Oil spill update from the field: Grand Isle beach is smothered in oil and birds are feeding in it
Categories:
05/23/2010
The oil washing up on Grand Isle beach sticks to almost everything, including sand, birds and Styrofoam plates. (Photo by Justin Nobel)
Grand Isle, Louisiana, May 23
A semipalmated sandpiper pitter patters down the beach, feeding from sand laced with sticky red puddles of oil. The bird has red smeared across its flanks and face. Nearby, a flock of sanderlings pecks for worms and mollusks. The sand they’re feeding from is riddled with globs of oil and at least five of them are smothered in the stuff. Near the water’s edge, the beach is red. And out in the Gulf, wave after wave crests red, unloading a new supply of crude with every crash.
This is Grand Isle State Park, a barrier island retreat that on typical May weekends is bustling with beachgoers. The nearby town of Grand Isle is a summery community of daiquiri bars, seafood restaurants and beachside homes colored sherbet and baby blue. But today a pall has been cast upon the town, after weeks of waiting for oil and hoping it would stay offshore, it has arrived, the first oil to hit a populated part of the coast. Other than a pair of CNN reporters, a French film crew and the sheriff, the beach is empty, except of course for the birds, many of them migrants on their way to the Arctic. Those with oil may never make it.
Grand Isle beach was closed to the public on Friday. On Saturday the only people there were a pair of CNN reporters, a French film crew and the sheriff. (Photo by Justin Nobel)
“It is distressing,” says Tamara Augustine, the park’s manager, who lives in a yellow cabin in the dunes. “I see it happening and I’m watching minute by minute and that’s all I can do, just watch.”
The National Guard arrived today with a fleet of trucks and a grand and undeveloped idea. They want to build some sort of barrier along the shore, a new oil-stopping technique. They’ll get started tomorrow, but nobody is quite sure what they’re up to, and after dropping off their equipment they are nowhere to be seen. “They didn’t tell me much” says Tamara. “They seemed to be in a rush.”
They are also late. The oil began washing ashore on Grand Isle early Friday morning, and it hasn’t stopped since. As the sun sets choppers rifle across the sky and boom bounces about like boiling spaghettii. Oddly, marine life carries on as if nothing is new; mullet jump from the water and snowy egrets survey the beach from a breakwater. A single dolphin swims by, its fin slicing through red waves of oil.
At a seafood restaurant in town, a table of CBS reporters tell oil spill war stories and a couple of Audubon workers eat crab. Rhea Pelotto, the restaurant manager, excitedly brings over a book about the Exxon Valdez oil spill and opens to a page with a picture of a smiling woman in a yellow smock. “You see this woman,” says Rhea. “She was just washing the clothes of the workers who were cleaning up the oil and got some sort of respiratory ailment, now she is suffering!”
The thought of her own beach now smothered in oil brings tears to Rhea's eyes. “I just can’t wrap my mind around it,” she says. “Nobody can.”
Beached oil takes many forms; sheen, tar balls or quicksilver globulets. (Photo by Justin Nobel)
Comments
2nd Plague
This , my dear friends, is the 2nd plague. Brace yourselves, for the 7 plagues only last 1 year. Then it will be the 7 year trib which I or any other saved person will not be here for. If you are here... The first 3.5 years will seem "normal" Then, Obama, aka the anti-christ, will speak and say I am God, Worship me or DIE. He will be in control for another 3.5 years, then It will be the battle of Armagedon. Then the final judgement. I pray for you all. I pray you find Christ as your savior. Save yourself now. Ask for forgiveness from your sins and Save yourself now. It is time. It is here.
SDS PLAN
Wow! Nice topics, I am looking this type of topics. But I need more informations. I know a New Drafting CAD Site gives away over 100 House plans for free.
Huge oppertunity to protect wetlands Ignored
Absorbent "W", a paper base biodegradable oil specificant absorbent that has a proven superior track record in oil spill response expecially in wetlands has been ignored. Absorption Corp has the capacity to produces many truckloads of products daily from two large modern facilities. The ignoring appears to be largley due to competative oil based absorbent technology companys blocking the use of all organic absorbents. In spite of the fact huderds of miles of wetlands could be protected with this technology, special interet groups appear to be still blocking it's deployment.
