I can't speak for you, but personally I find the current gulf oil spill to be one of the most depressing events of my lifetime. If the Exxon Valdez oil spill has not been fully rectified after 20 years, how long will it take to ameliorate the effects of the gulf spill on the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico? The sight of innocent wildlife covered by thick gooey oil brings me to tears. The thought of innocent people becoming ill from breathing the fumes makes me cringe. Brad *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Yes, very depressing. Add to your list of woes the just now starting to recover real estate prices. No, that's not the biggest problem by a long stretch, but tourists are not coming as they have in the past, rentals of condos are down, who want's to retire here when you can't go to the beach, swim in the gulf or go fishing in the gulf or it's tributaries? I guess there's always golf in the 95 degree humid summers under the broiling sun. Without the water to play in, there's just not much point is there? So, guess what real estate prices are starting to do again? In the place that had the number one or number two worst loss of value in the country for most of the last year or more. Some days it gets to me. Some days I can ignore it. We can still paddle here, but for how long? It's not IF the oil comes, but WHEN. And the gulf waters are already at 89 degrees. That's right 89 degrees at the start of June and the start of hurricane season. Not August. June! Storm surge filled with suspended oil, with oil floating on the surface. Whole cities will be superfund sites. Have a nice day! Sigh. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In the 1970s or 1980s a Sedco drill rig blew out somewhere south of Brownsville, TX while drilling for Pemex. The blowout was a serious disaster and I think it also sank; although in much shallower water (around 100 feet). Sedco was owned by some guy named Connallay who was either the Governor of TX at the time of the blow out or had been Governor. Connalay is the guy who was shot just in front of JFK in Dallas. This was a seriously big blowout and my memory seems to nag to me that they leaked out more oil/gas from that one blowout than from the current one (so far). I wonder just how much envronmental damage remains. Do you have to look for it or is it obvious? We hear talk about the Prince William Sound (Exxon Valdez) incident still having an impact but I wonder how hard you have to look for the evidence there, too. I don't say this to simply minimize the impact of BP's latest disaster on the environment but to see if there really is a "forever" impact. Is there some point at which these things aren't really noticable any more? There must be and I bet it is a lot sooner than most people think. Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of this earlier Sedco blow-out and the impacts? Opinions are fine but I'd really like some evidence if at all possible. :) Craig Jungers Moses lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Dispersants have form huge clouds of oil mud that will drift suspended in mid water following the currents. What's within the water is probably much more than what floats and can be collected by the contention barriers. Those clouds are highly toxic and even if they dilute completely with the years they are poluting the ocean with an unknown effect. Eventually they'll show on shores all along the atlantic ocean, including England and Europe unless somehow they manage to recirculate within the gulf. Russians have done preliminary studies that warn about the acid rain ... and I give them some credit. -- Fernando Lopez Arbarello fer_at_ferlopez.com <mailto:fer_at_ferlopez.com> www.FerLopez.com <http://www.ferlopez.com> *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 4:10 PM, Bob Myers <qajaqbob_at_gmail.com> wrote: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtoc_I_oil_spill > > Bib Myers comes through again with this link to a wikiepaedia article on the "Ixtoc 1" oil spill. According to this article the Sedco 135F (which I believe was not a dynamically positioned rig but an anchored semi-submersible) was drilling in water depths of about 160 feet. The day before the blow out they experienced a loss of mud through soft strata (which was what I thought had happened on Deepwater Horizon until I found out that the "three" places oil was escaping were just broken places in the riser which was dropped onto the ocean bottom). There was still mud in the Ixtoc 1 well bore which, combined with the weight of the drill string itself, was keeping the pressures balanced. That is, the weight of drill string and mud matched the upward pressure of the gas/oil. However when they started to pull the drill string out of the well bore this "balance" was lost and first the mud and then the drill string and then the gas/oil bubble itself rose to the surface. Again, the BOP should have been able to stop this blowout but if you recall earlier in this series I mentioned that the "shears" (clamps on the BOP which can also cut the pipe) are unable to cut the drill string when there is a joint (drill collar) in the way. Generally the driller has to have enough time to "hang off" the string on a closed ram above