BP Oil Spill Approaching Gulf Coast

[Kat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXsmLMV1CrM

There is one person between T. Allen and our President (IIRC).

Who gave him clearance to do this?

 

[bessie]

Gulf beaches hit as distant hurricane pushes oil

GRAND ISLE, La. — Rough seas generated by Hurricane Alex pushed more oil from the massive spill onto Gulf coast beaches as cleanup vessels were sidelined by the far-away storm's ripple effects.

The hurricane was churning coastal waters across the oil-affected region on the Gulf of Mexico. Waves as high as 6 feet and winds over 25 mph were forecast through Thursday just off shore from the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

In Louisiana, the storm pushed an oil patch toward Grand Isle and uninhabited Elmer's Island, dumping tar balls as big as apples on the beach.

"The sad thing is that it's been about three weeks since we had any big oil come in here," marine science technician Michael Malone said. "With this weather,we lost all the progress we made."

The loss of skimmers, combined with gusts driving water into the coast, left beaches especially vulnerable. In Alabama, the normally white sand was streaked with long lines of oil. One swath of beach 40 feet wide was stained brown and mottled with globs of oil matted together.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9GLJ30O0

I know the site of oil on those beaches is horrible, but beaches can be cleaned rather easily, the marshes and wetlands cannot. The oil becomes trapped within the grasses, and walking or driving over it works it deeper into the soil. It's like trying to remove molasses from your hair. The remedies are limited, and all hold the potential to worsen the situation.

NEWS: Some researchers advocate burning oiled Louisiana wetlands (CSM)
...
Soil retention is crucial to a delta region already losing some 34 square miles of coast a year to sea-level rise -- a trend being aggravated by ecologically harmful land-use and flood-control practices.

Efforts to deal with the oil encroaching on wetlands represent "a real challenging problem," Lin says.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=5349181

Five straight days of rain and cloud cover from hurricane Alex this week was like an omen of what's to come as the hurricane season progresses. The subject came up in just about every conversation I had this week with locals, and we're all on edge worrying about a major storm washing and spraying that crap inland. And even if we're spared a catastrophic storm, any time a storm system moves close to the spill site, the clean up efforts have to be suspended for up to two weeks at a time. Meanwhile, the oil continues spewing. It's not uncommon in an active season to have two or three storms train through one right behind the other on similar paths. :loser:

A business associate who lives in Kansas told me today that I should relocate somewhere less prone to natural disasters, like it's so easy to just pick up and leave. (I hear this frequently, and it bugs the heck out of me.) I told her what I tell everyone else. We can survive the natural disasters. It's the d!@n man-made disasters, i.e. levee failure and oil spills, that are killing us.

I apologize for the rant, but I had to vent a bit. That's just the tip of it, really. I have family who live and work on the water and are struggling through this mess after finally getting their lives back on track post-K. It seems so unfair, and I'm frustrated that there's so little I can do for them but pray.

 

[bessie]

There is one person between T. Allen and our President (IIRC).

Who gave him clearance to do this?

Allen reports to Secretary Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat. But as the National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizonm uh... "incident", he calls the shots down here.

 

[bessie]

Just as I had predicated weeks ago the oil spill will most likely get caught up in the Florida Straits and continue up into the coast of Miami and possibly the entire eastern seaboard.

Government forecasters now say there's up to an 80 percent chance that the massive spill will reach the waters off Miami by the middle of August, caught in the loop current around Florida and then pushed northward up the state's east coast at a rate of 100 miles per day.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bp-oil-spi...ffering-july-weekend/story?id=11077632&page=1

On 6-8 scientist as well as myself believed that the oil spill would follow the gulf loop all the way up the east coast. I even believe that they will soon start finding oil tarballs on Texas coasts.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36917022/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Yep, and in one of my very first posts in this thread, I said that's what it would take to get action. Is it a coincidence that President Obama has finally decided to accept foreign assistance? I think not.

 

[Kat]

Allen reports to Secretary Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat. But as the National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizonm uh... "incident", he calls the shots down here.

Yup and Napolitano should put her foot up his...

Nevermind, I remember I really don't like the way she does things. :wink:

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Yup and Napolitano should put her foot up his...

