The latest news from the Gulf of Mexico is good for the moment. It seems as though the runaway British Petroleum oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon well has been cut off at the wellhead. That’s good news for every bit of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico from dolphins and manatees to shrimp and countless micro-organisms – or is it?
The BP oil spill has far surpassed the Exxon Valdez oil spill as the worst environmental disaster in recorded history. Some researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration** say that the BP oil spill has literally redefined the definition of an oil spill disaster. It appears that the worst may be yet to come as most of the oil seems to be lurking beneath the surface of the water in huge oil plumes.
As bad as all the news and potential for decades-long damage lasting far into the future, there may be even more strange repercussions from the BP oil spill containment and cleanup. Some scientists believe that the oil on the surface of the sea water may actually allow them to control or steer hurricanes away from land.
Hurricanes, Warming Ocean Temperatures, and Oil
As global ocean temperatures continue to rise and become warmer, hurricanes are likely to become even more powerful and devastating. Scientists have concluded from their research that ocean temperatures have risen between the years of 1993 and 2008, slightly faster than earlier estimates. John Lyman of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found the study indicated a “robust warming” of ocean temperatures.
Warmer oceans means stronger hurricanes, and stronger hurricanes mean more damaging effects on populations, property, business, and the environment. Damages from hurricanes in the U.S. for 2009 are estimated to be as high as $21 billion*** with most of the damage occurring in Texas. Losses from hurricane damage in Texas were around $10 billion, most of that figure caused by a single hurricane which hit Texas on September 13, 2009.
Imagine if hurricanes could be weakened or steered away from populated areas and back out to sea. Think of the potential that controlling hurricanes would have on the millions of people and homes living on the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, or Atlantic Oceans. Think of all the lives saved.
The Theory of Weather Control and the BP Oil Spill
So what does all of this have to do with the BP oil spill? Hurricanes draw their strength from evaporating sea water. Warmer sea water means more sea water is evaporated, and more evaporation means more power for hurricanes. According to Scientific American, at least one scientist has considered using a thin layer of oil on the surface of the water to control the amount of evaporation sucked into a hurricane, and thereby reducing it’s power, or perhaps “steering” it in another direction altogether.
Ross N. Hoffman, in his article “Controlling Hurricanes,” appearing in the September 27, 2009 issue of Scientific American apparently thinks the idea of “steering” hurricanes with oil is a real possibility. Hoffman, a scientist with Atmospheric and Environmental Research, suggests that a thin film of biodegradable oil on the water’s surface could be utilized to slow the evaporation of sea water that fuels hurricanes. Hoffman indicated that much more research is needed to determine if this is even a possible strategy to control the weather, especially a hurricane that may cover hundreds of square miles of open water.
Is it possible that one oil rig was destroyed in order to create an oil slick large enough to test the weather control theory? Before writing all of this off as all off as sounding crazy, remember there were some experts who were proposing the use of a one megaton nuclear warhead as a means to fuse the rock over the British Petroleum oil-gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico. With annual hurricane damage at $21 billion plus levels in the U.S., the cost-benefit analysis indicates using the BP oil spill as a gigantic research and testing ground to prove, or disprove the theory of weather control, might pay huge dividend in years to come.
Sources:
Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay.com, “Can hurricanes be weakened using oil slicks or other techniques?”
Daniel Tencer, rawstory.com, “Energy expert” Nuking oil leak only thing we can do”
Steve Connor, The Independent, “Man-made climate change blamed for ‘significant’ rise in ocean temperature.”
Sara Kennedy, Los Angeles Times, “Researchers link undersea oil plumes to BP spill”
NewsInferno.com, “Hurricane Ike Damage Estimates Surge”
