Hands Across the Sand June 26th, 2010 by Deborah Dolen (RSS/API Dolen Images)

Hands Across the Sand June 26th, 2010 by Deborah Dolen (RSS/API Dolen Images) Click photos for full image!

Hands Across the Sand is a movement that started in Florida Saturday, February 13, 2010, and grew global exponentially within months. On the fateful February day thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off shores of Florida. Florida’s Hands Across The Sand event was the largest public gathering in the history of Florida.

Hand Across the Sand Mission is simple “To organize a national movement to oppose offshore oil drilling and champion clean energy and renewables.” Click here for the Hand Across the Sand main website. On June 26th, 2010 thousands of people on just about every beach across the globe got together around noon their respective times and held hands for five minutes (or so) to demonstrate their love and passion for our waters as well as stand up for the primary mission “stop the drilling.”

The Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had a huge impact on awareness of the health of our waters as well as escalated the membership and commitment of Hands Across the Sand members. If you live near a coastal area hands Across the Sand is a great way to meet people with mutual interests.

To date over one hundred million gallons of crude have entered the Gulf of Mexico. Another issue stemming from the BP Oil spill is the vast amount of Corexit being deliberately dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. BP Oil is doing this because it helps the “visual” aspect of less dead birds, but it submerses the oil and kills far more fish. The only good thing about the dispersant is BP Oil cannot get nearly as much of it as they would like to get! No amount of chemicals can match the millions of gallons of crude exiting the sea floor.

It is my opinion a good storm will pass through the BP Oil area and blow all of that oil out. In major storms the water turns out whatever is in it. So, anything BP Oil was trying to conceal will be very visual at the end of the day, or in this case by the end of the summer. All BP oil did was prolong the visual of the disaster for public relations purposes and are needlessly killing more fish to do so. Beyond the fact BP Oil should pay to have super tankers in our Gulf, and should have been asking for them since day one – the sun will naturally degrade some of the oil. Absent any involvement from humans, the sun can degrade the crude more naturally than anything BP Oil is trying to do. Dropping dispersants to “pretend the oil is not as much oil there” (as there really is) simply kills our fish and eventually that oil will come up anyway.

The Gulf of Mexico naturally seeps about 40 million gallons of oil a year. The differences are, it does not seep all in one place, at one time, or near a fragile coast line such as the Mississippi marsh lands. Nature does have a way of taking care of things and it is my hope the oil does turn out in a storm before the winter months arrive while the sun is still hot enough to help degrade the crude. If we have a winter like last year, with water temperatures dropping under 55 degrees Fahrenheit, we could have some semi solid gunk that will be worse to deal with, and much less help from the sun to degrade it.

Photo’s and videos I took are from Anna Maria Island June 26th, 2010.

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The Birds of BP Gulf Oil Spill: Canola Oil Baths! by Deborah Dolen (RSS/API)

The Birds of BP Gulf Oil Spill: Canola Oil Baths! by Deborah Dolen (RSS/API)

Ever wondered how they clean birds dripping with oil? Once the traumatized bird has rested a day or two, Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research staffers are dipping the birds in canola oil first, which is an excellent gentle solvent to the harder crude oil. After that the birds are popped into a 104 degree bath which is their natural temperature. Tri state staffers say it can take 45 minutes and 300 gallons of water to wash oil off a pelican, and three people – one to hold the beak could be the obvious. Some rescue groups go ahead and put a salve in the bird’s eyes so they are not affected by the soap when cleaning.

