We've had a major incursion of oil today (Wednesday). Hope you don't mind if I save some time by basically copying for you (with minor edits) an email I sent to some old friends tonight. It's too long, so feel free to skim -- or ignore. But aquaRN asked for reports, so here ya go:
I knew last night, based on the LSU spill trajectory maps, that we were in for it today (and tomorrow, if not Friday as well). Of course I hoped the predictions were wrong, but it sure looked as if we were about to get the worst incursion of oil and tar since this spill began -- and so we did. Up until now there has been only one day when I didn't want to swim in the Gulf, and that day paled compared to this one, having been a very minor incident of floating tar bits.
But today, when I took my beach bag and chair down to the Gulf for an afternoon walk and swim, as soon as I came over the dunes I was shocked. The beach from high tide line down to surf looked filthy, heavily scattered with ugly tar balls and patties, and there was more filth roiling around in the surf line. There was so much oily tar, in fact, that I was unable to approach the water -- not that I would've wanted to get in it today; our beautiful Gulf has been trashed. (And in fact, as I later learned, for the first time ever here the double red flags have been hoisted: the Gulf has been closed to swimmers and waders for almost the entire length of Pensacola Beach. ) There was no place for me to walk except higher up on the super soft silica sand, and that kind of exertion is just murder in 90-degree heat (I usually walk on the firmer sand at water's edge, but that was a mine field of tar).
Numbly, I sat down in my chair, thinking what to do/where to go, and observed the hazmat-suited clean-up crews stationed all up and down the beach as far as the eye could see. They had made some progress, but not a lot -- and obviously with so much oil still in the water they were fighting an uphill battle, picking everything up by hand. (We need heavy equipment, and supposedly there is some being used but not, so far, where I was.)
I also realized there was nobody else out on the beach besides me and the crews. I saw a few people come over the dunes, take a brief look, and turn back. I realized this was not the place for my usual afternoon health walk and peaceful escape -- and I wondered if or when it ever would be again.
After a failed attempt at beaching it on the Sound side of the island (still apparently oil free, but full of ants) I spent what remained of the "beach time" on my own deck, splashing off with the garden hose as needed. Heck, I could do that anywhere in the country. Didn't need to come all this way and spend all this money to live by a despoiled sea and have the hard-earned house equity turn to ashes along with my dreams.
And then there was the young dolphin that died today, stranded just down the road at Fort Pickens. Very, very sad, and I hate to think what's happening to all the rest of the sea life out there. I saw no sea birds today at all - very strange -- and only hoped they had gone somewhere safe.
If it sounds like I'm whining, I guess I am. Because, besides all the other, far more momentous destruction (and death) it has wrought, BP has now effectively ruined my retirement, and that of thousands of other area seniors, and the long-loved lifestyle of this entire region. I really don't know what to do -- but on the other hand, there's nothing TO be done; we just have to stay put and hope for the best. One friend opines it will not be in my lifetime that things return to the way they were. She is very likely correct. And the weeks of reprieve we've had since the spill began only served to lull me into a complacency that was shattered today.
Please don't suggest I volunteer for clean-up as therapy. BP is not allowing any volunteers, for liability reasons. All work is through subcontracted firms only, for everything from water and beach clean-up to wildlife rescue. And those jobs are being left to the many area unemployed, as they should be.
As for the potential storm brewing in the Caribbean.....well, that's just plain terrifying to contemplate, a scenario of fear likely to be repeated often this season. Everyone anywhere on the Gulf Coast needs to take notice of what a storm could do right now.
And as for the "accident" today with the ROV that resulted in a release of the full gusher again, there are no words. I wonder what's next, and just how much more horrific things could become. Is this a disaster movie, or is it real life? Sometimes I'm not sure.
I didn't see the national (or local) news tonight because there is a cable outage on the island (just what we need right now), so I don't know what you guys saw. But if you want to get a pretty good idea of what things looked like here today, I would suggest the website of our local newspaper, the Pensacola News Journal: www.pnj.com Once there, besides any of the other items you might want to look at, I would click on the oil spill photo gallery item near the top of the page, entitled, "Crist Tours Oiled Casino [Beach}" -- our main public beach, where Obama walked just over a week ago and noted its pristine beauty.
From the pics, I'd say the oil at Casino Beach was heavier than we had in spots, but our beach area was bad enough. Anyway, photo number 16 of 29 gives you a pretty good idea of what the surf looked like this afternoon. Filthy sacrilege!
I just don't know what else to say. This is a living nightmare, the slow-motion death of an ecology, ruination of untold people's lives, and all for a reservoir containing a few days' worth of energy once refined. Madness! And not even our well here in Florida! GRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry this was so long, and thanks for letting me rant.
__BL |