Against Federal Advice Pensacola Beach Opens; Over 400 people sick
So far, 400 people have sought medical care for upper or lower respiratory problems, headaches, nausea, and eye irritation after trips to Escambia County beaches, Lanza said.
By 10 a.m. on Friday, the double red flags prohibiting beachgoers from the water were replaced with yellow flags.“We’re flying the yellow flags. And that means you need to be careful where you step,” Lee said. “Just be careful and have a good time.”
But oil chips, tar balls and submerged oil slicks and the odor of petroleum still were present.
And people complained about getting a petroleum jelly-like substance on them from sand that was tainted brown.Swimmers who did venture into the water questioned whether it was really safe to wade, swim and play in the Gulf, especially when they had to walk through a line of tar balls and stay clear of skimmers scooping up oil just 25 and 50 feet from the shore.
Read more of the story and view the pics at the link above!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup A PR Stunt That Leaves Layers Of Oil Caked On Gulf Beaches
A former BP Gulf Oil Spill cleanup worker has came forward to break the BP media blackout and has revealed to a a local Pensacola CBS news station, WKRG Channel 5, that the BP cleanup operations are nothing more than a fake PR Stunt meant to keep the sight of oil out of the eyes of the public.
The whistle blower revealed that each tide cycle leaves a layer of oil on the beach and when the next tide cycle comes in the oil on the beach is covered by a few inches of sand brought in by the new tide.
As the tide goes back out, that’s when BP workers hit the beach and cleanup up only the tarballs and oil that remain on the surface to give the beach the appearance of being oil free.
As the cycle of tides continue the once clean pristine white beaches of sand along the Gulf Coast become layers of sand and oil that is not being cleanup up by BP.
READ MORE AT THE LINK!
BP Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup A PR Stunt That Leaves Layers Of Oil Caked On Gulf Beaches
The whistle blower revealed that each tide cycle leaves a layer of oil on the beach and when the next tide cycle comes in the oil on the beach is covered by a few inches of sand brought in by the new tide.
As the tide goes back out, that’s when BP workers hit the beach and cleanup up only the tarballs and oil that remain on the surface to give the beach the appearance of being oil free.
As the cycle of tides continue the once clean pristine white beaches of sand along the Gulf Coast become layers of sand and oil that is not being cleanup up by BP.
READ MORE AT THE LINK!
BP Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup A PR Stunt That Leaves Layers Of Oil Caked On Gulf Beaches
Saturday, June 26, 2010
HANDS ACROSS THE SAND in TAMPA on 6/26/2010!
We had a great event, we got started right on time with speakers addressing the crowd at 1130AM and then we began to form our line at 1145AM. Congressman Kendrick Meek spoke and then State Representative for District 58, Janet Cruz, me, Anita Stewart for Hillsborough County Soil and Water and Jay Alexander, local activist and member of Veterans for Peace spoke on bringing back the CCC. The mood was a mixed bunch--183 people consisting of old, young, students, kids and even dogs and everyone's mood was jubilant, exuberant and playful. St. Pete Times was on hand along with Channel 8 News, WMNF-FM 88.5 Community Radio and Free Speech News. Everyone was so excited because Hands Across the Sand had gone global, all the participants gave Dave Rauschkolb a hand for coming up with this idea and organizing this action . Everyone had a great day and we were happy to take part in this history making event!
See all about HANDS ACROSS THE SAND and more PICS and VIDEOS at the following links:
HANDS ACROSS THE SAND
HANDS ACROSS THE SAND PICTURE POOL ON FLICKR
HANDS ACROSS THE SAND ON YOUTUBE
FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE
Drilling Expert Says Leaning Gulf Oil Spill BOP May Fall
“All the actions and few tid bits of information all lead to one inescapable conclusion. The well pipes below the sea floor are broken and leaking. Now you have some real data of how BP’s actions are evidence of that, as well as some murky statement from “BP officials” confirming the same.
“To those of us outside the real inside loop, yet still fairly knowledgeable, [the failure of Top Kill] was a major confirmation of what many feared. That the system below the sea floor has serious failures of varying magnitude in the complicated chain, and it is breaking down and it will continue to.
“What does this mean?
“It means they will never cap the gusher after the wellhead. They cannot…the more they try and restrict the oil gushing out the bop?…the more it will transfer to the leaks below. Just like a leaky garden hose with a nozzle on it. When you open up the nozzle?…it doesn’t leak so bad, you close the nozzle?…it leaks real bad, same dynamics. It is why they sawed the riser off…or tried to anyway…but they clipped it off, to relieve pressure on the leaks “down hole”. I’m sure there was a bit of panic time after they crimp/pinched off the large riser pipe and the Diamond wire saw got stuck and failed…because that crimp diverted pressure and flow to the rupture down below.
“Contrary to what most of us would think as logical to stop the oil mess, actually opening up the gushing well and making it gush more became direction BP took after confirming that there was a leak. In fact if you note their actions, that should become clear. They have shifted from stopping or restricting the gusher to opening it up and catching it. This only makes sense if they want to relieve pressure at the leak hidden down below the seabed…..and that sort of leak is one of the most dangerous and potentially damaging kind of leak there could be. It is also inaccessible which compounds our problems. There is no way to stop that leak from above, all they can do is relieve the pressure on it and the only way to do that right now is to open up the nozzle above and gush more oil into the gulf and hopefully catch it, which they have done, they just neglected to tell us why, gee thanks.
READ MORE OF THE POST HERE:
Drilling Expert Says Leaning Gulf Oil Spill BOP May Fall
“To those of us outside the real inside loop, yet still fairly knowledgeable, [the failure of Top Kill] was a major confirmation of what many feared. That the system below the sea floor has serious failures of varying magnitude in the complicated chain, and it is breaking down and it will continue to.
“What does this mean?
“It means they will never cap the gusher after the wellhead. They cannot…the more they try and restrict the oil gushing out the bop?…the more it will transfer to the leaks below. Just like a leaky garden hose with a nozzle on it. When you open up the nozzle?…it doesn’t leak so bad, you close the nozzle?…it leaks real bad, same dynamics. It is why they sawed the riser off…or tried to anyway…but they clipped it off, to relieve pressure on the leaks “down hole”. I’m sure there was a bit of panic time after they crimp/pinched off the large riser pipe and the Diamond wire saw got stuck and failed…because that crimp diverted pressure and flow to the rupture down below.
“Contrary to what most of us would think as logical to stop the oil mess, actually opening up the gushing well and making it gush more became direction BP took after confirming that there was a leak. In fact if you note their actions, that should become clear. They have shifted from stopping or restricting the gusher to opening it up and catching it. This only makes sense if they want to relieve pressure at the leak hidden down below the seabed…..and that sort of leak is one of the most dangerous and potentially damaging kind of leak there could be. It is also inaccessible which compounds our problems. There is no way to stop that leak from above, all they can do is relieve the pressure on it and the only way to do that right now is to open up the nozzle above and gush more oil into the gulf and hopefully catch it, which they have done, they just neglected to tell us why, gee thanks.
