Oil Spilled in Gulf of Mexico Rivals that of Exxon Valdez

[true_notes]

The issue isn't being reported due to possible ecological group fallout, and declining poll statistics of how the federal government has not reacted to Katrina's aftermath.

The source of the oil is coming from the countless holding facilities, refineries, and pump stations that line the Missisippii Delta and scattered about in the Gulf of Mexico. This tremendous oil spill is sure to affect the "dead zone" in the Gulf that is caused from the tons of nitrous fertilizer that is used in the farm districts.

The oil that was spilled is labeled in the millions of barrels, and could prove to be a huge ecological disaster if it isn't met with utmost importance. Currently the oil companies are in charge of the cleanup, but with their track record of being slow and inefficient, more support may be needed.

What's more to this story is that the Coast Guard said that over 5 million barrels has been "naturally dispersed" throughout the area. With such a large amount of crude oil spilled in the Missisippii River and the Gulf of Mexico.

When asked, a LT. Commander in the USCG said that the cleanup from Ivan took 6-8 months, and he expects this one to last for 1 1/2 year because of the extensive pollution that was caused from Katrina. 1 1/2 year is plenty of time for the oil to propogate, and affect sea life around the Gulf and the Caribbean.

(Resources gathered from TIMES staff writer Patricia Kime.)

[hippiechick]

1. Gawd, this is horrible !

:(

[merh]

2. The damage to the Gulf will be hard to determine.

The Coast Guard and the Navy have their jobs ahead of them. It will take years before they will know what waste, debris, spoilage is in the Gulf and how to deal with it all. In addition to the waste from the refineries that the article references, there are tons of other objects now in the Gulf. The Gulf of Mexico (and the Bays) are littered with debris.

I know a fellow that was taking his boat from Biloxi to Orange Beach, AL. He hit a house in the channel, 12 miles out in the Gulf. Striking the house tore the bottom off of his boat and his boat sunk. The Coast Guard rescued him as he stood, arms crossed, on the roof of the submerged house.

It will take years.

[true_notes]

5. The Fact Is

That this is a Humanitarian/Ecological/Natural disaster of epic porportions. The scary part is that all 3 of these tie into each other, and if one exists then all three will exist.

The only way to soothe the problem is to work smarter and harder to clear these issues up. Keeping these facts from the public because of fear of lower poll numbers is absurd. It's not being reported in the MSM, and I had to dig in the cess pool of journalism to find the facts.

So while our government sits on the roof with their hands folded, they should realize no one will be there to rescue them. THEY HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBLITY!

[merh]

6. They do have to take responsibility. I couldn't agree with you more.

The lack of true leadership is so harmful to our nation, I just cannot fathom how the right doesn't see that.

There is NO ONE in our government willing to take charge, to get things done.

It is frightening. :scared:

[true_notes]

7. It's Not Only the Right

I don't hear any outcry from the left. It seems the guys in D.C. think everything down south is hunky-dory just because chimp goes and hammers some nails in a fake house.

I was there, I know the smells,scenes, and devastation, and things are not even close to what is being reported. The stinch of shit and rotting bodies is so thick you could cut it with a knife, and the wildlife is simply extinct along the coast because of sluggish cleanup.

The private sector has neither the money or the political voice to get things done down there. People were telling us how to do things, but our Commanders were ordering otherwise. I guess it's part of this great o' nation's heritage of fucking certain groups of people over.

[merh]

8. You are preaching to the choir.

I live here, am a survivor. I know exactly what you are talking about.
How can we get the nation's attention? How can we get folks to care?

[true_notes]

9. Tell the Story Everywhere you Can

Good Question, that's why sites such as DU is here. My idea would be "Katrina Day". It would be a day where we flood the Congress with letters. If each person on that posted on this site, as well as other liberal sites, wrote a letter to their Congressman a voice would be heard.

Then with our voice heard, we can hold who needs to be held accountable. It's my belief we have to keep the whip on the backs of our elected officals, because they will steal our whip and put it on ours.

Lets do our job and make them do theirs....Then again who cares, right?

[merh]

10. Post in the DU activist forum - see if you can stir them up over there.

I'll do what I can - my access to the internet is still limited, but I will try my damnedest to make a difference!

:hi:

[true_notes]

11. Cool, Merh

Take it easy, and it will be beautiful again ;).

Have a good one

[Ian David]

12. Put fliers between the pages of newspapers and return them to the machines

We have a bunch of free newspapers around here that I've been doing that with.

There are a bunch of publications that people can pick-up for free around here-- The Metro, Pennysaver, Employment Guides, Parents Papers, Boston Phoenix, Improper Bostonian, Apartment Guide, etc.

You'd be amazed at how quick, cheap and easy it is to run-off 200 copies of fliers, stick them between the pages of The Metro, and then put them back into the machine at the train station.

It's faster, safer, less messy and (in my opinion) more effective than putting them on windshields.

[merh]

13. You know that is a great idea!

I have to wait until they get the machines back out - but I will keep that in mind for sure!

:hi:

[Ian David]

15. Supermarket circulars work, too.

Anyplace where free reading material is distributed.

You can also put money in the machines for the papers you pay for, but I don't like doing that myself.

If you get caught putting $0.50 into a New York Times machine and removing 50 papers, you might have a hard time convincing authorities you were going to put all the papers back in the machine once you added fliers to them.

Besides, it is my non-lawyer opinion that "free" newspapers may be considered "abandoned property" and are a bit more of a "no man's land" when it comes to what you can do with them.

After all, if they're "free," then technically you could just walk away with the whole stack of newspapers and trash them.

If the people who own the "free" newspaper cause you grief, would it really be worth their while to piss you off to the point where you might empty three or four machines every day out of spite, when all you really wanted to do in the first place was bypass the mainstream media filters?

[SledDriver]

3. It will surely kill the economies of the islands in the Carribean...

if their beaches are all stained crude oil black and big gooey sludge balls keep washing up on shore.

[napi21]

4. I seem to remember bragging about how they shut everything down

in plenty of time to prevent this spilling from happening.

I know I heard that because I remember thinking at the time, gee, that was lucky! It could have been a disaster!

So was that another LIE?

[redacted]

14. Link please?