It turned out that my instincts were not far off the mark. And Wickstrom followed the same path in seeking confirmatory data for what he posted on 4 June that I did. But unlike me, he has not vetted his sources.
It is clear that there is a media blackout of events in the Gulf. The administration has outlawed any media from coming closer than 65 feet to the zone being worked on, and British Petroleum has bought keywords so as to be able to manipulate where people using search engines can get their data. It has been hard to get late breaking news from the region. The latest story I've been able to get has been from Sorcha Faal, an Irish news source that is said to have links to Russian intelligence. In fact, one could view Sorcha Faal as analogous to Debkafiles. Debkafiles is the Mossad's "back door" for leaks, and Sorcha Faal may well be the "back door" of Russian intelligence for the same purpose. A careful look at these articles from Sorcha Faal gives you a feel for my assertion. Obama Warns World Leaders 'Millions Could Die' From Gulf Oil Disaster, from 27 June; NATO Orders All 'Critical Assets' Moved 100 Miles From Gulf Oil Spill Region, from 4 July; NATO Orders 7,000 Marines to Costa Rica as Quake Fears Grow, from 8 July. Now the important thing to realize from these articles, all of them, is that as one goes through the links, vetting the articles, the links are legit. But in all of them is some allegation that just does not smell right. And all of the articles seem to lobby for the use of a small tactical nuke to close the spill, an act that could effectively shut down access to the oil altogether. When you realize that there are only two really massive untapped sources for abiotic oil — Russia and the Gulf of Mexico — you realize where that puts Russia in terms of controlling the world's oil supplies.
But Sorcha Faal may not be the only source for seeing an Extinction Level Event in the Gulf Oil disaster.
Helium has an interesting Doomsday article called "How the BP Gulf Disaster May Have Triggered a World-Wide Killing Event." The article, by Terrence Aym, explores the theories of bio-chemical engineer Gregory Ryskin of Northwestern University, who seems to believe that "[t]he oceans periodically produce massive eruptions of explosive methane gas. He has documented the scientific evidence that such an event was directly responsible for the mass extinctions that occurred 55 million years ago." According to the article,
The warning signs of an impending planetary catastrophe—of such great magnitude that the human mind has difficulty grasping it-would be the appearance of large fissures or rifts splitting open the ocean floor, a rise in the elevation of the seabed, and the massive venting of methane and other gases into the surrounding water.
Such occurrences can lead to the rupture of the methane bubble containment—it can then permit the methane to breach the subterranean depths and undergo an explosive decompression as it catapults into the Gulf waters.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Ruvy
As I stated in a different comment thread, I had an article to post, and to this article, I would have to comment. So:
British Petroleum reports capping the well and stopping the flow of oil entirely. While this is good news, the report did not mention fissures in the ocean floor where oil and gas still leach into the Gulf. And that is really where the danger lies - poison gas and oil leaching uncontrolled, not from wells but from beneath the ocean floor. So, those living near the Gulf are by no means out of the woods. Neither is anyone who will be affected by the Gulf Stream.
2 - Dan(Miller)
Ruvy,
The possibility is briefly noted here, more or less in passing:
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs discussed the hazards of the test Wednesday.
"If the structural integrity of the well bore isn't strong, what you'll get is oil . . . coming out into the strata," he said. That could mean leaks "from multiple points on the seafloor."
Dan(Miller)
3 - Alan Kurtz
What a load of rubbish. There's more junk science in this article than there is crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and it's just as ugly. One source is a Christian Identity minister, known to be affiliated with neo-Nazi groups such as the Aryan Nations, who preaches that modern Jews are not Israelites or Hebrews but descend from the guy in the Bible who traded his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. "What he said seemed to make sense," Ruvy allows.
Another source is misidentified as "a man named Jim Hoagland, who is a science fiction writer who seems to like to create possible conspiracies." As the hyperlinked YouTube video shows, the man in question is Richard C. Hoagland, a proponent of various conspiracy theories about NASA, lost alien civilizations on the Moon and on Mars, and other such blarney. He has no scientific training. For the record and by contrast, Jim Hoagland is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with The Washington Post.