READ MORE OF THE POST HERE:
Drilling Expert Says Leaning Gulf Oil Spill BOP May Fall
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Dr. Riki Ott-an Exxon Valdez Survivor and a Marine Biologist/Toxicologist Came to Tampa Bay! Local mainstream media did not even do a story!
On 6/22/2010 Dr. Riki Ott came to speak to the local community and fishermen of Tarpon Springs, Florida. For those of you that do not know who she is, she is an Exxon Valdez survivor. She has written two books about her experiences that you can order through her website: http://www.rikiott.com/books.php
Not a single member of the Tampa Bay mainstream media was there to cover this story.
This is a video of her talking about the current health risks in the Gulf region on Keith Olbermann:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wrQCY76fps
The health risks and the fact that Corexit is a dangerous and hazardous toxin are very clear on the labeling. Keep in mind that this dispersant has been banned for use in England. This poison is dangerous to anyone working or living near the coastlines. For the labeling on the dispersant, see: http://lmrk.org/corexit_9500_uscueg.539287.pdf
I will expand on this report after going over my notes and add more in a couple of days.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
BP and Government Misleading Public About Safety Of Florida Beaches
As a tide of tarballs from the BP Gulf Oil Spill assaults the Florida coast line local Florida residents, businesses and county officials are demanding action from BP, State, and Federal Government officials in charge of monitoring and responding to the spill.
Local residents in Walton County, Florida demanded a Town Hall meeting to discuss the lack of response to the oil assaulting the coast line.
They are also demanding answers to other questions like why local beaches have been declared safe and remain open even though tarballs have been washing ashore for weeks in Florida and the DEP hasn’t tested the waters for hydrocarbons since May 1st.
Ed Berry, a local businessmen, urged the commissioners to make sure the appropriate parties are being held accountable.
In his testimony he said “The children were in the water swimming. They were coming out of the water with tarballs on their face; they were wiping their face and having tar in their eyes and on their mouth.”
While Ed Berry was demanding accountability and pushing for independent testing and monitoring of the local Florida waters Darryl Boudreau, the DEP Assistant District Director, admitted that no direct sampling has been conducted in Walton County waters but worked to downplay the issue.
Boudreau told the commission “Now the tar balls obviously are petroleum, but the water quality surrounding it, it’s not leaching out chemicals”
Video I found seems to tell a different story.
Read more of the story and view the videos here:
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/23/residents-businesses-local-florida-officials-bp-government-misleading-public-safety-florida-beaches/
Local residents in Walton County, Florida demanded a Town Hall meeting to discuss the lack of response to the oil assaulting the coast line.
They are also demanding answers to other questions like why local beaches have been declared safe and remain open even though tarballs have been washing ashore for weeks in Florida and the DEP hasn’t tested the waters for hydrocarbons since May 1st.
Ed Berry, a local businessmen, urged the commissioners to make sure the appropriate parties are being held accountable.
In his testimony he said “The children were in the water swimming. They were coming out of the water with tarballs on their face; they were wiping their face and having tar in their eyes and on their mouth.”
While Ed Berry was demanding accountability and pushing for independent testing and monitoring of the local Florida waters Darryl Boudreau, the DEP Assistant District Director, admitted that no direct sampling has been conducted in Walton County waters but worked to downplay the issue.
Boudreau told the commission “Now the tar balls obviously are petroleum, but the water quality surrounding it, it’s not leaching out chemicals”
Video I found seems to tell a different story.
Read more of the story and view the videos here:
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/23/residents-businesses-local-florida-officials-bp-government-misleading-public-safety-florida-beaches/
Monday, June 21, 2010
First Day Of Summer 2010: The Longest Day Of The Year (PHOTOS)
READ THE ARTICLE AND SEE THE SLIDESHOW ON HUFFINGTON POST!
People watch the sunrise as they celebrate the summer solstice at the Stonehenge monument, England, Monday, June 21, 2010. Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice. About 20,000 people crowded the prehistoric site on Salisbury Plain, southern England, to see the sunrise at 4:52 A.M. (1152EST), following an annual all-night party. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
An ALL NIGHT PARTY, now THAT is what I am talking about!
Haley Barbour: Drilling Moratorium Worse Than The Spill
He is obviously in it for the money! This is the same man that ran a repetitious ad campaign to promote tourism in his state...tr
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Pollution caused by nitrogen run-off at Adventure Island--part of the Busch Gardens complex
This was the pond near the entrance to ADVENTURE ISLAND a part of BUSCH GARDENS in Tampa, Florida. Very serious nitrogen run-off here! The color is off in this photo, the scummy part was a very bright fluorescent green color. Photo was taken on 6/18/2010. Apparently the landscapers are using massive amounts of fertilizer on the greenery in the park. Very polluting in a park that is supposed to be honouring nature...
Photo taken by Anita Stewart, copyright 2010.
See us on the FACEBOOK FAN PAGE, Floridians for Clean Water!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Floridians-for-Clean-Water/347184664146
Friday, June 18, 2010
Ten things you need (but don't want) to know about the BP oil spill
***NOTE FROM ANITA! I am tired of hearing this catastrophe termed a "spill." This is no where near that. A spill can be cleaned up. This is more like an underwater volcano.****
Some of these angles have avoided the radar during the envrionmental crisis
by Daniela Perdomo
More than eight weeks have come and gone since BP's offshore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, crude oil has been hemorrhaging into ocean waters and wreaking unknown havoc on our ecosystem — unknown because there is no accurate estimate of how many barrels of oil are contaminating the Gulf.
Though BP officially has admitted to only a few thousand barrels spilled each day, expert estimates peg the damage at up to 60,000 barrels or over 2.5 million gallons daily. (Perhaps we'd know more if BP hadn't barred independent engineers from inspecting the breach.) Measures to quell the gusher have proved lackluster at best, and unlike the country's last big oil spill — Exxon-Valdez in 1989 — the oil is coming from the ground, not a tanker, so we have no idea how much more oil could continue to pollute the Gulf's waters.
The Deepwater Horizon disaster reminds us what can happen — and will continue to happen — when corporate malfeasance and neglect meet governmental regulatory failure.
The corporate media have been tracking the disaster with front-page articles and nightly news headlines every day (if it bleeds, or spills, it leads!), but the under-reported aspects to this nightmarish tale paint the most chilling picture of the actors and actions behind the catastrophe. In no particular order, here are 10 things about the BP spill you may not know and may not want to know — but you should.
1. Oil rig owner has made $270 million off the oil leak
Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP, has been flying under the radar in the mainstream blame game. The world's largest offshore drilling contractor, the company is conveniently headquartered in corporate-friendly Switzerland, and it's no stranger to oil disasters. In 1979, an oil well it was drilling in the very same Gulf of Mexico ignited, sending the drill platform into the sea and causing one of the largest oil spills by the time it was capped ... nine months later.
This experience undoubtedly influenced Transocean's decision to insure the Deepwater Horizon rig for about twice what it was worth. During a conference call to analysts in May, Transocean reported making a $270 million profit from insurance payouts after the disaster. It's not hard to bet on failure when you know it's somewhat assured.
