Spill raises fears oil could reach Atlantic

[Rhiannon12866]

Source: Tennessean

VENICE, La. — A sense of doom settled over the American coastline from Louisiana to Florida on Saturday as a massive oil slick spewing from a ruptured well kept growing, and experts warned that an uncontrolled gusher could create a nightmare scenario if the Gulf Stream carries it toward the Atlantic.

President Barack Obama planned to visit the region today to assess the situation amid growing criticism that the government and oil company BP PLC should have done more to stave off the disaster. Efforts to stem the flow and remove oil from the surface by skimming it, burning it or spiking it with chemicals to disperse it continued with little success.

As the spill surged toward disastrous proportions, critical questions lingered. Who created the conditions that caused the gusher? Did BP and the government react robustly enough in its early days? How can it be stopped before the damage gets worse?

The Coast Guard conceded Saturday that it's nearly impossible to know how much oil has gushed since the April 20 rig explosion, after saying earlier that it was at least 1.6 million gallons, equivalent to about 2½ Olympic-sized swimming pools. The blast killed 11 workers and threatened beaches, fragile marshes and marine mammals, along with fishing grounds that are among the world's most productive.


Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100502/NEWS08/5020378/1025/NEWS01

[Botany]

1. Thank you Dick Cheney and Haliburton you have done enough now ....

.... go away and please let us take every fucking asset you own.

This could be one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation's history.

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Threats-to-Wildlife/Oil-Spill.aspx

no need for automatic shut off valves on oil wells and q.a. / q.c. when doing work
on oil rigs.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Just when we thought that Halliburton was responsible for enough tragedy in the world...

:grr:

Gulf oil spill: The Halliburton connection
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/04/gulf-oil-spill-the-halliburton-connection.html

Thanks for the link! :thumbsup: ;(

[Aviation Pro]

14. Small correction to your title....

...it should read 'Fuck you Dick Cheney.'

[Rhiannon12866]

20. Who, me?!

:grr:

[no_hypocrisy]

2. That was my main objection to oil leases in the Atlantic. Imagine a hurricane

destroying a rig and the uncapped gusher underwater that couldn't be easily "fixed".

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Agreed. It's a no-brainer...

Just the thought scared me witless. :scared: Maybe I remember because I follow the news... (Camille, Hugo, Andrew...) :eyes:

[flyarm]

7. 124 were destroyed in Katrina in the Gulf..in Our Fla legislatative docs..they document

a rig found 800 miles away from where it was drilling..it was hit by a tanker ship..800 miles from it's original drilling place!!

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Holy hell! I would think that Obama's advisors would point out this small fact...

Before he proposed drilling in the Atlantic. Salazar's from a land locked state, but he certainly must follow the national news. This is very troubling. ;(

[awoke_in_2003]

4. Could?

I would say it is pretty definite. K&R

[Rhiannon12866]

12. You're right. Unless they stop the leak, who knows how far this could spread?!

And each update is exponentially worse... x(




Oil Spill Worse Than Exxon Valdez: Oceanographer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/01/oil-spill-worse-than-exxo_n_559840.html

[flyarm]

6. I posted about this on April 27th ..it was on the front page of our St Pete Paper then

...it's the Loop Currents of the Gulf of Mexico.

SEE MY THREAD THEN..FOR LINK TO STORY ABOUT THE LOOP CURRENTS.

Gulf oil spill could threaten Florida ( all the way to the Keys and Atlantic ocean.)


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8224434


AND I WANT TO ADD..I LIVE ON CLEARWATER BEACH FLA..

Today when i went out to the beach ..it was the weirdest thing I have ever seen here..the sky was beautiful blue over the beach and sand..but as I walked on the beach ..over the water ( Gulf) it looked black..like a bad storm black..when the sky is so dark it looks like there is going to be a horrible storm..except there were no clouds..it was just black..it was bright and sunny over the sand..but dark black over the gulf waters..all the way into the shoreline..

Then the wind shifted and it became clear and sunny..

It was black smoke of some kind..and black..dark and black..but it was not a storm of any kind because there was a clear sky..not a cloud in sight..
It was very erie..my friend and I got skieved by it..it went from bright where we were walking and it was like walking into a dark dark room..

It must have been from the smoke from the fires up north..there would be no other explaination of the way it looked..then the wind shifted to blow from the south and it completely cleared up to bright bright sunny......

[Rhiannon12866]

9. OMG! I am so sorry... Thanks so much for the first-hand update.

Guess they're getting desperate, burning, spreading chemicals to dissipate it, but nothing's going to work until the leak is stopped. Thanks so much for the local information, which is bound to be the most accurate, and let us know how you are. It sounds scary as hell... :hug:

[flyarm]

15. just very upsetting..making me sick..and earlier in week we had the chemical smells from Tampa

to Fort Meyers.

It started smelling like rotten stinking Onions..then smelled like chemicals..we had that for 4 days..

I worry so much about our turtles that lay their eggs this time of year..last year by now we had 5 nests on our beach in my back yard..so far this year..none.

And I worry so much about our fragile manatees, that live on the bottom of the sea..where the oil will settle..and our precious porpoise.

Local Fishermen have been on our news saying the Grouper will be effected enormously..a huge Florida food staple..the grouper swim 600 ft under where the fishermen said the oil is going to migrate first and settle there.

