Florida & East Coast get ready

[sailaway78]

As if things were not bad enough already, they are now predicting that the oil spill will get into the gulf loop current within the next few days. There are already unconfirmed reports of a few tar balls around Key West. If this oil gets into the gulf stream, the entire eastern half of the country could be effected. What a mess. So far there isn't much getting into the marshes here, but it is an ongoing battle. BP seems to be backing off of their origional statements that everyone would be made whole when all is said and done. They are currently doling out money to the commercials on a basis of tax returns for last year. Dividing by 12, and paying that amount per month. The fact that these guys make most of their yearly income in 4 to 6 months does not appear to enter the equation. So, if a guide made 24K last year, he is going to get 2K a month, even if he made the 24 K during June, July, August and Sept. This money is doled out on a month to month basis. A lot of the commercials were going to be hired by BP for cleanup, then they wouldn't let them work because they didn't have steel toed rubber boots. That has now been waived. And last buy not least. The majority of the population of south Louisiana is now attorneys. These guys have come crawling out of the woodwork, and so far they have greatly helped the economy of radio and TV with their, " Get What You Deserve" advertising. Court battles will be going on for the next ten to twenty years.

 

[Buck420]

As if things were not bad enough already, they are now predicting that the oil spill will get into the gulf loop current within the next few days. There are already unconfirmed reports of a few tar balls around Key West. If this oil gets into the gulf stream, the entire eastern half of the country could be effected. What a mess. So far there isn't much getting into the marshes here, but it is an ongoing battle. BP seems to be backing off of their origional statements that everyone would be made whole when all is said and done. They are currently doling out money to the commercials on a basis of tax returns for last year. Dividing by 12, and paying that amount per month. The fact that these guys make most of their yearly income in 4 to 6 months does not appear to enter the equation. So, if a guide made 24K last year, he is going to get 2K a month, even if he made the 24 K during June, July, August and Sept. This money is doled out on a month to month basis. A lot of the commercials were going to be hired by BP for cleanup, then they wouldn't let them work because they didn't have steel toed rubber boots. That has now been waived. And last buy not least. The majority of the population of south Louisiana is now attorneys. These guys have come crawling out of the woodwork, and so far they have greatly helped the economy of radio and TV with their, " Get What You Deserve" advertising. Court battles will be going on for the next ten to twenty years.

Somehow I can't get tooo worried about oil being carried by the Gulf Stream up the East Coast ....
Considering that during WWII, U-boats sank almost 400 ships off the NC outer banks, most of which were oil tankers ... here's some interesting reading:

The war cut back on one favorite summer pastime for Outer Banks young people. “That summer we had to almost give up swimming in the ocean—it was just full of oil, you’d get it all over you,” Mrs. Ormond Fuller recalled of the oil spilled by torpedoed tankers.
Gibb Gray remembered the oil, too: “We’d step in it before we knew it, and we’d be five or six inches deep. We’d have to scrub our feet and legs with rags soaked in kerosene.
It’s hard to get off, that oil.” It is estimated that 150 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea and on the beaches along the Outer Banks during 1942.
©2008 North Carolina Museum of History
Office of Archives and History, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

Despite all this oil spilled into the ocean off the NC in 1942, I have never read or heard of any meaningful damage to the ecology of the US East Coast...
So, despite today's media frenzy and Ecologist's screaming "the sky is falling", I don't really think there's going to be any significant environmental impact.

 

[mcaswell]

I'm very disturbed by all this, but I'm holding on to one bit of hope.

Unlike Exxon Valdez, where the spill occurred in a much smaller and confined area, there's a LOT of room there for this oil to spread out, even if you just consider the area in the immediate vicinity of LA/MS/AR/FL.


Here's where the Exxon spill occurred...

And here is the Gulf of Mexico at the same scale...

That means more opportunity for it to be dealt with (burnoffs, dispersants, natural decomposition, etc.) before it comes ashore, and the lighter, more volatile compounds have the opportunity to evaporate or be significantly diluted. It also means that, although the geographic area that will be affected is radically more expansive, the slick will be drastically thinner compared to the Alaska spill, and the "share" of the spill that each affected area sees will be relatively small, and easier to clean.