2. BP has a terrible safety record
BP has a long record of oil-related disasters in the United States. In 2005, BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery exploded, killing 15 workers and injuring another 170. The next year, one of its Alaska pipelines leaked 200,000 gallons of crude oil. According to Public Citizen, BP has paid $550 million in fines. BP seems to particularly enjoy violating the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and has paid the two largest fines in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's history. (Is it any surprise that BP played a central, though greatly under-reported, role in the failure to contain the Exxon-Valdez spill years earlier?)
With Deepwater Horizon, BP didn't break its dismal trend. In addition to choosing a cheaper — and less safe — casing to outfit the well that eventually burst, the company chose not to equip Deepwater Horizon with an acoustic trigger, a last-resort option that could have shut down the well even if it was damaged badly, and which is required in most developed countries that allow offshore drilling. In fact, BP employs these devices in its rigs located near Great Britain, but because the United States recommends rather than requires them, BP had no incentive to buy one — even though they only cost $500,000.
http://www.Seizebp.org estimates that BP makes $500,000 in less than eight minutes.
3. Oil spills are just a cost of doing business for BP
According to the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, approximately $1.6 billion in annual economic activity and services are at risk as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Compare this number — which doesn't include the immeasurable environmental damages — to the current cap on BP's liability for economic damages like lost wages and tourist dollars, which is $75 million. And compare that further to the first-quarter profits BP posted just one week after the explosion: $6 billion.
BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, has solemnly promised that the company will cover more than the required $75 million. On May 10, BP announced it had already spent $350 million. How fantastically generous of a company valued at $152.6 billion, and which makes $93 million each day.
The reality of the matter is that BP will not be deterred by the liability cap and "pity payments" doled out to a handful of victims of this disaster because they pale in comparison to its ghastly profits. Indeed, oil spills are just a cost of doing business for BP.
This is especially evident in a recent Citigroup analyst report prepared for BP investors: "Reaction to the Gulf of Mexico oil leak is a buying opportunity." (But BP's stock has fallen sharply since the beginning of the crisis.)
See the rest of the article here:
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/boiling-point/Content?oid=1746370
Daniela Perdomo is a staff writer and editor at AlterNet. Follow Daniela on Twitter or write her at danielaalternet@gmail.com
Some of these angles have avoided the radar during the envrionmental crisis
by Daniela Perdomo
More than eight weeks have come and gone since BP's offshore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, crude oil has been hemorrhaging into ocean waters and wreaking unknown havoc on our ecosystem — unknown because there is no accurate estimate of how many barrels of oil are contaminating the Gulf.
Though BP officially has admitted to only a few thousand barrels spilled each day, expert estimates peg the damage at up to 60,000 barrels or over 2.5 million gallons daily. (Perhaps we'd know more if BP hadn't barred independent engineers from inspecting the breach.) Measures to quell the gusher have proved lackluster at best, and unlike the country's last big oil spill — Exxon-Valdez in 1989 — the oil is coming from the ground, not a tanker, so we have no idea how much more oil could continue to pollute the Gulf's waters.
The Deepwater Horizon disaster reminds us what can happen — and will continue to happen — when corporate malfeasance and neglect meet governmental regulatory failure.
The corporate media have been tracking the disaster with front-page articles and nightly news headlines every day (if it bleeds, or spills, it leads!), but the under-reported aspects to this nightmarish tale paint the most chilling picture of the actors and actions behind the catastrophe. In no particular order, here are 10 things about the BP spill you may not know and may not want to know — but you should.
1. Oil rig owner has made $270 million off the oil leak
Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP, has been flying under the radar in the mainstream blame game. The world's largest offshore drilling contractor, the company is conveniently headquartered in corporate-friendly Switzerland, and it's no stranger to oil disasters. In 1979, an oil well it was drilling in the very same Gulf of Mexico ignited, sending the drill platform into the sea and causing one of the largest oil spills by the time it was capped ... nine months later.
This experience undoubtedly influenced Transocean's decision to insure the Deepwater Horizon rig for about twice what it was worth. During a conference call to analysts in May, Transocean reported making a $270 million profit from insurance payouts after the disaster. It's not hard to bet on failure when you know it's somewhat assured.
2. BP has a terrible safety record
BP has a long record of oil-related disasters in the United States. In 2005, BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery exploded, killing 15 workers and injuring another 170. The next year, one of its Alaska pipelines leaked 200,000 gallons of crude oil. According to Public Citizen, BP has paid $550 million in fines. BP seems to particularly enjoy violating the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and has paid the two largest fines in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's history. (Is it any surprise that BP played a central, though greatly under-reported, role in the failure to contain the Exxon-Valdez spill years earlier?)
With Deepwater Horizon, BP didn't break its dismal trend. In addition to choosing a cheaper — and less safe — casing to outfit the well that eventually burst, the company chose not to equip Deepwater Horizon with an acoustic trigger, a last-resort option that could have shut down the well even if it was damaged badly, and which is required in most developed countries that allow offshore drilling. In fact, BP employs these devices in its rigs located near Great Britain, but because the United States recommends rather than requires them, BP had no incentive to buy one — even though they only cost $500,000.
http://www.Seizebp.org estimates that BP makes $500,000 in less than eight minutes.
3. Oil spills are just a cost of doing business for BP
According to the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, approximately $1.6 billion in annual economic activity and services are at risk as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Compare this number — which doesn't include the immeasurable environmental damages — to the current cap on BP's liability for economic damages like lost wages and tourist dollars, which is $75 million. And compare that further to the first-quarter profits BP posted just one week after the explosion: $6 billion.
BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, has solemnly promised that the company will cover more than the required $75 million. On May 10, BP announced it had already spent $350 million. How fantastically generous of a company valued at $152.6 billion, and which makes $93 million each day.
The reality of the matter is that BP will not be deterred by the liability cap and "pity payments" doled out to a handful of victims of this disaster because they pale in comparison to its ghastly profits. Indeed, oil spills are just a cost of doing business for BP.
This is especially evident in a recent Citigroup analyst report prepared for BP investors: "Reaction to the Gulf of Mexico oil leak is a buying opportunity." (But BP's stock has fallen sharply since the beginning of the crisis.)
See the rest of the article here:
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/boiling-point/Content?oid=1746370
Daniela Perdomo is a staff writer and editor at AlterNet. Follow Daniela on Twitter or write her at danielaalternet@gmail.com
Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns
Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns
By MATTHEW BROWN and RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI (AP) – 4 hours ago
NEW ORLEANS — It is an overlooked danger in oil spill crisis: The crude gushing from the well contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the Gulf of Mexico's fragile ecosystem.
The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler, a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.
That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives.
"This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.
Methane is a colorless, odorless and flammable substance that is a major component in the natural gas used to heat people's homes. Petroleum engineers typically burn off excess gas attached to crude before the oil is shipped off to the refinery. That's exactly what BP has done as it has captured more than 7.5 million gallons of crude from the breached well.
