Guard watches coast for oil slick's first wave

[joethiesmanfan]

Originally Posted by joeredskin

take a deep breath and sit down for this first, i have some earth shattering news for you:

The private sector does not have the answer for everything.

double take

[joethiesmanfan]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

A bit more complicated than "turn the seabed to glass" but an option that should be investigated if it has a track record of success. At this point no option should be off the table.

YouTube - Nuke the oil spill: Could nuclear bomb be answer for huge leaks as at US Gulf coast?

Use nukes to contain the oil spill

Russian paper suggests ‘nuclear explosion’ could cap gulf oil geyser | Raw Story

Anybody on TV has an idea of how to stop the leak, dag

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

Maybe not, but with the right motivation the private sector very often finds a workable solution. In this case, clearly with govt support, there are several motivating factors for a private sector oil leader to come up with a solution. 1) if a company makes a breakthrough and finds a creative, effective way to end this, they get HIGH Publicity and advertising capital for their company. 2) if the solution is patent-able, they could make a profit by their design. 3) the company that stops it, if BP were to throw up their hands, would have an upper hand in the foreseeable future of deep sea drilling.

IF, and I don't believe this will be the case, it goes unstopped till August, this will be the equivalent to deepsea drilling that 3-Mile island was to Nuclear energy in this country.

Of course it does. In fact, the private sector is likely to have 1) more flexibility and 2) greater ability to "think outside the box" in looking for solutions. On the other hand, the private sector probably does not have the spectrum of resources that government entities have. I do not doubt that the public sector can marshall more and broader information (including wide ranges of specialists) and manpower (in the short term) than the private sector and, conversely that application of those resources can be done more efficiently and with more innovation by the private sector.

Mustering large amounts of short term manpower & gathering information (mundane and specialized) and specialists across a broad spectrum of knowledge? Public Sector.

Applying those resources and information to find new and innovative solutions? Private Sector.

Obviously, this is an oversimplification and the devil is in the details. But step one in finding a solution is recognizing what each group does well.

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by joethiesmanfan

double take

Oh.- You mean you are surprised when you're neat little over simplifications and sweeping generalities actually paint an inaccurate picture? You must walk around with a constant look of shock on your face.

[joethiesmanfan]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

Oh.- You mean you are surprised when you're neat little over simplifications and sweeping generalities actually paint an inaccurate picture? You must walk around with a constant look of shock on your face.

You get a win. U win the battle. Rummy

[SolidSnake84]

BP seeks yet another way to stop oil leak as protests loom - CNN.com

This backs my earlier claims that BP has now abandoned the plan to use the diamond saw, and have basically said they must wait until the relief wells are completed 2 months from now.

Highlights from the article:

BP announced Wednesday it had abandoned its latest plan to use a massive diamond wire cutter to cut the pipe spewing oil.


They have given up, and there is nothing we can do about it. We were the dumbasses who trusted them....

[MTK]

We already knew that the only solution is going to be the relief well, but I don't see anything about them giving up until August. They're going to try another top hat.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

BP seeks yet another way to stop oil leak as protests loom - CNN.com

This backs my earlier claims that BP has now abandoned the plan to use the diamond saw, and have basically said they must wait until the relief wells are completed 2 months from now.

Highlights from the article:

BP announced Wednesday it had abandoned its latest plan to use a massive diamond wire cutter to cut the pipe spewing oil.


They have given up, and there is nothing we can do about it. We were the dumbasses who trusted them....

Here is your quote in context:

BP announced Wednesday it had abandoned its latest plan to use a massive diamond wire cutter to cut the pipe spewing oil.
[your quote]
BP engineers had hoped the cutter would cut the pipe making it easier for them to place a cap on it.

The diamond wire cutter plan was dumped after the device got stuck midway through the pipe. It was freed and taken to the surface, Allen said.

The next move will be to use the same sheer-cutting device that made a successful cut on the riser Tuesday. [the part that says they are continuing to try]The only issue with that cutter is the rougher surface left by that cut will not accommodate the tight seal needed for installation of the lower-marine riser package that BP wanted to use the stop the gusher.

BP engineers now plan to use a different device called a "top hat" instead.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

We already knew that the only solution is going to be the relief well, but I don't see anything about them giving up until August. They're going to try another top hat.

It's amazing to me that the best minds in the world can't figure out how to fix this after so long. Ugh.

Why did the White House refuse help from 13 other countries (Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and 10 European nations) and the UN? WTF? Seems like the more assistance the better. The State Dept said we have no immediate need for assistance. Really? Could have fooled me.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GMScud

It's amazing to me that the best minds in the world can't figure out how to fix this after so long. Ugh.

Why did the White House refuse help from 13 other countries (Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and 10 European nations) and the UN? WTF? Seems like the more assistance the better. The State Dept said we have no immediate need for assistance. Really? Could have fooled me.

I know every average Joe sitting at home seems to have a solution but I think the fact they can't get it fixed speaks to what a cluster F of a problem is really is. This isn't your kitchen sink leaking here.

As far as turning down assistance, perhaps it's a case of having two many hands in the pot may only make things worse.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by GMScud

It's amazing to me that the best minds in the world can't figure out how to fix this after so long. Ugh.

Why did the White House refuse help from 13 other countries (Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and 10 European nations) and the UN? WTF? Seems like the more assistance the better. The State Dept said we have no immediate need for assistance. Really? Could have fooled me.

What is that old saying?

oh yeah, Pride goeth before the fall.

Hadn't heard we had refused help, but that seems ridiculous to me. The more expert eyes on the problem the better it would seem to me.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

What is that old saying?

oh yeah, Pride goeth before the fall.

Hadn't heard we had refused help, but that seems ridiculous to me. The more expert eyes on the problem the better it would seem to me.

Not really related to the discussion at hand, however, what's funny is that "old saying" is actually a misquote:

Originally Posted by Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

[SolidSnake84]

Latest word from gulf shores is that there is more than a handful of "top people" suggesting to the government that a nuclear or other kind of explosive be used to fill the well, based on the fact that the russians successfully plugged runaway wells 70 years ago by using a nuclear weapon.....

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I know every average Joe sitting at home seems to have a solution but I think the fact they can't get it fixed speaks to what a cluster F of a problem is really is. This isn't your kitchen sink leaking here.

As far as turning down assistance, perhaps it's a case of having two many hands in the pot may only make things worse.

Thats the first I heard of turning down assistance but I don't see how we can have too many hands in the pot with all the miles of coast line we need to protect.

[MTK]

US wary of nuclear blast to stop Gulf oil leak | Reuters