[Tarpon]

Government estimates -— is that like the healthcare cost estimate people are now estimating oil spills sizes? I am sure they are accurate and wouldn't fudge anything, like they do with global warming estimates and computer programs. Besides, all are really big messes, so they got that part right.

me too ... lets see the calculations and the data ...

It's really hard to estimate(if not impossible) what leaks from a partially crushed pipe, through an unknowable orifice, driven by unknown pressure, under huge sea pressures.

BUT FOR WHAT PURPOSE IS THE ESTIMATE EVEN MADE -—

Sounds like what we do know is how much oil the tanker-skimmers could skim each day from the Gulf, if only we had any tanker-skimmers working the spill. hmmm is it possible that's the problem? Well I doubt the oil spill is going anyplace soon.

It's also kinda what we know can be done with fire booms to contain the spill, if only government had ordered any fire booms in the first place.

But even if government cannot figure out what to do about anything, at least they can put out propaganda estimates and then blame BP for under estimating. hmmm, weird reasoning ... I think you could kinda see how big the problem was from satellites. Try MODIS images for a start point.

If you want to know how the media reacted to Bush and the 1989 Exxon Valdez cleanup, well lets just say they dumped all over him continuously .... And now that the media's Obama is in charge, what will the media do??? Take a guess ... blame Bush?

Or as the law requires, we blame Obama ... the designated one in charge, by law.

But shhhh, stop asking too many questions.

[WoofDog123]

“BUT FOR WHAT PURPOSE IS THE ESTIMATE EVEN MADE -—”

there is a legal mechanism to fine bp based on the number of barrels spilled, so eventually the spill estimate numbers are going to be worth tens of billions of dollars. This also may relate to why bp totally lowballed their estimate from the start.