READ MORE HERE:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9GDJBO84
MORE LINKS:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13355795.htm
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/104065-e2-round-up-gas-from-bp-well-is-an-overlooked-threat-white-house-push-on-bp-fund-sparks-debate-about-governments-reach-and-mistakes-hinder-spill-response-effort
By MATTHEW BROWN and RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI (AP) – 4 hours ago
NEW ORLEANS — It is an overlooked danger in oil spill crisis: The crude gushing from the well contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the Gulf of Mexico's fragile ecosystem.
The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler, a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.
That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives.
"This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.
Methane is a colorless, odorless and flammable substance that is a major component in the natural gas used to heat people's homes. Petroleum engineers typically burn off excess gas attached to crude before the oil is shipped off to the refinery. That's exactly what BP has done as it has captured more than 7.5 million gallons of crude from the breached well.
READ MORE HERE:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9GDJBO84
MORE LINKS:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/17/c_13355795.htm
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/104065-e2-round-up-gas-from-bp-well-is-an-overlooked-threat-white-house-push-on-bp-fund-sparks-debate-about-governments-reach-and-mistakes-hinder-spill-response-effort
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
16 Burning Questions About The Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill That We Deserve Some Answers To
http://www.benzinga.com/10/06/334441/16-burning-questions-about-the-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-that-we-deserve-some-answers-to
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a national nightmare that seems to have no ending. Every day new details come out that are even more shocking than what we learned the day before. The truth is that life will never be the same in the Gulf of Mexico or for those who live along the Gulf coast. Now Barack Obama has made a big Oval Office speech and has tried to convince all of us that he is in charge of the crisis. Well, perhaps if he had tried to take decisive action a month ago the American people may have rallied around him. But right now the BP/government response to this disaster remains completely and totally chaotic. Nobody seems to be able to stop the leak, and BP has made the environmental nightmare far worse by dumping over a million gallons of highly toxic dispersants into the Gulf. U.S. government officials are running around holding press conferences and waiting for BP to do something. Meanwhile oil is pouring ashore and toxic gases are being detected at very alarming levels. The biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history is also quickly becoming one of the biggest economic disasters and potentially one of the biggest public health disasters.
The truth is that the American people deserve some answers about what in the world is going on down there in the Gulf. BP does not own the Gulf of Mexico and they have no right to keep the American people from seeing what is happening. There are some very serious health and environmental questions that have been raised in the media recently, but both BP and the U.S. government are not giving us any answers.
But we need some answers. People are getting sick. Crops are dying. Wildlife is being devastated. Birds are flocking north by the thousands.
But BP and the U.S. government continue to treat us as though we are on a "need to know" basis and that what we "need to know" is not much.
Actually, much of what they have decided to tell us throughout this crisis has turned out to be lies anyway.
The truth is that it is about darn time that someone started telling it to us straight.
The following are 16 questions about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that we really need some answers to....
#1) Barack Obama has authorized the deployment of more than 17,000 National Guard members along the Gulf coast to be used "as needed" by state governors. So what are all of these National Guard troops going to be doing exactly? Are the troops going to be used to stop the oil or to control the public?
#2) Barack Obama has also announced the creation of a "Gulf recovery czar" who will be in charge of overseeing the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico region following the oil spill. So is appointing a "czar" Obama's idea of taking charge of a situation?
#3) Because it is so incredibly toxic, the UK's Marine Management Organization has completely banned Corexit 9500, so if there was a major oil spill in the UK's North Sea, BP would not be able to use it. So why is BP being allowed to use Corexit 9500 in the Gulf of Mexico?
#4) It is being reported that 2.61 parts per million of Corexit 9500 (mixed with oil at a ratio of 1:1o) is lethal to 50% of fish exposed to it within 96 hours. That means that 1 gallon of Corexit 9500/oil mixture is capable of rendering 383,141 gallons of water highly toxic to fish. So why was BP allowed to dump 1,021,000 gallons of Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527 into the Gulf of Mexico, and why aren't they being stopped from dumping another 805,000 gallons of these dispersants that they have on order into the Gulf?
#5) If these dispersants are so incredibly toxic to fish, what are they going to do to crops? What are they going to do to people?
#6) If the smell of the oil on some Gulf beaches is already so strong that it burns your nostrils, then what in the world is this oil doing to to wildlife that encounter it?
#7) Is it a bad sign that birds from the Gulf region are flocking north by the thousands?
#8) Why is BP being allowed to use private security contractors to keep the American people away from the oil cleanup sites?
#9) Why is BP openly attempting to manipulate the search results on sites like Google and Yahoo?
#10) Why has the FAA shut down the airspace above the Gulf of Mexico oil spill? What don't they want the American people to see?
#11) Senator Bill Nelson of Florida says that there are reports that there are additional ruptures in the sea floor from which oil is leaking. If there are quite a few of these additional ruptures, then how in the world does BP expect to completely stop this oil leak?
#12) Why are scientists finding concentrations of methane at up to 10,000 times normal background levels in Gulf waters?
#13) At some testing stations in the Gulf of Mexico, levels of benzene have been detected at over 3000 parts per billion, and levels of hydrogen sulfide have been detected as high as 1192 parts per billion. Considering that these levels would be highly toxic to humans, why hasn't the general public been warned?
#14) Why are so many Gulf oil spill disaster workers showing up at local hospitals complaining of a "mysterious illness"?
#15) If "70% or 80%" of the protective booms are doing absolutely nothing at all to stop the oil, then what is going to stop the millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf from eventually reaching shore?
#16) It is being reported that the deepsea oil plumes are creating huge "dead zones" where all creatures are dying as they are deprived of oxygen. If this oil spill continues to grow could the vast majority of the Gulf of Mexico become one gigantic "dead zone"?
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a national nightmare that seems to have no ending. Every day new details come out that are even more shocking than what we learned the day before. The truth is that life will never be the same in the Gulf of Mexico or for those who live along the Gulf coast. Now Barack Obama has made a big Oval Office speech and has tried to convince all of us that he is in charge of the crisis. Well, perhaps if he had tried to take decisive action a month ago the American people may have rallied around him. But right now the BP/government response to this disaster remains completely and totally chaotic. Nobody seems to be able to stop the leak, and BP has made the environmental nightmare far worse by dumping over a million gallons of highly toxic dispersants into the Gulf. U.S. government officials are running around holding press conferences and waiting for BP to do something. Meanwhile oil is pouring ashore and toxic gases are being detected at very alarming levels. The biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history is also quickly becoming one of the biggest economic disasters and potentially one of the biggest public health disasters.
The truth is that the American people deserve some answers about what in the world is going on down there in the Gulf. BP does not own the Gulf of Mexico and they have no right to keep the American people from seeing what is happening. There are some very serious health and environmental questions that have been raised in the media recently, but both BP and the U.S. government are not giving us any answers.
But we need some answers. People are getting sick. Crops are dying. Wildlife is being devastated. Birds are flocking north by the thousands.
But BP and the U.S. government continue to treat us as though we are on a "need to know" basis and that what we "need to know" is not much.
Actually, much of what they have decided to tell us throughout this crisis has turned out to be lies anyway.
The truth is that it is about darn time that someone started telling it to us straight.
The following are 16 questions about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that we really need some answers to....
