BP's CEO - "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean..."

[Peter Gibbons]

I couldn't believe that the CEO of big company like BP will say such a dumb thing.
I searched the web using the exact phrase and there were 6000 hits.

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BP chief executive Tony Hayward told Britain's Guardian newspaper that the spill is "tiny" by comparison with the amount of water in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume," Hayward said.

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From Wikipedia:

Hayward was a member of the Citibank advisory board, from 2000 to 2003[16]. Hayward is presently senior independent non-executive director of Corus Group, appointed in April 2002, and a non-executive director of Tata Steel. Hayward is a committee member of Audit, Nominations and Health, Safety and Environment[17]. Hayward was appointed a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute in September 2005[18]. Hayward is an active member of the Bilderberg Group.

[The Original Henry]

Technically he's right, of course. What he failed to address was that the ratio of oil to water that causes major catastrophe is also very tiny.

[The Gorn]

The really stupid thing about such an opinion as comparing the volume of the oil to the volume of water in the gulf is this. The part of the water that humans and marine life interacts with is focused on the top of the water.

Exactly where the oil winds up. And where the marine life is poisoned.

What a f*cking tool.

BP executives with oversight of this matter should do prison time. I say, the company should be forfeit for all damages. No BP, if that's what it takes to settle all damage claims.

[The Original Henry]

The part of the water that humans and marine life interacts with is focused on the top of the water. Exactly where the oil winds up.

I read an article last week that said not all oil makes it to the surface. Apparently a large percentage of the oil stays sub-surface and nobody has any clue how much is there or where it is going because they have no way to see it or track it. They said the total amount of oil could be several times what is on the surface.

I say, the company should be forfeit for all damages. No BP, if that's what it takes to settle all damage claims.

That's a common sentiment that's hard to disagree with, but don't let it get in the way of reason. If that were to happen then all incentive for being in the domestic oil business would go away. Companies would shift their risk elsewhere and even more oil would have to be imported to make up for the drop of domestic production.

It's probably more appropriate to direct backlash over this towards the total failure of government and regulatory oversight of these operations. Reading about the failsafe they did have in place sounds like a 3 stooges skit - temporary replacement parts, dead batteries, substandard materials, inproper procedures, and a complete lack of any oversight to keep them honest.

[The Gorn]

Point well taken.

What is probably really necessary is to build the costs of disaster mitigation into the price of oil and to establish risk pools and insurance funds dedicated solely to cleanup. And MUCH more R&D needs to go into developing techniques for dealing effectively with massive underwater spills.

[lorb]

Why do they let them drill if they know this is possible?

It took millions of years to create that oil and we are f'ing it all away in a matter of hours and not doing much to stop it.

[Aussie]

All those aromatic hydrocarbons, it's enough to make a former Industrial Chemist cry.

What are we going to do for petrochemicals for such things as plastics in the future if we burn 'em all up through the exhaust pipes now?  Maybe plastics will become expensive antiques from a bygone era.  Hmmmm......maybe we should start stockpiling plastic stuff now, the way unix does gold and silver.  Get ourselves down to the beach, maybe.

"OK, buddy.... real easy now, hand over that beachball and nobody gets hurt....."

[Richardk]

People don't realize just how much stuff is made from all those hydrocarbons even though it only consumes a small percentage of production. Most people only think about their gas tanks.

With the spill, they all screwed up. Everyone thought the other guy wouldn't notice. The right set of conditions proved them all wrong.

I think BP is dodging bullets right now since the oil really hasn't hit the shore and no one knows how much is below the surface. Public opinion would be quite different if all that oil floating around was on the shores.

[datagirl]

Big Oil and Big Banks are going to make their $ no matter what. 

The other shoe that hasn't dropped yet is what happens when a tropical storm crosses those waters?  As someone who lives only 15 miles inland, I know about "salt water rain" during tropical events.  Those first few days after the explosion when the water was so choppy and the wind direction was from the south, the air here was a dark haze with a definite chemical aroma.  The EPA is telling the locals not to worry about the air quality, but at the same time we are warned not to touch any oil covered critters or debris on the beach because it is toxic.  Hurricane season starts June 1.  Anyone know where I can get a good deal on a couple of HazMat suits and respirators? 

Regards,
-DG
 

[The Gorn]

Hurricane season starts June 1.  Anyone know where I can get a good deal on a couple of HazMat suits and respirators? 

Regards,
-DG

Eww. Condolences and hugs.

[Aussie]

Don't you guys get waterspouts too down in Tornado Alley ?  The old folks talk about a 'rain of fish' event back in Kernow (Cornwall) before the family emigrated.  I figure there was some sort of waterspout that sucked up a load of pillies, and drop them when the spout encountered land and broke up.

That whole Tornado Alley thing just blows the mind.  The thought of multiple Cyclone Tracy's every year....in multiple places....no warning....DAMN !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD0DRmWQ65Y

How does society function in that region ?

[The Gorn]

Don't you guys get waterspouts too down in Tornado Alley ? 
...
How does society function in that region ?

Tornadoes always hit trailer parks. There is no "society" as such there. 

Seriously - tornadoes create highly localized damage, usually not large swaths of destruction. It's not like a hurricane or cyclone - one house can be razed by a tornado and can be next to another house that is completely untouched.

There have been touchdowns of tornadoes close to me. Maybe 10-20 houses in my region could get demolished in a really bad storm. And that happens maybe once every few years, not constantly.

Lastly, it appears that the mid-south (western Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri) are hit hardest with crazy, violent weather. We took a trip in Arkansas a few years ago and every other day there were these freaking crazy thunderstorms with hail. Those states are relatively low-population-density, so tornadoes tend to not do as much damage as they would in more urban regions.

[Aussie]

OK, so these tornadoes are more of a large scale 'willy-willy' then ?  A few hundred metres wide, not a storm-front, miles-wide ?  Phew.  That explains it, then.

Even so.  Come Tornado season, must be like waiting for a V1's engine to cut out.  Reckon that might explain the tenacity of folks down that way.  No-one's perfect, I know ... hey, I'm living proof......but Grandad (WW1) used to say that there was a particular feeling of confidence you used to get from serving alongside folks who kinda spat in the eye of Fate.

[The Gorn]

A tornado is called a "funnel cloud". It touches down in a spot that may be just a few feet wide (I mean 20' or less). But the funnel can whip around at random and take out structures unpredictably.

[The Original Henry]

A tornado is the atmospheric version of a flushing toilet. As long as you're not the turd in the bowl you don't have anything to worry about.

A couple good pictures:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/iowatornado.asp

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/floridatornado.asp