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Fail Whale
Fail Whale: Gulf Oil Spill
you knew I had to say something about it
posted May 26, 2010
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I cannot stress enough just how disappointed I am in both BP and the Obama administration in this FUBAR. I work with crude oil on a constant basis, and I can tell you first hand how awful this stuff is. That's probably why this whole boondoggle pisses me off so much.
We treat crude like a hazardous substance because it IS a hazardous substance. The negligence on everyone's part in this production just makes my head hurt.
I'm not normally one to make a politically-oriented cartoon, but sometimes things have to be said.
We treat crude like a hazardous substance because it IS a hazardous substance. The negligence on everyone's part in this production just makes my head hurt.
I'm not normally one to make a politically-oriented cartoon, but sometimes things have to be said.
Comments [28]
 by The Jinxmedic on 5/26/2010 @ 8:33am | Poor Fail Whale makes me think of this:
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Cryi... (I would post the photo, but I'm technically deficient). |
 by KevinFreitas on 5/26/2010 @ 8:41am | Here here, Thorax! It's a complete tragedy that they didn't just cap that sucker straight away. $$ investment be damned when they're going to end up paying that if not more after for violations and environmental clean-up anyway. |
 by NineInchNachos on 5/26/2010 @ 9:20am |  the soviets would have nuked the leaking sea floor long ago. Thorax, you remind me of the hero who worked in a human blood farm in the 'daybreakers' vampire film. Don't you see? WE're the vampires and OIL is earth blood. |
 by Thorax O'Tool on 5/26/2010 @ 9:57am | I like math. Why? Because math itself doesn't lie. Last night, I was listening to the radio while drawing this comic. On the news, they said BP will try to "top kill" the leak by forcing heavy mud and cement down the well. In the news broadcast, a BP spokesman said they would need to send about 2,000 gallons per minute down the well to counteract the flow of oil and to stop it. This is basic fluid handling stuff here. You can only stop a fluid under pressure with something else of equal or greater pressure. That's why valves work (they can be designed to withstand as much pressure as you need). BP claims that the flow is 5,000 bpd (based on Satellite data, but much higher than their initial claim of 1000 bpd). Many other sources say that's BS. Consider that temperature at the ocean floor is about 25 degrees and the pressure is 15,000 PSI. At the surface, the temp is 80 and the pressure is atmospheric. That creates a mile-tall frac tower. The light stuff will come to the top, the heavier portions will rise, but remain below the surface. The heaviest portions may not even leave the ocean floor. Videos of the ruptured pipe indicate flows from anywhere in the 20,000 to 100,000 bpd rate (as calculated by Particle image velocimetry. Let's do some math, shall we? 2000 gallons per minuet (2000/42) = 47.62 bbls. A day has 1440 min in it. 47.62*1440 = 68,573 bpd. That's a hell of a lot more than 5,000. Now even if the 2000 gallon number is overkill by 200%, then that's still 17,143 bpd. You know, just recently BP told Uncle Sam that a leak of 164,000 or less barrels would not reach shore. They're not lying about that. But given that oil reached shore within a couple weeks, we know we're way past 164,000 barrels... which would have taken 33 days to reach at 5K per day. Assuming 200,000 bbls have leaked out and an oil price of $68/bbl, this leak has wasted $13,000,000 in crude. Who knows how many billion of dollars this cleanup and environmental damage will cause. All this to save $500,000 on a safety valve. It's obscene. |
 by fredo on 5/26/2010 @ 10:20am | If McCain and Palin were in the white house the feedtacoma socialists would be all over this story. Not PC to criticize anyone who might be a minority. Say, what happened to President Obama's plan to open up the Chesapeake Bay for drilling? |
by Thorax O'Tool on 5/26/2010 @ 10:23am | I said it in 2008, I'll say it in 2010: Obama = Bush. Only difference is that one was overtly a puppet, one kept it under wraps. They all answer to their corporate masters. The Obama administration really dropped the ball on this one in terms of the government's response. Hopefully the new offshore drilling plans are shelved for good, but I doubt it. Hence my cartoon... |
 by greenfringegarden on 5/26/2010 @ 10:41am | Thanks NineInchNachos for finding that pic...I loved those ads too and thank God Dixie Lee Ray (Tacoma person) did not get her way to allow Super Tankers into the Puget Sound. Okay...yesterday we had the talk about how President Obama should make his presence known in the Gulf...however it was pointed out to me that...feel good posturing really is not the problem...the problem is...we have a foreign company that has done bad dealings with our government, oil cartels bribed our officials, care was not taken...and we Americans because we were too stupid to pay attention get to pay for the whole mess, and probably get higher gas prices...everything that has happened has been done LEGALLY...in the sense by our own government under previous administrations with lax laws.