Over at the International Bird Research Center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, wildlife affected by the BP Gulf Coast oil spill have dear friend in Jay Holcomb Jay Holcomb was named Oceana's Ocean Hero for 2010. He responded to California oil spills during the 1970's and early 80's as a volunteer before joining the staff of IBRRC during the ARCO Anchorage Spill (1986). He has either led or been on staff for virtually all IBRRC spill responses since 1986 including the M/V Treasure oil spill in Cape Town, South Africa (2000) and handled the aviation operations during Exxon Valdez spill at Prince Edward Sound. His staff is highly trained and they work as a team. One of the most common questions poised at Jay is “Does the wildlife know they are being helped?” Jay says “No! They are wild animals and highly stressed by handling and captivity. Most likely they regard us as predators that are about to eat them. Although some species like penguins, pelicans and murres will act more friendly as they become accustomed to being fed fish by humans, they need what is termed "flight space". This is the space between them and humans that allow them to feel comfortable when in the presence of their care takers.” ~Jay Holcomb

Watch footage of Jay explaining how they clean the incoming birds at ground zero for the BP Gulf Oil Spill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQSubToXKDo&feature=related in another news segment more bird cleaning procedures are discussed by Jay. Here Holcomb is giving a slew of interviews but each one is unique from the last and lessons learned are vast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUyy4XGapR4 Port Arthur Wildlife Rescue Worker’s also allowed footage of how they handle the incoming “patients.” Cleaning Crude off Birds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDyjHcZ8rEc.

In watching the video’s in Holcomb’s operation you not only see how the birds are cleaned, but the cute “hotel” they get to rest at after they are cleaned. A video shot of wildlife volunteer training in South Florida is also very educational. In the video below the teacher discusses the fact the incoming oil is “weathered” as in not extremely toxic, but yet still nasty stuff you do not want on you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9TotAzcrz8&NR=1 One new technique in oil spill bird rescue is allowing the bird to rest a day or two before being washed as not to upset their hormone balance and rhythm. This has dramatically increased the survival rate in oil traumatized birds.

Mid June 2010 about 53 Pelicans are expected to arrive in Tampa Bay, via the Coast Guard for release. This will re-socialize the pelicans in an environment much like the habitat they are from.

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Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book.

BP Oil: BEYOND POLLUTION by Deborah Dolen (Dolen Syndicated RSS/API)

BP Oil: BEYOND POLLUTION by Deborah Dolen (Dolen Syndicated RSS/API) click photo to see aerial photograph from comerical airliner

New York Times has a great updated oil spill traker map.

BP Oil has been frantically dumping a gargantuan amount of Corexit into the gulf against the EPA wishes, not to just disperse oil, but to alter the appearance of how bad the oil spill truly is. The Corexit dispersant causes the oil to emulsify into the water and subsequently not float on the surface to be an eye sore. People cannot get “as upset” about what they cannot see. Like a magician, BP Oil distracts us with the one hand [Top Kill] so we do not notice what the other hand is doing [fish kill.] Corexit is anti-freeze folks.

“BP to EPA: Talk to the hand because the other hand ain't listening”

Excellent Spill Surface Tracker updated daily at CNN http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/29/interactive.spill.tracker/index.html

May 20th, 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency demanded BP Oil cease using Corexit products as an oil dispersant. BP Oil ignored them, but why? Researchers at USF scientists said the use of dispersants is causing the oil to be as dense as the water so it does not float. Huge underwater plumes that are miles wide and miles deep, although they have not pegged the source. Essentially a more substantial amount of the oil should have been floating on the water so at least the sun could degrade it naturally, or clean up crews could better contain it.

"The Impact on Marine Life is Death by Suffocation"

BP Oil deprived the interested people and mother nature to better handle this. Sure it would look ten times worse (it is) but adding colossal amounts of anti-freeze to the Gulf of Mexico to manage the oil spill is unconscionable. Furthermore Boone Pickens, on Larry King Live, a man who spent a lifetime on the oil industry demurely noted the “Top Kill” attempt will most likely not work and the true answer is in the relief wells. The relief wells are months away. Until that time “action” labeled events to stop the oil geyser such as “Top Kill” and “Junk Shot” are just words to keep us pacified, distracted and our eye off the ball. The ball being all the horrific amounts of anti-freeze BP oil is dumping right into the Gulf of Mexico.

