Volunteers for oil spill cleanup in Mobile AL told to focus on cosmetics for TV cameras.

[jody]

Government officials told my son in law, an engineer, and grandsons who are volunteering to remove oil from once beautiful white-quartz beaches they should focus on removing oil balls from the surface.

Waves at night bring in new sand that covers up oil balls that also come in with the waves.

Volunteers were told to concentrate on “cosmetics” so the beaches look clean for cameras.

This is an incident in which my son in law was involved and may not represent a wide scale effort but it angers me.

Volunteers are also being turned away because they have not been trained in dealing with hazardous material.

If DUers have information to corroborate this as wide scale policy or refute it as an isolated incident please post.

[jdlh8894]

1. Did they see

Michelle on the "pristine" beaches @ Panama City yesterday?

[Arctic Dave]

2. Nothing new really.

I remember when a group of politicians were coming up here for a "fact finding" trip they already had a predetermined course they were going to show them and then had a helicopter and a crew of people go and pick up trash out on the tundra before the tour.

[louis-t]

3. You know what word enrages me more than any other in this oil crisis?

'Volunteers'. I think BP is encouraging people to be 'volunteers' so they don't have to pay anyone.