'Gag-Inducing' Fuel Smell Wafting Over New Orleans Area

[Hissyspit]

Source: Times-Picayune

'Gag-inducing' fuel smell wafting over New Orleans area

Thu Apr 29, 6:43 pm ET
And so it begins.

Forecasters had predicted that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — five times worse than originally thought — wouldn't reach the Louisiana coast until Friday. But 20 mph winds have pushed the petroleum slick inland much faster than anticipated and, though CNN reports that as of Thursday afternoon the oil mass is still "three of four miles" from the mouth of the Mississippi River, residents of New Orleans are already under an olfactory assault that may be caused by the spill.

The Times-Picayune reports that the city has been overwhelmed by a "pungent smell" and that, though they can't confirm the odor's source, officials believe the spill is the most likely culprit.

"We're still trying to confirm that," Deano Bonano, the Orleans Parish emergency-preparedness director, told the paper. "Whatever it is, it's coming from south of us, and we have to assume it's the oil spill." Bonano added that he's received calls reporting the odor from all parts of the area.

- snip -

Meanwhile, New Orleans residents are understandably annoyed over their city being enveloped by the smell of fuel. Mandie Landry, an attorney who works in the city's Central Business District, told Yahoo! News that "it smells like it'd smell if a bus was in front of you blowing out exhaust fumes right in your face." Another local resident, Tulane University employee Laura Mogg, told us that she caught wind of the "terrible" and "gag-inducing" smell from her office building on the school's sprawling uptown campus. "I smelled it the second I opened the door," she said. "Really, it's that strong."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100429/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1872

[MadMaddie]

1. This is just the beginning! There will of course be the

environmental toll but what about the health issues caused by this event.

[drm604]

5. Environmental and health issues are inextricably intertwined.

I think maybe the left has failed to make this point. We've allowed the right to portray us incorrectly as "tree-huggers" who give humans secondary importance. We need to emphasize the fact that the environment needs to be protected for the sake of human health.

If people in New Orleans are already gagging, then I fear that we're about to see a vivid demonstration of the connection between environment and health because it will likely get much worse.

[MadMaddie]

9. Agreed! I am currently pursuing a graduate certificate in

"Critical Infrastructure Protection". One of the things we are studying is corporate responsiblity in protecting their infrastructure from man made errors, terrorism and mother nature ex. hurricanes. This is perfect example of what happens when companies cut corners and fail to protect their own basic infrastructure. If this is the type of protection BP has done for it's own structures and employee safety what have they done to protect their rigs from terrorism?

The more I read and study the more I fear the "Free Market" mentality will allow more events like this to occur.

Coal Mines
Oil Rigs


What's next?

[TatonkaJames]

35. Next is building a Nuclear Reactor

Cutting corners and the ultimate man-made mistake. If they could, they would
build it on a fault line if the property was cheaper these corporations are so greedy.

[defendandprotect]

74. We have 106 nuclear power plants -- takes 6 months to properly shut one down . . .

most in aged condition --

alleged 9/11 hijackers could have driven planes into one in NY --

and tests at plants seem faked to show them "protected" from terrorists.

If we want to even try to survive, capitalism has to go --

it's a suicidal concept.

[KT2000]

13. drm604 is right

Environment is always related to health. It determines the quality of the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat - and ultimately our health and the health of our offspring.

The RW tries to portray environmental protections as an elitist enterprise, but most of the time the only health protections humans can rely upon on are the environmental laws. Human health protections are few and far between. The only thing that is going to protect the health of the NO citizens are the environmental laws that make it illegal to have that oil spill. For that reason they will have to clean up the oil and then people will no longeer become ill from it.

Remember the trailers and the people who got sick? There are really no laws that limit the amount of formaldehyde a person can be exposed to in consumer products. Workers do have limits because there are OSHA laws governing workers. Other than for workers, the formaldehyde exposure limits in this country are voluntary. Get sick? too bad - which is what happened to the people who got sick in those trailers.

