Thread to document oil disasters as they happen

[Fake Boris]

I especially appreciate his attention to detail. For example, the spill was contained four days ago. The cause was a mechanical failure at an old well and it contaminated 13 hectares. It's almost fully cleaned up already.

It has been "contained" and resurfaced 4 times already.

The most horrifying part of this spill is it happened in the most ecologically insensitive part of the world it could have happened. The well was deep inside a weapons testing range, where cruise missiles and the like have been tested for decades.

Such reassuring news about the security of thousands of oil wells employing similar technology!

The scale of devastation has been unimaginable. The death toll: 6 birds, 7 gophers, and 38 fish.

It's just a lake. Rejoice, for it could be an ocean soon!

Far more animals are killed by wind farms each day.

While this is true, local environmental damage is just the icing on the cake of climate damage.

[Fake Boris]

I especially appreciate his attention to detail. For example, the spill was contained four days ago. The cause was a mechanical failure at an old well and it contaminated 13 hectares. It's almost fully cleaned up already.

It has been "contained" and resurfaced 4 times already.

The most horrifying part of this spill is it happened in the most ecologically insensitive part of the world it could have happened. The well was deep inside a weapons testing range, where cruise missiles and the like have been tested for decades.

Such reassuring news about the security of thousands of oil wells employing similar technology!

The scale of devastation has been unimaginable. The death toll: 6 birds, 7 gophers, and 38 fish.

It's just a lake. Rejoice, for it could be an ocean soon!

Far more animals are killed by wind farms each day.

While this is true, local environmental damage is just the icing on the cake of climate damage.

[Asher]

How would you suggest the world get its energy, manufacture its plastic, gets its jet fuel, lubricants, asphalt, etc?

I don't think you comprehend how pervasive oil is in your daily life. It's far more than gasoline for your car (or in your case, your public transit).

You are massively ignorant about the subject and intentionally very disingenuous. You're a joke.

This comment in particular is enlightening:

Such reassuring news about the security of thousands of oil wells employing similar technology!

Please be specific -- which similar technology are you referring to? How do you know it's used in thousands of oil wells? If it is used in thousands of oil wells, how many times has this happened?

Do you even know how to construct a compelling argument? You've yet to demonstrate it.

It's just a lake. Rejoice, for it could be an ocean soon!

Curious. How many in-situ bitumen extraction sites are in oceans?

[DaShi]

Oh, the humanity!

Those weapons had families!

[giblets]

How would you suggest the world get its energy, manufacture its plastic, gets its jet fuel, lubricants, asphalt, etc?

I don't think you comprehend how pervasive oil is in your daily life. It's far more than gasoline for your car (or in your case, your public transit).

Yep, Oncle Boris obviously wants to go cold turkey on oil because like anyone else who complains about it he thinks in terms of black and white. What a moron.

[Aeson]

We have a puppy BerBer ... we were changing the oil in the multicab, and drained the old oil into a pan. This oil pan was left unattended (kinda like EXXON Valdez). BerBer was playing with one of our other dogs, and decided a bellyflop into the oil pan. The oil seemed to energize BerBer ... and he yelped then ran into the house at blinding speed. Inside the house he slipped and slid all around trying to find his footing.

That was the worst oil disaster I've ever been a part of.

[Aeson]

I take that back... we have all been part of the EXXON Valdez oil spill. While researching possible analogies for BerBer's bellyflop I ran into this tidbit:

In the case of Baker v. Exxon, an Anchorage jury awarded $287 million for actual damages and $5 billion for punitive damages. The punitive damages amount was equal to a single year's profit by Exxon at that time.[citation needed] To protect itself in case the judgment was affirmed, Exxon obtained a $4.8 billion credit line from J.P. Morgan & Co. J.P. Morgan created the first modern credit default swap in 1994, so that Morgan's would not have to hold as much money in reserve (8% of the loan under Basel I) against the risk of Exxon's default.

So we know who to blame for the financial crisis now. Big Oil

[Egbert]

The scale of devastation has been unimaginable. The death toll: 6 birds, 7 gophers, and 38 fish.

The scale of devastation would be quite unimaginable for the 6 birds, 7 gophers and 38 fish.

[Aeson]

... because they are dumb animals without an imagination!

[Fake Boris]

8/05/2013

Toxic cloud of tar sands waste travels from Detroit to Canada

A massive cloud of black dust that swept across the Detroit River into Windsor, Canada this week has been linked to piles of petroleum coke, a by-product of tar sands oil illegally stored in Detroit by Koch Carbon.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

And yet, Oncle Boris presumably still drives cars, rides buses and flies on planes. Let me know when you get a plug-in hybrid 747.

Uses plastic laden computers to spread his warning messages.

[Fake Boris]

it is irrational to criticize a system you're a part of

omg I feel so witty

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Were you to adopt the Walden approach I for one would be happy (at least for the time period of your silence).

[The Mad Monk]

8/05/2013

Toxic cloud of tar sands waste travels from Detroit to Canada

A massive cloud of black dust that swept across the Detroit River into Windsor, Canada this week has been linked to piles of petroleum coke, a by-product of tar sands oil illegally stored in Detroit by Koch Carbon.

A bad showing by that company. Basic due diligence was clearly not followed, and whatever measures they had taken beforehand to control runoff are practically nonexistent.

[Asher]

it is irrational to criticize a system you're a part of

omg I feel so witty

I'm still waiting for your answers.