this appears to have been a very tragic and costly accident, and nothing more.

Three independent safety systems, and they all failed to work? Sounds like something more than "just an accident" to me.

Politicians aren't able to pander correctly without making snap judgements. Their hips are specially made for shooting from.

"Three independent safety systems, and they all failed to work?"

Seeing as we live in an 'imperfect' world. Yes.

For once global warming really can be blamed.

YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND AN APOLOGIST FOR BP. SO IN LIEU OF BEING PISSED AT BP I AM SUPPOSED TO BE IN AWE OF THIS ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL? THE ONLY REASON YOU CAN UTTER THOSE WORDS IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT BEEN DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY IT. I BET IF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY LIVED ON THE COAST OR YOUR LIVELIHOOD WAS AFFECTED YOU'D BE BITCHING INSTEAD OF BEING IN AWE OVER ENGINEERING MARVELS. YOU ARE INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST AND SITES LIKE KOS AND FIREDOG LAKE SERVE TO MAGNIFY THE INHUMANITY AND TRAGIC NATURE OF THESE ACCIDENTS.

From what I can gleam from the story, there was no way that this accident could have been foreseen. While it is true that all of the safety procedures were followed, the accident was one those once in a lifetime ones. With a methane bubble that large, there was no way the BOPs could have prevented this catastrophe. Even if the crew had been paying attention, I doubt that this disaster could have been prevented. As for the resulting oil spill, it was not as devastating as the drive by media and the left wing blogs have been saying. Hell there is more oil that seeps up from the bottom of the Gulf in one year than the rig accident spilled and the Gulf seems to eat it all up.

Marco: sorry, I didn't read your post. I don't read all-caps, despite having taken a semester of it in kindergarten.

this appears to have been a very tragic and costly accident, and nothing more.

That sounds like a snap judgement to me!

Only last week, wizbang in several posts were saying why didn't the government/Obama do something to stop it or surround the oil slick?

My best guess/estimate as to what caused the blowout was that too small a cement cap was placed on too deep a well, more than 18,000 feet down, with too much unanticipated pressure and like air accidents, or better or worse, the Challenger/NASA accident on January 28, 1986 -where 0 rings were used, for the first time in uncommonly cold temperatures.

Though the destruction of the Shuttle Challenger was caused by the hardware failure of a solid rocket booster (SRB) "O" ring, the human decision to launch was, in itself, flawed. The resolution to launch was based upon faulty group decision support information and further aggravated by the related mismanagement of that information. However, as in most transportation accidents, there are usually other contributing factors that help to create an environment leading to mistakes and failures.

Probably, the Deep Horizon accident was the accumulation of not one error, but of several flawed decisions, taken in a culture increasingly complacent, but one in which safety and environmental consequences were more and more taking a back seat to liftoff or drilldown.

"the Challenger/NASA accident on January 28, 1986 -where 0 rings were used, for the first time in uncommonly cold temperatures."

Hate to rain on your "engineering degree" there Stevie, but Morton-Thiokol engineers were well aware of O-ring erosion in previous marginal launch conditions. They warned NASA not to launch but were brow-beaten into agreeing to the launch.

As for your 'too small' cement cap theory. That's probably a bigger bubble than the one that grew and expanded as it approached the surface.

I realize that the hole is a mile down but I'm not sure why they can't just blow it shut or shear the pipe off at ground level and place a heavy plug on top of it.

There are always bubbles of one gas or another during the pouring of cement---sometimes only *air*.

It was Halliburton's job to *snake* (shake/vibrate) the pour area free of such bubbles as the cement began its quick curing to give the cure a head start.

And yes, I predicted Kagan would be nominated to the Supreme Court here at the first available post last month, too....so, HALLIBURTON!!!

"And yes, I predicted Kagan would be nominated to the Supreme Court here at the first available post last month, too....so, HALLIBURTON!!!"

Want to point out that 'post' Bryan?

"Want to point out that 'post' Bryan?"
12. Posted by GarandFan

Sorry. We all know that my comments are excised as "troubling" by Jay Tea. It's common knowledge here. Don't play stupid.

Speaking of "troubling", has Jay Tea overindulged himself to the point of stupefaction this evening?
Grocery day?
Because my posts haven't been erased these past few hours.

Anyway, about Kagan. On my post I mentioned listening to her (unsuccessful) defense of the McCain-Feingold bill before the Supreme Court on C-Span.
She was unflappable. Unflappable against 2 opposing lawyers and 4 of the Court. And she was flying 100% solo for the 2 hours I listened.
Now, I don't agree with many of her positions on policy...too Bushian and statist.
But that unflappability I knew would put her in the first rank of Obama nominees for SC.

The End.

Unfortunately for the whacked-out minions of Daily Kos, Firedoglake, and Democratic Underground, this appears to have been a very tragic and costly accident, and nothing more.

More to the point, the scientific details will become increasingly clear as to what actually occurred. The question then becomes, what one regulation would have prevented this one accident? If one regulation would have done the job, there is no need for comprehensive reform of the oil industry. If that regulation was already in place, and was not followed, the fine is enough, and there is no need for reform.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but the escape of the large methane bubble begs the question - when was Al Gore's last chili dog and where was he during the time in question. These are the questions the media should be asking!

There's a bigger methane bubble up on Capitol Hill that's going to burst soon. The pile covering it just needs to be prodded with a few pitchforks.

Bluenight:

"If one regulation would have done the job, there is no need for comprehensive reform of the oil industry. If that regulation was already in place, and was not followed, the fine is enough, and there is no need for reform."

