How Much Oil Is Really Spilling into the Gulf of Mexico?

Submitted by Anne Landman on

Gulf Spill Fishing closureMap of Gulf spill on May 8, with fishing closure areaAt first, right after the BP Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded on April 20, BP and U.S. government officials reported the underwater well was pumping about 1,000 barrels a day into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A few days later, that figure was challenged by the non-profit group SkyTruth, which uses remote sensing and digital mapping to evaluate environmental issues globally. Ten days later, by April 30, some industry experts said the well could be leaking at a rate of 5,000 barrels daily -- five times the previous estimate, and the one that has been the most widely and persistently used in the media.

Wildly Disparate Estimates

But estimates continue to change. On May 4th, BP executives in a closed-door meeting reportedly told Congress that the well is discharging anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf per day. At 42 U.S. gallons per barrel, that means the spill could be growing by 210,000 to 2.52 million gallons of oil each day. But how much is that, really?

See For Yourself the Extent of the Disaster

Now we can all see exactly how much it is, and how fast the spill is growing, thanks to Google, who has started a Crisis Response Site for the Gulf spill that constantly maps the changing size, shape and location of the spill based on data from the State of Louisiana, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and from satellite imagery. Google also lets you toggle on various maps showing the size and location of the spill on specific dates, where booms have been laid to protect the coast, and where spill-related incidents have occurred, like where the 30 or so dead turtles washed up on shore.

The Engineering Manager for Google Maps, Paul Rademacher, thoughtfully developed a Web site called "How Big is the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?" that allows people to take a current, up-to-date map of the spill and lay it over a map of their own city or area. This helps give people a sense of the spill's true size in the midst of widely-ranging official estimates that may or may not be true. You can lay the Gulf oil spill over London, Rome, San Francisco, Hawaii or Washington, D.C., or put it over your own town or state, to get an idea of it's true size, day by day. All you need is a free Google Earth plugin available free at the site.

Crisis Management
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WILLIAM LLOYD replied on

TWENTY YEARS AGO THE EXXON VALDEZ SPILL IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND HAPPENED. SINCE THIS INCIDENT TO THE PRESENT DAY,THERE IS NOTHING AVAILABLE ON THE WORLD MARKET TO REMOVE OIL OFF THE OPEN SEA. PRESIDENT OBAMA TOLD US THAT THE BEST BRAINS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE USA ARE WORKING ON IDEAS TO STOP THE OIL REACHING THE SHORELINE. THEY HAVE HAD TWENTY YEARS TO COME UP WITH A CREDITABLE IDEA,THEY HAVE FAILED. NOW WILL YOU AMERICANS GIVE ME A CHANCE TO HELP YOU. I HAVE SPENT TWENTY YEARS DEVELOPING A OIL SKIMMER DESIGNED FOR THE PROBLEMS YOU ARE NOW FACING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND ALSO YOUR MARSHES AND BIRD/WILDLIFE SANCTURYS. MY INVENTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN TANK TESTED BY A BRITISH UNIVERSITY WHO HAVE WRITTEN A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND PRODUCE A VIDEO OF ONE OF MY SYSTEMS. THIS VIDEO CAN BE SEEN ON YOUTUBE.INSERT,ANGELPANTER9. THEN GO DOWN THE LIST OF VIDEOS UNTIL YOU SEE A MAN IN A LIGHT BLUE SHIRT.THIS IS ME.PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO WERE YOU WILL SEE THE UNIVERSITY STUDY RESULT,AND MY APPEAL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA TO ALLOW ME TO OFFER MY INVENTIONS TO THE USA PEOPLE SO THAT AT LEAST YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HELP IN THIS EMERGENCY CLEANUP OPERATION. IF YOU VIEW THIS VIDEO AND FEEL IT IS A GOOD THING THEN PLEASE TELL AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. IF YOU FEEL IT IS A LOAD OF RUBBISH THEN PLEASE LET ME KNOW ON LLOYDFORTKNOX@AOL.COM BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL BILL LLOYD

Anne Landman replied on

BP has established a Web page where people can send them suggestions about how to fix the oil spill. Go here: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/546759/ Here is the link to their special site for offering alternative technology suggestions: http://www.horizonedocs.com/artform.php Send them your idea! Anne Landman

Zandonella replied on

May 30, 2010 Help on how close the tide bp oil leak system "Pantheon" I. Envelope-shaped jacket deflated carbon fiber to cr eate a ring with a trapezoidal section features the following attachments with double-wall flexible tubing fi t over the outer bubbling helium gas and 150 bar inside the pumping liquid cement II. Ring- back for second ring sectors always drive cables to the union of several segments to the top of the issue III. The ring elements wi thin them contain a network carrier whic h is collapsible for their use is necessary to us e inert gas for lifting then follows the injection of liquid cement IV. DESCRIPTION SYSTEM PROPOSED: V. The area of the former can be sc aled to the characteris tics of a diameter of about 50 m to 10 m and a base height of 2 m s hould know the morphology of the shelf VI. The firs t coarse positioning can be such as to adapt to the fund of any kind for his placement of common weights can be us ed, then you will need to fill the tubes wi th helium at 150 bar connecting the pipes will provide helium through the management of pressur e to enlarge the conduits and injection of liquid cement Relay output progres sive VII. The rings wil l feature segments on the guide rope amarr e for further instal lation of the second flexible ring again with the same injection system VIII. In this way even in the presence of explosive gases and the lik elihood of action is safe. IX. The proposed sys tem has a high probabil ity of suc cess because even in extreme conditions placed on the first ring the rest is very easy and fast to implement. X For the installation can be used for ballast on normal because it is not required any kind of accuracy. The advantage of this system is that we can thr ough the hose is placed wi thout the dual pressur e gas When the ring of tissue reaches the bottom you can begin to put pres sure on the ex ternal sector that win the isostatic pressure of 150 bar, thereby generating the inner duct for the injection of liquid cement. The use of liquid cement involves the level ing of the r ing for the cons truction of dome and then afinal element for the success . The sys tem should have only two Judas areas to avoid the action of strong currents using more guides there is the problem that twisting. Finally getting up to level decr ease the v olume of cement to be injected thus supported the counter issuanc e system can be called "Pantheon". Estimated time of material success first 12 hours The final par t I think the VS . brought good job. Zandonella

Anonymous replied on

This seems to be one of the worst disasters to happen to the North America in modern history. Devastation to our natural resources, fishing industry, food prices, tourism, etc. Why doesn't the government get involved in stopping the gushing hole in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico? Yes, it is BP's nightmare... but it is also affecting the state of our nation and the economy. The government should step in with every resource available and stop the oil that is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, then send a bill to BP for services rendered.

gaetano marano replied on

. . . the hurricanes are coming soon in the Gulf and, when they'll come, the (already bad) containment cap MUST be unplugged from the wellhead since the ship that collects the oil can remain there with an hurricane, so, the oil will flow from the well at 100,000 barrels per day!!!!! . "BP Spill Ops To Evacuate 5 Days Before Storm-Force Winds" . online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100625-712697.html . 5 days to unplug the containment cap and evacuate the storm site, a couple of day for the storm, another couple of days to come back on site and one day to replug the containment cap = 1,000,000 more barrels of oil freely spilled in the ocean... and this is only the FIRST storm, and not the worst... . WHAT are they waiting to listen those who have the RIGHT IDEAS AND SOLUTION to STOP the oil spill QUICKLY to SAVE the sea and shores nature and wildlife BEFORE they'll be submerged by over 250,000,000 more gallons of oil, in the next TWO months (if lucky) ??????????? . bit.ly/c8y9GX . . .

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