10,000 gallon oil spill in Los Angeles begs a question

[HomerJS]

Oil drilling technologies have made great strides in the last 50 or so years. Deep water, oil shale, etc. Oil companies can reach depths of 5000 feet in the ocean.

Why hasen't oil cleanup technology kept pace?

Methods for cleaning up oil haven't changed since the 60s. They are still using oil boom, paper towels and now for this spill we have diapers!

The cleanup effort is expected to take 24 hours, he said. Most of the oil had been sopped up before 6 a.m., but crews still needed to use diaper-like sponges to sop up what could not be vacuumed. After that, workers planned to use high-pressure washers and a soap solution to break up the remaining oil, Moore said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...l-atwater-village-revised-20140515-story.html

 

[Oyeve]

The problem is the peoples need for oil. Eliminate the need, eliminate the problem.


I have no freaking idea on what could possibly be a better tech to clean oil spills up. I say just burn it but I know nothing.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Guess you didn't read the portion you quoted

The cleanup effort is expected to take 24 hours, he said. Most of the oil had been sopped up before 6 a.m., but crews still needed to use diaper-like sponges to sop up what could not be vacuumed. After that, workers planned to use high-pressure washers and a soap solution to break up the remaining oil, Moore said.

 

[Kadarin]

Oil companies don't profit from investing money in cleanup R&D.

 

[master_shake_]

cheaper to pay the fine than it is to clean up the mess.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Oil companies don't profit from investing money in cleanup R&D.

Oil companies procure vacuum truck/cleanup services including supplies from vendors, seems like if there was a better way to clean up oil the vendors/suppliers would provide such and charge based on efficiency/speed of the cleanup.

 

[Thebobo]

Made for TV series pilot.

Drill Baby die!

In an effort to clean up increasingly damaging oil spills Mankind genetically creats a super microbe that would eat all the oil spill residue. But then it gets out of hand and eats all of the world's oil. What's left is people with guns who try to survive in a post apocalyptic world where everyone tries to kill each other for the dwindling resource.

Original eh?

 

[werepossum]

Made for TV series pilot.

Drill Baby die!

In an effort to clean up increasingly damaging oil spills Mankind genetically creats a super microbe that would eat all the oil spill residue. But then it gets out of hand and eats all of the world's oil. What's left is people with guns who try to survive in a post apocalyptic world where everyone tries to kill each other for the dwindling resource.

Original eh?

Scientists did create a designer microbe that eats petroleum. Thankfully, clearer minds prevailed and it was never released into the wild.

 

[momeNt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question

Begging the question means "assuming the conclusion (of an argument)", a type of circular reasoning. This is an informal fallacy where the conclusion that one is attempting to prove is included in the initial premises of an argument, often in an indirect way that conceals this fact.[1]

How is it begging the question?

Do you mean it raises the question?

 

[Thebobo]

Scientists did create a designer microbe that eats petroleum. Thankfully, clearer minds prevailed and it was never released into the wild.

or was it..... /cue scary music

 

[piasabird]

This has nothing to do with drilling.

 

[Zaap]

24 hours to clean up 10,000 gallons of spilled oil is excessive?

How come none of our resident genius complainers-about-everything have invented the magic wand that can do it faster?

Oh that's right- because we're talking about something that has to get done FOR REAL, not something magical being imagined by nattering keyboard-wankers.

 

[Daverino]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question



How is it begging the question?

Do you mean it raises the question?

Thank you.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

24 hours to clean up 10,000 gallons of spilled oil is excessive?

How come none of our resident genius complainers-about-everything have invented the magic wand that can do it faster?

Oh that's right- because we're talking about something that has to get done FOR REAL, not something magical being imagined by nattering keyboard-wankers.

24 hours seems pretty damn good.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

The Oil Thugs will be raising the gas prices in Indianapolis to make up for having to clean this oil up and the refining delay due to the oil being spilled.

 

[sportage]

Keystone preview of things to come. Jobs not so much building the monster, plenty of jobs for cleanup. In CA, knee deep oil, people sick from fumes, many in hospital. So I have to ask, you willing to have keystone in YOUR back yard?

While Canada laughs all the way to the bank.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

The Oil Thugs will be raising the gas prices in Indianapolis to make up for having to clean this oil up and the refining delay due to the oil being spilled.

Ummm........California's refinery market for gasoline is pretty much disconnected from the rest of the nation.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Keystone preview of things to come. Jobs not so much building the monster, plenty of jobs for cleanup. In CA, knee deep oil, people sick from fumes, many in hospital. So I have to ask, you willing to have keystone in YOUR back yard?

While Canada laughs all the way to the bank.

There are thousands of miles of pipes criss-crossing this country moving oil, natural gas, coal, etc. Never mind the amount being moved by rail or trucks.

How is Keystone going to be any worse??

 

[Greenman]

Oil companies don't profit from investing money in cleanup R&D.

Bingo!

 

[mrjminer]

24 hours to clean up 10,000 gallons of spilled oil is excessive?

24 hours seems pretty damn good.

^^^ 24 hours does seem pretty damn good to me, too.

--
Although, I wonder whatever happened to the oil separators from the BP spill that Kevin Costner's brother (iirc) created. Those looked like they had some potential. At 24 hours for 10k gallons, though, it's hard to say the current solution was inadequate, at least for this instance.

 

[sportage]

There are thousands of miles of pipes criss-crossing this country moving oil, natural gas, coal, etc. Never mind the amount being moved by rail or trucks.

How is Keystone going to be any worse??

Thanks for making my point.
Thousands of miles. And another spill.
Question still, are YOU willing to take the risk not in CA but in YOUR own back yard?
Hell of a thing to wake up to.
And you were planning on a little gardening that day, not wadding in knee deep oil followed by a night in the ER.
Kinda fucks up your whole day. No?

 

[feralkid]

"Begs a question" does not mean what you think it does.

MG]

 

[MongGrel]

Still wondering why it wasn't just turned off faster myself

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Ummm........California's refinery market for gasoline is pretty much disconnected from the rest of the nation.

It wouldn't stop McOwned from blaming gas price increases on it even though he lives in Indianapolis. Really surprised he didn't comment about the evil Oil Thugs in the thread.

 

[drebo]

Thanks for making my point.
Thousands of miles. And another spill.
Question still, are YOU willing to take the risk not in CA but in YOUR own back yard?
Hell of a thing to wake up to.
And you were planning on a little gardening that day, not wadding in knee deep oil followed by a night in the ER.
Kinda fucks up your whole day. No?

So there's a spill a couple of times a decade and you want to relagate humanity to the bronze age because of it?

Here's an idea. Why don't you sell your car, move out of your parents' house, and go live a zero emissions life in a desert somewhere. At least we'd be free of your idiocy.

To answer your question, if it meant saving money and improving efficiency, I'd let them build the Keystone pipe AND a nuclear reactor in my back yard. I would even give them the land. Progress and all that.