now linked as the culpable corporate criminal of the greatest man made environmental
disaster of all time. As confusing as the catastrophe seems, no one can reasonably deny the danger the Gulf of Mexico region
has already suffered. The only unanswered aspect is how much more damage will migrate from beyond the drilling blow out.
Two months after the offshore oil-drilling platform Deepwater
Horizon exploded, the initial report has no specific knowledge of what happened or if it was even a blowout. How much has changed since April 20th.
The counting day clock is reminiscent of the CBS Walter Cronkite Iranian hostage countdown. The "Most Trusted Man in
America" image died well before his passing. Replacing the naive belief in the accuracy of media reporting, today’s
public relations spin is equal to the depth of the wellhead.
FACT: all attempts to cap the flow have failed.
This is no oil spill; it is a gusher. Previously, the largest known 'wildcat' oil gusher blew near Qom, Iran on August
26, 1956. The uncontrolled oil gushed at a rate of 120,000 barrels per day. The gusher was closed after 90 days' work by Bagher Mostofi and Myron Kinley (USA). How long will it take
to tame this wildcat or can it even be subdued?
The
Christian Science Monitor states,
“Appearing before a House subcommittee, (BP executive) Hayward estimated that the reservoir tapped by the out-of-control
well holds at least 50 million barrels of oil. At 42 gallons per barrel, that's 2.1 billion gallons. According to government
estimates of daily flow figures, anywhere from 73.5 million to 126 million gallons gushed from the breached wellhead —
whether into the water or captured. That means the reservoir likely holds 94 to 97 percent of its oil. At the current flow
rate, it would take from two to nearly four years for all the oil to leak from the field if it can't be stopped.”
Do the math . . . the critical concern is HOW to plug the leak
and STOP the continued flow. Now begins the tangible dilemma. With all the failed attempts and varied methods already tried,
has the task become unfeasible? Mother Nature will ultimately heal herself, but can BP or the Obama administration help this
process or are they increasing the risk to humanity and the environment with their secretive damage control techniques?
A lock down mode in the Gulf even has mainstream media screaming
for access. MSNBC recently reported about an underwater blowout and the failure of the well casing. Florida Senator Bill Nelson reports oil seeping up from the seabed implying that the well casing may be pierced. CNN interviewed BP's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles who acknowledged that BP's data indicates that BP can't
cap the leaking oil, or it might cause the well casing to blow out. Suttles denies that there is evidence that the well casing
has already blown out beneath the sea floor. The contrary assessment between Senator Nelson and BP Suttles illustrates the
lack of disclosure of what is really going on over a mile deep. The BP high definition images on the internet avoid any mention
that oil is pouring out in multiple locations.
What is even more disturbing and downright frightful is the assessment that appears in the AP.
The oil emanating from the
seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler,
a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.
That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists
say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives.
"This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern
human history," Kessler said.
As bad as an
environmental dead zone would be, the impending danger from an explosion is unthinkable. Terrence Aym writes on the Helium site: “Current engineering technology cannot contain gas that is pressurized to 100,000 psi.”
“With the emerging evidence of fissures, the quiet
fear now is the methane bubble rupturing the seabed and exploding into the Gulf waters. If the bubble escapes, every ship,
drilling rig and structure within the region of the bubble will instantaneously sink. All the workers, engineers, Coast Guard
personnel and marine biologists measuring the oil plumes' advance will instantly perish.
The burgeoning methane gas cloud will surface, killing everything it touches,
and set off a supersonic tsunami with the wave traveling somewhere between 400 to 600 miles per hour.
While the
entire Gulf coastline is vulnerable, the state most exposed to the fury of a supersonic wave towering 150 to 200 feet or more
is Florida. The Sunshine State only averages about 100 feet above sea level with much of the coastline and lowlands and swamps
near zero elevation.”
Is this the
real reason why so much of the Gulf of Mexico is now off limit for ships and aircraft flyover? So what is the solution? Matt
Simmons latest dramatic interview on Bloomberg proposes that a small-bore nuclear device is the only way to seal the oil column. He dispels the vaunted hope
of relief well drillings because the casing is extensively damaged or destroyed.
Dr. Bill Deagle provides a valuable YouTube summary, VOLCANIC TSUNAMI AND POISON GAS ALERT. Viewing this account explains the full impact and future risks from this calamity.
Considering the record of British Petroleum and the history that
shaped UK political policy especially in the creation of Iraq, it would not be surprising that the American gulf would be
any different from that in the Middle East. As for US governmental intentions, who can deny that the Obama administration
is less concerned with stopping the oil flow than capitalizing on their deception for pushing another attempt
to pass “Cap and Tax” legislation.
Bill Randall, a North Carolina Republican candidate for Congress is calling for a "thorough investigation" into
whether President Barack Obama's administration colluded with BP to allow the Gulf oil spill.
"There were procedures that were violated by BP that the federal
government signed off on, safeguards that decades of engineering wherewithal and knowledge told them that this way the way
to do it," Randall told reporters earlier this week. "They intentionally bypassed that and the safety was compromised."
The blame game will undoubtedly follow for political theater,
while the oil keeps gushing from the seabed.
For
an even more sinister viewpoint, Alex Thomas & Shepard Ambellas write, “British Petroleum has openly admitted that they have used at least 1,021,000 gallons of dispersant
in the Gulf of Mexico. The active ingredient in this pesticide is a known neurotoxin that is acutely toxic to both human and
aquatic life, causes cancer, and causes damage to internal organs such as the liver and kidneys simply by absorbing it through
the skin and may even cause reproductive side effects.”
Their conclusion, “The EPA and British Petroleum are knowingly causing this oil spill to be potentially one
hundred times worse and are participating it what can only be described as a chemical attack on the Gulf region.”
Is the BP oil disaster a predictable accident with absence of
malice or is it being used as a “Seamy Green” opportunity to transform the energy economy into a hybrid limitation
on prosperity? Neither is mutually exclusive, but the lack of a rational, timely and coordinated response for stopping the
oil flow is visible for all to see. Greed, arrogance and ignorance steer this fiasco. Time is running out before an irreversible
escalation overtakes, causing even more harm that fines will never repair.
Alternative energy replacement for the numerous uses of petroleum
is preposterous. Halting drilling or failing to implement strict safety standards and methods might just be the lasting consequence
of this tragic debacle. British Petroleum’s survival will not be found in - beyond petroleum. BP needs to retool
into a responsible steward of the environment and the public trust.
SARTRE – June 20, 2010