BP oil spill

[Russell]

USCG Admiral Thad Allen was on the Diane Rehm show today (an NPR talk show), he is the man in charge on the government side. He was very impressive with how informed and knowledgeable he was. The segment is well worth a listen: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010- ... thad-allen click "Listen" in top left of that page. I certainly came away after listening with a feeling that at least on the government side, we have an obviously very qualified man on the job.

[M. R. Bober]

Until the last week or so BP was estimating that the oil flow was 5000 barrels per day. Their new leaky capture mechanism is now collecting 15,000 barrels a day. They expect to add another containment system to capture more oil, but due to the possibility of water/gas mixture gumming up the system they estimate that they may not be able to get the last 10%. Sounds like the real number is over 20,000 barrels per day.

Matt,
From what I have heard on the news, the monetary penalty that oil drillers face--in the event of a spill--is levied on a per barrel basis.

Our local marinas seem to be very aware of spillage as is my insurance carrier.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where the BP mess is not funny), VA

[Troy Scott]

I'm still working hard on my CD36 refit. But it does feel strange wondering if the water will be ready when I am....... The beaches down on the Alabama coast are awful. We used to have the most beautiful pure white sand beaches anywhere. And the Louisiana marshes...., well there just aren't words. We are overwhelmed and we cry. Then we get angry. Then we cry again. How much oil has leaked? A LOT. Maybe more than in all previous spills together. Enough that it almost doesn't matter how much anymore.

I think probably I WON'T do a white boot stripe.....