You miss the point, I think. Congress has to be seen as 'effective' in a crisis. Therefore, they have to do something - anything - to show that they're up on the subject and have a clue about what to do next. But the vast majority of them have little to no experience in the fields they're trying to control.

NOT doing 'something' isn't an option. They HAVE to 'reform' the oil industry, or at least pretend they are. And after the mess they've made of things so far, I'm not at all confident they WON'T make it more of mess than it already is.

As always on wizbang, it´s always Congress' fault who act or should act in the public interest, which is anathema to wizbang who champion private interests and the bottom line, despite the considerable human and environmental costs even with Deep Horizon spill.

There appear to many suspects with the blowout. I suggest you start with BP, which even falsified studies to safeguard production schedules "BP was the beneficiary of a falsified test, claiming that the company rushes work and cuts corners to save money" and were willing to pay derisory fines to maintain their high profit margins or pressure the the promiscouos minerals management officials, with gifts to make cursory incompetent inspections.

Conservatives hope once they have found the one sole cause of the massive Deep Horizon blowout/spill they can return to "drill, baby, drill", Drummond even sooner, as if they could be so lucky, and the world was so simple and big oil corporations and their attendant companies like Halliburton were so innocent in their benign pursuit of billions of dollars.

"this appears to have been a very tragic and costly accident, and nothing more ... before making any more snap judgments "

What a joke. The blowout was, as could have been predicted, a result of failing to properly test and maintain safety equipment and not even installing other safety equipment. The claims that this failure could not have been foreseen is malarkey, deeply ignorant about physics and engineering, and grossly intellectually dishonest.

Ah, so Marcel believes he has sufficient, hmm, presence to hand out judgment.

Just to test a few points Marcel, how do you test a blowout preventer?

Do you know how a blowout preventer even works, and what sequence of events is necessary to bring it into function?

Do you understand 'Dynamic Positioning'? If you do, how does it's use complicate the reaction to events that led to the explosion?

Working up the list, Steve, whose responsibility is it to coordinate and deploy first responders in an offshore emergency? Who constitutes the initial NCA in such an event?

As to Hallburton, what exactly does 'cementing' have to do with causing the blowout? Where is the evidence for this claim?

Regarding Wayne's question, what is the PSI at 5,000 feet below sea level? What is the ambient temperature? What is the character of seabed terrain at that location and depth? And given the force behind the leak, what tensile strength and volume capacity are necessary for a containment vessel to effectively stem the flow?

When people cannot answer basic questions like these, they should recognize that they do not know enough to place blame or demand specific actions, and - unlike Congress - should let people who know what they're doing address the problem and stop trying to impress everyone with knowledge they don't have and arrogance that just gets in the way.

As for you Marcos, I live on the Gulf Coast and everyone here is dealing with this with some concenr but no hysteria. You need to change your diapees and take a nap, the adults are doing fine without your throwing a tantrum.

DJ
PSI at 5,000 feet is approximately 2,000 PSI. Temperature is about 4 to 5C. The rest I'm not sure.

Where was I placing blame? I didn't. I just ask a question. If you are so enlighten then answer it. If you don't know the answers to my question then simply say so.

I would caution with assuming the experts have not overlook anything. Sometimes the experts as with anyone will overlook the most simplest of solutions in a complex situation. Ask NASA about that. This is especially true with people who are used to dealing with things in a finesse way instead of using brute force.

However I assume there are reasons but hate assuming. Besides I would like to know know for my own curiosity and knowledge.

Tonight we find out that the BP oil gusher is apparently 10x worse than originally thought.

For those who have denied the need for reform (blue knight) or those who have said "it was not as devastating as the drive by media and the left wing blogs have been saying. Hell there is more oil that seeps up from the bottom of the Gulf in one year than the rig accident spilled and the Gulf seems to eat it all up.' (stan) I think your ideology has consumed your brains.

Everyone who looked at this he**hole with clear eyes from the get go knew that it has been a lie. It's what we get from Republican corporatacracy. Lies.

Keep voting Republican so you can drill baby drill. Black water is exactly what you ordered up with that vote.

Hi there,
Do you think is a need to installed a blackbox in oil Rig or oil platform? to know what is actually happen even all rig personal have dead after explosion.

Just a suggestion only for future planning.

"Indie", the initiative under which the rig was operating was created by the Obama Administration, and the rig was inspected just last year by government officials whose rules were confirmed by the Democrats in control of Congress.

The "Republicans did this" lie is not going to work for you this time.

Amy, instrument data is already relayed in real time to shore facilities. A "black box" similar to what is installed in commercial aircraft would not give us more information than we have. The problem is that whatever went wrong apparently did so at the sea bed or under it, so there is no way to know what happened by reviewing the technical records.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the well lacked a remote-control shut-off switch that is required by Brazil and Norway, two other major oil-producing nations. The switch, a back-up measure to shut off oil flow, would allow a crew to remotely shut off the well even if a rig was damaged or sunken.

U.S. regulators considered requiring the mechanism several years ago. They decided against the measure when drilling companies protested, saying the cost was too high, the device was only questionably effective, and that primary shut-off measures were enough to control an oil spill. A 2001 industry report argued against the shut-off device.

This is the same industry that Cheney and Bush had worked in for years and gave lifetime appointments to their oil industry cronies. Those same appointees of MMS that in 2008, prior to Obama, was caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal -- including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct -- that exposed its ridiculously close relationship with the oil industry.

Of course you might want to conveniently ignore that. Wouldn't fit your argument.

Shame on you.