The impact on all marine life is death by suffocation. Oil and Corexit are loved by algae which grows rampant and takes all oxygen out of the water. BP oil is deliberately suffocating our marine and wildlife so the spill does not “look so bad.” BP Oils hierarchy of needs at this time is to reduce pressure from the press and public even if that means visually making the spill less visible. They have absolutely no ethics at this point and should be moved away from the area allowing objective parties in to handle this.

Another reason BP is not really stressed about their ultimate impacts is that they have reached the billion dollar liability for pollution. Once a company has reached their potential maximum liability per Federal law, does it really matter anymore? Not really. Unless the dropping of the dispersant can be considered a second independent incident, as it is.

Deborah Dolen is an author who lives on the Gulf of Mexico near Long Boat Key. Deborah is shown in the photo with her Dog Ringo by her side over looking the Gulf of Mexico. Ringo was rescued from Katrina, and sent to Plantation, Florida where Wilma hit before Deborah Dolen could go get him. She flew a private plane to get Ringo and drop off supplies for 10 vet rescue centers. Together Deborah and Ringo got through hurricane IKE where they were staying near Galveston Bay in September of 2008. The two got to see the devastation of IKE first hand, as well as Hurricane Charlie when Deborah was staying on that side of the gulf. Deborah Dolen has been through Bonnie, Frances, Charlie, Ike, TS Gabrielle, and Ringo has been through Katrina, Wilma and Ike. They know what weeks without electric and other necessities is all about. You can join Deborah Dolen at MySpace http://www.myspace.com/deborah_dolen or see her RSS Feeds on Twitter http://twitter.com/DeborahDolen or check out her new site dedicated to oil and water environmental issues http://www.deborahdolen.org/

Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book.

BP Oil Crises "Let The Dolphins Eat Cake" by Deborah Dolen (Dolen Syndicated RSS/API)

written by Deborah Dolen (Dolen Syndicated/RSS/ API) photo of Sarasota Bay by Brandon Clifford, Utah!

The live feed of BP's Top Kill attempt is here:I often wonder if BP Oil ever really desired a truly permanent oil pipeline shut off. I also wonder if some of the chaos is really “about them” trying temporary solutions when they could have already invoked a permanent one. True, BP Oil officials are upset, but are they upset about the same things we are? Doubtful.

It cost BP a billion dollars over nine years to build and maintain Deepwater Horizon. It is not an old rig at all. According to a victim of the Deepwater Horizon explosion the rig had hundreds of millions of barrels of oil underneath it. If true, that makes a value of the oil underneath over a trillion dollars. Under the Federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) BP Oil is only liable to pay a billion for each incident.

Whoever capped the corporate liability of a crises did the environment no favors and also never factored in inflation since the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Was a cap necessary? No. Disasters are disasters because no one expects them. So, how could we ever know the true damage of any disaster before it happens? But thanks to the 2000 OPA plan BP Oil officials know their maximum risk is a billion and they have already reached it, technically. After you reach your maximum exposure do you care to do anything but save the golden goose?

BP Oil officials do not live on our gulf and they do not care. We are letting the fox guard the chickens and we must have other experts in there who are objective to stop the oil flow. My vote is to get all BP Oil interests out of that area. This may have always been the real problem. It does seem like the BP Oil’s position is “if the dolphins are hungry, let them eat cake” because dumping massive amounts of bitter-sweet Corexit is going to be accepted as cake.

"Corexit dispersant is propylene glycol is anti-freeze"

Corexit is propylene glycol which is known to us as anti-freeze kills countless animals a year who mistake the sweet potion for water. I hope the anti-freeze they are using to disperse the oil is considered another pollution incident because it is and could have been avoided and it is deliberate polluting of our waters. I had been sympathetic to BP Oil long after my colleagues were yelling ”Boycott BP Oil.” If BP Oil was paying the bill why would we want to choke their profits needed to pay the tab? Because they continue to poison our waters and I now “get it.” All of the money in the world is not going to fix the damage they deliberately still engage in.

