@Mitch07102

I was being sarcastic.

@ToolGuy Both.

It’s both politicians and CEOs. Who are we kidding, they are in bed together

Todays news has it way more then 1/2 acre. You may want to check that. At approximately 400,000 gallons it is something to be concerned about. They should be monitoring older sections with gauges and preventing all leaks.

"Cleaned up" you say, BUT what damage to the environment has it done that won't be so easily "cleaned up?"
No matter which you call it, One Oil Spill is still ONE Oil Spill too many in my opinion and the earth, etc, never truly recovers from it.

The point is not whether it's old or new. Rather it is that all pipelines leak at some point. Total clean up is usually very expensive or impossible. The environmental damage they do to natural habits is often irreparable. The economic advantage they provide to an area is generally short lived and most often transient. Most of the proceeds and profits are not spent in, and do not remain in the US economy.

@Triphid If crude oil is all that bad for the earth why is it on the earth in the first place. Crude oil is organic and natural and nature will deal with any traces left after the cleanup.

So far as economics, every one of us benefit one way or the other from petroleum. If you are looking to fix blame, blame humanity.

@t1nick I don’t think the Canadians would be shipping us that oil if we were not going to benefit. We all use oil.

Nothing is perfect. Any source of energy has drawbacks of some kind. This little spill will be easily cleaned up and nature will deal with any traces left. Oil is a natural, organic substance, not a deadly poison.

@WilliamFleming

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Most of the oil will not remain in the US, but will be bought and will be sent overseas.

Second not all things created by nature are good. Hydrocarbons never completely disappear and do long term irreparable damage. It's possible to eventually hide all outward signs on casual inspection. But upon closer inspection the habitat is altered, soils are contaminated and the biome is permanently altered. Its cavalier to dismiss damage done by spilled hydrocarbons as okay because it's a natural, organic substance. There is too much scientific evidence to the contrary.

Not likely

@WilliamFleming

We've had this discussion before. You have a slightly naive impression as to what is natural, what is benign and what is not. You make too many assumptions and ignore the contrary evidence. Just because it occurs on Earth or is made by humans does not necessarily make it good or beneficial. You seem to have an Evangelical perspective of humans and their supposed dominion over the earth and everything on it.

@WilliamFleming Crude oil IS the product of the breaking down of carbon based life forms ( plants and trees, etc, ) from the Carboniferous Era early in the history of this planet, it is a natural occurrence, WE just discovered that it could be used/burnt to power OUR society and needs.
Just as we humans rip the guts out of virtually everything around us to satiate OUR needs and the desires to gain profits, i.e. MONEY.
Geez Louise, wake up to yourself PLEASE, you are starting to sound as bad as my Evangelist neighbor AND he is way BEYOND bad enough.

@WilliamFleming No, I blame those who discovered it in the first place and then made fortunes from it and REFUSE to admit that there ARE alternatives BECAUSE it WOULD rob them of make their fortunes and influences even bigger.

@t1nick I find no references to most of the oil being sent overseas. Some is exported, but what of it? It will benefit people wherever it is utilized, and the US will benefit from the trade.

[politifact.com]

I agree that the spill is unfortunate and that wildlife in the area will be adversely affected. It’s lucky that only a half acre is affected in this case. Cleanup will remove nearly all the oil and the small remnants will weather and in a few decades there will be no trace of oil left. In geologic time that is zero.

@WilliamFleming When you said "If crude oil is all that bad for the earth why is it on the earth in the first place. Crude oil is organic and natural and nature will deal with any traces left after the cleanup.", my first thought was... "Hmmm, Mars is natural, too. Do I want to live there?'

@t1nick You are using future tense but that pipeline has been in use since 2010 and it’s not the only one. The country is laced with oil pipelines.

[pipeline101.org]

@WilliamFleming current state as petroleum, it is organic ONLY in the sense that it is composed of hydrocarbons.. In its current state, it kills all living plants that it touches heavily.. It is also toxic to animals. Even most bacteria are harmed by it.

@Triphid
William, I like Triphid do know what oil and petroleum products. I teach college geology. Just because it was made via natural processes, doesnt mean that it was meant to be on the surface and consumed as an energy source. Occasionally sources reach the surface through faulting or similar geomorphic processes. But in general the reason its is so far underground is that it took all that pressure, heat, and time to lithify it. It does n occur on the surface naturally, that is why there are no natural habitats adapted to living in it.

@WilliamFleming most of the Canadian tar sands are not meant for the US refineries or market.

@WilliamFleming

True and they have all experienced leaks and have cost millions in reclamation, not to mention permanent damage to the habitat they impact. Pipelines were never a good answer and still aren't.

@t1nick I feel that in time better systems will be developed, but for now we have what we have and have to make the best of things. All this consternation over a small spill seems misplaced.

What do you propose? To immediately stop using oil?

@t1nick Do you have a source for that? Everything I see says the oil IS meant for US refineries.

@WilliamFleming

Not immediately, but begin moving in that direction. There a correlation that suggests that answers are found commensurate with the money expended in research. More money invested in alternative sources of energy the sooner better methods will be found.

@t1nick What you say makes sense. Maybe sometime soon there will be better options. For now we have to make do. It is not practical to make an immediate conversion.

@WilliamFleming

Most evidence points to a need to make the conversion. The sooner the better.

@t1nick IMO money needs to be put into LENR research.

@WilliamFleming

I concur. Here is an article recently ran across: [mathscholar.org]

@t1nick Excellent article. I have sent the link to e-cat world. You might enjoy that site, originally about Rossi, but also others.

[e-catworld.com]

@WilliamFleming I'll investigate thanks

@WilliamFleming Oh what a joke AND a vey dumb, even STUPID thing to say, "cleanup will REMOVE ALL of the oil and the remnants will weather and in a few decades will be no trace of it left....."
There ARE still environmental problems still happening from the Exxon Valdez spillage as well as AND including the results of ALL the fuel oils, etc, that were lost during WWII when ships were sunk, warships, tankers, freighters, etc, and those happened some 70+ years ago.
So either you are being obtuse intentionally OR.....?

@Triphid First of all, I said “most” not all.

Sorry that you are having such anger and consternation that you can’t read well. Don’t use me as a vent for your anger over this spill. While any spill is unfortunate, in the scheme of things an oil spill is of little consequence and to rail about It accomplishes nothing. At some point the entire earth will be engulfed by the sun.

Thanks for toughening me up. If you are through lambasting me I’ll talk to you down the line.

@WilliamFleming Hey, don't go getting your knickers all twisted up, they'll only strangle your pubes, and we wouldn't that to happen, would we now?

Wind, Solar, etc, DO work and work well.
In my opinion, America, just like every other Westernized Country is both obsessed with and controlled by the BIG Oil Cartels and their money.

biggest thing right now i think is storage systems for there output,so we have a continuous supply 24é7

@ToolGuy Where are you going to get your hydrogen? It’s mostly locked up in water and it takes as much energy as you gain to unlock it.

@ToolGuy Nothing is gained in the process. The hydrogen is just a temporary store of energy, like a battery, and it has to be compressed to very high and dangerous pressures. Maybe a better storage system has been worked out. Do you know?

Fossil fuels are cheap (low hanging fruit). Stockholders like cheap. Environment be damned. Ain't gonna be changing no time soon, I'm afraid

@NoTime2BWasted Extinction, here we come!

Again and again.