[breadandwine]

28. Oh, don't worry. We need to keep drilling, drilling off shore. Drill baby drill!

Oil will solve EVERYTHING! Like, we are really going to compete with the Persian Gulf. Like, there is so much oil here in the US that all we have to do is build some more oil wells and we will be producing more oil than Saudi Arabia by Tuesday!

Getting off oil dependency with alternative energy and conservation?

Who needs THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
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DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
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DRILL BABY DRILL!
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DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!
DRILL BABY DRILL!

[humbled_opinion]

66. hmmm If I remember correctly

It was Obama's recent meme.... wonder how he feels now?

[defendandprotect]

76. Obama is backing off on anything new . . . for the moment --

[wordpix]

114. should tell all rigs to shut down if they don't have a shut off valve that works or remote shut off

geez---want another one to blow?

[musette_sf]

2. Gee, in Houston they called that

the Smell of Money.

http://www.cleanhouston.org/cleancomments-smell.asp

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. That pic looks like Stinkadena (Pasadena) rather than Houston

But then Pasadena has a strong influence on the air quality in the greater Houston area.

[musette_sf]

8. Correct

Many's the time I''d get a ripe whiff of "money" from my deck up the street from the KHOU studios.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. Know the area (and the stench) well.

I lived in Houston for about 8-years. I moved there from Austin and I loved it there. I just loved Austin a bit more.

It's bloody shame how Texas politicians have let our air quality become so poor. Even in the Hill Country now there are days when you can barely see the hills. Granted, the worst days are usually in the summer when the coal plants are kickin' it up on overdrive, but still it's strange to see "smog" obscuring an otherwise pastoral vista.

[carlyhippy]

43. LOL they call it the same thing in the Permian Basin in Texas

C

[toppertwot]

47. Smell of money

Those folks in New Orleans are sure lucky then, because they will soon get to smell lots & lots of money!

[PinkFloyd]

3. Man, New Orleans just can't get a break.

Hopefully, they'll all shut up now about "drill baby drill".

-OR-

Impose billions each day in fines it isn't cleaned up (so they'll actually make an effort to prevent this instead of the usual claiming to take safety measures but really not doing a damn thing.)

[thereismore]

58. That's because of "sin."

Of greed, if anything else.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Just stepped outside and it is getting worse.

It smells like sitting in a gas station and pumping gas into the car. It is getting pretty strong and this is at 12:40am.

[Chulanowa]

10. I hate to admit, but my first reaction was...

"So the smell in New Orleans is improving?" - I was highly unimpressed by the aromas of the city during my time there.

Even so, I hope things go well for you and yours, Aegis. I've seen the effects this shit has on people, from the Valdez spill. You take care. If anyone starts feeling light-headed, don't hesitate to visit a hospital.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. Your first reaction is not uncommon..

The city is filled with foul smells, but it varies. During big events, especially Mardi Gras and Southern Decadence, the city can smell like a urinal and vomit, but it is mainly contained to the FQ and usually just to a few blocks. This time of year is the blooming of foxglove and a few other noxious plants. Of course, we also sit on the Mighty Miss and sometimes rivers are foul (fish and such) smelling. I will have to limit my time outside and that for my puppy. I think what is so disconcerting is the spill is still so far off the coast and already the smell is setting in and we are expecting rain next week and I am afraid what will be mixed in with the rainfall.

[corpseratemedia]

26. if it gets worse, can you leave?

we had a paper mill explosion in savannah..i was visiting friends although I used to live there earlier. that one was very close to downtown..the smell was horrendous (the city already has that paper-mill ammonia smell among some others you mention occasionally lol) but we were all vomiting repeatedly by the second day of it...

I hope you and your animals can go someplace safe or at least the weather conditions change so it's not so bad.