Deborah Dolen is an author who lives on Sarasota Bay in Florida. Photo on the left is Deborah Dolen with her best friend Ringo, over looking the Gulf of Mexico. Ringo is a Golden Retriever she adopted from Katrina.

Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book.

World in Motion: No Time for Rugged Individualists (Dolen Syndicated/RSS/API)

Photo by Dolen Images (Dolen Syndicated/RSS/ API)

We had a storm on Sarasota Bay for the first time in months. It was an odd comfort to see lightening hit the open bay like hitting a Teflon pan and illuminating the sky just before noon. It was also somewhat redeeming to hear last night BP may have been able to successfully attach a siphon to the rouge oil geyser. Even if BP did assuage the oil flow there is still a lot of work to be done for the fish and wildlife along many coast lines.

The entire incident underscores our complete fragile existence. No one would have thought a situation hundreds of miles away could have global economic impacts as well as marked physical destruction and mayhem down the gulf coast states and even up to the Eastern seaboard. If the oil were to make it to the gulf stream a good amount, about 1/4 would have been carried to the UK and the other 1/4 up the east coast of the United Stated. As far as other long distance catastrophes’ with far reaching local impacts, it was only year 2007 Georgia wild fires, several hundred miles away darkened SW Florida like a fog for days. I woke up early one May morning sure my neighbors were using their fireplaces. The smell of the smoke from so far away permeated the breeze.

And we are not even days away from Eyjafjallajökull, I have dubbed the Canadian “Ey” which is still not a happy volcano. Volcanic ash disrupting thousands of flight (and rugged individualist,) are still being disrupted. The fact the UK, Ireland and other select counties are still reveling from the volcanic ash is of most interest. The volcano eruption is another magnificent situation over there. And we have not seen anything yet. Katla, a bigger volcano near “Ey” has never been known to stay quiet if Ey is unhappy.

I feel the probably is great that if we ever suffer a world wide shut down, it will not be North Korea and Little Kim, or even Iran and Ahmadinejad. It will most likely be a volcanic disruption that can cover the globe in volcanic dust for years. Because of that and the ever present Hurricane threat to FL, I am storing food, with an emphasis on Vitamin C. A sunless period of years would make that vitamin a necessity. I have been through Bonnie, Frances, Charlie, and Wilma in FL and even Ike over in Houston where I was staying at the time. I have seen what a few weeks without electric can do.

My short term food supply [1 month] is all prepared meals and snacks because no one really wants to cook anyway when there is no air conditioning. Sam’s Club has a lot of neat selections for bulk items. Canned meats, fruits, snacks, nuts and even candy. Candy is simply interesting when there is nothing else to do! For long term food storage I pay attention to combinations we would really eat and expiration dates. True anything “Hormel” could last a decade of Armageddon. During our first experience without electric, we leaned we could get sick of Sweet Sue’s chicken and dumpling after ten days of having only that. Water purification systems are also really important. Although loss of electric is the main result of any event, bad water is usually the second. I keep the Brita brand jugs to purify and Clorox (8 drops a gallon) to disinfect if the water situation is really that bad and there is no electric. The Brita would also serve to take the Chlorine taste out. If money is tight just get charcoal sticks and charcoal in general. Japan uses them as water stirrers because they presently have a myriad of problems over there with their water supply.

It never hurts to be prepared and rotate your long term supplies. At worst someone else can potentially use them if crises does not strike you but close to home.