It is a crying shame that even during a major desaster this type of narrow minded self surving attitude still persists. Local TV news has covered and whitnessed demos of the product This is posted on the company website. absorptioncorp.com or http://www.socksandpads.com/
Looks like a great solution
With the potential damage this leak may cause, we should be pursuing all available resources. Checkout the video clips posted on their website. They are impressive. Before it is too late. Some long term impacts can still be prevented.
Stopping the Deepwater Horizon well
Since the well exploded no method has worked to stop the oil. We are all waiting for the new drilling to be able to inject cement into the dome of the well and stop the oil from escaping. If that fails or does not completely stop the oil then what is next? This is not like Katrina where the Corps of Engineers can get closely involved with repairs and construction. We are all resting on BP being able to stop the oil. No one else can do it. Think about it no disaster in my memory I'm 61 has had to soley relie on the company except for the Dupont disaster in India [Bopha]. Even Three mile Island was handled by the Feds, they were all over that place. 911 had the Feds involved and we got into a war over it. No government agency can fix this, our country and government can not deal with oil spills of this size let alone a larger spill. Being in 5000ft of water is the problem and yet we have no backup plans to confront a issue like this. And yet the Corps is stonewalling dredging man made barrier reefs in La. to act as a front line before the oil comes into the marsh area. The are really inept, I worked with the Corps for 30 years and know how F.... up they are. Zircon .
KEEPING IT IN PERSPECTIVE
How many people really believe that BP Petroleum wanted this to happen. I read some of the comments here I am saddened. One says "My heart goes out to everyone suffering and mourning the loss of our wetlands and its inhabitants.". What about mourning the death of the 11 men and their families who lost their lives in this "accident". As hard as it is to accept and to admit - this was an accident that I feel certain no one planned or wanted to happen. What is happening is terrible to the coast but one day it will be returned to normal. The eleven men will never be back! Their families will never get the chance to see their loved ones again. Let's keep it in perspective. One here says GD PB - how very sad!
GD BP Is Right
Not only BP but all of the mney hungry politicians who back them and com[panies like them. You are soooo very ignorant. Does morning the loss of wild life and the absolute destruction of our world mean that i do not care about the people hurt? Obviously you are a moron. You are correct in stating tht thise 1 people willnever return and for that we are all seddened. That being said their fate is sealed the fate of the rest of the planets inhabitnts is at risk and you are upset becue some one use th your lords name in vain. Get some perspective you mental midget. We re talking about the ability of your children to breath fresh air and drink clean water and have a world to pass on to their kids in which they can actually surive. Stop being so damn conceited and step outside of your little world for a moment.
You call me an idiot - do I
You call me an idiot - do I not have the right to my own opion? Why do you need to be so insulting to make your point. The only truth in your reply is that I am upset because someone took my Lord's name in vain. God will take care of His world - he created it and he knows what he is doing.
Stewards
Are we (people) not stewards for the planet?
And as stewards is it not our role to care for it as God cares for the sparrow? And if as stewards we are to care for the planet, have we not failed God?
Journalists threatened by BP
Journalists threatened by BP for filming oil spill mess? Coast Guard: It's their [BP's] rules, not ours." Corporations can now threaten citizens with arrest? Do what?!!! I knew that corporatism under both Dems and Repubs was bad (both are in the hip pockets of the corporations, make no mistake), but this is out of control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHdwpFdpjVg
CBS has video of journalists being threatened with arrest:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19272
Virtually all readings that will be used in court to establish liability claims against BP will be obtained by one lab that has Big Oil as some of its biggest clients. Mr. Kirschenfeld, an Escambia County Florida environmental official said that local rescue workers in Escambia County who would be involved in rescue efforts of animals covered with oil and who would gather data that would be used to help calculate penalties against BP must be from a company hired by.... wait for it...wait for it... BP!!!
Sylvia V. Baca, who worked 8 years for BP was chosen by Salazar (who is going to get tough on BP - yeah, right) is deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management. She in this regard helps to oversee the minerals management service - which oversees offshore drilling.
