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My husband, Dane_in_LA, and I just spent a couple of days camping at the exquisite, pristine (well, sort of), isolated Jalama State Beach.
The surf was incredible, the view, breathtaking. Taking a leisurely stroll along the beach, a filthy, disgusting nightmare. You cannot casually meander up or down the coast, enjoying the surf and the views, because you cannot take your eyes off of every step you're taking, so as to try to avoid stepping in big, oozing, globs of oil/tar that has washed up from the off shore oil rigs that sit off the coastline.
Trust me, these close-up images don't do "justice" to how voluminous the muck is. And as hard as we tried, we simply couldn't avoid it.
The only way to get this crap off is to dissolve it with chemicals, that I'm pretty sure the wildlife don't have access to. I've been scrubbing for 2 days and there's still residue on my feet.
We have no business polluting the oceans and beaches like this.
Florida beaches have been like that for years and years. Most hotels keep "tar removal" stuff at their steps to the beach now. There's a whole
industry built around "tar removal" products.
Are you sure they are from drilling? Much of the California coast has naturally occurring seepage, I'm not saying that was the case here, but it may be.
Are you sure they are from drilling? Much of the California coast has naturally occurring seepage, I'm not saying that was the case here, but it may be.
Are you sure they are from drilling? Much of the California coast has naturally occurring seepage, I'm not saying that was the case here, but it may be.
I'm sure, because you can see the oil rigs from the shore. On the other hand, I live on the beach a couple hundred miles south of there, where we have no oil rigs off our coast, and waddayaknow, no tar and muck on our beaches!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevcrawford
The technology that's used in offshore drilling doesn't do this. There's more seepage from the bottom of the ocean than from rigs.
Yeah, right. That's why there are no globs of crap along the coastline were oil rigs aren't stationed, but you can't walk 6 inches along the sand without blobs of crud washing up in sight of oil rigs.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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That is exactly why I opposed it close to the shore but if it over 100 miles away, it is OK because we have to balance the need to get that oil vs the beautiful beaches we all love. I have not seen any oil on the beach at Tybee Island yet and hope never to see it.
Well, if you look at the links I provided, and a map, you will see that you were in the area where seepage is most common, however, i am not a geologist, nor was I there so i cannot refute your claims absolutely.
On a lighter note, we have a 3 day weekend about to start and i hope you enjoy it someplace oil free!
Offshore drilling by itself does not do this. Accidental oil spills do this. I have no problem with offshore oil drilling provided there are substantial safeguards to minimize accidents.
The oil on your feet/hands is probably remnants from the 1969 oil spill. That event by itself negatively affected California's and the nation's oil policy and has continued to do so for decades. If we had the same policy with cars and airplanes we would have stopped using them a long time ago.
A completely baseless assumption by the OP. As someone who works closely with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, I can assure the OP that there is more than one possible source for the oil. The most likely culprit(s) are the cruise ships. They pollute far more than the oil companies.
I don't know anything about California's environmental laws, but in Alaska the oil companies are required to report any spill that is bigger than a teaspoon. Even if one of their employee's vehicles leaks a few drops of oil in their parking lot, they are required by Alaska law to report it to the state and clean up the spill.
Cruise ships, on the other hand, discharge waste and oil-saturated ballast water regularly while at sea. Or at least they used to until Alaska enacted new laws prohibiting the practice.
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