or below the shear rams so he will know exactly where the collar is. This did not happen on the Sedco 135 and all that mess ended up at the surface and on fire. The well blew out for 9 months although a "top kill" was somewhat successful as well as a "junk kill". The well was finally killed by directionally drilling a well bore to intersect with the original (blown out) bore (just as will be the final end to this blowout as well). Mexico claims that the oil either burned up, evaporated, or was collected (one third of each) but I have heard that you can still see signs of the oil if you dig deep into some beaches. What I'd like to know is that this blowout seems relatively similar to the Deepwater Horizon blowout although it was in shallow water and not as deep a bore. It was also much closer to shore (which one might assume would make things worse). The well was located some 100km northwest of Ciudad de Carmen. Does anyone know just how much lasting damage this blowout caused to the environment? Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net PS: And thanks again, Bob. :) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bob corrected me on Connallay and Clements.... it's been a long time and I didn't live in TX (but worked for Sedco) and I guess it doesn't matter much anyway... only whether that huge blowout left as big a mess as they are predicting from this huge blowout. And thanks, Bob. :) Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net On Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 4:20 PM, Bob Myers <qajaqbob_at_gmail.com> wrote: > John Connally was the guy who was shot in front of JFK, and later > became governor of TX, but he did not run Sedco and left the > governorship in 1969. > > Bill Clements was the guy who ran Sedco and became TX governor in > 1979, about the time of the Ixtoc blowout. > > > Connally, Clements Two different guys. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
There was a program on Oregon Public Broadcasting that discussed the Exxon Valdez oil spill. They overturned rocks along the shores of Prince William Sound and immediately found globs of crude oil. So after twenty years the oil is still very much in evidence. One of the local residents said that the herring fishery was no more. I believe that means the herring were unable to reproduce. Have not heard about the Sedco drill rig. Brad Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] gulf oil spill In the 1970s or 1980s a Sedco drill rig blew out somewhere south of Brownsville, TX while drilling for Pemex. The blowout was a serious disaster and I think it also sank; although in much shallower water (around 100 feet). Sedco was owned by some guy named Connallay who was either the Governor of TX at the time of the blow out or had been Governor. Connalay is the guy who was shot just in front of JFK in Dallas. This was a seriously big blowout and my memory seems to nag to me that they leaked out more oil/gas from that one blowout than from the current one (so far). I wonder just how much envronmental damage remains. Do you have to look for it or is it obvious? We hear talk about the Prince William Sound (Exxon Valdez) incident still having an impact but I wonder how hard you have to look for the evidence there, too. I don't say this to simply minimize the impact of BP's latest disaster on the environment but to see if there really is a "forever" impact. Is there some point at which these things aren't really noticable any more? There must be and I bet it is a lot sooner than most people think. Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of this earlier Sedco blow-out and the impacts? Opinions are fine but I'd really like some evidence if at all possible. :) Craig Jungers Moses lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Please remove all old content that is not pertinent to your reply including old headers and footers. It's list policy.... this post was modified to meet policy] In a message dated 6/7/2010 3:49:00 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, crjungers_at_gmail.com writes: I wonder just how much environmental damage remains. Do you have to look for it or is it obvious? We hear talk about the Prince William Sound (Exxon Valdez) incident still having an impact but I wonder how hard you have to look for the evidence there, too. I don't say this to simply minimize the impact of BP's latest disaster on the environment but to see if there really is a "forever" impact. Is there some point at which these things aren't really noticeable any more? There must be and I bet it is a lot sooner than most people think. Craig Jungers Moses lake, WA _www.nwkayaking.net_ (http://www.nwkayaking.net) For my 2 cents worth, I'd like to note that in my elementary chemistry class, a 10 degree rise in temperature was said to double the speed of a chemical reaction. This certainly implies that whatever is going to happen, will happen faster in a warm environment than a cold one. <snip> And, the kayaking won't be back until the odors are about gone. Oil. Chemicals. Dead fish and animals. Decaying vegetation. Sulfur producing marshes. What a mess. Pam in Washington State. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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