Here’s an interesting video on the chemicals being used in the Gulf oil spill’s clean-up process that doesn’t seem to have much to do with cleaning up the spill but rather with dispersing the oil making it less easy to detect. Logically, to clean it up, to get the oil out of the water, you wouldn’t think adding chemicals to make the oil dissipate into the water would be particularly useful. – Ilene
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See also: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (2010), NY Times
Excerpt:
Dispersants
BP also clashed with the federal government over its use of dispersants, chemicals sprayed on the spill that were meant to break up the oil in the hope that it would settle to the bottom. In a novel approach, BP has been spraying dispersants on the oil as it leaves the well head to reduce the amount that reaches the surface.
The Environmental Protection Agency directed the company to stop using two dispersants from a line of products called Corexit and switch to something less toxic. The oil company defended its use of Corexit and taken issue with the methods the agency used to estimate its toxicity, and continued to spray the chemicals past the E.P.A. deadline.
The E.P.A. administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, said that she had ordered the oil giant to take "immediate steps to scale back the use of dispersants." She said the amount of chemicals applied to control the oil spilling from the Deepwater Horizon well – more than 700,000 gallons so far on the gulf’s surface and a mile underwater at the leaking well head – was "approaching a world record."
Allan also wrote briefly on the subject in his weekend update. – Ilene
The Oil Volcano – Update
I’m bringing the first link below forward from a Comment just posted in a prior blog. It contains a You Tube video that address some problems caused by the oil volcano and in particular, collateral damage that might be occurring as a direct result of the attempts to stem the oil contamination of the gulf. The suggestions are that real damage to the environment, our food supply and the population is being caused by reckless use of the chemical Corexit.
Gulf of Mexico: Marines evacuated, sea highly toxic
"The Oil spill has reached a point of no return, the damage is done. But not a lot of people are aware of the extent of the damage mainly because the use of oil dispersants that made the oil ‘invisible’ but left bigger problems."
"The dispersants Corexit, used made the problem so much worse that it has caused the oil to be able to evaporate into the air making the air toxic as well as the dispersants are being sprayed into the air and being picked up in the air currents carrying it unto land."
Arsenic levels rise around Gulf of Mexico
BELEAGUERED energy giant BP was hit with further bad news this morning as it emerged dangerous arsenic levels have been found in seawater around the Gulf of Mexico.
British scientists warned that the oil spill is increasing the level of arsenic in the ocean, and could further add to the devastating impact on the already sensitive environment.
BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig has been spilling between 3,681,500 litres and 911,454,000 litres of oil into the sea per day since it exploded on April 22…
Weekend Update
I sent out my Weekend Update to subscribers yesterday. Here is an excerpt:
Last week’s strong rally does not erase the bearish potential for the market in the weeks ahead. Nonetheless, we must respect the plethora of market-buys in our trend models. If these new buys get reversed quickly, take special note for what that may portend for the next major leg of price behavior. Unless and until that happens, there are plenty of fresh signals to pick from if you chose to trade on the LONG side here.
The problem most traders have is that the think too much. So my parting words to you this weekend are to not over-analyze the nuances of market movement too much and instead, trust the trend models. They are the ones that we brought to this dance.
Allan’s “Trend Following Trading Model” is based on his trend-following trading system for buying and selling stocks and ETFs. Most trades last for weeks to months. Allan’s offering PSW readers a special 25% discount. Click here. For more details, read this introductory article.
