OILSPILL UPDATE...Friday May 14th Oil Slick Grows in the Gulf

(Boston Globe photo from May 12th)
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The Actual Video that it took BP over 3 weeks to Release to the Public showing the Gusher 5000 feet down via Think Progress and NWF:

Here is the the Think Progress post about the Gusher, and do read the comments where some educated people have weighed in, including people asking WHICH pipe is this-the 16 inch pipe? the 21 inch pipe?
LA TIMES has placed the leak up to 10-14 times higher than we have been told, instead of 5000 barrels daily, more like 70,000 barrels/daily.
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Truthout is one of the first journals to raise the Criminal Question,may others start to ask more questions about this situation,an Explosion that killed 11,injured 17 and now is damaging an entire Body of Water and shoreline of possible 5 states and maybe even Mexico. How CEOs have conducted themselves at the Hearings and how they have hid the Footage raises new questions.
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New information on how Big the Disaster really is, today Scientists and Experts Weighed in on the amounts of Oil Gushing, New Estimates say it's a Exxon Valdez every 4 days.... At first we were told 1000 barrels day, then 2000, and now we realize we really don't know. But all new estimates are well above 5000 barrels day, which is more than 210,000 gallons /day, more like 250,000 to ONE million gallons per day. But it seems that the Footage of the Flow can and should be calculated by Experts to at least guess-estimate a more accurate Leaking Volume.
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Late Thursday afternoon the Experts and Scientists started weighing in regarding size of the Oil "Leak", it is unclear if they were re-examining aerials or looking that the NEW video that it took 3 weeks for BP to publicly release. First it was NPR then NYT and by 5PM we learned that the White house is holding a special News Conference on the Spill tomorrow.
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NYT has articles raising concerns about the size of the Spill and was it miscalculated and they raise more concerns about the shear daily volume that is still Leaking daily.The most striking analysis came from an Expert that has studied Oil Slicks using Aerials.
Snippet from NYT article 5.13.10
The criticism escalated on Thursday, a day after the release of a video that showed a huge black plume of oil gushing from the broken well at a seemingly high rate. BP has repeatedly claimed that measuring the plume would be impossible.The figure of 5,000 barrels a day was hastily produced by government scientists in Seattle.

It appears to have been calculated using a method that is specifically not recommended for major oil spills.Ian R. MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University who is an expert in the analysis of oil slicks, said he had made his own rough calculations using satellite imagery. They suggested that the leak could “easily be four or five times” the government estimate, he said.

“The government has a responsibility to get good numbers,” Dr. MacDonald said. “If it’s beyond their technical capability, the whole world is ready to help them.”
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NPR released their article late afternoon raising their estimates to more than 5000 barrels /day, a Valdez every 4 day, and some estimates are even higher.

NPR Snippet
"NPR's Richard Harris has learned that much more oil, 70,000 barrels a day or more than ten times the official estimate, is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon pipe, based on scientific analysis of the video released Wednesday.That's the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez tanker full every four days.
The U.S. Coast Guard has estimated that oil was gushing into the ocean at the rate of 5,000 barrels a day. But, again, NPR has been told that estimate is very low."
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@mnphysicist contributed this info re: oil flow calculations (based on videos&NPR articles) is a discussion and info posted on the Oil Drum where people are trying to estimate more about the Size and Volume of the Spill.
Math Notes from the Oil Drum based on the Pipe Video:Math details:
Pipe diameter is roughly 16 inches (0.4 meters), estimated using this photo with 12-inch wrench for scale.

From video, looking at motion of black stuff (oil) *only* and ignoring the much faster white stuff (gas), black stuff goes 1 pipe diameter in about 0.4 seconds, giving a speed of about 1 m/s.

