Showing posts with label Gulf Oil Spill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gulf Oil Spill. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

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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Sunday, June 13, 2010

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.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

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.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

What Wildlife Rescues Need: Gulf Oil Spill by Deborah Dolen (Getty Images/AP)

What Rescues Need for Gulf Oil Spill Deborah Dolen (Getty Images/AP)

Whether it be birds, sea turtles or other wildlife-the requests have the following in common:

Dawn Dish Detergent, towels, rubber gloves, sheets, pepto bismal, tooth brushes, instant coffee and creamer, snack bars, sun block, distilled water in gallons to drink, sun hats.

Depending on the type of rescue they could need these:

Cages, boots, nets, tents with stakes, Walmart/Target gift cards.

Contacts for Tampa Bay Area:

Phone numbers courtesy of TampaBay.com

The state has opened a phone line to give Floridians information about the spill. The Florida State Emergency Information Line will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice. The toll-free number is 1-800-342-3557.

A number of federal or national phone lines are operating as well:
• To report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: toll-free, 1-866-448-5816
• To submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511
• To submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: (281) 366-5511
• To submit a claim for damages: toll-free, 1-800-440-0858
• To report oiled wildlife: toll-free, 1-866-557-1401
• To contact the Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center: (985) 902-5231.


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 Everybody's Involved :) by Deborah Dolen

For the first time in history everyone is getting involved before the brunt of a disaster strikes. To the oil spill effort 17,000 National Guardsmen have been activated, the Navy is donating some assets such as 66,000 feet of inflatable boom, several skimming systems, Air force, Army, and countless civilians will help with the oil spill from all different angles. Corporations such as SeaWorld are throwing in expertise, and coastal volunteers responding in droves. Universities such as USF, UF and FSU are also helping in a multitude of ways. Volunteers will also come from other states. On top of domestic efforts, other countries are pledging support. Amazingly, Iran is one of those countries. People will also come from other states to help as well as non-profit organizations such as churches. Eckerd College, my alma matter, is sending out search and rescue teams and have been patrolling Bay area waters.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Oil Spill day 11: Smell of Petrol Arrives First to Florida Coast by Deborah Dolen (AFP/Getty Images)






Oil Spill Day 11: Smell of Petrol Arrives First to Florida Coast by Deborah Dolen (AFP/Getty Images.)

As far as the smell of the Gulf Oil Spill, it has already arrived on Florida shores. “I smell gas or propane” these type of phone calls to emergency services are rapidly increasing down the Florida coast, most interestingly as far south as Naples, FL. Residents are also describing the smell as turpentine, burnt rubber or roach spray. The question is, are Florida residents really smelling the gas spill hundreds of miles away or is it a psychological adoption just knowing the oil spill is “out there?” It is real reports the Florida Department of Environmental Protection who says, “although the smell is unpleasant it is not dangerous.”

As early as April 27th, Bay News 9 in Tampa, FL reported dozens of viewers calling in or e-mailing asking about “the smell.” They've described it as turpentine, burnt rubber or roach spray. Residents also have been calling St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue. Lt. Joel Grenata said several people have called in emergency gas leaks. W hen fire crews arrive, they can't find anything wrong.

About the same time emergency officials were getting calls in Naples, FL about the same phenomenon. Again the Naples emergency crews would arrive to find no leak. All Noah Standridge, of North Naples, needed to do was open his front door Tuesday afternoon. After a quick check to make sure his car wasn’t leaking fluids, Standridge realized the smell was coming from beyond his house. “The first thing I thought of was that oil rig out there,” he said.

If this spill is anything like the Timor Oil Spill off Australia’s coast, it will take about ten weeks to patch. The good news is that the type of oil is not a heavy oil as with the Exxon Valdez. Environmentalist feel the warm water, strong sunlight will degrade the oil much faster than in other types of spills. Ed Overton, a professor emeritus of environmental sciences at Louisiana State University and oil spill expert said “If you had to pick an oil to spill, this would be it.”
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.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Now What? Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico Observations by Deborah Dolen


Now What? Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico Observations by Deborah Dolen (AFP/Getty Images)


Get ready to see emancipated dolphins, gasping sea turtles and whales that cannot take it. BP's well is spewing about 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the ocean, according to Coast Guard estimates. This is much more than the 45,000 gallons a day people were told a few days ago. This spill will rival the Exxon Valdez and be more spread out because the sweet crude oil is not entering cold waters where it tends to gunk together, warm, it breaks apart easier and some oil will fall to the ocean floor. Falling to the bottom is not a good thing as many marine life eat off the bottom. Warmer water temperatures offered by the Gulf of Mexico is the same reason this oil spill is not easy to set afire as 95% of the spill is already mixed with the water. The comparatively warm waters of the gulf also move the oil spill faster than in the Valdez crises. But the best comparison, discussed at the end of this article in not Valdez. The best comparison to an oil spill of this likeness an origin is one that happened last year in September off the coast of Australia in the Timor Sea.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is presently headed to the Mississippi river. What impact it will have on fresh water supplies will be an urgent question. The areas trillion dollar fishing industry is already past the risk stage, and lawsuits are being rushed to the court houses by fisherman already damaged – primarily shrimp fishermen. The other coastal states need not worry, there is enough sweet crude oil spewing to go around for everybody. As soon as the current goes south east, and it will, a major undertaking to protect Alabama and Florida wildlife and coast lines will be underway.




















Greenpeace's Hocevar said he's particularly concerned about the impact to critically endangered bluefin tuna. "It's their spawning season and bluefin larvae in this part of their life-cycle would be near the surface of water," Hocevar said. The oil could also harm sea turtles, which are approaching nesting season; fin whales; menhaden, a fish species harvested mostly for fish meal and fish oil; bottom-feeding oysters; and numerous species of birds, according to Hocevar.

Florida environmentalist report endangered sea turtles are in the gulf preparing any day to begin the difficult process of nesting on Florida’s beaches. Manatees’, the vegan loving walrus looking creatures are not going to fare well either in floating gas. There is no data on the effect of an oil spill on Manatees because they have never been out playing in an oil slick. Dolphins are expected to also experience crises due to the oil spill, such as emancipation, a hallmark of the Australian oil spill last year.
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.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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.