Nevermind, I remember I really don't like the way she does things. :wink:

ITA...I was willing to give Napolitano the benefit of the doubt until I saw that press conference regarding the guy who was on the "no fly" list and how he was apprehended ON BOARD the airplane. She was still trying to sell us on the story of how effective Homeland Security was since they had, after all, removed him from the plane before it flew off. She did not want to admit the fact that he was allowed on the plane in the first place via a major screw up. Her whole demeanor was embarrassing....she would answer one question very quickly, and then jump back away from the microphones. She couldn't get away from the microphone fast enough! You could tell she was obviously covering up and wanted to be anywhere but in front of reporters answering questions regarding that situation. Any positive opinion I had of her up to that point quickly went down the toilet. I simply do not trust her one bit after that lame display.

 

[essies]

[video=youtube;-twfQwTr6LE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twfQwTr6LE[/video]

 

[fran]

Whale sharks may be latest Gulf oil spill victims

OCEAN SPRINGS | Fri Jul 2, 2010 8:17pm EDT

Mississippi (Reuters) - Whale sharks, the biggest fish in the sea, may be the latest victims of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported this week that four of the polka-dotted creatures, stretching about 40 feet long, had been spotted swimming alongside oil in search of food.

Since whale sharks are filter feeders -- scooping up plankton and small fish with their gaping mouths as they swim just beneath the surface -- scientists are concerned they will swallow large amounts of toxic oil and die.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...e=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true

 

[fran]

Why Is the Gulf Cleanup So Slow?

There are obvious actions to speed things up, but the government oddly resists taking them

Destin, Fla.

As the oil spill continues and the cleanup lags, we must begin to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions. There does not seem to be much that anyone can do to stop the spill except dig a relief well, not due until August. But the cleanup is a different story. The press and Internet are full of straightforward suggestions for easy ways of improving the cleanup, but the federal government is resisting these remedies.

...............................snip....................................

The combination of these two regulations is delaying and may even prevent the world's largest skimmer, the Taiwanese owned "A Whale," from deploying. This 10-story high ship can remove almost as much oil in a day as has been removed in total—roughly 500,000 barrels of oily water per day. The tanker is steaming towards the Gulf, hoping it will receive Coast Guard and EPA approval before it arrives.

In addition, the federal government can free American-based skimmers. Of the 2,000 skimmers in the U.S. (not subject to the Jones Act or other restrictions), only 400 have been sent to the Gulf. Federal barriers have kept the others on stations elsewhere in case of other oil spills, despite the magnitude of the current crisis. The Coast Guard and the EPA issued a joint temporary rule suspending the regulation on June 29—more than 70 days after the spill.

The Obama administration can also permit more state and local initiatives. The media endlessly report stories of county and state officials applying federal permits to perform various actions, such as building sand berms around the Louisiana coast. In some cases, they were forbidden from acting. In others there have been extensive delays in obtaining permission.

As the government fails to implement such simple and straightforward remedies, one must ask why.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...50877298556.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

 

[fran]

Feds taking the weekend off in oil fight?

Posted: Friday, 02 July 2010 7:30AM

One local official is voicing his frustration over what he calls a "nine-to-five" attitude by some federal authorities in the face of the oil disaster.

Jefferson Councilman Chris Roberts says the parish has a plan to build rock levees to help keep oil out of inland waterways like Barataria Bay.

Roberts told WWL First News that after they submitted the proposal to the Army Corps of Engineers last week, Corps officials said last Friday that discussion on the plan would have to be put on hold until the following Monday, because the Corps office would be closed for the weekend.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<more at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


http://www.wwl.com/Feds-taking-the-weekend-off-in-oil-fight-/7603356

 

[essies]

"A giant science experiment"?? WTH:furious:
[video=youtube;SamNmFKk8l4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SamNmFKk8l4[/video]

 

[whiteangora]

Why Is the Gulf Cleanup So Slow?

There are obvious actions to speed things up, but the government oddly resists taking them

Destin, Fla.

As the oil spill continues and the cleanup lags, we must begin to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions. There does not seem to be much that anyone can do to stop the spill except dig a relief well, not due until August. But the cleanup is a different story. The press and Internet are full of straightforward suggestions for easy ways of improving the cleanup, but the federal government is resisting these remedies.

...............................snip....................................