Other sources include the dubiously named blogger "Darkelf" and the equally crackpot SoCal Martial Law Alerts web site. "I am personally persuaded," writes Ruvy after sifting through the contents of his online dumpster, "that at some time in the near future, this will turn catastrophic in an apocalyptic way."
Like all good doomsayers, Ruvy eschews facts in favor of guesswork, speculation, sneaking suspicion and divination. "What appears to have emerged over that period of time is that a bubble seems to be developing under the ocean floor. … If this bubble bursts, then the ocean floor will rise, and then fall, like a woman putting a sheet on a bed, and this fall will cause a tsunami … that can kill millions of people. That tsunami can result, over time, in the permanent destruction of about a quarter of the United States. In sum, this is an Extinction Level Event." (Emphases added.) In fact, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the deadliest in history, killed 229,866. No tsunami has ever killed millions or caused an Extinction Level Event.
Running to six pages, Ruvy's article is exceptionally long by Blogcritics standards. Yet he left out the best part of his thesis. Fortunately, in the article's first paragraph he provides a link to his interview on Israel National Radio, where he expounds on "the religious angle" of the forthcoming Gulf Coast apocalypse. "Hashem," says Ruvy, so pious he cannot bring himself to use God's real name, "caused BP to build a well that would be an accident waiting to happen. Hashem then caused that accident to happen one day after President Obama did something to damage Israel. If this bubble under the seafloor bursts, it'll burst at a time again that Obama does something to damage Israel."
That's too good to have gone missing from this BC screed. It also requires a bit of explaining. On April 19, 2010, the ever-unreliable Fox News alleged that the Obama administration was "reportedly" (source undisclosed) "giving serious consideration to not using its veto if a vote on Israeli settlements was to come up [in the UN]. It has been the policy of successive administrations to veto virtually all anti-Israel resolutions at the Security Council.?" U.S. officials at the UN insisted there was no such initiative pending and they were not "pursuing or encouraging such action."
The next day, President Obama issued a birthday greeting. "On the 62nd Anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, I join the American people in congratulating the government and people of Israel on this celebration of their independence. We once again honor the extraordinary achievements of the people of Israel, and their deep and abiding friendship with the American people."
By coincidence (at least to everyone except Ruvy), BP's Deepwater Horizon blew up that same day, causing an unprecedented oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. To most of the world, this was a tragic accident. To Ruvy, it was the hand of God--or, rather, Hashem--punishing his unfaithful servant Barack. Apparently Obama's "Happy Birthday to Israel" was insufficiently enthusiastic. And that's why Deepwater Horizon blew up.
One thing about Ruvy: he's always wrong, but never fails to entertain.
4 - Ruvy
I'm not going to spend time on my religious views here - at least not yet. But the junk science in this article?
Let's see, petroleum, Corexit 9500, benzene and other poisons killing off all life in the Gulf - definite "junk science". Ask the folks with the boarded up restaurants along the Gulf, and see what they tell you. They're afraid to condemn BP, but the death of the Gulf, they'll talk about.
The petrol and the poisons in the Gulf Stream headed towards Europe - more "junk science". The fissures on the Gulf floor - more "junk science". All documented - if not in this article, all over the internet - but barely on the mass media. The same with the rise of the Gulf floor.
The only thing I have pointed out is that the consequences of this will continue whether BP succeeds in capping this well or not. The bubble under the floor may well burst, but even if it does not, hurricanes will merge the poisons in the sea with the air and pour poisons upon the continental US.
I'm glad you are entertained, Alan. I certainly am not....
5 - Alan Kurtz
Ruvy, you write "pour poisons upon the continental US" as if nothing would please you more. You're more fun than a car full of clowns.
6 - scum
Shall we discuss the overused image of a woman making a bed?
7 - Ruvy
Shall we discuss the overused image of a woman making a bed?
I can call you "scum", right? That is the moniker you posted under.
I discussed a woman putting a sheet on a bed, not making a bed. One could just as easily use the image of putting a tablecloth on the dining room table, having it rise in the air, and then settle on the table to describe the rising of the ocean floor under the influence of the pressures beneath it, and then settling back down.