And Obama got the most campaign cash from BP of ANY federal politician in the past 20 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/earth/21conflict.html
Such a shame
I went to Grand Isle for the first time last year, and it's hard to imagine its beaches now drenched in oil and dead animals killed by the spill. I sincerely hope that something is done to STOP THE OIL NOW. If we can conjure up billions at the drop of a hat for everything else, we should be able to put America's best minds to work on ways to end the spill and restore the wetlands of coastal Louisiana.
http://blogs.edf.org/restorationandresilience
Environmental responsibility
Our environment is under attack. And we do nothing. Big business is using our natural resources as their private toxic waste dump and we do nothing about it. The senate, the congress, the supreme court and the presidency are all on the take from the industries that pollute our environment. And we do nothing. If we suggest they have to pay for the cost of pollution. They scream it will raise our taxes, or the cost of oil, of which 50% is tax anyway, so we do nothing. IT IS TIME TO STOP DOING NOTHING. We must force these companies to include the cost of pollution control in the price of our fuel and all of our products is part of the cost of the product. There is no free lunch. Those who pollute must pay the entire cost of the cleanup or go to jail. Every plant the generates waste must pay to leave the land, air and water as clean as they found it, or go to jail. When catastrophes occur, they must pay to clean it up, even if they must close their doors, or go to jail. We have got to stop being weak minded, pusillanimous, cowards about this and stand up for our rights. These are our resources, our beaches, our oceans, they can not use them for their own profit and not pay to return them to us in the condition they found them. And, if t that costs us more for the products, that is the price of the products. Wake up! Demand clean, pollution free products, be prepared to pay the cost of this, provide restrictions, through the government about their operations, and take these people to task, or take them to jail!
Here, Here! Cheers to you
Nicely stated. We need to force these animals to accept responsiblility tht they would never tke on their own. I wnt a list of the people wh worked ont e bill limiting the Oil companies liability to a mere millions of dollars. These people worked on the legislation should be made public and a list of politicians who voted for said bill should be made public so that they neve recieve another vote again. Where are all the journalists?? Why do they care more about ho Jennifer Aniston dtes than who is purposely selling our world out from under us?!! Stand Up America! It is time to fight the powers that be as they do not have your best interests in mind. CNN, MSNBC, FOX all of you so called news organizations can go directly to hell and lets start asking some real questions. I want the people responsible for this. I knwo weher to find them ....the senate, the House of representatives and the White house! Why has our fearless Leader (whom i voted for by the way)not told BP they can not sell another drop of oil to the US or our allies until this disaster is fixed??
Stand up and be strong
My heart goes out to everyone suffering and mourning the loss of our wetlands and its inhabitants. Make your voice heard. Take pictures, demand action from our politicians and BP, share your stories! We cannot allow corporate greed to win. We all know what kind of quarterly profits these companies earn. Perhaps if the small amount of oil that BP is salvaging (for their own profit) was dumped on Lamar McKay's home, he might have a different attitude. The utter irresponsibility and dishonesty of the various companies and government agencies involved is totally unacceptable. Please be proactive and insist on accountability! We only have ourselves to blame for enduring silence and accepting the status quo.
This is probably the second
This is probably the second plegue in revelation 16:3
"and the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became
as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea".
Yeah OK and you can crawl
Yeah OK and you can crawl back into your cave and go back to sleep for another 1,000 years. Stop confusing your own ignorant narcosistic dreams with reality. If there is a God why doesn't he ever help. Who needs a mean spirited child who is all powerful. I fear not your god but i do fear your ignorance. God's will....what a joke. Grow a brain please.
That's why I said it's
That's why I said it's (probably) the second plague
cause I don't really know...read the sentence first before
you talk you so called genius.
Talk about grow a brain lol.
How do you know what's going on in the worid?...
Are you the creater? Or whatever it is you beleive in?
U can't just call what people beleive (ignorant narcosistic dreams)
that just makes you judgemental. We didn't just pop out of nowhere...
God is creater of all creation. Respect he that gave you life
and the freedom to do what you want... Even though evil people
control the world...just don't give up. Don't be weak. Amen.
God damn you BP.
God damn you BP.
Grand Isle
We are so sad. We had to relocate after hurricane Katrina and looked forward to vacationing and enjoy the wonders of Mother Nature in Grand Isle, Our most favorite vacation spot. Louis and April Weisler
oilspill
I am keeping Grand Isle in my thoughts. I am orinally from down the bayou and spent many summers down in Grand Isle. I hate the idea of all that oil destroying such a wonderful place.
This is horrible. I cant
This is horrible. I cant beleive the birds are eating the oil.