#1) Barack Obama has authorized the deployment of more than 17,000 National Guard members along the Gulf coast to be used "as needed" by state governors. So what are all of these National Guard troops going to be doing exactly? Are the troops going to be used to stop the oil or to control the public?
#2) Barack Obama has also announced the creation of a "Gulf recovery czar" who will be in charge of overseeing the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico region following the oil spill. So is appointing a "czar" Obama's idea of taking charge of a situation?
#3) Because it is so incredibly toxic, the UK's Marine Management Organization has completely banned Corexit 9500, so if there was a major oil spill in the UK's North Sea, BP would not be able to use it. So why is BP being allowed to use Corexit 9500 in the Gulf of Mexico?
#4) It is being reported that 2.61 parts per million of Corexit 9500 (mixed with oil at a ratio of 1:1o) is lethal to 50% of fish exposed to it within 96 hours. That means that 1 gallon of Corexit 9500/oil mixture is capable of rendering 383,141 gallons of water highly toxic to fish. So why was BP allowed to dump 1,021,000 gallons of Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527 into the Gulf of Mexico, and why aren't they being stopped from dumping another 805,000 gallons of these dispersants that they have on order into the Gulf?
#5) If these dispersants are so incredibly toxic to fish, what are they going to do to crops? What are they going to do to people?
#6) If the smell of the oil on some Gulf beaches is already so strong that it burns your nostrils, then what in the world is this oil doing to to wildlife that encounter it?
#7) Is it a bad sign that birds from the Gulf region are flocking north by the thousands?
#8) Why is BP being allowed to use private security contractors to keep the American people away from the oil cleanup sites?
#9) Why is BP openly attempting to manipulate the search results on sites like Google and Yahoo?
#10) Why has the FAA shut down the airspace above the Gulf of Mexico oil spill? What don't they want the American people to see?
#11) Senator Bill Nelson of Florida says that there are reports that there are additional ruptures in the sea floor from which oil is leaking. If there are quite a few of these additional ruptures, then how in the world does BP expect to completely stop this oil leak?
#12) Why are scientists finding concentrations of methane at up to 10,000 times normal background levels in Gulf waters?
#13) At some testing stations in the Gulf of Mexico, levels of benzene have been detected at over 3000 parts per billion, and levels of hydrogen sulfide have been detected as high as 1192 parts per billion. Considering that these levels would be highly toxic to humans, why hasn't the general public been warned?
#14) Why are so many Gulf oil spill disaster workers showing up at local hospitals complaining of a "mysterious illness"?
#15) If "70% or 80%" of the protective booms are doing absolutely nothing at all to stop the oil, then what is going to stop the millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf from eventually reaching shore?
#16) It is being reported that the deepsea oil plumes are creating huge "dead zones" where all creatures are dying as they are deprived of oxygen. If this oil spill continues to grow could the vast majority of the Gulf of Mexico become one gigantic "dead zone"?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Recent Updates
BP Gulf Oil Spill Is Already In Gulf Stream And May Hit North Carolina Beaches Any Day
Alexander Higgins blog is very informative and well researched so far.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/15/bp-gulf-oil-spill-gulf-stream-hit-north-carolina-beaches-day
A good place to go for updates...
Check it!
YESTERDAY: My friend just called from St. Pete Beach and said at pass a grille, swimmers
came across a strange algea, and when they checked closer, they had oil all over
them. When they looked out....they could see the "orange". There was an alert
in the St. Pete TImes yesterday, for Manatee and Sarasota to brace themselves,
for the arrival of a plume of oil. I guess it hit a little north of their
predictions, at the bottom of St. Pete. It was hard to wash off, they actually
were given "comet" cleanser to scrub it off. The rest of the swimmers came out
of the water. This is bad news. Where is the help?
Obama will speak to the nation tomorrow night. I am only interested in one
thing right now. The dispersants. Our country ordered them to STOP within 24
hrs, because they know the effects. We have sixteen OTHER dispersants that are
well known and not as toxic. BP said no? Who the hell are they? Turns out,
they are all in bed together with the dispersant company being used. It's all
about money to them. Our government EPA says they have sprayed double the
allowed limit, and everyone knows they are causing harm. I want to know why
they are not ordered to use a less toxic spray, and why we care so much about
their boardroom deals with other companies? This has nothing to do with us. I
want to know why the Dutch were turned away, told by BP they did not need help
in the first few days? If this is how it's going to be, then we need to bring a
criminal case against them. Obama was the biggest recipient of BP cash for his
campaign. Watching him dance around BP and this mess is making me sick.
TONIGHT: Military chopper flyover sited in very rural Citrus County 3 counties north of Tampa and below the BIG BEND area of Florida...
I think the oil is close...
FROM THE OILDRUM (written by insiders and experts in the OIL INDUSTRY):
From the oildrum, written by pros who work in the field. Assessment of situation: very, very bad!
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593/648967
Excerpt:
"The system will collapse or fail substantially before we reach the finish line ahead of the well and the worst is yet to come. Sorry to bring you that news, I know it is grim, but that is the way I see it....I sincerely hope I am wrong.
We need to prepare for the possibility of this blow out sending more oil into the gulf per week then what we already have now, because that is what a collapse of the system will cause. All the collection efforts that have captured oil will be erased in short order. The magnitude of this disaster will increase exponentially by the time we can do anything to halt it and our odds of actually even being able to halt it will go down.
The magnitude and impact of this disaster will eclipse anything we have known in our life times if the worst or even near worst happens...
We are seeing the puny forces of man vs the awesome forces of nature.
We are going to need some luck and a lot of effort to win...
and if nature decides we ought to lose, we will...."
Anita
See my blogs and my Facebook for latest updates...
http://peacelovezen.tumblr.com
http://hoodooed.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/anitastewart
Alexander Higgins blog is very informative and well researched so far.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/15/bp-gulf-oil-spill-gulf-stream-hit-north-carolina-beaches-day
A good place to go for updates...
Check it!
YESTERDAY: My friend just called from St. Pete Beach and said at pass a grille, swimmers
came across a strange algea, and when they checked closer, they had oil all over
them. When they looked out....they could see the "orange". There was an alert
in the St. Pete TImes yesterday, for Manatee and Sarasota to brace themselves,
for the arrival of a plume of oil. I guess it hit a little north of their
predictions, at the bottom of St. Pete. It was hard to wash off, they actually
were given "comet" cleanser to scrub it off. The rest of the swimmers came out
of the water. This is bad news. Where is the help?
Obama will speak to the nation tomorrow night. I am only interested in one
thing right now. The dispersants. Our country ordered them to STOP within 24
hrs, because they know the effects. We have sixteen OTHER dispersants that are
well known and not as toxic. BP said no? Who the hell are they? Turns out,
they are all in bed together with the dispersant company being used. It's all
about money to them. Our government EPA says they have sprayed double the
allowed limit, and everyone knows they are causing harm. I want to know why
they are not ordered to use a less toxic spray, and why we care so much about
their boardroom deals with other companies? This has nothing to do with us. I
want to know why the Dutch were turned away, told by BP they did not need help
in the first few days? If this is how it's going to be, then we need to bring a
criminal case against them. Obama was the biggest recipient of BP cash for his
campaign. Watching him dance around BP and this mess is making me sick.
