BP observations and facts

[sailaway78]

Not long ago I posted a thread concerning the death of baby dolphins, and some being stillborn. The feds have taken all these carcasses, to do autopsies, to determine cause of death. This started in Feb. as as of yet no results have been given out. I was pretty well told by Don, that I didn't know what I was talking about, the effects of the oil spill have yet to be determined, and I was jumping to conclusions. I just got back form a short cruise over to Fla. Two weeks out and guess what. During the spawning season for dolphins, I saw not a single baby dolphin. Normally this time of year, small baby dolphins are fairly common. I also noticed that all the dolphin pods encountered were much smaller. Instead of seeing pods of these beautiful mammals numbering 8 to 10 or more, the norm now seems to be 3 to 5. And lots of singles. Another disturbing fact. The crabbers are reporting that they are not seeing any female crab with eggs, and this is the season for that. Of course, I am not a scientist, and this is not scientific, but it is a fact seen with my own eyes. But sometimes what you see with your own eyes, is much more reliable than the official party line. Also, as for an actual scientific fact. There was a news program yesterday showing the marshes in S. Louisiana. Oil has permeated the bottom, and the grass is dying. According to the report, the marsh grass is dying, and the marsh will soon just dissapear. There was an interview with a high up coast guard official, who was asked about dredging out the oil soaked bottom, and he stated that it would do more harm than good. One thing that is certain. The final results and total damage are yet to be determined, and will not be for years to come.

 

[KD3PC]

Well NnE,

I am not a scientist either, but I was given a good dose of common sense when I was born... but these folks are scientist:
http://www.offshorediver.com/conten...ic-divers-blood&catid=50:the-stack&Itemid=219

And they are now paying the price for the EPAs approval to dump millions of gallons of Corexit in the Gulf. Kind of like the EPA saying the air around the WTC just after 9/11 was just fine to breathe...and so on. Zero common sense by anyone in authority at that agency.

And just today, Soundings printed this:
http://blog.tradeonlytoday.com/dealer_outlook/index.php/?p=472"

Someone needs to use some good old fashion common sense...Oil doesn't "simply disappear"..believe me if I could make it disappear - I could retire just cleaning up the oil downs at NHRA/IHRA/Nascar races on the East coast...I would be willing to give up the west coast to someone else out that way. I did own a dragstrip for several years and I was intimately involved with the "cleanup".

You can move oil, you can burn it, collect it, suck it up, mop it up, pump it elsewhere, convert it, let bacteria eat it, but it simply does NOT disappear, much to the consternation of Lisa Jackson and the Obama Administration.

I think as time goes on, you will see a lot of this type of behavior in mammals (dolphin are mammals), fish, shell fish and bottom of the food chain critters. And anyone who says the Gulf is "cleaned up" and "back to normal" are either lying or they are politicians or eco terrorist with an agenda...

Follow the money, to see who is doing the most harm to the good of the people. And it ain't just the BP spill...

 

[Forrest15112]

I'm no scientist nor biologist, but living in S Louisiana, I've seen the levels that some will stoop to collect a check. I'm not saying I disagree with anything you say or what is in the links provided but after witnessing the aftermath of Katrina and the oil spill, I am skeptical of every claim. It seems almost anything out of the ordinary is blamed on oil in the gulf ( that mostly can't be found even after a year) or dispersants. The latter being the culprit in anything unexplained or easily proven not to be oil related. I certainly don't think everything is normal but I don't think the damage is permanent either.

 

[KD3PC]

Forrest

just where do you think the millions of gallons of oil went?

I don't doubt the level folks will go to for a check either.

 

[kenn]

I understand that some things have bounced back, like some fishing, and shrimp...but others have been impacted - oysters are mostly dead. This was on a news report, can't recall which one. Can anyone corroborate?

 

[Forrest15112]

Forrest

just where do you think the millions of gallons of oil went?

I don't doubt the level folks will go to for a check either.

What does it matter where I think it went? It can't be found after a year. It obviously went somewhere. My point is that the area is so large that even the large quantity of oil leaked is not as devastating as it would be in a bay or say Lake Pontchartrain where there is no place for it to be dispersed. I think, and this is my opinion, that most has either evaporated or dispersed over a large area, and I wonder if the estimated amount of oil leaked is accurate.