Keep us updated((hug))

[Behind the Aegis]

84. I suppose we could, but....

After fleeing Gustav (what a waste of time and effort), the thought of me, my partner, a cat, a dog, and 24 birds crammed in a Toyota Corolla gives me chills! It seems a really strong wind has come in (around 3am) and the smell is not as bad. We are supposed to have heavy storms today, so I imagine that will take away much of the smell.

Thanks for your concern! :) :hug:

[florida08]

50. Damn I'm sorry

After Katrina I watch a documentary on how oil drilling has devastated the glades there. The report stated that they are a natural buffer for hurricanes. Now this. The stink of exploiting the environment we all smell. I hope the state sues the hell out of BP and Trans Ocean. Have to wonder how many states will be effected. The fishing there will be ruined. Chit I had oil companies.

From Huffington
Yet relatives of workers who are presumed dead claim that the oil behemoth BP and rig owner TransOcean violated "numerous statutes and regulations" issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to a lawsuit filed by Natalie Roshto, whose husband Shane, a deck floor hand, was thrown overboard by the force of the explosion and whose body has not yet been located.

[Behind the Aegis]

86. Thanks, it is appreciated.

Yes, Katrina did a number on our wetlands and with that buffer gone more powerful, even less powerful, hurricanes can make it deeper into the city and state at a fuller strength. Unless they really get on the ball, or something short of a miracle happens, our coast and likely Alabama's and Florida's coasts are going to be damaged.

[aquart]

31. Absolutely. If you can smell it, it's getting into you.

That stuff ain't healthy.

[aquart]

16. I am so sorry.

If I could I'd make it waft only over the homes of oil millionaires. But I'm essentially a mean girl.

[Behind the Aegis]

18. I appreciate it. I hope it doesn't get worse.

We have winds and storms moving in which could either bring more smell in or clear some out. It is a nice night and I wanted to go sit on the back porch, I just don't know how long I can do it because I already have a massive migraine. Maybe I will just suck it up, so to speak. I have to feed the back door kitties and the raccoons who come to visit. Maybe Waldo* will come for a visit.


*Waldo


A stray rooster has taken up residence a few months ago in the oak tree behind my house.

[aquart]

19. We feed cats and raccoons, too.

Do your raccoons love peanut butter?

[Behind the Aegis]

20. Dunno...but they like hot dogs, tuna fish, and cat food.

Right now, we have a momma and 4 babies.

[aquart]

32. We get old fruit from the market. Raccoons adore sweet.

But they will also eat stuff so rancid the only other creature on this earth who would touch it is my friend Bonnie.

[louis-t]

56. Love that bird! Ain't nature grand?

[Behind the Aegis]

85. It is. He's a stray. I seem to attract them.

Of course, when he is crowing and I am trying to get to sleep, I curse Waldo's name! He is actually perched in a limb that overhangs my kitchen.

[Sherman A1]

22. Spoke with my family about 7pm in Metairie

and they didn't have any smell at all, but I suspect that will change shortly.

Be Safe!

[MountainLaurel]

51. 9 am, and the breeze is helping in the Riverbend. For now.

Of course, 15 minutes from now it could be back worse than ever. But it was a very stuffy night at Chez Laurel, with all of the windows closed and no A/C.

[Behind the Aegis]

82. Sorry it's so stuffy over there.

A strong fragrant breeze kicked in this morning around 3:30a. Maybe today's weather and wind will keep the smell away. My partner works in Plaquemines Parish, so I will ask what's it like there.

[MountainLaurel]

91. It's not so bad right now

Hopefully, we can open our windows tonight and get a breeze moving as long as the smell isn't so bad.

[Behind the Aegis]

93. Glad to hear it.

This side (east) of the French Quarter is also not bad. I can only get a faint trace. Of course, my allergies aren't helping, but gasoline smell can usually get through my clogged nose. Though I am afraid we may be in for a hell of a storm today.

