[ozlo]

With the dispersants that are being used, it's not likely that most places will be seeing any large "oil sheens" once it hits the area. The dispersants break down the chemical composition of the oil, which causes it to mostly sink lower, underneath the top surface of the water.

[fauve]

Originally Posted by flyers29

There's always oil coming out from other ships...how could you come to the conclusion that this was in any way connected to BP? Remember a few weeks ago when tar balls showed up in Key West only to be deemed not from the BP spill?

I've lived in South Florida for 23 years and have never seen a tar ball. I lived in an oceanfront Miami Beach apt for 4 of those years and never saw an oil slick. If it was oil from a boat, it would be black, not the sweet red/brown crude from the Gulf. My husband says he remembers tar balls from when he was a kid on Miami Beach, but that they were black, not brown.

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

I'm sorry to hear of the fishing woes (and miss the truly local seafood) but you're seriously tunnel vision about that small segment of the tourism sector when the area is so much more than that when it comes to water recreation. I know so many people down here in the tourism biz but not on the fishing side who are dying this summer because the national media keeps replaying oil shots of a place 100+ miles away and two weeks old when the beach right in front of their condo/restaurant/business is just fine.

Does the national media show the huge number of people swimming safely at Pensacola Beach during the breaks in the Blue Angels show yesterday? Not from what I saw.

Why do you think it's fine? You can't see the oil because of the corexit which is much more toxic than the oil itself. But it doesn't look as bad for BP. Plenty of clean up workers have gotten sick. The oil that does wash up is being buried. Only a fool would swim in that ocean right now.

[lynne4t]

Does anyone know if the corexit can be present even when there's no oil or does it mix with the oil immediately? Can there be pure corexit floating around out there with no oil attached? It was obvious why they used it. More deadly than oil itself, but they didn't want the oil to be SEEN. If we can't see it, it must not be that bad. Hah! Are the masses as dumb as they hoped we would be? I'm beginning to wonder.

I still can't see why more people aren't angry. The unfortunate conclusion I've drawn: "Let's pretend it isn't so because it interferes with my happy little life". That's why the government and big business can get away with such things. We all just want to believe everything is okay. Even if it isn't.

[SacalaitWhisperer]

Oil spill?

This is an epic disaster, not a spill.


Anyone care to guess why two blow out preventors weren't used from jump street?
Anywhere else in the WORLD two would've been required.


Hint: It wasn't Greenpeace

[SacalaitWhisperer]

The dispersants break down the chemical composition of the oil, which causes it to mostly sink lower, underneath the top surface of the water.

It is a public relations chemical.

[stpeteguy]

Gulf gusher to keep flowing as cap test delayed
By TOM BREEN and HARRY R. WEBER (AP) –



NEW ORLEANS — A pivotal moment in the Gulf oil crisis hit an unexpected snag Tuesday evening when officials announced they needed more time before they could begin choking off the geyser of crude at the bottom of the sea.
BP and federal officials did not say what prompted the decision or when the testing would begin on a new, tighter-fitting cap it had just installed on the blown-out well. The oil giant had been scheduled to start slowly shutting off valves on the 75-ton cap, aiming to stop the flow of oil for the first time in three months.
It seemed BP was on track to start the test Tuesday afternoon, The cap, lowered over the blown-out well Monday night, is designed to be a temporary fix until the well is plugged underground.
A series of methodical, preliminary steps were completed before progress stalled. Engineers spent hours on a seismic survey, creating a map of the rock under the sea floor to spot potential dangers, like gas pockets. It also provides a baseline to compare with later surveys during and after the test to see if the pressure on the well is causing underground problems.
An unstable area around the wellbore could create bigger problems if the leak continued elsewhere in the well after the cap valves were shut, experts said.
"It's an incredibly big concern," said Don Van Nieuwenhuise, director of Professional Geoscience Programs at the University of Houston. "They need to get a scan of where things are, that way when they do pressure testing, they know to look out for ruptures or changes."

The Associated Press: Gulf gusher to keep flowing as cap test delayed

[lynne4t]

It's looking like the whole tsunami thing really is a concern.

[stpeteguy]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP froze activity on two key projects Wednesday meant to choke off the flow of oil billowing from its broken well in the Gulf of Mexico after days of moving confidently toward controlling the crisis.
The development was a stunning setback after the oil giant finally seemed to be on track following nearly three months of failed attempts to stop the spill, which has sullied beaches from Florida to Texas and decimated the multibillion dollar fishing industry.


Gulf Oil Still Gushing After Cap Efforts And Relief Well Drilling Suddenly Halted

somebody just got very scared!

[lifelongMOgal]

Poison rain, poison air to follow.......get out if you can. Cancer rates are going to skyrocket in the years to come.

There is a reason there is a news blackout. The government does not want anyone to know how bad this really is. People will die from trying to clean this up just like the animal, aquatic life is dying now.