TONIGHT: Military chopper flyover sited in very rural Citrus County 3 counties north of Tampa and below the BIG BEND area of Florida...
I think the oil is close...
FROM THE OILDRUM (written by insiders and experts in the OIL INDUSTRY):
From the oildrum, written by pros who work in the field. Assessment of situation: very, very bad!
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593/648967
Excerpt:
"The system will collapse or fail substantially before we reach the finish line ahead of the well and the worst is yet to come. Sorry to bring you that news, I know it is grim, but that is the way I see it....I sincerely hope I am wrong.
We need to prepare for the possibility of this blow out sending more oil into the gulf per week then what we already have now, because that is what a collapse of the system will cause. All the collection efforts that have captured oil will be erased in short order. The magnitude of this disaster will increase exponentially by the time we can do anything to halt it and our odds of actually even being able to halt it will go down.
The magnitude and impact of this disaster will eclipse anything we have known in our life times if the worst or even near worst happens...
We are seeing the puny forces of man vs the awesome forces of nature.
We are going to need some luck and a lot of effort to win...
and if nature decides we ought to lose, we will...."
Anita
See my blogs and my Facebook for latest updates...
http://peacelovezen.tumblr.com
http://hoodooed.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/anitastewart
Gulf Coast Oil Spill Workers Falling Ill With TILT (VIDEO)
We are in the middle of a TOXIC SOUP here...the
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Dying Plants in Mobile, AL
Not sure if people that are not on FB can see these pics or not...but here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=441630&id=675875443&ref=mf
Here is the text she wrote under the pics and then she provided a link to the latest news story on this:
I read the following and so took a brief walk (brief, because the air makes breathing difficult making quick retreat a necessity) where I took the following pictures. The trees and plants are spotted with patches of dark rings, and appear to be dying--ALL OF THEM. This is potentially an Extinction Level Event.
"A mysterious "disease" has caused widespread damage to plants from weeds to farmed organic and conventionally grown crops. There is very strong suspicion that ocean winds have blown Corexit aerosol plumes or droplets and that dispersants have caused the unexplained widespread damage or "disease"."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?%3Fblogid=150&entry_id=65552#ixzz0qgqaUSzy
Location: Mobile, AL
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=441630&id=675875443&ref=mf
Here is the text she wrote under the pics and then she provided a link to the latest news story on this:
I read the following and so took a brief walk (brief, because the air makes breathing difficult making quick retreat a necessity) where I took the following pictures. The trees and plants are spotted with patches of dark rings, and appear to be dying--ALL OF THEM. This is potentially an Extinction Level Event.
"A mysterious "disease" has caused widespread damage to plants from weeds to farmed organic and conventionally grown crops. There is very strong suspicion that ocean winds have blown Corexit aerosol plumes or droplets and that dispersants have caused the unexplained widespread damage or "disease"."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?%3Fblogid=150&entry_id=65552#ixzz0qgqaUSzy
Location: Mobile, AL
Oil Barrel from Deepwater Rig Washes Up on Florida Beach
Mystery Tank From Exploded Oil Rig Washes Ashore On Local Beaches
http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/96221084.html
Eye witnesses tell newschannel seven the tank had BP identifying logos on it but those were promptly removed when crews arrived late this morning.
(This article appears to have been scrubbed from the site)
**********************************************
Piece of oil rig washes up on Florida beach
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/12/2012132/piece-of-oil-rig-washes-up-on.html
The Associated Press
A piece of wreckage from the deepsea rig that exploded in April has washed up on a beach in Florida about 190 miles from the site of the disaster.
Bay County Sheriff Deputy Ray Maulbeck was working beach patrol Saturday morning when he came upon the stainless steel tank that had some oil oozing from it, along with barnacles and sea growth attached to it. The Coast Guard and state environmental officials were called in to investigate, and they took the piece away.
Maulbeck says the part had markings that identified it as having come from the Deepwater Horizon rig.
*********************************************
Oil container washes ashore in Florida
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 12, 2010 10:51 p.m. EDT
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/12/florida.oil.container/
(CNN) -- A portion of beach in Panama City, Florida, was closed Saturday after a large oil container with BP markings washed ashore, local authorities said.
It was not immediately clear if the container, which was leaking a small amount of oil, came from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded April 20 and sank two days later, triggering a massive underwater gusher that has led to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
BP officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Panama City has not yet seen tar balls or any other evidence of the spill reach its shoreline, according to Bay County spokeswoman Valerie Lovett.
The large, stainless steel tank about the size of a refrigerator washed up on the west end of Panama City Beach and was discovered shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday, Bay County sheriff's Deputy Ray Maulbeck told CNN.
The container has a capacity of 550 gallons of oil, but Maulbeck said officials didn't know how much oil was in the tank.
The beach is set to reopen Sunday, he said.
The container will be transported to Louisiana for investigation, Lovett said.
ALLEGRO-some wise advice from a survivor...
***I got this from a list I am on and I thought it would be important to share it here...
Remember that Allegro is a piece of music played in a quick, lively tempo. So.......a few quick and lively thoughts off the top of my head about how to prepare for this summer's hurricane season, in light of the BP oil disaster.
1. Non-toxic, low-phosphorous, plain old dishwashing liquid, is a GREAT oil emulsifier and dispersant. It can be used to clean off any "oily rain" from hard surfaces and can also be sprayed on plants to help clean THEM, as well. It also allows for water to more easily break the "surface tension" of soil, so that it is readily absorbed where natural soil organisms can help break it down. This will probably NOT work for acute amounts of toxins.
2. If you don't yet have a mulch or compost pile, MAKE ONE. Put in all the necessary ingredients to make it a biologically active and earthworm-friendly REPOSITORY that may well be NECESSARY to re-innoculate our soils. This is EXTREMELY important. Any number of books and/or websites can help you with this.
3. What is coming out of the Gulf will be capable of completely destroying all soil organisms that, JUST LIKE PHYTOPLANKTON in the Gulf, are absolutely ESSENTIAL for growing food. PROTECT your garden space the best you can, but make sure that you are able to COVER your compost/mulch pile(s) with materials that will deflect all rainfall if necessary. The irony of this is that plastics (oil) are probably best for this purpose.
3. One of our local gardeners, Bert Lustig, has been experimenting with 4-Square Gardening and has build a number of small greenhouse frames, covered with plastic, that can be put together in modular form. He has been using these for winter crops, but they can ALSO be used to protect particularly vulnerable plants or seedlings in your garden. White-wash or shade cloth or spray-on products used on greenhouses can help lower the intense sun and heat build-up that might result.
4. Work now on a system that can divert water AWAY from your garden, if need be. This sounds really stupid, but you will be glad you are prepared. Tim Newton, who owns our local, organic food and household-product 'Community Market', says that this is the ONE summer we need to pray for a drought (along the east coast, at least).
5. Same goes for those of us who collect rain water. I would suggest that we look up ways for naturally de-toxifying water. Dispersants (including soap) will make it more difficult to "skim-off" oil and its by-products, but even old cotton clothes might come in handy as filters. It may be time to fire-up the old still again, since it may be necessary to DIS-still water for drinking.
