Oil Spill Rain?

I've been quiet about my concerns so far since this is basically a writer's blog. But this writer lives in Louisiana and she has been very concerned about the global effects of the oil spill on our environment. About the possibility of the entire Gulf of Mexico becoming a dead zone. About species of fish from the size of plankton to hump back and sperm whales, who come to the gulf to breed, having their numbers drastically reduced. Already two hump back juveniles have washed up on the New Jersey coastline. Victims of the gulf spill? They don't know yet.

US Coast Guard estimated that approximately seven to ten million gallons of oil and petroleum distillates were spilled during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The losses were from various sources, including pipelines, storage tanks, drilling rigs, production platforms and industrial plants. Then, two years ago, after Gustav, I heard the rain was more toxic than usual and we saw a direct result in our gardens and fishing in the area a hundred miles north of the gulf.

How much more toxic a hurricane will a methane and oil clogged ocean produce? Reports are that the methane being produced from the dispersants in the water could be as high as a million times higher than normal. Add to that the lie factor of BP and we could be looking at much much more. Through the grapevine some have heard FEMA is making short and long term plans to evacuate 200miles from the coast which would include most of southern and maybe central Louisiana, MIssissippi, and the panhandle of Florida. http://www.freemaptools.com/radius-around-point.htm shows the radius just so:


We're not talking livelihoods, fishing, or vacations, here, people. We're talking about totally abandoning the gulf coast until it's safe to return. And have we proven how adept we are at solving catastrophes like this?

April 23, 2010 an article with videos of the rig on fire reported that fears had eased over the threat of an oil spill.

Sorry to sound like chicken little but I don't think now is the time to stick our heads in the sand...

Gulf Coast Volunteer links

A member of our Goals loop gave some links in case anyone is able to volunteer for the oil cleanup efforts on the coast. Residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast were commended for taking personal initiative to deal with the devastation from Katrina. The are doing the same in response to this oil spill with many taking it upon themselves to purchase booms, oil dispersant chemicals and organize volunteers. So far the worst has not happened though the first of the oil is expected to reach Florida's coastline today and possibly the Keys by the end of the week.

If you want to help or volunteer, Amber's blog is here.

A bizarre little known fact that is spurring salons to contribute - hair collected from customers, both humans and pets, and inserted into panty hose absorbs oil in the water completely. Collections are being made all over the country according to HLN.

Tornados and Oil Spills

If you follow the straight line of the boot across to where it turns north, we are just left of that crook.

At first they said this severe weather outbreak wouldn't be as bad as last weekend when a powerful F2 devastated Yazoo City, Mississippi which is northeast of here. But it's getting pretty tough out there with Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Wisconsin already reporting tornados.

Dr. Forbes of the Weather channel has what he calls a Tor Con Index. This will be another night where I keep getting up and looking out the window listening to the wind and asking myself, "Is that a train?" They say a tornado sounds like a train, but I always wondered if they meant the roar, the whistle, or the train on the tracks as it passes.

Last week we were expected to get extreme weather. It didn't even rain. Our farmers are out of time. They must get a rain to plant this week or it will be too late. So what's a little severe weather stacked against the loss of their crops.




Three weeks after the oil rig explosion in the Gulf, BP and the authorities are finally mobilizing as it dawns on them that our coastlines, beaches, wildlife and seafood industries are fixing to be devastated by what they originally said was not a large spill. Who were they kidding? The original estimate was 1000 barrels a day. New information suggests 150-200,000 barrels a month are spewing into the waters of the Gulf and Southeasterly winds are blowing them straight at the coastlines of some our most popular beaches. Shades of the Valdez.

Pray for the Missing and Injured

The sky is a dusty pale blue, with only one puffy cloud and some jet trails to mar its perfection. Normally, it would be considered a beautiful day but the dread and terrible possibilities seem to hang in the air like grey matter.

Last night there was an oil rig explosion off the Louisiana coast. Most of the men working on that rig were from south and central Louisiana. One of the seriously injured is from our wee town and three of the missing this town's sons. As of now, they haven't been found. There's a good chance if they made it into the waters they will be found by the Coast Guard as seas were low and the weather good.

This was a devastating explosion which we heard sunk the drilling barge/ship/platform pretty quickly. How often do we see reports like this on the news and not knowing the victims, we forget that someone just like us is suffering the loss or uncertainty about his or her loved ones.

Ironically, the breaking news of the Steelers quarterback has now taken over the followup of this story so it's difficult to stay on top of the progress.

I can ONLY imagine what these families are going through...

UPDATE - unfortunately the most 'local' channels to our area are at least 75 miles away and they aren't covering the explosion so we're forced to get news on the web or CNN. As of this morning, they are still searching for the 12 missing workers.