THE SYSTOCRAT PAPERS

Fellow Systocrats:

Breaking news: BP corporate subhumans continue to make jackasses of themselves in the Gulf.  Shocking, I know . . .

I just learned that not only is BP using controlled burns to contain the oil in the Gulf, but they are burning endangered sea turtles in the process.  Word is that BP is using fire-resistant booms to enclose a certain quantity of oil and then setting the enclosure on fire. 

I dare say that this is BP jackassery at it's finest.  It's hard to know where to start, but I'm gonna take a stab at it anyway.  First of all, these controlled burns are obviously releasing toxins into the atmosphere.  According to one news source, burning oil releases "toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which result from the incomplete burning of carbon-containing materials such as oil; and volatile organic compounds such as benzene toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene."  It has also been reported that these controlled burns have resulted in huge clouds of black smoke, which carry the toxins on the wind to parts unknown. 

I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to breathe in any of that crap.  I'm sure that the thousands of clean-up workers in the Gulf would agree with me.

Then there are the turtles.  According to Credo, members of the endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle species have been burned alive during these controlled burns.  Under the Endangered Species Act, each dead turtle can saddle BP with prison time and up to $25,000 in civil penalties. 

Of course, it's also just plain wrong to view turtlecide as an acceptable by-product of a corporate mentality which dictates that the cheapest, most expedient solution is the best, even if it results in toxic fumes and death by fire to innocent wildlife that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

What really kills me is that BP has recently been presented with better options than burning the oil, namely Ozonix technology and Kevin Costner's sea vacuums.  Why burn oil when you can separate it from seawater and presumably still sell it?  Jackassery, my friends.  Pure and unadulterated jackassery.

Posted by Tom Douglas at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fellow Systocrats:

Apparently there are more innovative techniques for cleaning up the Gulf than I was aware of.  Turns out that the latest proposed solution was developed to help the natural gas industry with a bad "fracing" situation.  Hallelujah for bad fracs!!  (Any BSG fans out there?  Anyone?) 

I flipped on CNN last Saturday to find Drew Bledsoe hawking a new technique for cleansing seawater called "Ozonix technology" on behalf of Ecosphere Technologies, Inc.  You can check out the CNN interview here.  Turns out that Bledsoe and his pal Troy Aikman are both investors in Ecosphere Energy Services, LLC, a majority owned subsidiary of Ecosphere Technologies. 

Here's how Ozonix technology is supposed to work in a deep water cleanup operation like the Gulf.  According to a pamphlet posted on Ecosphere's website, an Ozonix cavitational reactor uses highly ozonated water (water with ozone gas diffused into it) and a two step cavitation process to generate millions of nano-bubbles (for those of you who, like me, aren't scientists or engineers, cavitation is "the sudden formation and collapse of low-pressure bubbles in liquids by means of mechanical forces, such as those resulting from rotation of a marine propeller.").

These nano-bubbles are released deep beneath the waves to create a "buoyancy blanket," i.e. a column of bubbles that bear oil-contaminated water to the surface, where a second Ozonix machine separates the mixture into highly oxygenated water on the one hand and concentrated oil on the other. 

More specifically, the second Ozonix reactor decontaminates seawater by means of an oxidation process. According to an informational video on Ecosphere's website, after contaminated water enters the reactor, ozonated water decomposes organic and inorganic contaminants.  The nano-bubbles implode, a process that raises the water temperature several hundred degrees in a process known as sonoluminescence.  A secondary oxidation process occurs with the help of submerged electrodes, whereby hydrogen and oxygen are separated from the water and bond together to form hydroxl radicals, which oxidize "leftover organics."  As the water continues its journey through the Ozonix reactor, the electrodes decompose contaminants and kill any remaining microorganisms.  At this point, Ecosphere claims that the water is safe to use and recycle. 

This process has been endorsed by iconic oceanographer and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau to aid the Gulf clean-up effort.  Major selling points of this technology include the following: 1. the process does not rely on chemical dispersants that may harm the environment; and 2. each machine operating on the surface purports to clean approximately one million gallons of water a day.  According to Bledsoe, Ecosphere Technologies is ready to unleash 26 of these bad boys in the Gulf as soon as BP gives them the green light. 

Moreover, these cavitational reactors have already been successfully marketed to the natural gas industry.  According to Ecosphere, over the last 18 months or so, Ozonix technology has been purchased and successfully utilized by natural gas companies to treat contaminated "flowback" water at 150 different sites.  By way of explanation, in order to recover natural gas deep below the Earth's surface, water is pumped into the ground to release natural gas trapped in shale formations, a process called "hydraulic fracing."  Good thing the natural gas industry had this fracing problem and the Ozonix folks figured out how to turn a bad frac into a good one! 

It would seem that Ozonix technology has a leg up on Costner's sea vacuums.  In the first place, Ecosphere has a plan to actually bring the oil to the surface.  We've all read about the huge plumes of oil that continue to spread beneath the waves.   In the second place, if the estimates of both Ocean Therapy Solutions and Ecosphere are to be believed, Ozonix can clean twice as much water per day as the sea vac (a million gallons compared to 500,000 for Costner's largest sea vac model).  Moreover, according to Charles Vinick, Chairman of Ecosphere Technologies, the cleansed water is so highly oxygenated that it can help replenish the environment. 

Even so, given the immense scope of the environmental disaster, I don't think this is an "either/or" situation.  An "all hands on deck" approach is still warranted.  There's enough water in need of degreasing down there to keep the sea vacs and the cavitational reactors busy for some time.

Yes, the new technology is exciting.  Just as important is the fact that in this case, the "free market" is functioning exactly as it should.  The oil companies are run by a bunch of damned sloppy, profit-obsessed, short-sighted nimrods, and as a result these types of environmental disasters occur.  Because to date there really hasn't been a terribly effective option for cleaning up oil spills, an enormous opportunity exists to develop effective new cleanup methods, save the day and reap a tidy profit in the process. 