Check out Minerals Management...Scandal...NYT, many articles...Our own government screwed the pooch here...so President Obama has to go after our own and BP...Is that happening? Talk to George Bush too please... www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washington/11... |
by NineInchNachos on 5/26/2010 @ 10:59am | for posterity...
comics.feedtacoma.com/tacomic/tacomic-dr... great cartoon Thorax! More political cartoons please! |
 by daydreamer on 5/26/2010 @ 12:51pm | No! You're killing Walbert? |
 by Altered Chords on 5/26/2010 @ 1:23pm | Don't pick on Obama. Yesterday when he visited Louisiana, away from the cameras and Mikes he was overheard saying this:
"plug the damn hole" He was referring to the hole in the ground leaking oil. (this isn't Bill Clinton you know) I think that after such a strong presidential reaction, this will be remedied in no time. |
 by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 5/26/2010 @ 2:22pm | How is this Obama's fault? He can't send out Jack Bauer and get this thing fixed in 24 hours. Jack Bauer is retired. BP screwed up, the Obama administration is making them fix it. The problem is that no one really knows how to fix this mess, 5000 feet under water. Maybe we shouldn't be drilling in places where we can't fix the damage. |
by Altered Chords on 5/26/2010 @ 3:02pm | Oil is the crack cocaine of industry.
Everwhere I look I see fat people. Can we harness that stored energy? |
by Thorax O'Tool on 5/26/2010 @ 3:17pm | No, Walbert is not going to die. This is a Fail Whale "Grab Bag". It's a side strip not meant to tie into any storylines. It's just the random ideas I cook up.
Also, @ Altered Chords: Have you seen Fight Club? They come up with a novel use for fat... |
by The Jinxmedic on 5/26/2010 @ 4:21pm | Thorax, how many times do we have to go over this? YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB! |
by NineInchNachos on 5/26/2010 @ 4:27pm | I killed Walbert! ha ha ha! |
by Altered Chords on 5/26/2010 @ 4:48pm | have not seen fight club but "interesting uses for fat" sounds disgusting to me.
Thorax - my respect for you math skill has caused me to feel pessimistic about this fiasco. |
by Thorax O'Tool on 5/26/2010 @ 6:43pm | @AC: you need to see the film I can't talk about. Also, now you know why I'm so unhappy with the oil situation. @ RR: now we know how Walbert got into the deadly oil slick. Think of this as a prequel to your own Tacomic. |
by NineInchNachos on 5/26/2010 @ 11:00pm | ha! |
by NineInchNachos on 5/27/2010 @ 8:32am | walbert better start wearing a respirator...
Coast Guard Grounds Ships Involved in Spill Cleanup After 7 Fall Ill; BP Reportedly Preventing Fishermen from Wearing Respirators www.democracynow.org/2010/5/27/coast_gua... |
by NineInchNachos on 5/27/2010 @ 2:07pm | we'll be lucky if there are any fish left
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OIL_S... |
by Altered Chords on 5/27/2010 @ 4:19pm | So BP said they plugged the leak and then there was footage of further leakage so BP said that was a "dirty lens"
Forget Mexican illegals, we need to check to make sure anyone with a Brittish accent isn't going to start drilling for oil somewhere. If Louisianna passed an anti illegal immigrant rule that profiles Brittish Petroleum oil drillers, for gosh sakes Tacoma - just let it go. |
 by tacoma1 on 5/27/2010 @ 5:21pm | All this over giant lizzard squeezins. It's an environmental tragedy. Mark Fiore has a pretty good explaination of our quest for oil to an alien being (a little green man, someone should check his papers) below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DZfdX42CZo&feat... |
by Thorax O'Tool on 5/27/2010 @ 5:25pm | On the news this morning, the AP report said that BP is "revising" the estimates from 5000 bpd to between 10,000 and 20,000.
My "best case scenario" above was 17,143 bpd. I think by the time this is over, we'll find the actual rate was between 40,000 and 70,000. Although, I do find reports on the web about oil still leaking from other locations along the well. We're not done yet, folks. |
by NineInchNachos on 5/29/2010 @ 11:59pm | we can rebuild walbert. we have the technology.
www.flickr.com/photos/pebo/sets/72157607... |
by Thorax O'Tool on 5/30/2010 @ 3:00pm | that would kick ass |
 by marumaruyopparai on 6/1/2010 @ 3:00am | All this to save $500,000 on a safety valve.
It's obscene Well put. |
by Thorax O'Tool on 6/2/2010 @ 5:20pm | Today, they're cutting the pipe to put said $500,000 valve on it. So, this is pretty risky. BP claims the bent pipe is reducing the flow by as much as 20%. So, after the cut, the leak will be 20% bigger. If the procedure works, that will be a good thing and worth the temporary increase in flow. But if it fails, the leak just got 1/5 bigger. That's like jumping from 40,000 a day to 48,000 a day. The relief well being currently drilled will be done in August (or so we're told). I have a hunch this spill isn't going to stop until then. |
by NineInchNachos on 6/2/2010 @ 6:07pm | you know who else is obscene? twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/1521669... |
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