Reply #27: Yep, "The Earth will still be around long after humans are gone" -- even if that's next Tuesday.

[breadandwine]

This is a ridiculous opening post.

At 35,000 feet the pressures and temperatures are enormous and we are testing the limits of our technology to be drilling down that deep. If the repairs and fixes don't work, and they have never been tried under the present extreme conditions, the oil could continue leaking for years and wipe out the ocean's plant life, which is responsible for most of the oxygen we breathe. The planet would be rapidly asphyxiated.

But who cares? If you've seen one planet with life you've seen 'em all.