[lobodons]

6. Bush cuts renewable energy in 2001

One of Bush's first acts as president was to cut renewable energy research. That was almost 10 years ago!!! Just think where we would be now if an oil man wasn't fraudulently instilled as president in 2000!!

http://www.nci.org/d/doe-fy02-reuters41001.htm

[slay]

27. +1

sucks.. :(

[mbperrin]

11. Hydrogen sulfide, greatly scattered. Ruin the paint on your car, damage

the lining on your lungs with enough exposure at this tiny concentration. How do we know it's tiny?

Very strong, and your first whiff of H2S is your last - it numbs the sense of smell, paralyzes the lungs, and you simply keel over. many gagers have been overcome and fallen right into the tank from there.

[Delphinus]

117. Is this stuff part of what's being

blown in? Hydrogen sulfide?

[aquart]

15. And what do they plan to do about it?

[Behind the Aegis]

17. If living here has taught me anything....

...the local government will find a way to tax the fumes as an intoxicant. :crazy:

[Selena Harris]

78. $cratch and $niff

Yeah, you RIGHT!!

[sohndrsmith]

21. until capped, this worsens by 8,300 gallons (plus) per day. n/t

[POAS]

24. It's worse than that---

the current estimate of the rate of spillage is 5000 barrels per day. At 42 gallons to the barrel that puts it at 210,000 gallons per day!

[sohndrsmith]

102. Sorry. You're right... I meant to say *HOUR*, not day... thanks : ) n/t

[whereaminow]

23. New ordinance in New Orleans

Don't light a match :nuke:

[POAS]

25. Can't wait to get Pat Robertson's take on this! n/t

[wordpix]

111. has sister sarah issued her brilliant prounouncement yet?

[POAS]

116. I think she tweeted something about

knowing how they feel after having to live through the Exxon Valdez spill.

In other words, "It's about me, you betcha!"

[dotymed]

29. "New Orleans Residents" aka

The wealthy who stole N.O. after Katrina with bush's help. I am sure, even though this IS a major greed-produced catastrophe, that this will be "fixed" much sooner than the devastation of Katrina was (still ravaged where the poor reside). Now, the elites have taken over much of N.O., gentrification via our government. If the wealth-challenged residents of pre-Katrina still resided there, it would not be quite the priority that it currently is.
Aren't the capitalists amazing? They do not want government intervention in their lives. Let them steal everyone blind. But, when a catastrophe born of their policies and greed, endangers their way of life, they scream the loudest for government help.
In the 1950's, America had a top tax rate of 91% for the wealthiest among us. We had a vibrant middle-class, poverty was being eradicated and the wealthy of those times (most anyway) felt it was their duty to help (through fair taxes, corporations too) the people who were "less fortunate" than them. It gave them a "civic pride" and probably a secret feeling of superiority to know that America need them.
If our millionaire Congress or President tried to raise the tax levels to that (considered by many except minorities) economically golden time, the elites would revolt. Why aren't the "other 95%" revolting to return to those happier times?

[rampart]

42. i'm a working class orleanian

and have witnessed much of what you say. if this old paid for house had not survived the storm i'd be long gone. this may be the last straw. then who will mix the cocktails?

[rudy23]

90. Yes, gentrification was helped by the storm. But it is still very much New Orleans.

I hope people don't buy into some story that the neocons succeeded in making it the gentrified mecca they wanted it to be after the storm.

Many people returned home and worked very hard to reclaim their old neighborhoods. Some succeeded more than others, and gentrification is definitely an issue. I just don't want people to think they can write New Orleans off as a loss. New Orleans still needs our help, to keep things moving politically, and possibly one day securing better levees and protection.

[Blandocyte]

30. Drill Baby Drill!

and this is what we can look forward to.

[fasttense]

33. Something about New Orleans makes them the whipping boys of the Republicons.

First they tried to drown them after Katrina and now they are trying to gas them. The next thing you know they will push that burning gas slick toward them and smoke them out. If that doesn't work they may just let New Orleans burn.

