Pictures: Louisiana coast tries to protect itself from oil spill

[onestepforward]

Shrimp boats collect oil with booms in the waters of Chandeleur Sound


A worker on a shrimp boat hauls in oil soaked containment booms as they are used with absorption pads to collect the oil on the surface of the water from the oil spill in Breton and Chandeleur sounds off the coast of Louisiana


This image from the US navy shows gathered, concentrated oil, burning during a controlled oil fire in the Gulf of Mexico


Fishermen load their boat before heading out to a marsh area to lay an oil boom in Hopedale, Louisiana


Alabama National Guardsmen assemble a barrier meant to block oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the beaches of Dauphin Island, Alabama. The barricades will be lined with a chemical that will harden the oil as it washes ashore


Nick Winstead, from Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, marks the nests of least terns on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The terns are nesting on the beach as an oil spill remains offshore


A least tern sits in its nest on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The least tern is in its nesting season in one of the largest colonies on the Gulf Coast and is in the path of the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster putting the fragile colony in jeopardy. The nest is marked with a red flag by the Mississippi Coast Audubon Sociey to warn people of its location

More photos here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2010/may/06/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-oil-spills?picture=362271866

[aquart]

1. God help them all, from the fishermen to the least tern.

[Danmel]

2. Poor critters

They have no idea what's coming at them. Makes me want to cry.

[woodsprite]

3. The freepers at work were shouting that Obama turned down help from other countries

I'm taking their statements with a grain of salt until I see it substantiated someplace else other than Drudge (which is where they get their news). I figure if they're saying it, it's either only a half truth or downright twisted.

I've been so busy with finals that I haven't been in here much. Can anybody point me in the direction to counter this, or know what the real story behind it is?

[onestepforward]

5. I haven't heard too much about it either, but I did find this:

http://www.swedishwire.com/politics/4377-sweden-helps-the-us-to-clean-up-oil-spill-

The United States said Thursday it had received offers of aid to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill from Canada and Mexico, 10 European countries, South Korea and the United Nations.

Still, the US State Department said there was no immediate need for the assistance offered but that the US Coast Guard was trying to evaluate whether there would be in the future.

"These offers include experts in various aspects of oil spill impacts, research and technical expertise, booms, chemical oil dispersants, oil pumps, skimmers, and wildlife treatment," the State Department said in a statement.

The State Department announced Tuesday it had received aid offers from 12 countries and international organizations but refused to identify them, saying it would only name the countries when and if it accepted aid from them.

But in a switch, the State Department identified 13 countries and one organization which had offered to provide aid.

They are: Britain, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Nations.

The State Department said Washington was grateful for the offers of assistance.

"The US Coast Guard, the lead US agency in this response, continues to monitor developments and evaluate specific needs, and is currently reviewing offers of assistance," it said.

"While there is no need right now that the US cannot meet, the US Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future," it added.
snip-

[malaise]

4. Just the fear of what is to come

is painful.

[onestepforward]

6. It's like watching a bomb dropping in slow motion.

It is very painful.

[ceile]

7. So disheartening....

Just the thought of what's to come, makes my stomach hurt.

[janx]

8. K&R

.