NOAA official: Roughly three-quarters of spilled oil still in Gulf

Source: The Hill


NOAA official: Roughly three-quarters of spilled oil still in Gulf
By Darren Goode - 08/19/10 02:00 PM ET

Roughly three-quarters of the oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from BP’s ruptured well is still in the environment, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official told a House panel Thursday. 
 


That finding is in stark contrast to previous pronouncements by administration officials that only about a quarter of the oil remains to be addressed. 
 


Bill Lehr, a senior scientist at NOAA, said at a House Energy and Commerce subpanel hearing Thursday that federal officials have only confirmed that 10 percent of the 4.1 million barrels of oil that leaked into the Gulf have been either skimmed or burned. 
 


Federal officials used a different estimate of how much oil leaked from the well — 4.9 million barrels — in preparing a report this month saying that only about 25 percent is still left to be recovered in the water. But critics say using that higher baseline skewed the numbers.
 


Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/115039-noaa-official-roughly-three-quarters-of-oil-still-in-gulf

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/04/new-report-74-oil-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-has-been-contained-or-mitigated

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New Report: 74% of Oil in BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has been Contained or Mitigated
Posted by Heather Zichal on August 04, 2010 at 05:59 PM EDT

Today, a panel of government scientists released a report which said that the vast majority of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed much of which is in the process of being degraded. A significant amount of this is the direct result of the federal government’s aggressive response to the spill.
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"Government scientist" needs to be relegated to the same heap as "military intelligence".

Pretty simple to understand the numbers when viewed properly.

The terms are probably vague enough to be reconciled, but after all the hair-splitting is finished, I don't think the result is much to be excited about.

Also from the WH blog:
"A significant amount of this is the direct result of the federal government’s aggressive response to the spill."

Whee, politics!

...is a wee bit more than "splitting hairs."

First off I have a degree in chemical engineering, and have worked in environmental engineering. That doesn't make me an expert on this, but at least I can see and understand whats going on.

It strikes me as kind of strange that when NOAA scientists are speaking out about something we agree with them on (global warming) that they're great and we call the right wing is a bunch of wacko idiots for disagreeing with them (which they are). In fact I had the chance to talk with a couple of NOAA scientists a couple of years ago about CO2 and global warming and was extremenly impressed by their passion and knowledge. Now the shoe's somewhat on the other foot and some folks here disagree with what they're hearing from NOAA and bring out the conspiracy theories.

The fact is that it's extraordinally difficult to put a good estimate on how much oil is still out there. For starters they don't even know how much leaked. Nobody knows for sure how much oil made it to land. Nobody knows for sure how much oil is floating around in plumes, and nobody knows how much is on the ocean floor. I don't see these descrepancies so much as a govt. cover up but just the nature of trying to put numbers on something with so much uncertainty.

that the levees had failed when the White House knew for almost 24 hours without notifying anyone.

They are not neutral.

Ditto for the scientists that worked the FBI fabrication re Bruce Ivins. There is no reputable scientist that agrees with the FBI's stable.

So, I'm not as partisan or arbitrary or demanding some kind of certainty that no professional could achieve. I'm pointing out that Bush Science is still very much with us, that's all.

edit for repetition

to characterize this spill and make sure the science was done right the first time.

yup

Dr. Ivor Van Heerden was fired from the Hurricane Center at LSU for leaking the information and for being critical. He was in Spike Lee's film, iirc. And here's one iteration of his story by Greg Palast.

http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2009/10/katrinas-van-heerdon-ousted.html

As for the Ivins material, try to find a scientist not in the employ of the government who will validate the FBI's "science". In fact, many of Bruce Ivins former co-workers at the lab don't believe it and some of them still work for the Army.

Much like cart before the horse.

Markey was on C-Span yesterday and he was saying there needs to be more, open and free science studies of this problem. He puts science first.

Too many in DC want to place the politics before science and so what we have is the government looking like idiots.

Had NOAA claimed that some science shows "This" and some science shows "That" instead of nearly all the oil is gone, they'd have my appreciation.

to the current Gulf spill is just plain stupid.

More Obama = Bush

fail

:rofl:

*I* am talking about government scientists.

You people that think you're supporting Obama while you trash DU do much more harm than good. I hope you never, ever get near a voter.

You are saying NOAA scientists investigating this spill are engaged in some kind of cover-up.

They are not.

Obama and NOAA have done a fantastic job responding to this spill.

those are the facts

yup

evey time

There is no NOAA conspiracy to cover up the Gulf spill.

NOAA scientists did not state the oil "disappeared"

The ignorant media misrepresented both the FSR and the UGA analysis of the FSR.

but we all know Teh Bad Obama is lying to us

all evidence to the contrary

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8990470

You may want to get a tune up for your hammer or a finer tool.

It was NOT a credible site when the Republicans were in the White House.
It is NOT a credible site now.

Both Political Parties use this site to Catapult Party Propaganda.

:facepalm:

I bet there never even was an oil spill. It was all a lie perpetrated by the Professional Left.

I know that's true because I saw it here.

lol

UGA scientists yesterday verified the oil budget produced by NOAA and the DOI (the FSR) - and slammed the media for misrepresenting it.

Both groups clearly stated that most of the oil was still in the Gulf.

I remember when DUers actually read things.


ugh

because the numbers were flipped there, not in the media.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4510254&mesg_id=4510428

If you had bothered to read the FSR you would know this...



and the UGS study agreed

http://oilspill.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/GA-Sea-Grant-Oil-Spill-Update-Presentation-20100817.pdf

the numbers were not "flipped"

tinfoil fail

LOL

tinfoil fail again

nope

with this for years, if not decades was only fooling themselves.

from all reports, it is dispersed in a very large volume of water. It is unlikely it will ever be found in sufficient concentration to collect or be collected.

as it enters the food chain and as it reduces biodiversity.

Evolution is kind of funny that way.