Everyone’s trying to figure out how much oil is in the Gulf. Using the most conservative leak estimate of 5,000 barrels per day, the volume of petroleum in the area is an astronomical 125,000 barrels.
We’ve calculated some incredible things that could have been done with all that oil.
(Remember, the leak volume could be five times higher and may keep leaking for months.)
Bring the Great Lakes to a boil — eight thousand times
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which yields 725 billion Btu or 765,000 billion joules. Bringing the Great Lakes volume (22,684 km3) to a boil (+95.6 C @ 4.8 specific heat) takes 10.4 billion joules.
Drive a Honda Civic to the Sun and back
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which equals 5,250,000 gallons of crude. A new Honda Civic can get up to 34 mpg. The leaked oil (not counting crude-to-fuel conversions) would fuel nearly 180 million miles of driving. At its nadir, the sun is around 90 million miles away.
Make four billion plastic bags
Image: http://www.blogto.com/upload/2008/04
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18. According to Reuters, China refines 37 million barrels of crude to make 1,095 billion plastic bags. Therefore it takes 101,370 bbl to make 3 billion bags; and 125,000 bbl to make 3.7 billion.
Supply North Korea with oil for 12 days
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18. North Korea imports 10.5 barrels per day.
Fill 56,000,000 glass bottles of Coke with crude
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which equals 5,250,000 gallons or 672 million fluid ounces.
Power a human to walk to the planet Uranus and back
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which yields 765,000 million kilojoules. Walking for one mile takes 205 kilojoules (of food energy). If equivalent energy, the oil would power 3,732,000,000 miles of walking. Uranus is 1.78 billion miles away on average.
Leave an El Camino on idle until the Thirtieth Century
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonov/367544491/
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which equals 5,250,000 gallons of gas. An 8-cylinder engine idling 5-minutes-per-day burns 20 gallons in a year; which means one day of idling burns 15.789 gallons.
Feed 13,125 Americans for a year (and we consume much more than any other people)
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/randysonofrobert/275680468/
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which equals 5,250,000 gallons. 400 gallons of oil are used to feed one American for a year, based on estimates of agriculture, transportation, etc.
Make 11,415 tons of fertilizers
Image: julieabrown1
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18; which — at 7.3 bbl per ton — equals 17,123 tons. 1.5 tons of oil makes 1 ton of fertilizer.
Pay for six hours of BP’s clean-up
Caveat: We used figures for day 25 using the conservative estimate of 5,000 bbl per day. Our calculations are non-scientific.
Math: 5,000 barrels per day equals 125,000 barrels by May 18. Current prices are $70 a barrel, which amounts to $8.75 million. BP is paying around $33 million a day in clean-up costs.
Now here’s a visual aid…
See How The Gulf Oil Slick Looks On Top Of Your City
Join the conversation about this story »