In other words, think of it as being blasted with a 12 gauge shotgun at point blank range, vs. from 100 yards away... at close range, you're going to get hit with all the pellets at full force, while at a longer distance maybe only a few will hit you, and at a much lower velocity. With the former, you're definitely dead. The latter, you'll be much more likely to survive.

--Michael

 

[KD3PC]

bailout?

"This money is doled out on a month to month basis."....

I am sorry, but why is BP expected to make these people whole again?? Yes, I understand that they are culpable, but I just have to ask what other industry has paid out to people affected by an accident...not insurance, mind you...

I lost my job due to the devastation of 9/11..yet the company I worked for folded up shop and called it quits...did the airlines pay me? did the company pay me?

NO, when is the country going to learn to get off it's collective ass and DO...rather than waiting on someone to give them a handout.

simply ridiculous to me. As bad as this is, it is not the end of the Nation, or the economy, or the environment. Mother Nature is a stiff ol' broad.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Worrying about the trajectory with which this spill may be heading is valid, however, when you state that "the majority of the population of south Louisiana is now attorneys". I think you lose most of us with any other concerns, valid or otherwise.

Just curious - where did that "fact" come from?

Here and elsewhere there is far too much hype, exaggeration, unfounded statement masquerading as fact and down-right distortion. All of which is unhelpful to anyone trying to make an informed judgment which I suspect most logical people are holding off on doing. It is way too early to be able to even guess at the long-term impact this spill may have but I guess that never stopped the media and environmental zealots from rash generalizations like how many lawyers there are in the bayou.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Hope is good

but I don't believe it should be a substitute holding a responsible party's feet to the fire.

I'm no environmentalist, but I think the impact will be far more severe than many are hoping.

The oil along the east coast beaches during WWII was probably pretty bad. How bad was it and what environmental impact did it have? I don't know. Do you? Many horrible things happened in WWII but I don't think not hearing of meaningful damage should be the litmus test of how extensive it was.

The Valdez disaster was indeed in a more constricted area. I would suggest that this alone would have made it easier to clean up. And yet we're still dealing with the environmental fallout there. I'm concerned that the greater volume of this spill which may be spread over a much larger area, courtesy of the Gulf loop current, will be much more out of control.

Yeah, mother nature may be tough but if the lingering effects of Valdez taught us anything, it's that many areas are far more fragile than many believe. The shotgun analogy is interesting but if you could be killed by a few pellets then I doubt you'd care if you died from a blast that was 100 yards away rather than a few. Worldwide we've got entire coral ecosystems dieing off from forces so subtle that we don't even know exactly what they are. I'm pretty sure a coating of oil products would do the trick.

kd3pc, I am so sorry you went through such dire straits due to 9/11. If Al Qaida could be made to compensate you for your losses then I think they should. I'm guessing that your employer was, like you, a victim of 9/11.

Is it the end of our nation? No, of course not. Is it the end of our economy? Maybe not, but the watermen of the Gulf coast may have a different perspective. The environment? As Don said, I think it's way too early to say.

As boaters who are presumably stewards of our waters, I would suggest that we be less dismissive in our concerns.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Why not forget about WWII?

It's ironic that they were cleaning up their oil stained bodies with kerosene.

Environmental concern in WWII? Seemed to be a lot more to worry about than that in 1942, like basic survival. At that time, no one knew what the outcome was going to be. A little history goes a long way. Or maybe a little history is exactly the problem with those who tend to forget about it.

Also interesting is that amount of concern seems to be somewhat proportional to the distance from the spill. We've had two recent spills here in San Francisco and the nimnals who are responsible for cleaning it up still have no clue. And no steel toed boots nonsense here, they just precluded all volunteers in November 2007. Too busy being bureaucrats than realizing people wanted to help. And we only had a one time 500,000 gallon ship leak, not that amount per day!

 

[Bob S]

This whole thing makes me sick. Can't imagine what this will do the the fishing and shell fish industries. We'll all be getting cancer eating gulf shrimp..
My heart goes out to you Gulf Coast sailors. I personally get sick if I spill a few ounces of diesel and what is the Coast Guard fines for that? This will keep happening until we reduce our dependency on oil. Still waiting on the Chevy Volt and the wind farms proposed for Nantucket Sound are starting to look good.

 

[RECESS]

Twenty two tar balls collected yesterday, they expect to see some of it on Sunday.