Anecdotal information, while sometimes accurate, is more often inaccurate and wildly speculative such as the dead oyster beds which many were damaged by fresh water to cause an outflow and prevent oil intrusion. It's still an effect of the oil spill in my opinion but the beds aren't poisoned. I haven't read anything locally about the crabs without eggs but it is early in a colder than usual season which could account for that or it could just be talk. We'll see soon enough if there's a massive shortage of crabs. A retired neighbor of mine sets a few dozen traps out every season. I'll ask him what he's seen.

I really don't think the government has any reason to lie to people in this case. To me, they seemed to jump at any chance to collect cash from BP. Bad news pushes their agenda - again my opinion and I could be wrong.
73,
KD5PKS

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I understand that some things have bounced back, like some fishing, and shrimp...but others have been impacted - oysters are mostly dead. This was on a news report, can't recall which one. Can anyone corroborate?

From CNN about 2 months ago: "that after 10 months and an estimated 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, oysters are back on New Orleans menus. What makes that news even more notable is that the local oyster harvest is up nearly 50 percent compared with 2010..."

​

This proves nothing either except that everyone seems to have an opinion based on little fact and less scientific evaluation of the impact.

 

[ggrizzard]

CNN video this morning showed oil two inches below the mud surface in the marsh. It also showed oil rising to the surface of a bayou after running an air boat in a circle.
It didn't look good.

 

[kloudie1]

I am kinda with Forrest on this issue.. I don't like the fact that the spill occured, but there is a lot of sensational reporting going on that serves no good.. First point I want to make is that in the marshes, there are numerous pipelines and structures which can and sometimes do leak oil. some are abandoned and contain oil in closed off pipes. Without a definite "before" data set, It is VERY difficult to say that the oil is from the BP mess.. One airboat 20 feet long spinning in a circle and disturbing the bottom in a small area can raise muck to the surface.. is it from a former spill or this past one?? Who knows.. I am not saying to ignore it .. I am saying that during marsh and swamp fishing and hunting as a mere lad of a boy, I recall several times encountering oil slicks, mostly in localized places, but they sometimes were an acre or so in size. None of those slicks were remediated..Because the industry was more or less unregulated until the 70's there are lots of "discoveries" still out there .. that have nothing to do with this year old accident. Can the spill be 100% cleaned up.. Nope it can't .. there will be small places whee residual oil will be sequestered until it gets eaten by bacteria or dissipated or moved by tides and rain wash.

 

[sailaway78]

Agreement

I am sorta in agreement and sorta not with everything said. I think my biggest complaint about the entire aftermath is the crap we keep hearing from the gummit that is totally different from what is claimed by most others. It is now my belief that BP has made an honest effort, and ponied up the bucks to try to make things right, even though a short time ago, I would have called anyone full of it who made such a statement. I think the feds have been the ones doing the misleading, untruthful statements. The gummit says the oil is gone. Dispersed, evaporated, collected or whatever. One of the research boats said some time back that there was a solid 2 inches or more of crude covering the bottom all around the spill site. WWL radio this morning had a full three hours on the spill and the aftermath. They had local officials, university professors, oil experts on. Someone on the program said flatly that 3% of the oil had been captured. The stillborn dolphin calves were to be autopsied, beginning in Feb. All carcasses were collected by the feds. All along the coast, they are saying not to bother anything washed up, but to call the feds. Not a peep out of them about what caused the stillborns. I was recently out and about for over a week, in this area. For this time of year I thought it unusual that the dolphin pods I saw were all very small, not a single large pod, and even more bothering was that I saw not a single baby dolphin. Usually this time of year they are fairly common, and like to play with boats. Not being an expert, nor a scientist, this is just personal observations, from someone who is out and about these waters regularly and often. I know for a fact that at Cat Island, there is a lot going on. A crane barge and crew boat are out there moored, and I saw at least five boats bringing crew back and forth daily. There was a report this morning that BP has purchased part of the Island, and this is where they have been de contaminating boats used in the clean up. Of course I was told some time ago, that they were going to purchase all these boats and crush them after it was all over. In the meantime, Feinstein's law firm is raking in 1.25 mil a month for their efforts. Some have not received a nickel, even though their business has gone busted. I don't know what else could be expected, when the 20 billion was announced, it was a feeding frenzy for all the lawyers and politicians.