[GodlessBiker]

52. Locusts are next.

[Wizard777]

34. What are the health ramification of breathing this? We shouldn't let this go the way of the WTC -

collapse. Do they need to evacuate people from areas effected by the fumes?

[leveymg]

36. Drill, baby, drill! Coming to a beach or harbour near you.

It was a bad idea then, and it sure smells like a big mistake, now.

[scentopine]

37. Until a slick washes up in Kennebunkport or Palm Beach or Martha's Vineyard...

little will change. We are all equal except that some people are more equal than others.

[FailureToCommunicate]

39. And Teddy (and others) fought against a (distant) view of wind turbines? "Let them eat

cake" (i.e. We don't mind if the Gulf coast is fouled with oil, oil platforms and refineries...just don't mess with the (distant) view from my veranda (mint julep in hand)

[FailureToCommunicate]

48. One did: The Argo Merchant in 1976. 183,000 barrels of oil. Residents were ALMOST

as freaked out by that as by the prospect of gleaming white wind turbines off in the distant view (!!)

[defendandprotect]

77. We are all sitting ducks while capitalism destroys nature, the planet - environment--!!

One way or another, damage is done to all of us and it keeps getting closer

and closer to each of us --

Here in NJ, our temps are 25 degrees above normal!

Tomorrow, expected to be 86 degrees - May 1st!

[FailureToCommunicate]

38. So, will all of us here drive less, buy fuel efficient cars, or bike more? Let's vote every time we

**don't** fill up the tank.

Just saying

[MountainLaurel]

46. Funny you should say that

I live in New Orleans, and I spent Wednesday night getting my bike ready so that I can do more riding for short trips in my neighborhood. (Our car is a Prius and we ride 70 mpg scooters around town whenever we can.) Now, I'm worried about riding with this in the air.

[FailureToCommunicate]

49. You are allowed special permission by the Karma Kommittee to get in your Prius and DRIVE

THE HECK AWAY from the foul air!

Stay safe

[thereismore]

59. This in the air will probably give you even better mileage on the Prius. Free fluel boost.

Sorry, I don't take this lightly. It's a crying shame what people do to other people.

[defendandprotect]

79. How about demanding alternative energy? Electric cars? Mass transportation . . .

None of us voted on this system of gas guzzlers -- it was put in place -

suburbs, as well.

And capitalism, which is a system of exploitation of everything --

from nature and natural resources to animal life and even human beings . . .

according to various myths of inferiority!

[wordpix]

107. TRAINS and FAST RAIL NOW

[rampart]

40. i can smell burning oil now

when the winds calm this will be terrible.

we have been hanging on after katrina, but millions of gallons of oil washing asore killing the precious roots that hold our wetlands together .............

[Jefferson23]

41. The smell of fumes, what impact does this have on babies and the elderly.

Pregnant women, what about them too!

This smell, have there been any scientists speaking about how long the fumes will linger?

[carlyhippy]

44. too bad they cant generate a wind that would blow the funk towards the millionaire oilmen's estates

see how they like it.

[wordpix]

108. there are bound to be a few who get the gunk on "their" beaches

[RufusTFirefly]

45. That's the smell of energy independence!! n/t

[Jefferson23]

53. From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

snip*
"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press about the spill. "I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."

Oil clumps seabirds' feathers, leaving them without insulation — and when they preen, they swallow it. Prolonged contact with the skin can cause burns, said Nils Warnock, a spill recovery supervisor with the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network at the University of California-Davis. Oil swallowed by animals can cause anemia, hemorrhaging and other problems, said Jay Holcomb, executive director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center in California.



snip*
Cade Thomas, a fishing guide in Venice, worried that his livelihood will be destroyed. He said he did not know whether to blame the Coast Guard, the government or BP.

"They lied to us. They came out and said it was leaking 1,000 barrels when I think they knew it was more. And they weren't proactive," he said. "As soon as it blew up, they should have started wrapping it with booms."

