NOAA chief dismisses Loop Current threat: 'very little tarballs'

[IndianaGreen]

People like NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Obama should clean house!

Lubchenco Dismisses Loop Current Threat: ‘Very Little Tarballs!’

Yesterday, Obama’s ocean chief said that the threat of the BP oil disaster getting caught in the Loop Current “sounds scarier than it is.” As she was making these statements, satellites imagery showed the Maryland-sized slick being entrained in the Loop Current, which loops through the Gulf of Mexico and out the Florida Strait, feeding the powerful Gulf Stream current that sweeps along the Atlantic seaboard.

Speaking with Gwen Ifill on PBS Newshour, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), admitted that the growing slick is “likely” to be entrained by the current, but only a “very small stream” that would be “very, very diluted,” weathered into tarballs, and “not likely to have a very significant impact.” When queried by Ifill how big the tarballs would be, Lubchenco squeezed her fingers together in front of her face, and declared, “Very little tarballs!”:

LUBCHENCO: There’s a very small stream of oil that is a very light sheen that is getting close to the Loop Current. And it’s likely that, at some point, it will be entrained by the Loop Current. But that current, if there is oil entrained in it, it would be probably nine to 12 days before that would reach the Florida Strait. And, during that time, it gets highly diluted, parts per billion, and it weathers naturally. And, so, any oil that would be reaching Florida Strait might be in the form of tarballs, for example. And whether it ever comes ashore or not would be a function of whether there were good onshore winds bringing it. So…

IFILL: You say tarballs, you mean (softball-sized) tarballs or (human-sized) tarballs?

LUBCHENCO: Probably little, very little tarballs.

Watch it:

VIDEO at link: http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/05/18/lubchenco-dismisses-threat/

[neverforget]

1. It's just a flesh wound!

[Jersey Devil]

2. ROFL

Perfect! :rofl:

[Soylent Brice]

3. DUzy. n/t

[ProSense]

4. Are you going to call for everyone to be fired?

Obama taps marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco to head NOAA

[IndianaGreen]

7. Being a scientist does not equate with being an effective administrator

The video of the Ifill interview speaks for itself.

[ProSense]

8. She was speaking as a scientist. What does her statement have to do with administration? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

10. Sorry, but she is NOAA Administrator

and she seems to be less than alarmed about the oil.

[ProSense]

11. She is also a scientist. Her comment has nothing to do with her effectiveness as an administrator.

You're basically saying that she needs to sound the alarm bell, regardless of knowledge, or she needs to be fired.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Her comment shows she has no clue how bad this catastrophe is

Heck, even Governor Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu have been very pro-active!

She sounds like Haley Barbour, minimizing the problem.

[ProSense]

14. But you do? "Heck, even Governor Jindal..."

On the other hand, she has first-hand information.

Oil has reached shore along 29 miles of Louisiana’s coastline, Governor Bobby Jindal’s office said today, citing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It listed Trinity Island, Whiskey Island, South Pass, Chandeleur Islands, Fourchon Beach, Raccoon Island and Grand Isle as areas affected.

Everyone knows this is a catastrophe, but the NOAA's job isn't to alarm the public and fan outrage.

[IndianaGreen]

15. More Tar Ball Sightings Reported In Fla. Keys

This story is posted in LBN. Zachary Taylor state park is on the Atlantic side of the Florida keys.

More Tar Ball Sightings Reported In Fla. Keys

Officials Think Oil Spill Could Reach Key West By Sunday

KEY WEST, Fla. --

Tar balls are starting to appear on Florida Keys beaches.

U.S. Coast Guard officials said 20 tar balls were found on the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park late Monday afternoon, and less than 24 hours later crews responded to three more reports of tar ball sightings at Smathers Beach in Key West, Big Pine Key and Loggerhead Key.

The tar balls range from 3 to 8 inches in diameter.

<snip>

Lubchenco said it will take about eight to 10 days after oil enters the current before it begins to reach Florida, but scientists from the University of South Florida are forecasting it could reach Key West by Sunday.

http://www.wpbf.com/news/23586693/detail.html

[IndianaGreen]

16. Large Tar Balls Wash Ashore in Vero Beach, Officials Deny BP Oil Spill Link

Source: WPTV Channel 5 in West Palm Beach

Lifeguard says he's never seen anything like these slimy, rust-colored tar balls in 8 years on duty.

Read more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE_2E09-XAY

[ProSense]

17. I saw that report, it says the tar balls aren't from the spill.

It's also posted in LBN

[IndianaGreen]

18. BP and state officials said it wasn't, but the Coast Guard sent them to lab for tests

meanwhile Haley Barbour keeps saying that there is no problem with tar balls in Mississippi. :eyes:

[jtrockville]

5. Weren't tarballs already found in the keys and palm beach?

[IndianaGreen]

6. According to this LBN story, tarballs are in Florida

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4387317

[jtrockville]

9. So DWH oil entered the loop ~10 days AGO, not 10 days from now.

[IndianaGreen]

13. LBN has story that WINK at Ft Myers is reporting tar ball found off the beach

Politicians are trying to keep the public from finding out how bad it really is for fear that tourists will stay away.

[jtrockville]

19. Interesting... they think tourists will enjoy the tar-soaked beaches?

[Imajika]

20. I think some people want this oil to hit the beach...

..under the mistaken belief that the public will suddenly be against oil, oil companies, etc, etc.

Not gonna happen.

People care about the environment until it will cost them a lot or force them to make major sacrifices. If people had the choice of oily beaches on the Gulf and 3 dollar a gallon gas, or clean beaches on the Gulf and 5 dollar a gallon gas - they'll take option 1 and roll with the cheaper gas and vacation elsewhere.

American's will do whatever they need to do in order to retain their current lifestyle. If that means going to war, so be it. If that means tarball littered beaches, so be it.

There is no point in wishing for the worst here, American's will care about the environment more again once the economy really improves. While the US economy is so crappy, concern about environmental issues is going to be very low.

[nashville_brook]

21. it's not the waste on the beach that's the problem -- it's the dead eco-system

the oil will kill the reefs off of FL and in the Caribbean.

but hey, they're just little reefs.

[jtrockville]

22. Waste on the beaches is a good way to track the spread.

Especially since we don't appear to be getting accurate information from those involved in the remedial efforts.

[IndianaGreen]

23. Update: Florida State scientist: NOAA ignores spill findings

Cross-posted from LBN:

Florida State scientist: NOAA ignores spill findings

Source: Houston Chronicle

A prominent oceanographer, who was among the first to say official estimates understated the volume of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, charged Tuesday that a federal agency is punishing scientists whose findings disagree with government figures.

Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer with Florida State University, who more than two weeks ago said the oil spill was likely five times as large as the 5,000 barrel-a-day estimate from the National Oceanic Atmospheric and Administration, said the agency is attacking scientists who challenged government estimates, while itself doing little to glean new information about the spill size.

“The scientific community in the Gulf of Mexico is fairly small ... and we've been very dedicated for a long time and not only is nobody listening to us in this, but it seems like they really want us to shut up,” MacDonald said. “It's very, very punitive and anybody who is doing this is getting attacked by NOAA.”

A NOAA spokesman did not address MacDonald's claims directly, but said that the agency's spill response includes scientists with key federal agencies as well as partners in the scientific community and the private sector.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/deepwaterhorizon/7011584.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4387977