BP and the Coast Guard used Corexit in unprecedented numbers in the Gulf of Mexico. The dispersant is designed to bond with the oil and sink the mix of chemical and crude deep, far away from shore and while this is indeed happening, depleting the oxygen and poisoning the lowest rung of the food chain on the sea floor, unfortunately it is also beginning to now wash … Continue reading Traces of Corexit Washing Up On Alabama Beaches?
Reported in the Times-Picayune this morning: Government scientists say three-quarters of the oil from BP’s massive spill has been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces. White House energy adviser Carol Browner said on morning TV talk shows Wednesday that a new assessment found that about 75 percent of the oil has either been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf … Continue reading Government says 75% of the oil is gone…pardon my skepticism
From the Times-Picayune: BP embarked Tuesday on an operation that could seal the biggest offshore oil leak in U.S. history once and for all, forcing mud down the throat of its blown-out well in a tactic known variously as “bullheading” or a “static kill.” The pressure in the well dropped quickly in the first 90 minutes of the procedure, a sign that everything was going … Continue reading Update on the Static Kill…what’s the issue with the relief wells? ie…Who’s in Charge?
A new survey, conducted between July 19th and 25th by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia found what most have suspected, confirming the results of the Ochsner survey released last week… people in the Gulf Coast are feeling it. When your livelihoods, culture and earning potentials are taken away or reduced…when your overall quality of life is severely impacted to the point of survival…anxiety … Continue reading Mental Health on the Gulf Coast…the numbers keep coming…
Today in Plaquemines Parish, WVUE correspondent John Snell and Parish Coastal Zone Director, PJ Hahn accidentally struck it rich. After the initial disappointment in finding no oil on the water’s surface, PJ and the crew were stepping across the barrier island, when one of the crew stepped in the right place and oil began bubbling up through the sand by way of a hermit crab … Continue reading Oil discovered under the barrier island’s sand – Plaquemines Parish
A funny thing has happened in the Gulf of Mexico these past couple weeks…that oil spill? It’s over, the oil spill is more or less over, all taken care of so you can switch the channel now. The fisherman will be back at work soon, the oil isn’t in the marshes, it’s not on the beaches and it certainly isn’t flowing out of the Macondo … Continue reading Wanna know a secret? Shhh…there’s still a ton of oil in the Gulf of Mexico
So a federal scientific panel now has an accurate estimate of the amount of oil British Petroleum has unleashed into the Gulf of Mexico…After months of competing estimates, typically pitting independent scientists against British Petroleum and the Coast Guard, the number is 5,000,000 barrels of oil. 5,000,000, at a recent flow rate of 53,000 barrels per day before the well was capped and an estimate … Continue reading We Got a Flow Rate…5,000,000 Barrels…We’re #1!
Now that the oil well has been capped in the Gulf, some waters have been reopened for fishing. Inspectors throughout the Gulf Coast are conducting smell tests to determine if the seafood is safe for human consumption. It might seem silly, especially in this day and age there are no better ways to test for chemicals, but the practice is actually quite common. Course, not … Continue reading Chemicals in Gulf Seafood? No Worries, We Got Smell Tests
Sometimes you need a break… Nine Inch Nails – Burn The hidden subtext? Obviously… You can be anything you want when you grow up, even President of the United States. Have a nice day Continue reading And now, a word from our sponsors…Vol 3.
According to the Washington Post, the static kill could begin as early as Monday night, part of a two pronged plan to seal the Macondo well for good. The idea is to pump mud into the capped well, very slowly and push the oil all the way back down to its source rock, 2.5 miles below the seafloor. However, “the static kill is not the … Continue reading A Few Notes on the Static Kill…some benefits, a few risks, a series of half-truths
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 