The combination of these two regulations is delaying and may even prevent the world's largest skimmer, the Taiwanese owned "A Whale," from deploying. This 10-story high ship can remove almost as much oil in a day as has been removed in total—roughly 500,000 barrels of oily water per day. The tanker is steaming towards the Gulf, hoping it will receive Coast Guard and EPA approval before it arrives.

In addition, the federal government can free American-based skimmers. Of the 2,000 skimmers in the U.S. (not subject to the Jones Act or other restrictions), only 400 have been sent to the Gulf. Federal barriers have kept the others on stations elsewhere in case of other oil spills, despite the magnitude of the current crisis. The Coast Guard and the EPA issued a joint temporary rule suspending the regulation on June 29—more than 70 days after the spill.

The Obama administration can also permit more state and local initiatives. The media endlessly report stories of county and state officials applying federal permits to perform various actions, such as building sand berms around the Louisiana coast. In some cases, they were forbidden from acting. In others there have been extensive delays in obtaining permission.

As the government fails to implement such simple and straightforward remedies, one must ask why.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...50877298556.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

It's so discouraging to see our government going out of it's way to hinder the clean up. I just hope everyone remembers the gross neglect next election day. "Yes we can" has become "No we won't"

 

[Steely Dan]

Link

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A ship billed as the world's largest skimming vessel has begun testing its effectiveness in the Gulf of Mexico, a spokesman for its owner, Taiwanese company TMT Shipping, said Saturday.

The A Whale has been assigned a 5-mile-by-5-mile area to test its capability, spokesman Bob Grantham said, citing Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft. Testing is expected to continue Saturday and Sunday, with initial results probably available Monday, Grantham said.

The skimmer works by "taking in oily water through a series of vents, or jaws, on the side of the ship and then decanting the intake," Grantham said. "In many ways, the ship collects water like an actual whale and pumps internally like a human heart."

The testing area is just north of the underwater oil gusher, the statement said.

The A Whale arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday and has been awaiting approval to join in cleanup efforts. The vessel is estimated to be able to skim 21 million gallons of oil a day, at least 250 times the amount that modified fishing vessels currently conducting skimming operations have been able to contain, according to TMT.

 

[legalmania]

It is so easy to point fingers at the present administration but this mess goes way back to one of the first oil spills caused by the Exxon Valdez, scientist have found that after 20 years Prince William Sound is still not fully cleaned up, if you pick up a rock you will still find oil underneath.
It started with the deregulation of oil drilling. As a matter of fact the Deepwater Horizon was built on top of a failing oil rig. The cement began to collapse so they removed that rig and put the Horizon on top of it. On top of that they used cheaper cement and whatever they could to save money, and disregard the safety of the crew. Here is just a little background on how far back this goes.

The first thought is prompted by the endless parade of Louisiana politicos who can't seem to get enough face time lately showing their concern for the potentially horrendous harm oil poses to our coastal wetlands, all the while stressing how important that habitat is to our economy, culture and future. Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sens. David Vitter and Mary Landrieu, Rep. Charlie Melancon and many more are doing a replay of President Bush's 9/11 photo ops: visiting the scenes of destruction, hugging the hearty locals terrorized by the disaster and pledging to make those responsible accountable for the dastardly deed.

That has been a battle cry for conservative politics for three decades. It was Ronald Reagan who famously made "get government off the backs of business," a winning strategy. And it was George W. Bush who pushed to rewrite the rule books for energy development on public property, rolling back protections for fish, wildlife, air and water under the banner of streamlining the nation's race for energy. That movement sought to turn 40 years of bipartisan environmental protection on its head, and it did.

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/oil_disaster_brought_to_you_by.html


