Science Says: Those 3-D Underwater Oil Plumes Belong to BP

by jamess

Now for a little exercise in News Spin Cycles, vs the Scientific Process ...

When the Facts, finally come in, IS Anyone even still Paying Attention?

"What we have learned completely changes the idea of what an oil spill is," said chemical oceanographer David Hollander, one of three USF researchers credited with the matching samples of oil taken from the water with samples from the BP well. "It has gone from a two-dimensional disaster to a three-dimensional catastrophe."
[...]

Together, the two studies confirm what in the early days of the spill was denied by BP and viewed skeptically by NOAA's chief — that much of the crude that gushed from the Deepwater Horizon well stayed beneath the surface of the water.

[link to follow]

continued at Daily Kos...

BP has a Jobs Plan -- They want to Buy the Scientists

by jamess

BP buys up Gulf scientists for legal defense, roiling academic community
Ben Raines, Press-Register -- July 16, 2010

More than one scientist interviewed by the Press-Register described being offered $250 an hour through BP lawyers. At eight hours a week, that amounts to $104,000 a year.
[...]
The contract makes it clear that BP is seeking to add scientists to the legal team that will fight the Natural Resources Damage Assessment lawsuit that the federal government will bring as a result of the Gulf oil spill.

Is it their Scientific Expertise, that they want --

Or their Scientific Silence?

continued at Daily Kos....

It may be possible to Recycle CO2 -- back into Fuel

by jamess

One of my techie hopes is that Science will one day figure out how to Split our excess CO2 production, back into its component parts:  C and O  (harmless Carbon and Oxygen).

One small problem though -- Carbon Chemical Bonds are among the strongest bonds out there.  These chemical bonds are the reason HydroCarbons (long chains of Carbon atoms tied to each other, and padded by Hydrogen Atoms), can power our homes, our vehicles, and our Electric power plants.

Burning a HydroCarbon molecule releases all that condensed Energy, previously stored in those Carbon Chain bonds, by millions of years of Geologic heat and pressure.

Just Think:

methane
propane
butane
pentane
hexane
octane

and you may get an idea WHAT "fueled" our Industrial Age -- the quick and easy release of all that Chemical Energy, stored in all those Organic Carbon bonds.

Anyone got a Match?

continued at Daily Kos....

BP's trusty lab analyzes crucial sci. evidence

by Gorette

I wanted to say it's nonsensical but it makes all too much sense. At the same time Obama's NOAA administrator and BP are denying the existence of oil plumes, the lab chosen to be in charge analysis and oil spill data is truly an industry insider that has now scrubbed its website! [What's up with that? Below the fold.] Why not choose a laboratory that can be trusted completely key evidence on the BP Oil Gusher, one that is non-partial, objective, scientific? Any LAB not OWNED by the industry it will be in essence investigating? The lab should not have any industry ties. When BP and tens of billions of dollars are involved then all appearances of further "cosy" relationships and collusion should be avoided. Maybe collusion is too strong a word to use? I don't know but I'm suspicious as all get out. What's up? Given BP and NOAA's denials, we must be suspicious. This cannot stand!

continued at Daily Kos....

the circuitous path of tracking those undersea oil plumes

by jamess

Gulf oil plume darker; not good news, expert says By SETH BORENSTEIN -- May 25, 2010 The color of the oil gushing from the main pipe has changed in color from medium gray to black. Two scientists noticed the change, which oil company BP downplayed as a natural fluctuation that is not likely permanent. But engineering professor Bob Bea at the University of California at Berkeley says the color change may indicate the BP leak has hit a reservoir of more oil and less gas. Gas is less polluting because it evaporates. Bea has spent more than 55 years working and studying oil rigs. Sounds serious. Too bad we can't get any submarines down there to start tracking all that Oil, which scientists previously reported, looked to be spreading far and wide, at the mid-levels of the Gulf waters. Luckily, the Scientist behind the first effort to track the underwater oil plumes, is mounting a second effort, with some new sciencey gadgets ...

continued at Daily Kos....