Oil Spill

[TromboneAl]

This thread is crawling with infection.

 

[ERD50]

Of course we have to fix both regulators and regulations. But taxpayers have to decide if they want to pay what it cost to have first class regulatory systems. In general they don't

It doesn't seem to work that way. I didn't want to pay for Cash for Clunkers, or most of the energy rebates or subsidies that our Govt enacts, but they did them anyway.

So I think I'll give up at this point, as your "shill for the US Govt" side is showing strong again. You finally admitted the regulators have faults, but now it is not their fault that they have faults. It's the taxpayers fault. The Govt can do no wrong, I guess.

I know a brick wall the 99th time I've run into it.

I think I've been reminded of how the term "Ivory Tower" came to be applied to academics.

-ERD50

 

[FinanceDude]

It doesn't seem to work that way. I didn't want to pay for Cash for Clunkers, or most of the energy rebates or subsidies that our Govt enacts, but they did them anyway.

So I think I'll give up at this point, as your "shill for the US Govt" side is showing strong again. You finally admitted the regulators have faults, but now it is not their fault that they have faults. It's the taxpayers fault. The Govt can do no wrong, I guess.

I know a brick wall the 99th time I've run into it.

I think I've been reminded of how the term "Ivory Tower" came to be applied to academics.

-ERD50

 

[ls99]

+1, and I'm out of popcorn. Still have beer left.


A practical question to any chemists. What is the fuel (caloric or btu) value of the semi-dried oil blobs found on the beach? I know heating oil is about 134000 btu/gal. Are they any good fer setting beach bonfires?

Not really interested in the legal liability, malpractice or EPA issues of burning said blobs. Though I'm sure for some those are non-negotiable points. Can we say cheap fuel free for the taking?

Yeah, I know there would be transportation costs, and the precursor cost of having drilled the well.

 

[Rustward]

This thread is crawling with infection.

That is an understatement.

 

[Westernskies]

What we need to do now is shift the 411,000 Census Workers who will be unemployed soon over to tar-ball collection duty; it would clean up the beaches and create an another additional 411,000 jobs, if I follow the new Administration match correctly. BP can take credit for solving the unemployment crisis! We could offer them subsidies for each job created, they might end up making money on the deal, after all, their project truly is shovel-ready.

Thread jack over. We now return to the "Big Government=Good, Big Industry=Bad, and I told You So" blog-athon..

 

[Emeritus]

It doesn't seem to work that way. I didn't want to pay for Cash for Clunkers, or most of the energy rebates or subsidies that our Govt enacts, but they did them anyway.

So I think I'll give up at this point, as your "shill for the US Govt" side is showing strong again. You finally admitted the regulators have faults, but now it is not their fault that they have faults. It's the taxpayers fault. The Govt can do no wrong, I guess.

I know a brick wall the 99th time I've run into it.

I think I've been reminded of how the term "Ivory Tower" came to be applied to academics.

-ERD50

Of course regulators have faults. The FDA and Plan B was a demonstration of regulatory failure in the face of a politically powerful religious right . We also hire too few of them, and pay them too little, and put political hacks in charge. In many cases it's worse at the state level.
The programs you mention are not regulatory. They are part of the government trough that exists in most cases to funnnel unearned money to well connected corporations. You can add agricultural subsidies to the list.
Military procurement is another example of government waste.

I was not asked my opinion on what was screwed up in the US government.

I'll be happy to give lots of examples.






.


We have a Republican form of government.

 

[Westernskies]

I was not asked my opinion on what was screwed up in the US government. I'll be happy to give lots of examples.

Please enlighten us.

 

[Emeritus]

+1, and I'm out of popcorn. Still have beer left.


A practical question to any chemists. What is the fuel (caloric or btu) value of the semi-dried oil blobs found on the beach? I know heating oil is about 134000 btu/gal. Are they any good fer setting beach bonfires?
.

You need to separate the calorific value from the ignitability. Almost all hydrocarbons have a very narrow range of calorific value
Calorific values of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels 3.11.4
Raw oil is a mix of heavy and light components. Tar balls tend to be high in heavy oil, which has plenty of caloric value but almost nothing that evaporates easily. So you can add them to your bonfire, but not start your bonfire with it. What burned in the Mt Blanc tunnel fire was margarine. It took a truck fire to get the margarine going. The most amazing stuff will burn very nicely once you have a fire around to get it started.. When you try to burn an oil spill you have to do it early before the volatiles evaporate.