By no means am I endorsing the profit motive as a worthy end in and of itself - that's how we got into this mess in the first place.  But I am rather pleased to see the "market" produce some innovative solutions to clean up after BP's negligence.  Now, let's all hope that someone takes this market principle one step further and presents an immediate, comprehensive energy solution that does not involve fossil fuels or any other non-renewable sources! 

Posted by Tom Douglas at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fellow Systocrats:

I just had to weigh in on the madness, the absolute jackassery that's been unfolding in the Gulf.

The AP reported today that since the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, up to two million barrels of oil per day may have been leaking into the Gulf before BP managed to cap the busted well on June 3 and start capturing some of the rogue oil.  In other words, BP has done its very best to foul our environment on an unprecedented scale.  Given BP's rather callous response to the environmental cataclysm they've unleashed in the Gulf, I'm convinced that they, along with their metanat corporate cronies, are secretly constructing a lunar colony on the dark side of the moon, to be completed right around the time they finish rendering this planet unfit for human habitation.  Otherwise, the studied indifference of BP CEO Tony Hayward and his mates to this disaster is hard to fathom. 

Assuming that the planned relief wells work and the massive oilgasm in the Gulf eventually ceases, we still need to clean up this huge mess.  Problem is, our current clean-up techniques are not terribly effective.  We've all seen the pictures of determined folks in Gulf states erecting sand berms, bagging tar balls that wash up on the beaches, using shop vac-like devices to vacuum up oily water, etc.  While I commend these people for getting out there and doing the best they can, these measures are just not going to get the job done. To give you an example, the cleanup effort after the Exxon Valdez dumped over 10 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound utilized the same methods, cost 2 billion dollars and recovered an estimated eight percent of the oil. 

Enter Kevin Costner's sea vacuum.  Around May 20, various sources reported that Costner and his company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, had approached BP with these devices.  Basically the sea vacuum is a giant centrifuge that takes in contaminated water, spins it at speeds generating up to 600 times the force of gravity and spits out 99% pure water on one end and usable oil on the other.  According to Ocean Therapy, each sea vac is capable of cleaning 210,000 gallons of water a day. 

Since this story broke almost three weeks ago, there's been virtually no new word on where things stood between BP and Ocean Therapy until a couple of days ago when Ocean Therapy finally started posting updates on its website.  Two weeks ago, I went to Ocean Therapy's website and registered to receive more information on the company.  To date, I've received nothing.  Not even an email "thanking me for my interest in the company."

Today the LA Times is reporting that the machines still haven't been deployed.  According to Costner, the "deployment of the 2½-ton machines had been delayed by rigorous testing requirements of BP and federal regulatory agencies, as well as engineering challenges posed by leaked oil that had degraded over time into gooey masses with the consistency of peanut butter." 

Regulatory approval?  You're kidding me, right?  Hey, nobody seemed all that concerned about strict compliance with federal regulations when the Deepwater Horizon was being commissioned.  Moreover, as a matter of simple common sense, testing this machine and reviewing its performance for regulatory compliance could have been done in a day, especially given the magnitude of this disaster and the fact that the damn thing is just not that complicated.  "Okay, it spins really fast and separates oil from water, check.   No environmentally harmful waste product - water is 99% pure and oil is captured, check.  Okay people, we're done here.  File the paperwork and get the damn machines on the water!!  Oh, we need to wait two months for approval?  Get me the President on the line!!" 

Thankfully, we finally appear to be past the regulatory and testing phase.  So, why aren't we seeing clips of these machines on the news, heroically cleansing millions of gallons of seawater a day, interspersed with pictures of Costner himself, circa Waterworld?  Apparently, it's because BP has yet to pony up the cash for the sea vacuums.  The LA Times reports that although BP has issued a letter of intent to purchase 32 of Costner's sea vacs this week, Ocean Therapy has yet to be paid.  

The most expensive sea vacuum is reported to go for $500,000.  Assuming that all of the sea vac models are similarly priced, it would cost BP 16 million for the 32 machines that it intends to buy.  I would think that Mr. Hayward could probably find that kind of money under the seat cushions of his car.

But wait, it gets better.  Last Wednesday, Costner showed up on Capital Hill.  Among other things, he testified that his centrifuge cleaning technology has been around for twelve years, and that the oil industry and the government have been aware of both the technology and the fact that it works for a long time.  According to Costner, there's been no interest until now because the sea vacuums were "too expensive."

There it is folks.  Profits before environmental responsibility.

This is exactly the kind of jackassery that we need to do away with.   In a rational world, Exxon, Shell, BP and every other major oil company on the planet would have invested in this technology as soon as it became available after Valdez.  If they had, maybe more than eight percent of the Valdez spill would've been cleaned up, and the sea vacuums could have been employed in the Gulf on April 21, the day after the Deepwater explosion.  Moreover, BP should be commissioning hundreds of these machines, not a mere 32.

The bottom line is that instead of doing the right thing, companies like BP and Exxon would rather save money by cutting corners on safety measures, investing in cheap clean-up measures like skimmers, and fighting claims in court.  Environmental damage is only to be considered insofar as it affects profits. 

This mindset is not only shortsighted and unsustainable, it's just plain dangerous. 

UPDATE - June 16, 2010: ABC News reports today that BP has finally agreed to purchase 32 of Costner's sea vacuums.  BP COO Doug Suttles released a statement saying "We were confident the technology would work but we needed to test it at the extremes. We've done that and are excited by the results." 

Great news!  Now let's see how long it takes BP and Ocean Therapy Solutions to get these machines out into the Gulf.

Posted by Tom Douglas at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)