This is just so horrible there are no words..

We have had dead birds and fish already on the beaches here..this far south of the oil! It may or may not be related..but i called in the dead fish today to the aquarium here...they were going to send someone out to pick the fish up and test them.

Our eco -system will be destroyed by this..

and from what has been reported here..it is believed this surpassed the Valdez on May 1..!

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I agree. It's probably already worse, just hasn't been definitively reported yet.

The devastation to the animals bothers me the most, have already read about turtles being affected. But that's only the beginning... The manatees have already been so negatively affected... Then there are the effects on the fishing industry, tourism and on a way of life. There are no words... I've been to Florida several times in my life and it's beautiful, idyllic. It must have been subliminal, but I wore a shirt with dolphins on it today, as well as my dolphin watch... Thank you for doing what you can and please stay safe... :hug:

[tango-tee]

19. Your first-hand account

saddens me beyond all belief. The destruction of the ecosystem, the death of the animals, thinking about all of this not only makes me sad but also terribly angry at those responsible for this carnage.

[KayLaw]

27. I'm very depressed.

I'm a native Floridian and truly love the water and everything about it. What's killing me right now is trying to explain this to my autistic son who also loves the water. Going to the beach calms and relaxes him and is just a joyful experience for him.

I think we need to send out an International SOS and focus on shutting off the flow and absorbing as much oil as possible.

[jberryhill]

8. About those "Olympic swimming pools"

There is no standard depth. There is a minimum depth of two meters. So, really, an "Olympic sized swimming pool" can be as deep as the galaxy, and still be regulation.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Excellent point...

x(

[flyarm]

13. Tampa news just said the oil is approx 35 miles from the Gulf Loop Current..

and it is totally dependant on the wind currents if it gets into the Loop Current..if it gets into the Loop Current the oil could go south down to Keys and around to the Atlantic ..but winds could go north with new storm/wind currents expectted in next couple days,.it is being watched closely.

They reported it could hit panhandle by Tuesday..first reports were Monday , but has now been updated to Tuesday.

[Xenotime]

16. This is so sad.

[Rhiannon12866]

17. Wow. It just gets worse, eclipses all other news...

;(

[Turborama]

21. If it loses the well head we will be looking at more than 4.2 million gallons spewing out a day

According to Salazar and Allen on CNN's State of the Union. I went into detail about it here in GD: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8262613

Amongst other considerations, if/when this thing hits the gulf stream I wonder how it'll affect Northern Europe's climate.

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

22. Thank you, my friend, for passing on your incredible and informative link...

I've bookmarked it. Perhaps the media is playing this down to avoid a panic, but the evidence is growing, and it's beginning to look like this is a tragedy, on so many levels, of unprecedented proportions. I fear for flyarm, and for tens of thousands more. I'm beginning to believe that this catastrophic event totally eclipses any other news story of our time. :scared: ;( :hi:

[Turborama]

25. I'm beginning to believe that, too

As I mentioned in your other thread, this is developing to be quite possibly the most disturbing event I've ever witnessed in my lifetime (41 years).

Reading and reflecting on flyarm's 1st person account and both of your descriptions of the inevitable impact on the wildlife and society as a whole really brings that home, too.

[Rhiannon12866]

32. We are still seeing repercussions from the Exxon Valdez spill,

Which was in 1989, and that one was finite. This leak is still gushing, with no end in sight. I don't think that anyone, no matter what age, has ever seen anything like this before, from all I've read and heard, as you said. I fear for the way of life for anyone and anything anywhere near this, and the area affected is growing, and growing, and who knows how long this will continue?! And we thought that 9/11 and Katrina were the worst that things could get. ;( :scared: :hi:

[Hubert Flottz]

23. I guess it could be worse...

Like a massive meltdown at an inland nuke plant near an American city of millions. The smart guys who cooked up the plan to drill the well that is turning the Gulf into a dead world are the same types of smart guys who plan reactors that "Can't Fail"...

[truthisfreedom]

24. We have to accept that this will change everything.

Screw oil.

[Ghost Dog]

26. So does it look like this could become international, with Cuba and Bahamas

also looking for remedial measures and compensation from BP/Halliburton/Wall St./USA?

[flyarm]

29. On our news last night..they reported if it gets in the Gulf Loop Currents ..it can also reach Cuba.

seems the administration..hasn't gotten the meme to the local news folks..and they are telling as much truth as they have..unlike the national cable entertainment bullshit networks..Like NBC ..Fox et al..that are playing this story as low profile as they can.

6800 square miles of fishing area suspended ..for no less than 10 days..yeah ten days my ass!

The big fish are down deep in the Gulf..they are getting contamiated or dying now..



Oh and that dome they are going to try..has never been done at that depth before....pardon me if I yawn in anger..

[ShortnFiery]

28. Not COULD, oil WILL reach the Atlantic and East Coast Beaches of Florida. eom

[flyarm]

30. you are correct..not a matter of if ..but when..and the winds will determine when the oil gets In

the Gulf Loop Currents.

[lonestarnot]

31. "could"

They know it will.

[Rhiannon12866]

33. The evidence is growing and pretty soon they won't be able to overlook the overwhelming facts.

;(