 

[Emeritus]

Please enlighten us.

There is probably more money wasted in military procurement than anywhere else, simply because they have more to spend on buying stuff that you don't have to prove can work. While the medical side of the VA is amazingly improved, the benefits side is stuck in the dark ages. "Gaming" of the Social security disability system is constant. The entire government hiring process is ludicrous. In some regulatory agencies the focus on real science died years ago. Anyone who wants to see a government that is dysfunctional at all levels should only look at the ongoing air force tanker procurement. The response to Katrina was a national disgrace and nothing absolutely nothing has really changed

 

[harley]

I don't think this contentious thread has to continue. I'm sure BP will do the right thing.

 

[antmary]

This thread is crawling with infection.

...a microcosm of the response to environmental catastrophe. Well, back to my garden.

 

[ls99]

You need to separate the calorific value from the ignitability. Almost all hydrocarbons have a very narrow range of calorific value
Calorific values of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels 3.11.4 ....

Thanks.

If using the closest comparable, coal tar, a good amount of calories. Will need a propane torch to light it off. Like ly a smokey campfire.

End thread hijack.

 

[FinanceDude]

The FDA and Plan B was a demonstration of regulatory failure in the face of a politically powerful religious right .

Guess I gotta "cling to my guns and religion"...........

 

[Westernskies]

Looks like BP is willing to try about anything at this point....

 

[ls99]

And I thought that stuff's other use was.............. Slap it on large surface wounds, then maintain pressure. Used it many time to patch up folks.

 

[lets-retire]

And I thought that stuff's other use was.............. Slap it on large surface wounds, then maintain pressure. Used it many time to patch up folks.

Tampons are the perfect size for most bullet wounds.

 

[Lazarus]

Perhaps if we paid Goverment inspectors more money we could get a higher quality of inspector. Then all the oil wells would work perfectly every time.

 

[Emeritus]

Perhaps if we paid Goverment inspectors more money we could get a higher quality of inspector. Then all the oil wells would work perfectly every time.

It could help but if an only if the system is designed to be inspectable. Inspectability is a separate design criteria . The Titanic couldn't fill the lifeboats it had, due to corporate inertia poor planning and overconfidence. The Concorde is in a museum because the designers used an inappropriate safety model. The social goal is to minimize the joint cost of injury and safety.

 

[M Paquette]

It could help but if an only if the system is designed to be inspectable. Inspectability is a separate design criteria

Awww. That's no fun.

I suspect that there are a few of us on this board who have been charged with inspecting the uninspectable. I know I've run across things that appeared to be designed specifically to prevent inspection. (Complex systems inside of tidily welded containers... )

 

[Emeritus]

Awww. That's no fun.

I suspect that there are a few of us on this board who have been charged with inspecting the uninspectable. I know I've run across things that appeared to be designed specifically to prevent inspection. (Complex systems inside of tidily welded containers... )

Sure, that is why you get something we call "ceremonial compliance" which allows them to bleat "we complied with all government regulations" after the disaster.

 

[ls99]

Day 68, still no big cleanup, skimming operation. Wait, there is this converted tanker supposedly capable of skimming nearly as much goop per day as so far has been collected by BP in total.

There is this holdup about inspections by EPA and USCG. And a small matter of contract from BP. Oh yeah and that pesky Jones Act waiver.

Read the PR blurb here: Huge oil-skimming ship makes Virginia stop en route to Gulf of Mexico | NOLA.com

 

[lets-retire]

Day 68, still no big cleanup, skimming operation. Wait, there is this converted tanker supposedly capable of skimming nearly as much goop per day as so far has been collected by BP in total.

There is this holdup about inspections by EPA and USCG. And a small matter of contract from BP. Oh yeah and that pesky Jones Act waiver.

Read the PR blurb here: Huge oil-skimming ship makes Virginia stop en route to Gulf of Mexico | NOLA.com

500,000 barrels of water in 8-10 hours. Can you imagine if they get that thing too close to shore? There would be a dry spot.

 

[HFWR]

500,000 barrels of water in 8-10 hours. Can you imagine if they get that thing too close to shore? There would be a dry spot.

A giant sucking sound...

 

[ls99]

500,000 barrels of water in 8-10 hours. Can you imagine if they get that thing too close to shore? There would be a dry spot.

To paraphrase Rosanne Rosanna Donna: there is always something.