Stopping the Oil Spill

[JD7.62]

I spent 10 1/2 hours on Pensacola Beach today. I counted at least 18 News trucks from places like Miama, Tampa, Atlanta...all over the south east. Oil is said to be about 10mi from P'cola beach and we are all worried about the economic and ecologic impact we are going to have in the region. I live in Navarre Beach now, about 15mi east of P'cola Beach. Ive been smelling the oil off and on for about two weeks, sometimes its so bad that it even stinks inside the house. Im not looking forward to this summer.

I am hoping that at the very least the bays and fragile ecosystems in them which are the nurseries for many of the game fish remain oil free. The beaches, IF the oil is stopped sooner then later, are easier to clean and could be fine come end of summer. At least Im trying to tell my self that.

[DJD]

I spent 10 1/2 hours on Pensacola Beach today. I counted at least 18 News trucks from places like Miama, Tampa, Atlanta...all over the south east. Oil is said to be about 10mi from P'cola beach and we are all worried about the economic and ecologic impact we are going to have in the region. I live in Navarre Beach now, about 15mi east of P'cola Beach. Ive been smelling the oil off and on for about two weeks, sometimes its so bad that it even stinks inside the house. Im not looking forward to this summer.

I am hoping that at the very least the bays and fragile ecosystems in them which are the nurseries for many of the game fish remain oil free. The beaches, IF the oil is stopped sooner then later, are easier to clean and could be fine come end of summer. At least Im trying to tell my self that.

10 1/2 hours on the beach? Are you mad? Seriously, I never considered the smell...that has to be so nasty you could taste it.

[bassin_bug]

I seem to remember that a bubble of methane got into the pipe and, as it came up toward the surface it made contact with other substances. The methane bubble increased in size as it came up and found an ignition source which caused the explosion. I don't know how a natural occurring gas like methane can be contained; if it could there wouldn't be so many deadly coal mine explosions.

Having been born and raised in a county that has many producing oil wells, I have seen them in all phases of drilling, pumping, and refining. Oil is not like water. When a water well is drilled the water just pours or is pumped out and that's all. On the other hand, oil is high density and is not a singular substance. Some oil pools have so much pressure that it will blow more than 100 ft. into the air when the oil is tapped. One rig that my brother-in-law was working on had the upper platform blown off the derrick when they tapped oil.

There are 6 oil wells and one small refinery within a mile and a half of my house in AL. On foggy mornings the smell of oil, sulphur, and natural gas hangs heavily in the air. Nobody complains because they are accustomed to it and it is not constant. It's like living in a city where there is a papermill; there is a distinct odor that lets you know a papermill is nearby.

I don't agree with the slack way BP is handling the crisis but I am not smart enough to develop a fix for the problem. I do know that blowing up the wellhead would only make matters worse. BP is offering some lucrative contracts to professionals but who knows if the people will ever get paid? I believe the contractors and environmentalists will have to go into litigation to get paid and that could take decades. Cleanup people are being paid $12 per hour and most of them receive no benefits.

[JD7.62]

Well I was actually on the beach pier fishing the whole time. Now, does that sound mad?