Deborah Dolen is an author who lives on the Gulf of Mexico near Long Boat Key. Deborah is shown in the photo with her Dog Ringo by her side over looking the Gulf of Mexico. Ringo was rescued from Katrina, and sent to Plantation, Florida where Wilma hit before Deborah Dolen could go get him. She flew a private plane to get Ringo and drop off supplies for 10 vet rescue centers. Together Deborah and Ringo got through hurricane IKE where they were staying near Galveston Bay in September of 2008. The two got to see the devastation of IKE first hand, as well as Hurricane Charlie when Deborah was staying on that side of the gulf. Deborah Dolen has been through Bonnie, Frances, Charlie, Ike, TS Gabrielle, and Ringo has been through Katrina, Wilma and Ike. They know what weeks without electric and other necessities is all about. You can join Deborah Dolen at MySpace http://www.myspace.com/deborah_dolen or see her RSS Feeds on Twitter http://twitter.com/DeborahDolen or check out her new site dedicated to oil and water environmental issues http://www.deborahdolen.org

Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book.

Gulf Oil Spill Size of Rhode Island by May 5th, 2010 by Deborah Dolen (AFP/Getty Images)

Impact's of BP Gulf Oil Spill 2010 writer Deborah Dolen (AFP/Getty Images)

Whatever we learned from the Exxon oil spill will come in very handy as the colossal body of floating oil from the downed BP rig creeps towards the Louisiana, Alabama and Florida coast lines. By May 5th, 2010 the oil spill will be the size of Rhode Island. The oil spill is so large now that NASA can access satellite images of the oil spill from space. The latest currents are pushing the Gulf oil spill northward, toward a chain of barrier islands off Louisiana. Any change in currents over the next three days will be detrimental to Florida’s coast lines. At the moment the oil spill covers 450 square miles and growing. 42,000 gallons a day of oil have been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20th, 2010. Floridians’, already exasperated from arguing they do not need oil drilling off Florida’s coast, are now busy contemplating options for what seems to be an imminent threat to the coast line and its precious wild life.

(Photo courtesy of NASA - Day 6 of Spill Click photo to see oil slick marker)

Florida has already lost 400 manatees, (8% of the Manatee population) 200 sea turtles and millions of fish in the record breaking 2010 Florida freeze when gulf waters dropped below 55 degrees for prolonged periods. Not that anyone cares, but that same freeze cut SW Florida’s infamous python problem in half also, which is an estimate by Fish and Wildlife staff. [No one has gone out to the marshes to ask how they are doing, so it is just an estimate.]

Regarding the April 20th, 2010 BP rig explosion, Doug Suttles, the chief operating officer for exploration and production at BP, defended the company’s efforts, and said the cleanup was costing $6 million a day. He said engineers had not given up on engaging the valve and were exploring other possible fixes.

Why a certain emergency value that was supposed to work in situations like this, failed to work, will most likely be the subject of congressional queries for later. On other fronts the Coast Guard is trying to set the floating oil ablaze and hopefully reduce the threat. The oceanic agency issued a guide to the burn that advised as follows:

“Based on our limited experience, birds and mammals are more capable of handling the risk of a local fire and temporary smoke plume than of handling the risk posed by a spreading oil slick. Birds flying in the plume can become disoriented, and could suffer toxic effects. This risk, however, is minimal when compared to oil coating and ingestion.”

A burn does not get rid of the oil entirely. It leaves waxy residue that can either be skimmed from the surface or sink to the bottom of the ocean. As hurricane season approaches, Floridians may be praying the “opposite” prayer they normally pray: That a major storm comes in the gulf and blows the oil residue issue out.

As far as stopping the actual oil leak, skeptics are saying containment is almost impossible, and trying to assuage the oil leak will go on for some time. The same skeptics fear the oil will reach a certain main current known as “the loop” that will cause major damage to the entire Florida coast line all the way down to Key West. “At the present time, the loop current isn’t reaching quite as for north as where this spill occurred, but it often does,” one expert said and added “if oil gets into the loop current, it can very rapidly get into the Florida Keys and the southeast coast of Florida.” http://www.deborahdolen.net/about-author-Deborah-Dolen.htm

Deborah Dolen is an environmental writer who lives in SW Florida. Deborah is also Editor in Chief for Mabel White DIY. Join her on Twitter @deborahdolen @mabelwhitediy or at FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/deborah.dolen

Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book.