When viewing the videos of the oil and gas gushing from the fractured BP pipe, the critical number to keep in mind is 86,400, the number of seconds in 24 hours – a number no one can argue with. You can make your own guess at the amount of oil coming out in one second – 1 barrel, 5 barrels, 10 barrels? Your guess is as good as mine.

You should also know that a 22 inch diameter pipe, which is what I’m told we are dealing with, holds close to a barrel every 2 feet (do the math for yourself!). So, at a flow rate of 2 feet per second, about the speed of an average toddler crossing the room, we get 86,400 barrels a day. I do not have any information on the volume mix of oil and gas, and that obviously needs to be factored in.

The oil spill continued for 90 days.  That's 7,776,000 seconds.  Come on now - take a shot at making your own estimate of the total spill.  Just don’t forget the magic numbers.