There's clearly an air of complacency with these companies. They never have a problem, so they start getting lax with procedures, and safety gets compromised.

Regulators and inspectors should stop this, but even then get complacent when nothing bad happens. Standards start to slip, and the spiral continues until something bad happens.

denser items under solid pressure of rock acts like a rock. the layers of rock are compromised by the drilled holes, which weaken the system. put a piece of plywood over 2 2x4's 5 feet apart and walk across it. drill holes through it, roughly 1" in diameter, then cover them with wood filler. walk across it. it breaks.

conversely, step on an unopened pop bottle. it won't collapse. open it and then drink a swig or two. then close it. step on it. you'll collapse it a little. the pressure is changed and the seal has been compromised.

saltwater and oil are so completely different and act differently in their environments. throw in the compromised rock layers under millions of tons of pressure from the water.

Again, this sounds like a sweeping opinion based on assumptions by a lay person.

Evidence please.
Proof.

If what you're saying is true, criminal charges should be the result of this accident correct?

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Hold my beer and watch this...

It's a generalization for sure, but I think fairly accurate one when considering any business that has safety oversight.

Criminal charges? I don't know. How do you equitably place blame? Who's more at fault, the company that didn't follow regulations, or the agency that knew they weren't and didn't do anything about?

Your wood comparison makes no sense to me at all if we're talking about pressure in a container. The soda bottle makes more sense, and I understand your concern from that. I don't think there's any way we can replicate the pressure. That being said, what if they collapse? Doesn't it just make a big hole in the ground?

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Easy...the buck stops with BP.
If they are using subcontractors they can then work within their contracts to recoup money lost to their negligence, if that fails they can sue.

As for the government being held responsible...oh lord I would pay money to see that. Never going to happen.
Maybe 1 or 2 sacrificial scapegoats. We'd be a whole lot better off if government employees were held to the same standards as private employees that actually have to produce and perform.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

the wood was to show the compromising of the integrity of the stratum of rock. sorry if i didn't say that.

okay, these aren't little 50 foot holes. these are billions of gallons space. you're talking closer to cubic kilometers than cubic meters. water floods them super quick and the energy is formed into massive waves that manifest themselves in different ways. tidal waves would be a prime example.

right, but if they're already back-filled with saltwater...

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exactly. for both.

different densities. the rock could still collapse and push all of the water that was previously there out at super high velocities and thus tidal waves.

Yeah, I see your point, but at the same rate, with at least *something* being in there, it's not all gushing in and some giant air bubble will come out.

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i was talking about this yesterday with some friends. i gave this EXACT hypothesis, and they looked at me, and changed the subject to american idol.

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that's bullshit.
1) I don't believe you have friends, and
2) Nobody cares about American Idol.

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i knew you were kidding right away. haha.

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Leader in the clubhouse for post of the year.

I think the most important point about what happens to the holes in the sea floor when oil is extracted is that no one really knows. BP doesn't know, Exxon doesn't know, the EPA doesn't know. So in doing this kind of drilling, you're really rolling the dice and hoping for the best. That's scary to me.