tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14226983.post927255827113640728..comments2024-02-20T20:50:18.981+01:00Comments on sunburst, musings on the go: Silence is silver, conversation is gold - and then there is black goldZeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02046472160770720576noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14226983.post-261925821900533832010-06-21T05:50:05.882+02:002010-06-21T05:50:05.882+02:00the problem is the BP well is about a mile under w...the problem is the BP well is about a mile under water. the pressure at that depth would squash a most modern submarine. the oil coming out of the ground is hotter than the boiling point of water. closing the well is impossible with today's technology. the only "sure" thing is to drill those relief wells, but even that risks uncertainty and failure.<br /><br />the problem, like you said, is BP didn't have a backup plan. The solution would have been to install duplicate protections, much the way we design nuclear facilities. the technology to <i>prevent</i> a blowout is available and well-tested. unfortunately, it is expensive to install. <br /><br />in hindsight, it is easy to say what should have been done. <br /><br />the maddening thing is BP (and other oil companies, to be fair) keeps making this mistake over and over again: they don't adequately prepare for worst case scenarios. with proper foresight, we shouldn't need hindsight.Seraphinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06527934346602655741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14226983.post-39915400524217410952010-06-16T09:05:04.507+02:002010-06-16T09:05:04.507+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.lindsaylobehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774918551798647046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14226983.post-34262239298050149772010-06-16T09:04:48.973+02:002010-06-16T09:04:48.973+02:00Hi Zee
It appears to me BP either took unacceptabl...Hi Zee<br />It appears to me BP either took unacceptable risks and or failed to have a backup plan. Maybe like building dams with a certain stress allowance that entertained the thought that possibly one in 100 would collapse but that was a much cheaper alternative than building in at huge cost additional material cost as a safety measure to avoid an unexpected build up in pressure. Either way, the result is completely unacceptable and provides food for thought for the peak oil theory that says inevitably the cost of oil production will become so expensive it will force the cleaner alternatives to be considered. Ironically at a time in our history when there are far too many consumption goods than people wishing or needing to buy them, we could well do with more labour intensive industry requirements that arise from changing over to cleaner alternatives.<br /><br />Best wisheslindsaylobehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774918551798647046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14226983.post-24613872832081236112010-06-08T06:46:43.379+02:002010-06-08T06:46:43.379+02:00I'm with you on this one. We're all stuck ...I'm with you on this one. We're all stuck on the boat with Captain Ahab at the wheel.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.com