BP shares continued falling early Friday. Shares were down 2 percent in early trading on the London Stock Exchange, a day after dropping 7 percent in London. In New York on Thursday, BP shares fell $4.78 to close at $52.56, taking the fall in the company's market value to about $25 billion since the explosion.

Government officials said the well 40 miles offshore is spewing about 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, a day into the gulf.

At that rate, the spill could eclipse the worst oil spill in U.S. history — the 11 million gallons that leaked from the grounded tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 — in the three months it could take to drill a relief well and plug the gushing well 5,000 feet underwater on the sea floor. Ultimately, the spill could grow much larger than the Valdez because Gulf of Mexico wells tap deposits that hold many times more oil than a single tanker.



http://newsok.com/pelicans-otters-along-louisiana-shore-in-path-of-spill/article/3457887?custom_click=headlines_widget


I haven't been able to locate any info. that speaks to the impact on humans via the fumes.

[defendandprotect]

81. Congress obviously had no clue how bad this is . . . ???? No hearings last week ....

that I saw -- someone may have been addressing it from the floor of USHR or Senate?

[Jefferson23]

99. I don't know, I was wondering how long the fumes would last

and how does that impact the young and old.

[defendandprotect]

104. Not going to be good -- !!

[wordpix]

109. just wait til the "drill baby drill" crew finds out pResDimwit with his gifts to his oil buddies

is behind this. NO CUT OFF VALVE.

[Javaman]

54. Ohhh, it was the oil fumes, I thought moron* flew over NO again. nt

[V_Byl]

55. Lol, wasn't surprised by this poll.

Thought I'd venture over to the faux noise website and noticed this poll attached to an article on the front page.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/04/29/scale-offshore-drilling/

It's crazy (although not unexpected) that these idiots would want more of this.

[defendandprotect]

83. Pitiful . . . people totally disconnected from nature with attitude and

arrogance of "Manifest Destiny" and "Man's Dominion Over Nature" --

Capitalism is suicidal --

[mvd]

87. Maybe the President will re-think offshore drilling, which I never..

supported without proper precautions. At least Obama will be more likely to enact regulations on things like mining and drilling; too bad tragedies like this have to occur, though.

[defendandprotect]

88. Yes -- evidently Obama has rethought this . . . temporarily . . .

And he's made some poor decisions as well on mountain top mining --

[wordpix]

110. he ought to issue a pres. order: No more drilling until cut-off valves are installed on rigs

of course, he won't because the money would stop flowing for a few days and money is more sacred in Amerika than birds, fish, wetlands, beaches and clean water.:puke:

[StClone]

57. Is this our future?

[Wednesdays]

89. See post #55...

:cry:

[Blue Owl]

60. It's the scent of Sarah Palin and her epic stupidity

n/t

[crim son]

61. Odd. I have a friend who is visiting there from Austria

and he doesn't smell anything yet. I guess he will soon.

[lonestarnot]

63. Maybe he has olfactory nerve damage?

:shrug:

[crim son]

64. That did occur to me. I don't know. n/t

[EFerrari]

94. Does he smoke? That messes with your sense of smell. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

95. I smoke and could smell it.

The smell has lessened today because of strong winds which seemingly is blwing the smell away from the Westbank. It is very faint, but not like yesterday at all! It was bad yesterday afternoon thru about 3am. It's really windy today, so there will be a variety of NOLA smells in the air.

[EFerrari]

96. I hope the wind is helping.

I love NOLA even though we've only had 2 dates. :(

[crim son]

97. No, he's a clean-living kinda guy.

He could be in denial - this is his annual vacation back to the U.S. after all. :(

[Behind the Aegis]

98. The winds here changed.

He probably isn't smelling gas at this point. Around 3am, the winds shifted and the smell subsided. I can only get a faint wiff now and again. Hopefully he will get to enjoy JazzFest without the smell of petrol.

[lonestarnot]

62. Now teabaggers will be demonstrating with matchbooks.

[SocialistLez]

65. I feel for these people

I get a headache filling up my car and sometimes riding with my windows down just smelling other cars' fuel.