Notice flow out of pipe is separated: gas in the top half, oil in the lower half. To get oil volume, multiply area of lower half of pipe times oil velocity:
0.5 * pi * (.2 m)^2 * 1 m/s = 0.06 m^3/s = 30,000 barrels/day

(Possible errors of 50% or so in oil velocity, cross-sectional area of oil flow, and in the assumption that the black stuff is 100% oil, for a cumulative factor of 2 uncertainty.)
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Raw Story has more estimates and concerns, but at this point no one that has seen the Video of the Gusher one mile down has any encouraging words, or lower estimates. It is unfortunate that BP hid this important scientific evidence that Scientists and Engineers needed. It might even be Criminal at this rate.
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MORE NEW PHOTOS FROM THE GULF AND VIDEO
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Stunning photos from the Gulf showing the many parts of this situation from the Boston Globe.
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More Gulf aerials and photos from Flyovers today by Gulf Restoration Network.
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(reported by @Treehugger) Damage is beginning to be measured and seen as it reaches different parts of the Shoreline and Gulf Islands and Barriers. The first Fish Kill is On Dauphin Island,Alabama from last night.
Here is the actual video and footage of the Fish Kill-more than 300 fish, mostly large in Size. The Question is what killed these full grown fish, was it the Oil ? The Fish they ate ? or the Dispersant ? or the Chemicals that were used by the Military near Dauphin Island.

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Raccoon Island (Bird Sanctuary)of Louisiana has found damaged and dead animals that clearly point to Oil Damage. St.Bernards Parrish,Terrebonne and other parishes are readying for the Oily Mess. ( I will update more on this tomorrow).
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Fishing Families line up for food,services and assistance from Catholic Charities In Louisiana,many live week to week on Fishing Earnings and there are no earnings right now. 2nd Harvest and Catholic Charities are both collecting for our Neighbors in the Gulf:

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Actual Bird struggling against the Oily Mess Sunday ( Boston Globe)

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First oil soaked Pelican getting care, do see more photos on Boston Globe link below.If you want to help of donate to Animal and Wildlife care here is the link that has all the phone numbers and organizations that are helping in the Gulf from NWF to Sierra Club to NRDC to Audobon Society.
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OTHER IMPORTANT UPDATES:
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Mexico's Officials has started to raise concerns as the Slick moves in a westerly direction and Hurricane Season approaches.
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EPA Director arrived today in NOLA and this is about her visit, as Fishermen are getting concerned about the situation, it is good that she is back.
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The Governors Office of Louisanna has Twitter page has updates that are really helpful about staging,damages, organized efforts. Worth checking a few times a day.
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WSJ reported today that the TransOcean is trying to limit it's Liability to 27Million.
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BP is still refusing to even TRY HairBooms or HairMats to absorb the Oil Slick ( which astounds me -as they Leak Gushes on with no Relief and they talk about shooting golfballs and tires at it ?) Science Daily explains how the Hair Booms Work. And in spite of BP's stubborness on this issue, Matter of Trust Org is already collecting hair for this cause as they know it has worked on the California Coasts, I encourage you to read their website.
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BBC is asking questions about the Delay in the Disaster Response, asking why was the Response delayed.
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Oil spill video: Times-Picayune reporters give latest updates and coverage.
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Audobon Magazine has update on sealife,
Spill update: Oil might've killed 87 sea turtles, 18 birds, 6 dolphins; oil industry tax hike; leak video.
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Once again Huffington Post has devoted a whole page to this situation. It is to be noted that Think Progress and Truthout and Raw Story and many other blogs have really been tracking Whistleblower concerns, Animal damage and reports from the Gulf States.
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Note from Enigma: So as this week ends the Gulf Shorelines have started to see tarry blobs/balls roll up on shore and first dead animals,fish,dolphins(6) and turtles(28) and injured birds. Many are also starting to ask questions about the large volume of dispersant that has been used CorExit it is called, 450,000 gallons have been used, largest amount ever. I am trying to find information about this chemical and have been writing to the Care orgs and even BP asking if the dead animals have been tested for this chemical. As the Gusher continues we need to ask questions about the Huge volume of thick gooey crude oil and the Methane, and what will help the situation at this point. Many want The Gusher capped, but so far that has not been successful by BP. I also don't know when or why the Obama Administration has not declared it a National Disaster yet ? The National Guard and the different Parrishs are trying all kinds of solutions from Sand bags to Hay and others are asking for HairBooms. At this point 5 states are staring at a Massive Disaster, we in other states do need to think of how we can help our Neighbors. Especially after watching the CEOs dodge their responsibilities this week at the Hearings, Corporate Greed will not aid our Neighbors.
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Please see Post below with Dangerous Questions about the Dispersant that has been used: IMP.