Of course, you do not get a tsunami from putting a sheet on a bed, or a tablecloth on a table. And there is no absolute assurance that such an event will occur. But, if it does, those of you in North America will get to sleep in the bed the investment bankers, the oilmen and their government lackeys have made for you.
I have the uncomfortable feeling that this bed will not be as comfortable as one with a Sealy Posturpedic mattress or a Hollandia bed. And since much of my own family would have to sleep in that bed too, the prospect brings me no joy.
8 - Joanne Huspek
Ruvy, I was here; I read.
9 - John Wilson
Ruvys lurid conspiracy theories are often amusing and contain too many errant ideas to debunk them all. The Methane bubble probably doesn't do much as methane is rather easily absorbed in sea water, and it happens all the time already. A highschool junior should have had enough simple physics to know that an ancient experiment (Torricelli?) shows that one atmosphere of pressure is a column of water about 34 feet, so that the pressure at 5000 feet is about 150 atmosphere's, or about 20,000psi.
At the same time, any sentient person who has read a little about the cosmology of the solar system and the 5 billion year history of the earth, or seen a few PBS documentaries, must realize that our perch on this frail planet is very tenuous indeed, and it would behoove us to not abuse the privilege.
Nevertheless, it seems that we have marched off in the direction of allowing every kind of injury and excess to be inflicted upon our poor little blue-green planet. Usually this is done in the name of one of the cockamamey religious or ideological theories that delude us, such as 'free market capitalism'.
So one cannot be blamed for concluding that Humanity is NOT a Climax Species (like the cockroach), and even that our reign may be very short, given the accelerating ability we have to heedlessly destroy our biota.
Given that we can't reasonably hope for humans to endure we can at least hope to minimize the collateral damage on other species so that something more worthy, like insects, will survive our mad suicide plunge.
10 - Dr Dreadful
something more worthy, like insects
There's a story, which may be apocryphal, about a journalist who was interviewing Charles Darwin, and asked him what sort of person, in the light of his research and theories, he thought God might be.
"Well," Darwin is said to have responded, "he must be inordinately fond of beetles."
11 - jeannie danna
Hi Ruvy,
Halliburton's inferior plugs and the fact that the mud was replaced by water on the rig prior to the explosion clearly was the cause of this disaster.
Everything is not religious,Ruvy especially in the Sci/Tech world.
12 - Irene Wagner
The sci/tech world isn't a bad place to start looking.You'll enjoy this, Ruvy.
I can't see the beetle link in #10.
13 - Christopher Rose
Bubbles, gas, pessimistic and unfounded predictions of doom, now with an extinction level event twist on top.
The more Ruvy changes, the more he stays the same, including his inability to keep his promise not to comment here any more.
Of course, there is one consistency, his 100% record as being completely wrong about everything; it takes a special person to do that.
14 - zingzing
last time it was supposed to be swine flu. now it's a giant bubble of cow farts. such claptrap nonsense as this should be avoided, as there are real problems to solve down there. no need to waste time on ridiculous conspiracy theories.
15 - Ruvy
Christopher,
UNTIL I'M BANNED FROM THIS SITE, IF I WISH TO COMMENT ON AN ARTICLE, I WILL. THAT I'M RELUCTANT TO AT ALL IS MOSTLY DUE TO YOUR ATTITUDE IN ERASING MY COMMENTS FOR NO GOOD REASON.
16 - Ruvy
Joanne, thank you for reading the article. I appreciate that.
Mr. Wilson, the pressure at the bottom of the Gulf seafloor is about 20,000 psi. The well went another 4 miles under the surface of the planet - where the pressure was (and still is) 100,000 psi. And BP did not, and still does not have, the technology to deal with that. NOBODY DOES. Over time, this cap will fail.
Thank you for the link on numbers, Irene. I enjoyed it very very much.
As for the remaining of the comments (10, 11,13,14) your contemptive dismissals will boomerang in your faces as the real consequences of killing the entire Gulf of Mexico sink in - slowly. That is all I need say in answer.