6. I have not looked-up the old post (laughed at when it was written by Captain Eric May of Ghost Troop), but DUCT TAPE will, once again, prove to be our VERY best friend (next to our dogs). It makes for good, cheap, and quickly applied SEALS to help keep out toxic fumes and/or liquids. I have also been working over the last five years or so to caulk EVERY SINGLE CRACK in my house. Kim says "we will wake up dead some day from aphyxiation", but it may be a saviour in the event of accute periods of toxic rain. Again, the irony that duct tape and plastic window "storms" are both made from oil.
7. As far as channeling water goes, make sure that your downspouts empty through large areas of unmowed grass or through what are now being called "rain gardens" before emptying into storm drains and/or whatever streams you are on. This may seem like a drop-in-the-bucket, so to speak, but EVERY LITTLE BIT will help.
8. Do research on what natural herbal and/or homeopathic remedies can/will help rid your body of toxins - ESPECIALLY those that are petro-chemically related. BOOST your immune systems with vitamins, minerals, and good, organic food as a way to help you through a crisis situation. Get outside and get some sun NOW. It may help you get through a lack of natural vitamin D later on. Eat yoghurt (you can EASILY make it yourself) and/or take acidophyllous (probiotics) to boost the natural flora in your intestinal tract (this one thing ALSO boosts your immune system and helps fight off
MANY kinds of toxins).
9. SWEAT, SWEAT, SWEAT. Work, walk, or exercise hard enough to sweat out the toxins in your body - and CONTINUE to do so. Sweating not only helps cool you down, but it is NATURE's way of helping your body cleanse itself.
10. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE mull these things over, come up with your OWN ideas, and share them with the rest of us. If you want to survive what is coming, it will be a SHARING of information that will help us get through. If you have read along this far, you are probably serious and will be one of the fittest to survive, as in "survival of the fittest". And remember, ALL of this goes toward helping your children, grand-children, AND your pets.
Best to all, and good luck.
John
Remember that Allegro is a piece of music played in a quick, lively tempo. So.......a few quick and lively thoughts off the top of my head about how to prepare for this summer's hurricane season, in light of the BP oil disaster.
1. Non-toxic, low-phosphorous, plain old dishwashing liquid, is a GREAT oil emulsifier and dispersant. It can be used to clean off any "oily rain" from hard surfaces and can also be sprayed on plants to help clean THEM, as well. It also allows for water to more easily break the "surface tension" of soil, so that it is readily absorbed where natural soil organisms can help break it down. This will probably NOT work for acute amounts of toxins.
2. If you don't yet have a mulch or compost pile, MAKE ONE. Put in all the necessary ingredients to make it a biologically active and earthworm-friendly REPOSITORY that may well be NECESSARY to re-innoculate our soils. This is EXTREMELY important. Any number of books and/or websites can help you with this.
3. What is coming out of the Gulf will be capable of completely destroying all soil organisms that, JUST LIKE PHYTOPLANKTON in the Gulf, are absolutely ESSENTIAL for growing food. PROTECT your garden space the best you can, but make sure that you are able to COVER your compost/mulch pile(s) with materials that will deflect all rainfall if necessary. The irony of this is that plastics (oil) are probably best for this purpose.
3. One of our local gardeners, Bert Lustig, has been experimenting with 4-Square Gardening and has build a number of small greenhouse frames, covered with plastic, that can be put together in modular form. He has been using these for winter crops, but they can ALSO be used to protect particularly vulnerable plants or seedlings in your garden. White-wash or shade cloth or spray-on products used on greenhouses can help lower the intense sun and heat build-up that might result.
4. Work now on a system that can divert water AWAY from your garden, if need be. This sounds really stupid, but you will be glad you are prepared. Tim Newton, who owns our local, organic food and household-product 'Community Market', says that this is the ONE summer we need to pray for a drought (along the east coast, at least).
5. Same goes for those of us who collect rain water. I would suggest that we look up ways for naturally de-toxifying water. Dispersants (including soap) will make it more difficult to "skim-off" oil and its by-products, but even old cotton clothes might come in handy as filters. It may be time to fire-up the old still again, since it may be necessary to DIS-still water for drinking.
6. I have not looked-up the old post (laughed at when it was written by Captain Eric May of Ghost Troop), but DUCT TAPE will, once again, prove to be our VERY best friend (next to our dogs). It makes for good, cheap, and quickly applied SEALS to help keep out toxic fumes and/or liquids. I have also been working over the last five years or so to caulk EVERY SINGLE CRACK in my house. Kim says "we will wake up dead some day from aphyxiation", but it may be a saviour in the event of accute periods of toxic rain. Again, the irony that duct tape and plastic window "storms" are both made from oil.
7. As far as channeling water goes, make sure that your downspouts empty through large areas of unmowed grass or through what are now being called "rain gardens" before emptying into storm drains and/or whatever streams you are on. This may seem like a drop-in-the-bucket, so to speak, but EVERY LITTLE BIT will help.
8. Do research on what natural herbal and/or homeopathic remedies can/will help rid your body of toxins - ESPECIALLY those that are petro-chemically related. BOOST your immune systems with vitamins, minerals, and good, organic food as a way to help you through a crisis situation. Get outside and get some sun NOW. It may help you get through a lack of natural vitamin D later on. Eat yoghurt (you can EASILY make it yourself) and/or take acidophyllous (probiotics) to boost the natural flora in your intestinal tract (this one thing ALSO boosts your immune system and helps fight off
MANY kinds of toxins).
9. SWEAT, SWEAT, SWEAT. Work, walk, or exercise hard enough to sweat out the toxins in your body - and CONTINUE to do so. Sweating not only helps cool you down, but it is NATURE's way of helping your body cleanse itself.
10. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE mull these things over, come up with your OWN ideas, and share them with the rest of us. If you want to survive what is coming, it will be a SHARING of information that will help us get through. If you have read along this far, you are probably serious and will be one of the fittest to survive, as in "survival of the fittest". And remember, ALL of this goes toward helping your children, grand-children, AND your pets.
Best to all, and good luck.
John
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Mary Landrieu: End Offshore Drilling Moratorium Now (VIDEO)
I think that this is very irresponsible leadership and very screwed up comments and she needs to put on a HAZMAT suit and help with the cleanup including sucking up the oil and bathing the wildlfe. When the cleanup is done, then she needs to go to the nearest hospital and/or nursing home and help the elders and the sick with their breathing treatments. Our leaders need to know how the rest of us live. The fact that she made all of this money from the industry means she and her family profited from this and it is in her best interest to get the rigs operational again...PU
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
See how much she made from BIG OIL right here:
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?CID=N00005395
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
BP's Approved Spill Plan 'Riddled With Omissions And Glaring Errors'
WALRUSES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO? I THINK NOT!