 

[MrUnix]

This whole thing makes me sick. Can't imagine what this will do the the fishing and shell fish industries.

It will no doubt wipe out the shell fish industry in that area.. the dispersant that BP is using is not only bad for the marine life, but it causes the oil to break up and sink to the bottom, covering all the oyster and clam beds and smothering them out.. not to mention what it is doing to the crab and lobsters which are bottom feeders. It may make it look like less oil on top of the water where the news crews are filming, but it is only hiding the real damage being done below.

Brad

 

[Ross]

There is a placard on my boat that states that it is unlawful to emulsify any oil and discharge it below the surface. Of course it is also unlawful for me to pump black water overboard but if it happens at the local waste water treatment plant they post 'avoid contact with the water" signs. So if you plan or expect to make a mess bigger is better.

 

[LordNelson]

What about the Coral

I am most concerned with what the oil is going to do to the Coral in the Keys. The coral is already in tough shape, this oil can't help. If distroyed, it will never return in my lifetime!

 

[KD3PC]

For Us - Casual Recreational liveaboard boaters...the penalties are staggering for dumping a few thimbles full of oil sheen or waste, but for BP and the oil like this or sewage like the shoreside plants do....

seems the penalties should be applied forthwith and those monies to the localities affected...

I wanted to dive the keys this fall, but may have to hasten plans...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The 1991 Oil Pollution Act caps the max liability at I believe $75 million. Guess why?

 

[MoonSailer]

When in Texas in the 80's I used kersosene and gasoline to wash the tar balls off of my feet. The gunk is hard to get off and won't easily come off with soap and water. The dispersants are hiding the problem and the toxicity will probably be much worse. I'd hate to be a fish trying swim through a cloud of oil and soap.

 

[Ross]

National Geographic Mag some years ago published pictures of the warships that were sunken during the war in the South Pacific. In 1942 Thousands of ships and millions of gallons of fuel oil were sent to the bottom by naval gunfire and arial bombardment. Forty years later most of the ships and deck cargo were covered with coral and other growth and the fish and crustation populations had also returned. The same organisms that make our diesel fuel go bad are going to consume the oil that is spilled from that runaway well. There are thousand of natural oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico that can be seen from the air. For a generation or two this will change lives but in the long term the earth will adjust and continue. Microbiology has a very large bag of tricks for cleaning up almost any mess the happens.

 

[Hermit Scott]

"This money is doled out on a month to month basis."....

I am sorry, but why is BP expected to make these people whole again?? Yes, I understand that they are culpable, but I just have to ask what other industry has paid out to people affected by an accident...not insurance, mind you...

I lost my job due to the devastation of 9/11..yet the company I worked for folded up shop and called it quits...did the airlines pay me? did the company pay me?

NO, when is the country going to learn to get off it's collective ass and DO...rather than waiting on someone to give them a handout.

simply ridiculous to me. As bad as this is, it is not the end of the Nation, or the economy, or the environment. Mother Nature is a stiff ol' broad.

9/11 was no accident.
Then you're going to say "I know 9/11 was no accident".
Then I am going to say "then don't compare the two".

I do wonder how long it will take before we start catching sick fish at Port Aransas. It looks like the gulf loop will take the spill to Florida and destroy their coral. Some oil will have to circle back. Then I will get BP flavored trout.

 

[kloudie1]

Here is a website where the spill trajectory and current location can be monitored..
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53979/
"Accident" is the operative word, as Scott notes.. BP would MUCH rather have sold this oil than have to clean it up.. they make a lot more money that way !

 

[woodster]

Microbiology has a very large bag of tricks for cleaning up almost any mess the happens.

would some one plz tell the law makers that so we can dump over board

regards

woody

 

[kloudie1]

Not to say this spill is OK, but just a piece of info to help put things in perspective.. this was published by the National Academy of Sciences: http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-book/oilspills.htm Note the part about "biodegredation".. the climate here and the water temp is pretty high compared with some of these spills.. There is an old rule of thumb that for every 10 degrees of temperature rise, a chemical reaction rate doubles.. Because of the high temperature, and the large amount of bacteria, biodegradation is faster here than in many places.. The bacteria is there because of the huge amount of nutritional stuff coming into the gulf from the Mississippi River..
Yes it is a mess but once the oil flow is stopped, the contamination from the accident will dissipate fairly quickly..