NPR is reporting that the actual amount of oil being released from the millions of year old oil deposit under the ocean is actually 70,000 barrels a day. Their calculations are that this is equal to an Exxon Valdez every 4 days at present. So to double check them if one barrel equals 50 gallons then 50 times 70,000 barrels a day equals 3,500,000 gallons a day and 4 times 3,500,000 gallons a day equals 14,000,000 gallons every 4 days. Since the Exxon Valdez leaked about 11,000,000 gallons of oil it is actually somewhere between 3 and 4 days when it is equal to the Exxon Valdez.
Therefore, it may be time to round up some supertankers and start really skimming this oil off the Gulf into them just like the Saudi's did when they reprocessed the spilled oil by separating out the water and then sold it after it was refined 20 years ago. This may be a new way to get oil. Skim it off the ocean before processing it. It might be our only choice if the leak caused by the drilling can't be stopped soon.
Is it possible with the currents there to create an oil dam using plastic barriers so the oil stays in the same area and doesn't move around anymore? Maybe something that only goes about 30 to 100 feet deep might work to keep the oil in the same area so it doesn't move around like it is?
No comments:
Post a Comment