17 - zingzing
but you promised, ruvy... and stop yelling. it's unbecoming.
18 - zingzing
ruvy: "As for the remaining of the comments (10, 11,13,14) your contemptive dismissals will boomerang in your faces as the real consequences of killing the entire Gulf of Mexico sink in - slowly. That is all I need say in answer."
except for the fact that you completely miss the point. everyone knows there are problems in the gulf of mexico. but an imaginary giant methane bubble isn't what we should be concentrating on. you've been had.
19 - Christopher Rose
Ruvy, shouting doesn't cover up your forked tongue or your misperception.
You are the one that abuses this site with your wackadoodle agenda and you are the one using your Blogcritics biography to make the point that you won't be commenting here. It seems entirely reasonable to expect you to live up to your assertion.
Furthermore, it is entirely inaccurate to claim that I have ever "erased" any of your comments for no good reason; the only times that I have done so have been for clear, blatant and persistent breaches of the comments policy.
And your article is still paranoid nonsense based on your ever more clearly exposed prejudice and its wacky dogma. Grow up before it is too late for you...
20 - Alan Kurtz
Christopher Rose (#19), I hope you've stopped scolding Ruvy. You sound like an old schoolmarm. Why don't you leave Ruvy alone and come back to my thread? I got the impression you weren't finished scolding me there.
21 - Irene Wagner
Ruvy, I am so glad you enjoyed the link in...let's see...it's still comment #12, is it? LOL. I was pretty sure you would.
I am not sure. Maybe the order of the day is trust, then obey; blessing offered first, then the alternative curse; first the good news, then the bad news...and then, a reminder of the essential rightness of the Universe, a sober reminder that the choice is ours to participate in that rightness, or to cause the Almighty to have to work around our rebellion.
I did hear a funny story once---and this isn't to discourage people from giving warnings they fill they have been called to give, or to lull people into neglect of wise precautions---but here it is:
A very old man told me once, "My daughter, I have seen a lot of trouble in my day. Most of it never happened."
There are a lot of things about life and the universe that are truly, VERIFIABLY wondrous and awe-inspiring. You know about some of them.
22 - Ruvy
Thanks, Irene, for your kind words. The world, as you say, is filled with wondrous things - all verifiable, and all, to those who have wisdom and eyes willing to see testaments to the Creator.
The beginning of Wisdom is Fear (Awe) of G-d.
23 - Ruvy
Irene, Joanne,
I pointed out to one of my correspondents elsewhere that this was a situation that required human repentance - at the highest as well as the lowest levels of humanity - or that increased disasters would follow. I told her I doubted that this would occur, and I directed her to this comment thread to see the future - if she cared to.
24 - Ruvy
A friend on Facebook asked if the cap would hold and a fellow she respects as authoritative gave some answers. They are worth noting:
1. "Oil and residue chemicals are leaking at the ocean floor in multiple places. The pressure that blew the cap was 60,000 to 100,000 PSI About 20,000 PSI is tech limit They are testing at less than 10,000 around 6,000 Do the math. They are testing to see how much is actually going elsewhere........"
Asked directly if the cap would, hold he answered:
2. "The cap will hold because the pressure is reduced due to leaks below the ocean floor. Kinda like when a person has a stroke. They are looking for the leaks as we speak."
From this answer, we can deduce that the piping of the well has been seriously damaged, and that the oil and other gases are going elsewhere. What that means precisely, is anyone's guess.
25 - Christopher Rose
"The beginning of Wisdom is Fear (Awe) of G-d."
This is backwards; actually the beginning of ignorance, superstition and fear is believing in gods.
The beginning of wisdom is realising there is no god and we are responsible for looking after each other and the planet.
If it were true, as seems to be implied by #23, that the lack of human repentance (no idea for what) is causing "god" to create increased disasters, then if it existed it is clearly our enemy. Thankfully it doesn't, except as a dark shadow in the minds of the superstitious and fearful.
A friend of a friend told me, yeah, that is authoritative. Deduction requires facts, evidence and logic...