Thursday, August 19, 2010

Let's Not Forget About the Gulf of Mexico

Yes, it was in the news for what seems like forever. And yes, maybe we're all tired of hearing about it. But please, now that the Deepwater Horizon oil well has been capped let's not forget about the shitload of chemicals swirling around in the Guld of Mexico. It will take a lot of money and effort to clean things up - if it is even possible to clean it all up...

Here is the latest:

Today scientists revealed the results of an investigation into the severity of the Deepwater oil spill. The plume of petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals measures a staggering 22 miles long, and has settled in a deep underwater layer (see photo).

The actual existence of the plume was in some doubt until a team of researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution provided incontrovertible proof. The researchers managed to catch up with the plume about three miles southwest of the original blowout location, then used a remote-controlled submarine and an underwater spectrometer to figure out its dimensions. They were able to study the plume for ten days in June before Hurricane Alex forced them from the area. It's still not known whether this was the only plume or whether others formed, and the team said at a press conference today that they would be unwilling to commit themselves either way on that point.

2 comments:

BAWDYSCOT said...

I am so glad you put another BP oil spill thread on here, csm, because it leads into another fucking shithole situation politics is foisting on the citizenry.

Did you have the same questioning of the federal government(i.e. the Obama administration)when they stated a few weeks ago that 75% of the oil from the leak was, in effect, gone. They used a bunch of euphemisms, but basically they said it was gone. THAT WAS BLATANT FUCKING POLITICS geared for the November mid-terms. Plenty of scientists, I heard a bunch of them on NPR for days after the announcement, either professed their befuddlement or said flatly it just wasn't true. And yesterday(on NPR) we were told the government won't release the methodology they used to make that statement for a couple more months. How fucking convenient(and how much do you want to bet this will be buried by the press).

And this is only one case of this shit. Do you remember a few months back the CEO of GM stating that they had paid back the government in full for the TARP funds they borrowed. Yeah, well they paid those funds back with a different TARP fund they had access to. Is that not politics for you?

Now GM wants to float an IPO. Many in the investment field say it is too soon. GM has only just recently(the last 2 quarters)posted profits and there is a distinct possibility this country might be headed for a double-dip recession. This is not the environment indicative for good IPO selling, but GM is doing it anyway. Could this be in the works to make Obama and the Dems look good? Sure smells fishy to me.

One more way Obama is enhancing his image is all this talk of getting the combat troops out of Iraq(of course, there will be 50,000 who will remain and they will not be without weapons), but he is using the same exact fucking timetable that that fuck Bush negotiated with the Iraqis. Now, Obama uses Bush as an excuse for all he had to deal with when he got into office(and still does today; it is getting pretty fucking old), but his(Bush's) timetable for getting out(a euphemism itself)seems to be pretty much like Obama's and who's getting the fucking credit? We'll see if Obama sticks to the rest of the Bush timetable and we bring home ALL of the troops by the end of 2011.

To sum up, Obama is as slimy a politician as any other Democrat or Republican. He is on record as stating he will do his utmost to keep his slimy Democratic Party members in powerful positions which leads me to believe he puts his Party first, before the country and it's citizens. I will not vote for Republicans in general(I might have to do some of this in my state, but rest assured I will be holding my nose), but my fervent wish will be the Republicans getting one house of Congress so blessed gridlock will again be the special of the day!


I kid you not...
verification word: bribe

csm said...

Yes, Bawdy, inasmuch as anyone in the Obama administration is trying to claim that there is no more oil in the gulf, then they are complete and total fuckwads. Even a complete & total moron would know that you can't eliminate months of gushing oil that quickly, if at all.

Here is an interesting (and sad) tidbit today:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/23/gulf.fish.kill/index.html
. Not sure if it is because of the oil or our general disregard for the ocean as a whole, but this should be cause for concern...