Foo - Lord Cameron To The Rescue.....

http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/home/contentposting?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20100602%2fcameron-oil-spill-100602


U.S. asks for James Cameron's help with oil spill

02/06/2010 9:48:45 AM
CTV.ca News Staff
With no end in sight to the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. government is seeking a blockbuster solution, recruiting "Avatar" and "Titanic" film director James Cameron's help.

Cameron was in Washington to meet with scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency and other officials about how to stop the environmental calamity.

According to sources familiar with the meeting, the brainstorming session was heavily technical in nature and was attended by mostly marine biologists, engineers and physicists.


The Canadian-born Cameron attended the meeting with deep-ocean expert Phil Nuyteen, president of Vancouver-based Nuytco Research, a world leader in underwater technology.

"Today's meeting is part of the federal government's ongoing efforts to hear from stakeholders, scientists and experts from academia, government and the private sector as we continue to respond to the BP oil spill," the EPA said in a statement.

Cameron is considered a leading expert in underwater filming and remote vehicle technology, pioneering underwater filming techniques not only on "Titanic" but on documentaries such "Ghosts of the Abyss" and "Aliens of the Deep."

After the "top kill" operation failed last week, BP is now attempting to cut the leaking pipe and seal it with a tightly placed cap. The company has said their latest attempt could work within a day.

The company is also digging two relief wells, but they will not be completed until at least August, meaning millions more barrels of crude will continue to spew into the Gulf if a speedier solution isn't found.



What is he going to CGI the whole mess away? Talk about grasping at straws.......

Oh I thought you were talkiing about the new Brit PM taking his subjects to task.

LOL, no the other Lord Cameron.

The saw used to cut the top of the well off is now stuck in place.
Doesn't look like it's going to stop until they drill relief wells.

The saw used to cut the top of the well off is now stuck in place.
Doesn't look like it's going to stop until they drill relief wells.

30% of the Gulf is now off limits to fishing.
I bet this goes on for 6 months or more and I bet we end up having the Russians show us how they nuked their deep well shut.

30% of the Gulf is now off limits to fishing.
I bet this goes on for 6 months or more and I bet we end up having the Russians show us how they nuked their deep well shut.

I had thought a relief well was just another way to tap into the reservoir and release pressure so it doesn't come out of the broken well as fast, but it's apparently actually drilled right into the line of the leaking well to capture and divert the oil before it gets to the surface. So they just have to drill in a mile of water diagonally through a couple of miles of crust to hit the well they've previously drilled from a different angle.

No problem!

So will this put BP out of business?

30% of the Gulf is now off limits to fishing.
I bet this goes on for 6 months or more and I bet we end up having the Russians show us how they nuked their deep well shut.

Did this actually happen? Could be some interesting afternoon-in-the-office reading.

Did this actually happen? Could be some interesting afternoon-in-the-office reading.
Apparently...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100513/ts_ynews/ynews_ts2052

Actually, having Cameron involved in such a venture is probably not a bad idea. Note that his expertise is in underwater filming using ROVs, which could be pretty useful if you wanted to visualize the work being done. Nobody said they were asking for his expertise in capping the blowout.

Apparently...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100513/ts_ynews/ynews_ts2052

Video (http://www.businessinsider.com/how-a-nuke-could-plug-the-oil-well-2010-5)

Very interesting. Man, I love the Soviets... giant turboprops and constructive uses of nuclear weapons.

I think from watching the live ROV feeds that good cameras and lighting isn't the problem (amazing and sicken to watch at the same time). I can see everything quite clear. Maybe they want him to document it all for a new movie? lol

It's footage for the prequel to Avatar.

So will this put BP out of business?

Well their annual profit is ~$20b/yr and the absolute worst-case for the cleanup that they'll never have to pay is maybe $25b, they are looking pretty good. Although if they can't get good terms and they have to frontload whatever they do pay, they could get taken over.

So how long before they decide it's easier to build a massive dam to wall off most of the Gulf of Mexico, then just let it fill with oil and suck it up that way?

Why don't they just use a big vacuum to suck the gulf dry, then try and plug the oil well? That would solve the whole underwater thing.

I actually had to look and make sure that this wasn't from The Onion.

spongebob and sandy squirrel?