I just read today Sandra Bullock and her new baby are moving into a New Orleans home...bad timing.

[Mark D.]

67. CNN Weather

The meteorologist covering this on CNN last night summed it up well. How this will affect everything in the ocean lifecyle there, from plankton and microscopic life to the small animals on the shore. It's just mind-boggling. Chevron cut corners. There's a safety measure that can be built into such drilling rigs that would prevent more than a small leak. That is where they'll cut corners. But dare speak of corporate greed in this case. Speak of the harm done to workers for these monsters, and you're a 'socialist'. I mean, look at the spill in Tenn not long ago. Coal sludge. STILL the 2nd largest waste stream in America. Far more widespread than oil, and a spill several times worse than the Valdez. There are several towns down there still uninhabitable, and may be for years or decades.

Folks need to realize that there are multiple states, and multiple places where such coal sludge accidents are waiting to happen. There is no regulation. They can dig a hole and just dump the sludge. Many such power plants are near rivers which serve a purpose for their work, but also raise the risk of contamination. The water tables that serve Tenn and surrounding states were affected. But do they get it. Somewhere out there is someone a little smarter than they are, a sociopath defending big invesments they have in the stock market in such corporations. They're telling them that regulations CAUSED this. CAUSED the coal spill, and the oil problem they face now. And you know what? They believe every word of it. Get mad at 'guvamint' and 'welfare' and not their investment.

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

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[alp227]

69. The sequel to the 2005 disaster...sigh I pity for New Orleans

I think that a mass evacuation should be in order next as some people's respiratory systems might malfunction over this stinky, poisonous air.

Maybe Pat Robertson is going to say on Monday's 700 Club that the people of New Orleans "deserved to be poisoned" because of their liberalism and sins and anything that doesn't stand well with over-prudent fundamentalist dogma.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

71. Deleted message

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[sattahipdeep]

72. Halliburton Dick Cheney

Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon, which sunk last week after an explosion that likely killed 11 workers. Oil gushing from the ocean floor is heading toward the Louisiana shore, threatening wildlife and commercial fishing operations.

The rig was contracted to BP Anadarko Petroleum Corp had a 25 percent interest in the well.

Halliburton provided a variety of work on the rig, while Cameron International Corp.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63T35720100430

Shrimp fishermen in Louisiana have filed a class-action lawsuit against BP, Swiss-based rig company Transocean Ltd, Halliburton and Cameron, accusing them of negligence.

Underwater robots failed to activate a cutoff valve on the ocean floor to stop the leak. BP is hoping to cover the well with a giant inverted funnel that would capture the oil at the sea floor and channel it directly to a tanker ship.

But that will take four weeks to put in place, by which stage over 150,000 barrels could have been spilled. If the funnel does not work, BP will have to rely on stemming the flow by drilling a relief well, which would take 2-3 months.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN298848720100430

....
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the oil rig lacked a device called an acoustic switch that could have shut off the flow of oil. The remote controlled device sends acoustic impulses through the water that can trigger an underwater valve to shut down the well.
All offshore rigs have one main switch to shut off the flow of oil by closing a valve located on the ocean floor. There is also supposed to be a backup, a so-called “dead man,” that will shut down the well in the event of a catastrophe on the rig. Apparently neither of these devices worked on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The crewmembers who would have been closest to the shutoff switch are among those missing and presumed dead.
With an acoustic trigger a crew can shut down a well even if the rig is damaged or evacuated. However, BP, which reported profits of $5.598 billion for the first quarter of 2010, vigorously resisted changes to US regulations that would have required acoustic triggers on deep sea rigs, citing effectiveness and costs, about $500,000 per unit. Compliant US regulators agreed, saying other backup plans were sufficient. They called the acoustic triggers unreliable and prone to causing unnecessary shutdowns.
However, according to a spokesman for Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority quoted by the Journal, acoustic triggers are “the most successful and effective option.” Norway has used acoustic triggers on almost all its oil rigs since 1993.

