Oil spills July/August 2010

A few of the recent oil spills.  There were also many smaller tanker - related spills across the world in this time period.


http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/rd_shell-confirms-oil-spill-on-bonny-river-1113184.html
Shell oil spill from pipe leak in Bonny, Nigeria.  7th spill in the area this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkV5CbSZzQE
Mumbai spill from tanker capsizing.

http://www.uncoverage.net/2010/07/chinas-oil-spill/
China oil spill due to pipeline explosion.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/michigan-oil-spill-among_n_661196.html
Pipeline break, spilling oil into the Kalamazoo River, MI

Disturbing discovery of crabs filled with black substance - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8

Disturbing discovery of crabs filled with black substance - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8

More concerns that sub-surface oil and dispersants is up to no good. There seems to be significant oil still on the bottom of the ocean, and a recent batch of crabs washed up in Bay St Louis appeared to be full of it. An oily substance filled their lungs giving them a black color that is not normally seen in anything but very old crabs. In addition, tar balls are being washed up on Mississippi shores- 1000 lbs in just three days according to this report.

Oil penetrates previously pristine Mississippi marsh, weeks after well cap | al.com

Oil penetrates previously pristine Mississippi marsh, weeks after well cap | al.com

It seems like some oil is still around to come ashore despite reports that most of the surface oil appears to be gone. Now the well is capped, and looks likely to be capped permanently in the next few days, it seems the worst of the spill may be behind us. However, there are concerns that some of the oil that seems to have disappeared may actually just be under the surface. The recent oiling of a Mississippi marsh may be due to sub-surface oil coming to the surface and washing into the marsh. Two aspects of this oiling are notable. 1) the marsh in an interior marsh not directly on the leading edge of the wetland, and 2) the oiling was unpredictable. The general consensus in the Gulf generally is that no further marshland is at risk because the oil is disappearing quickly. Obviously, this assumption must now be challenged. In order to protect marsh grasses from now on, it will be important to understand where this oil came from and other similar situations may be avoided. It is possible that visual inspection of oiled marshes may no longer enough. Period testing of the water for dissolved hydrocarbons might a method to detect rising levels, and the potential for damaging oiling.

BP response in the Gulf

http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9034427&contentId=7063885

The BP response figures to date...

YouTube - Waters of the Gulf

YouTube - Waters of the Gulf


An AP video shows how the oil spill has affected the Gulf so far. The well has leaked the equivalent of 12 cans per person in the US, into the Gulf since the rig exploded in April. Clean up efforts seem to be doing more harm than good...Messy cleanup of BP oil spill damages the Gulf 

It seems like we have disturbed nature to the point where there may be no going back.  Another news story reports 500 dead penguins on the Brazilian shores, most of them with no food in their stomachs.  They appear to have starved to death.   That is a sad story but the disturbing aspect is that scientists do not know why.  There seems to be much we do not know about our effects on the planet.  An NPR news story yesterday cautioned that while reasonably healthy for us (apart from the PCPs building up in their systems), salmon are farmed in an environmentally non-friendly way.  Tilapia, on the other hand, are raised using environmentally favorable methods but have little nutritional value because they do not contain the omega -3's which are the most valuable component of fish. It like we cannot win.  We are waging a very risky war against our planet and slowly but surely we are losing.  Reminds me of King Canute who demanded the waves to stop and got washed away.  It is only a matter of time I think.

Tropical Storm May Halt Gulf Oil Spill Response

Tropical Storm May Halt Gulf Oil Spill Response
Storm season is here and sooner or later it's going to happen. A tropical storm or hurricane will pass over the gulf and hamper spill activities. This one looks like it may weaken, even if it gets to the gulf but even the weakest tropical storm will slow or stop activities.

Other happenings..... Kevin Costner's Ocean Therapy Solutions hopes to apply a novel technology to the separation of oil and water in the gulf. The technology cleans water up to 97% according to the Huffington Post report.

Action in the gulf?

As oil encroaches on the wetlands of the Gulf Coast, no-one fully understands the impacts of the disaster on this delicate environment.  With so many marshlands already eroding due to the rising sea level and loss of sediment, the addition of oil contamination brings new fears for the flora and fauna that provide the basis for the Gulf Coast seafood industry that supplies most of the US with oysters, shrimp and other commercial species.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has galvanized a huge effort on the part of many groups and individuals to help protect, clean up and restore habitats that have been disturbed by the spill.  In this blog I will try to capture the progress of the numerous groups who are taking action to preserve the wildlife, the wetlands and the beach habitats from the oil as it comes on shore across the Gulf coastline.  If you have a blog that you would like me to add to my blogroll, please send it along.