Presumably that they point out his experience in underwater filter is a suggestion that they don't have a good enough view of situation, which I find difficult to believe. The ROV video may not be stellar quality, but it shows where things are.

Interestingly, I also found out the other day that James Cameron is collaborating with NASA on the use of imagery from the Mars Science Laboratory, a new and much more capable rover to be launched next year. I assume an eventual documentary will come out of this.

Presumably that they point out his experience in underwater filter is a suggestion that they don't have a good enough view of situation, which I find difficult to believe. The ROV video may not be stellar quality, but it shows where things are.


The current video feed is provided by BP and their contractors. I would assume that the meeting that Cameron attended would be to plan for a government-run effort to stem the flow. In that event, BP would be ordered off the site and they would take their toys with them.

BP has ruined the oceans for us all, sad part is most people will laugh and call this a silly statement, they'll say "all is well and taken care of," but our children and grandchildren will not be laughing. I say the U.S. Gov should come down hard on them like the criminals that they are.

Well their annual profit is ~$20b/yr and the absolute worst-case for the cleanup that they'll never have to pay is maybe $25b, they are looking pretty good. Although if they can't get good terms and they have to frontload whatever they do pay, they could get taken over.
They are limited to seventy five million in damages total, and after that are immune to civil law suits. Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/us/02liability.html)
I think they should be put into receivership so they can be ordered to use all of their resources to stop the flow, but that's just wishing into the wind.

So how long before they decide it's easier to build a massive dam to wall off most of the Gulf of Mexico, then just let it fill with oil and suck it up that way?

Already happening. Federal relief funds are being used to build 5 sand islands off the coast of Louisiana. The Shaw Group was awarded the contract. Source (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-shaw-group-to-provide-louisiana-coastline-with-sand-berm-construction-2010-06-04?reflink=MW_news_stmp)
Current estaminets have the flow being abated by Christmas. Bloomberg Source (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-02/bp-oil-leak-may-last-until-christmas-in-worst-case-scenario.html)

BP has ruined the oceans for us all, sad part is most people will laugh and call this a silly statement, they'll say "all is well and taken care of," but our children and grandchildren will not be laughing. I say the U.S. Gov should come down hard on them like the criminals that they are.

Seventy five million is all they are going to be on the hook for this.
I think they owe us (the US people) for the oil they are spilling, but they can write that off as a business loss and will have no tax burden for years.
The spill may cause BP to be broken up for PR reasons, but the tax liability will go to whatever company ends up with receivership. All in all this spill will makes some people very rich and will cost big oil very little. Clean up is the responsibility of the tax payers, not BP.

They are limited to seventy five million in damages total, and after that are immune to civil law suits. Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/us/02liability.html)
I think they should be put into receivership so they can be ordered to use all of their resources to stop the flow, but that's just wishing into the wind.

That's $75 million for damages, not for the cleanup, which they are 100% liable for, so they could still be wrung for a couple billion but they'll fight it, and the fishermen are just going to have to wait for the populations to recover, since dead shrimp don't need to be cleaned.

That's $75 million for damages, not for the cleanup, which they are 100% liable for, so they could still be wrung for a couple billion but they'll fight it, and the fishermen are just going to have to wait for the populations to recover, since dead shrimp don't need to be cleaned.

It's troublesome that the Oil Pollution Act is being presented in the media as a bill of protection for oil companies. It was written as a bill to make clear the responsible parties obligations to pay both cleanup costs and damages. As I read it, damages includes, for example, shrimpers who are unable to operate for the season and possibly for several future seasons if stocks are reduced as a result. However, it's a certainty that costs that far down will turn into a messy legal fight. Paying for oil booms and beach cleanup, etc will be a slam dunk. BP will definitely pay for that. The bill's text says:


Damages equal to the loss of profits or impairment of
earning capacity due to the injury, destruction, or loss of real
property, personal property, or natural resources, which shall
be recoverable by any claimant.

The Act also allows fines of up to $1000 per barrel spilled (potentially $1 billion +). It placed a special tax on all oil sold in the US to create a trust fund to help pay in the event smaller operators cause an accident beyond their resources to pay for. Plus it created new requirements for contingency plans, which as I understand are responsible for the volume of oil booms and related equipment we now have.

The $75 million limit is for civil liability beyond costs that fall under the bill's definition of cleanup costs and damages.