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When Dick Cheney and his puppet Bush ran up 12.5 trillion dollars of GOP Tax Debt on Dick Cheney's sick pronouncement that "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." to pay for their Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater Iraq pork; the America hating Limbaugh sycophnats were all for defecits.

The Commie GOP went even further with their Bush/Paulson Welfare for the Wealthy scheme. They wanted One Trillion Dollars, blanket immunities for all including the likes of Bernie Madoff, a blank check "Just in case", Oh and no congresional oversight for all the welfare checks they wanted to give to Wall Streets Welfare Queens.

Now that US President Obama has had to spend less than a trillion dollars to save the US economy and the America hating Limbaugh Sycophnants complain about defecits.

[wordpix]

112. maybe this lawsuit will finally go up the food chain to BushCheney

I predict they'll spend the rest of their days paying lawyers to keep themselves out of jail.

[daleo]

73. I recall a gas well blowout in 1982 near Edmonton, Canada

It was a horrible reeking smell that lasted for 6 or 8 weeks. You couldn't get a break from it. I am sure it wasn't good for your health, though the oil companies and government denied that.

I feel sorry for the people that have to live through something similar, or worse, in the Gulf.

[revolution breeze]

75. Even with winds out of the southeast...

the smell is stronger than it was this morning. St. Tammany Parish is making preparations if it starts heading toward the Rigolets.

[paparush]

80. So, Limbaugh's arrived? nt

[fatbuckel]

92. This is gonna be so bad. One of the problems is that...

"the city has been overwhelmed by a "pungent smell" and that, though they can't confirm the odor's source, officials believe the spill is the most likely culprit." Wow. I see you have all your smart people on this.

[Rhiannon12866]

100. K&R! Like the people of NOLA haven't been through enough...

;(

[Captain_Blue]

101. Heart Breaking News

I am a frequent user of Gulf Coast resources. The Gulf Coast offered one of the great vacation spots in the USA and the cultural diversity of its people is a national treasure. I believe that when this spill is evaluated in the future, that it is going to be far worse than Katrina in economic and personal impact. We have lost a third of our coast line to a Company too Big to Comply with basic safety requirements. I watched Pickens down play the damage this morning and cannot help but believe that the greed we have granted the rich and powerful is worse than giving up our sovereignty to a dictator. I am ashamed of Obama's, "drill baby drill" proclamation, and I am ashamed of his up to now, almost neutered response to this great and looming disaster.

The Gulf Coast may restore itself in due time, but it will not be in my lifetime or the lifetime of my grandchildren. Corporate Government has caught up with us. We are subjects of the highest bidder.

[flyarm]

103. We here in SW Fla had it for a few days over last weekend! and early in the week..

First it smelled like rotten onions or the worst BO you ever smelled, then it became a chemical smell!

And we had dead birds for the past couple days showing upon our beaches!

From Tampa down to Ft Meyers area..

Stunk so bad you couldn't open windows or doors near the beach! It was making me gag!

I posted about it over last weekend!

[kestrel91316]

105. Nothing to worry about here. It's just a minor nuisance.

:sarcasm:

Nothing toxic about those fumes at all.......

[wordpix]

106. was the burning successful, as in, that's what people must be smelling

out of it the past couple of days sick, no tv and no internet. I lived. Unfortunately, NO and the birds and fish won't.

[Liberty Belle]

113. They'll never be able to document the health toll from this, because of Katrina.

People in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast were exposed to so much toxic sludge, and also the fish in region got contaminated. There will almost certainly be high incidences of cancer in a few years, and this can only make things worse. But there won't be a way to separate out which of these environmental catstrophes was most responsible. Not to mention those formaldehyde-laced FEMA trailers so many of the survivors were living in.

[wordpix]

115. wind from SE---maybe it'll land in TX on the billionaire oilmen's beaches

not that those beaches belong to them, but it would be some justice