Didn't our leaders read this report? If not, WHY NOT? Don't ya think they should have? This is completely irresponsible leadership. They never even cracked it open, just filed it away. Even if our elected officials HAD read it, wouldn't they have noticed that those animals do not live in the Gulf of Mexico? Are people really that STUPID?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Obama Administration Pushing To Reopen New Offshore Drilling Exploration In Shallow Waters
This just won't do! We need RENEWABLES NOW! The money should go into SOLAR, WIND, GEOTHERMAL and we should definitely be OFF any kind of fossil fuels. They will say that there is no money to implement renewables. There is plenty of money, it just needs to be re-diverted!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Arianna Battles Liz Cheney Over Gulf Spill, Halliburton, Gaza Crisis On 'This Week' (VIDEO)
3700 operational oil platforms are allowed to be in the Gulf of Mexico, with no oversight, no weighing out the risks, no back up plans and no accountability. This happened way before all three Bush's took office. Every single one of our representatives have taken BIG OIL money. This has nothing to do with political party and EVERYTHING to do with our present state of government. Blaming Bush/Cheney for this is not accurate. It has to do with every single president and every single congress going for many years back in our recent history. Let's get it right and hold our government and leadership accountable for these crimes against humanity. People will be ill and die from this in addition to the destruction of our Gulf and the flora and fauna there. This is called eco-cide and it is happening in many places around the globe. Because we Americans are proud and haughty, we never thought it could happen to us...we thought our government would protect our best interests. But no because $$$ is their bottom line...
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tampa Bay Urban Permaculture Certificate Design Course
http://www.meetup.com/ThePermacultureGuild/calendar/13618584/
Learn to work with nature instead of against her to increase abundance in your life. Professional Permaculture Certificate Design Course offered in Tampa Bay area this fall - every second weekend starting 25 September, 2010, from 9-6 PM.
* Garden naturally and organically
* Green your home
* Enjoy sustainable and stable local economies
* Create conscious community and strong beneficial networks
* Learn about the best alternative energy solutions
* The secrets of consciously designing your life
* And much more
Experts in food forestry, green building, alternative energy, financial permaculture, sustainable community building and more will show you how to design every aspect of your life to live more sustainably and achieve a higher quality of life. This course emphasizes sustainable and regenerative solutions for urban environments. List of instructors will be provided shortly.
Graduates will complete a professional permaculture design in teams, with mentoring, and will receive a professional certificate upon completion of the course requirements.
The course will be taught over six weekends at various "green" locations in the Tampa Bay area. Information will be interspersed liberally with hands on projects, community building and networking and field trips.
We are applying for college credits for the course and expect to have a course number shortly - credits will be accepted at any Florida University.
In conjunction with this course we will offer a number of other programs including weekend workshops covering specific skill sets, apprenticeships and film showings.
In addition, we offer after course mentoring, career counseling, and network support (see our "Grads in Action" for some examples). Though many students simply want the knowledge to apply to their own homes and neighborhoods, a number of our students are making money using permaculture design and we support that in whatever way we can do so.
Early bird tuition: $1050
After Aug 15: $1200
Fees include course pack, resource data base and other extras.
For more info write cory@permacultureguild.us or ken.arcadiandesign@gmail.com
Or see our web site: http://www.permacultureguild.us
Also see: http://www.meetup.com/ThePermacultureGuild/
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
BP Criminal Investigation Launched By Feds
Our leaders allowed 3700 rigs to operate there, so now there is a Federal investigation involving the Feds? The very ones who allowed the rigs to operate their in the first place? Give me a break! This is nothing but political posturing.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
The Imminent Collapse Of Industrial Society
By Peter Goodchild
The collapse of modern industrial society has 14 parts, each with a somewhat causal relationship to the next. (1) Fossil fuels, (2) metals, and (3) electricity are a tightly-knit group, and no industrial civilization can have one without the others. The decline in fossil-fuel production is the most critical aspect of the collapse, and most of the following text will be devoted to that topic. As those three disappear, (4) food and (5) fresh water become scarce; grain and wild fish supplies per capita have been declining for years, water tables are falling everywhere, rivers are not reaching the sea. Matters of infrastructure then follow: (6) transportation and (7) communication ? no paved roads, no telephones, no computers. After that, the social structure begins to fail: (8) government, (9) education, and (10) the large-scale division of labor that makes complex technology possible.
After these 10 parts, however, there are four others that form a separate layer, in some respects more psychological or sociological. We might call these “the four Cs.” The first three are (11) crime, (12) cults, and (13) craziness ? the breakdown of traditional law; the ascendance of dogmas based on superstition, ignorance, cruelty, and intolerance; the overall tendency toward anti-intellectualism; and the inability to distinguish mental health from mental illness. There is also a final and more general part that is (14) chaos, resulting in the pervasive sense that “nothing works any more.”
These are cascading dominoes; all parts of the collapse have more to do with causality than with chronology, although there is no great distinction to be made between the two. If we look at matters from a more purely chronological viewpoint, however, we can say that there is a clear division into two time periods, two phases. The first phase will be merely economic hardship, and the second will be entropy. In the first phase the major issues will be inflation, unemployment, and the stock market. The second phase will be characterized by the disappearance of money, law, and government. In more pragmatic terms, we can say that the second phase will begin when money is no longer accepted as a means of exchange.
The Triad
Modern industrial society is composed of a triad of fossil fuels, metals, and electricity. The three are intricately connected.
Read more at the link here:
http://www.countercurrents.org/goodchild090510.htm
The collapse of modern industrial society has 14 parts, each with a somewhat causal relationship to the next. (1) Fossil fuels, (2) metals, and (3) electricity are a tightly-knit group, and no industrial civilization can have one without the others. The decline in fossil-fuel production is the most critical aspect of the collapse, and most of the following text will be devoted to that topic. As those three disappear, (4) food and (5) fresh water become scarce; grain and wild fish supplies per capita have been declining for years, water tables are falling everywhere, rivers are not reaching the sea. Matters of infrastructure then follow: (6) transportation and (7) communication ? no paved roads, no telephones, no computers. After that, the social structure begins to fail: (8) government, (9) education, and (10) the large-scale division of labor that makes complex technology possible.
After these 10 parts, however, there are four others that form a separate layer, in some respects more psychological or sociological. We might call these “the four Cs.” The first three are (11) crime, (12) cults, and (13) craziness ? the breakdown of traditional law; the ascendance of dogmas based on superstition, ignorance, cruelty, and intolerance; the overall tendency toward anti-intellectualism; and the inability to distinguish mental health from mental illness. There is also a final and more general part that is (14) chaos, resulting in the pervasive sense that “nothing works any more.”
These are cascading dominoes; all parts of the collapse have more to do with causality than with chronology, although there is no great distinction to be made between the two. If we look at matters from a more purely chronological viewpoint, however, we can say that there is a clear division into two time periods, two phases. The first phase will be merely economic hardship, and the second will be entropy. In the first phase the major issues will be inflation, unemployment, and the stock market. The second phase will be characterized by the disappearance of money, law, and government. In more pragmatic terms, we can say that the second phase will begin when money is no longer accepted as a means of exchange.
The Triad
Modern industrial society is composed of a triad of fossil fuels, metals, and electricity. The three are intricately connected.
Read more at the link here:
http://www.countercurrents.org/goodchild090510.htm
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