The thing that really bothers me is that nobody is going up or down there to spend a few dollars to help out, even though you can't go to the beach, there is plenty to do. The bars are open with music and the shops have plenty of good deals to offer. There are plenty of hotels open with pools and the food is safe. Yet people have decided to go elsewhere and not support the struggling businesses. My relatives went to the gulf coast just last week and said they had a ball. It was cheap and unfortunately they almost had the whole place to themselves. There were a couple of bars that were busy but by 11pm it was a ghost town. I think if people really cared, they will go there spend a couple of days just to show support. Action speaks louder than words.
The top scientist in the world are working on this and have been since day one. I heard a guy talking to Brian Williams who's job it was to stop the burning oil rigs in Iraq. He said with his 30 years experience the relief well is the only way to stop the flow. Until then the cleanup will seem useless. This is just something that is going to take time. The same as the World Trade Center cleanup, this type of cleanup comes with any disaster, it won't happen overnight and it could take years, it's just something we have to deal with. Americans have to start buying cars that don't use gas and we have to use solar, wind power and natural gas at home, where we can. It's up to us to stop the demand of oil. I just bought a central air and heating unit that uses solar power, my hot water heater is also solar powered. It will pay for itself over the next 5 to 7 years. My electric bill this month was $35 and we have been running our AC at 75 degrees for about a month an a half. Most of the charges were for corporate fees. It use to be $400 monthly in the summer.

 

[Steely Dan]

I'm disturbed that when applying for a license some sort of plan for dealing with a situation like this doesn't have to be filed and approved. Eventually something like this was bound to happen.

 

[MissieMt]

I've been avoiding this thread like the plague. We live only a few miles from the beach in MS. My husband is on a bus. trip to Japan for two months this summer so I am taking a leave from work. I was really looking forward to taking the kids to the beach A LOT because it is free and it wears them out so they will sleep well =) I've never liked them swimming in the water, it has always been pretty murky but to look out and see nothing but water really gets their minds going. The things they can come up with that might be out there, lol....has always made it worth while for a girl who has never been very "outdoors-ey"
Unfortunately we cant do that. We have really been getting hammered with oil on the shore this past week or so. They are 10 and 5 and they know full well whats going on. And today especially, it really breaks my heart because we usually go down to the beach for the amazing fireworks shows. I drove along the strip next to the beach yesterday and you could smell the oil, so i wont be taking them this year.
I'm not sure if anyone has posted this, but I wanted to share it, it's extremely moving.
WARNING: some graphic photos!!!! (But still very worth watching, imo)
[video=youtube;kOkPGnaXsg8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOkPGnaXsg8[/video]

 

[Gypsy Road]

Jimmy Buffet is doing his part to help the coast. He's hoping to bring people back to the Gulf Coast for an upcoming FREE concert....

Wish more celebs and musicians would join together, come down and bring business to our coast!



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/02/jimmy-buffett-gulf-concer_n_633879.html

 

[legalmania]

Jimmy Buffet is doing his part to help the coast. He's hoping to bring people back to the Gulf Coast for an upcoming FREE concert....

Wish more celebs and musicians would join together, come down and bring business to our coast!



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/02/jimmy-buffett-gulf-concer_n_633879.html

I am so glad to hear that. Jimmy Buffet is a good guy, and your right we need more people like him to entertain the people and help the business owners. I love the beach but when the seaweed and jellyfish are out it's a real hassle. I'm sure if MTV or if some rock or rap stars come there the people will follow. They mostly come to eat and drink. They can temporarily use the pool for swimming.

 

[essies]

BP Ordered To Release Information on Well Bore Damage and Sea Floor Leaks From BP Gulf Oil Spill
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/20...ore-damage-sea-floor-leaks-bp-gulf-oil-spill/
<snipped>
The Chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee Rep. Ed Markey has ordered BP to release any data of damage to the wellbore, sea floor leaks, and the time frame and design of the relief wells that BP is drilling.
In the letter, Rep. Markey writes: “In light of the well-documented and extensive problems associated with the original well’s design, this statement is worrisome to contemplate.”

–Condition of the wellbore. Admiral Allen expressed concern last week that there may be damage to the wellbore, and the integrity of the well has been a consistent concern since the failure of the so-called “top kill” procedure.

–Reports of sea floor leaks. Rep. Markey also asks about whether there are additional leaks around the main well site, as that may impact any final efforts to seal the well and prevent further leakage of oil.

–Other potential oil and gas reservoirs. Rep. Markey asks BP to provide all geological information about the well to determine if there are other reservoirs of oil and gas aside from the main one 18,000 feet below the surface, as their presence, coupled with damage to the wellbore, could also complicate the relief well efforts.

 

[essies]

[video=youtube;1FxfYqnlQ50]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FxfYqnlQ50[/video]

Please take the four minutes it takes to watch this video. Worth it for your health, worth it for your awareness as to the effects of Corexit.
"We're all part of an experiment. How do you feel?":sick: