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California Pipeline Spill Much Worse Than Thought (State Of Emergency)
Two things. First they are throwing numbers out for effect. They should figure out the exact amount spilled. Secondly, I thought these pipelines were equipped with auto-shutoff mechanisms in case of rupture?
We were actually camping nearby earlier this week...El Capitan State Beach. On day we left, several whales were swimming along the shore, maybe 100 ft away...made for a beautiful morning walk. The next day, the park was evacuated because of the spill.
"I thought these pipelines were equipped with auto-shutoff mechanisms in case of rupture?"
@JohnChisum- I have no idea what requirements are, if any, for automatic shutdown capability. Remember that the disastrous PG&E natural gas episode a few years ago revealed that those lines had no such protection.
The Santa Barbara line is almost 30 years old, and I'd be AMAZED if any oil transport company would have the morality or integrity to install such safety equipment unless they were specifically ordered to by some competent authority. Unfortunately, competent authority is an imaginary beast.
With China's uneven environmental record and Brazil's history of alleged widespread corruption throughout much of it's state controlled industry,this looks like a disaster in the making.Don't know about the "uncontacted tribes" allegation,but it definitely would be an "Iron Horse" moment for many. World news The Observer Jonathan Watts Saturday 16 May 2015 China’s Amazonian railway ‘threatens uncontacted tribes’ and the rainforest Environmentalists sound alarm over plans to construct 5,300km route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to cut transport costs
The logistical challenges are considerable because the line will pass through dense forest, swamps and then either desert or mountains (there are two options for the Peruvian end of the route), as well as areas of conflict between tribes and drug traffickers.
Near the Bolivian border, it will come close to the “Devil’s Railway”, an ill-fated link built in 1912 between Porto Velho in Brazil and Guajará-Mirim in Bolivia. It cost 6,000 lives and was barely used after the collapse of the rubber industry.
Financing is likely to come from the China Development Bank, with construction carried out by local firms and the China International Water and Electric Corporation. China’s involvement is partly explained by a desire to reduce freight costs, but it also hopes to create business for domestic steel and engineering firms that have been hit by the slowdown of the Chinese economy. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/16/amazon-china-railway-plan
What do you do when you’re burdened with the oil industry’s biggest debt, credit is drying up and some of your main suppliers are under the gun? Call China. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s strategy of turning to fellow BRIC member China to finance the country’s prized state-controlled oil company is paying off as she and Premier Li Keqiang unveiled $10 billion in Chinese credit. The fresh funding comes as Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras seeks to leave behind the biggest crisis of its almost 62-year history. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as it’s known formally, has been at the center of a corruption scandal that sent shudders through the country’s business and political elites and all but closed access to bond markets, while ill-conceived projects prompted $15 billion in writedowns. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-20/petrobras-turns-to-china-for-10-billion-to-avert-cash-crunch
"It sounds as if it's limited to a certain area." Yes, "just" the area to the North of Santa Barbara. There's plenty more worth seeing on the Central and Northern California coast, right on up into Oregon and Washington, to be sure.
To add; the wife and I traveled down to the Oregon Coast during the time that ship had gone aground near Coos Bay. We stayed in Bandon which is just south. We didn't see anything except for the brief time we passed through that area where there was the work going on plus the looky loos pulling over.
@Old_Joe said: There's plenty more worth seeing on the Central and Northern California coast, You bet their is... San Francisco Giants shut out Dodgers for the entire three-game sweep the San Francisco Giants shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third straight day, 4-0 Thursday. San Francisco outscored the Dodgers 10-0 in sweeping the three-game series.
Giants assistant general manager Bobby Evans had a really good line earlier this off season when he told reporters that the club was no longer in the running for free agent left-hander Jon Lester. However, he might have topped himself with his response to a question about the defending World Series champions being a runner-up for the likes of Pablo Sandoval, Yasmany Tomas, and Lester in recent weeks: Evans on Giants always "finishing second" in bidding for big names: "We finish first in the most important area."(winning three of the last five world Series)
And sometimes if ever so seldom.... Half Moon Bay officials had watched as the city of Pacifica, about 15 miles up the coast, dealt with the two dead whales that washed up there over the last several weeks. After the two animals rotted on the beach, a large excavator had to be brought in to bury the carcasses when the smell became too much for nearby residents to bear. Pacifica and San Francisco, which maintains the beach, agreed to split an estimated tab of $40,000. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Photos-Latest-whale-to-wash-up-is-dragged-back-6279363.php
Comments
In any case, it's a big mess.
@JohnChisum- I have no idea what requirements are, if any, for automatic shutdown capability. Remember that the disastrous PG&E natural gas episode a few years ago revealed that those lines had no such protection.
The Santa Barbara line is almost 30 years old, and I'd be AMAZED if any oil transport company would have the morality or integrity to install such safety equipment unless they were specifically ordered to by some competent authority. Unfortunately, competent authority is an imaginary beast.
World news
The Observer
Jonathan Watts
Saturday 16 May 2015
China’s Amazonian railway ‘threatens uncontacted tribes’ and the rainforest
Environmentalists sound alarm over plans to construct 5,300km route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to cut transport costs
The logistical challenges are considerable because the line will pass through dense forest, swamps and then either desert or mountains (there are two options for the Peruvian end of the route), as well as areas of conflict between tribes and drug traffickers.
Near the Bolivian border, it will come close to the “Devil’s Railway”, an ill-fated link built in 1912 between Porto Velho in Brazil and Guajará-Mirim in Bolivia. It cost 6,000 lives and was barely used after the collapse of the rubber industry.
Financing is likely to come from the China Development Bank, with construction carried out by local firms and the China International Water and Electric Corporation. China’s involvement is partly explained by a desire to reduce freight costs, but it also hopes to create business for domestic steel and engineering firms that have been hit by the slowdown of the Chinese economy.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/16/amazon-china-railway-plan
What do you do when you’re burdened with the oil industry’s biggest debt, credit is drying up and some of your main suppliers are under the gun? Call China.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s strategy of turning to fellow BRIC member China to finance the country’s prized state-controlled oil company is paying off as she and Premier Li Keqiang unveiled $10 billion in Chinese credit.
The fresh funding comes as Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras seeks to leave behind the biggest crisis of its almost 62-year history. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as it’s known formally, has been at the center of a corruption scandal that sent shudders through the country’s business and political elites and all but closed access to bond markets, while ill-conceived projects prompted $15 billion in writedowns.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-20/petrobras-turns-to-china-for-10-billion-to-avert-cash-crunch
We enjoyed that trip very much.
There's plenty more worth seeing on the Central and Northern California coast,
You bet their is...
San Francisco Giants shut out Dodgers for the entire three-game sweep
the San Francisco Giants shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third straight day, 4-0 Thursday. San Francisco outscored the Dodgers 10-0 in sweeping the three-game series.
Giants assistant general manager Bobby Evans had a really good line earlier this off season when he told reporters that the club was no longer in the running for free agent left-hander Jon Lester. However, he might have topped himself with his response to a question about the defending World Series champions being a runner-up for the likes of Pablo Sandoval, Yasmany Tomas, and Lester in recent weeks:
Evans on Giants always "finishing second" in bidding for big names: "We finish first in the most important area."(winning three of the last five world Series)
And sometimes if ever so seldom....
Half Moon Bay officials had watched as the city of Pacifica, about 15 miles up the coast, dealt with the two dead whales that washed up there over the last several weeks.
After the two animals rotted on the beach, a large excavator had to be brought in to bury the carcasses when the smell became too much for nearby residents to bear.
Pacifica and San Francisco, which maintains the beach, agreed to split an estimated tab of $40,000.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Photos-Latest-whale-to-wash-up-is-dragged-back-6279363.php