Oil spill in the Gulf
By Connie (weeds) on June 20, 2010
| BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The oil is coming, is this all we can do? |
I went with some friends Saturday, June 19th to Apalachicola, Florida to eat raw oysters and some fried shrimp at our favorite restaurant, Papa Joe’s. Why is this important to anyone besides me you might ask? Because the Gulf oil spill is rapidly approaching this area and there may not be seafood available for many years to come. I have heard that it can take up to 20 years for the oysters alone to recover.
Gulf County is preparing ahead of time. To protect the entrance to the St. Joe Bay area, boom has been laid out across the entrance. The pictures of this line of boom are on the border between Bay County, Florida at Mexico Beach and Gulf County, Florida where Port St. Joe is located.
Does boom really work? I cannot find a true answer at this time but will continue to research. It may help with the surface oil skim but I believe (I am no expert) that the oil will be under the surface as well.
You can see in the pictures the actual boom being used is SlickBar oil boom and you can read more about this product here: They are protecting this area especially because of the many estuaries and wetlands in Gulf County and the fact that scallop season in this bay area started today, June 19, 2010. This is two weeks earlier than normal due to the fear of
Preparing does not address the issue of clean up of the oil already contaminating a portion of the Gulf as large as Nebraska and growing daily. I have heard the amount of oil being released can be compared to the Exxon Valdez spill as 4 days of the spewing oil in the gulf equals the amount spilled by the Valdez. This major environmental disaster will not only effect the beautiful white sandy beaches for the tourist and locals alike but will have a major impact on the estuaries and wildlife sustained within them, not to mention the fish, turtles, birds and other wildlife. Many, many people are affected financially as well. Those who fish, oyster, shrimp, etc. for a living will be out of work as will all the businesses catering to tourists who will no longer come to this area to vacation. To a beach area, this is the only source of income. It will be devastating and effect the total economy of the U.S. as these people will not be able to earn a living, pay their mortgages, car loans and worse, buy food and medical care.
This environmental tragedy will effect more than the small area of the Gulf Coast now very concerned about it as the spill gets bigger every hour. It will flow with the wind and water currents. It will be carried to who knows where by HURRICANES, it is that season you know. In rough weather, wind and waves churn up the oil. It will have a tendency to slosh over and under a single line of booms, so multiple lines or oil boom can be established in bigger and bigger concentric circles. Rough weather is obviously going to make containment and skimming more difficult, but with enough equipment and manpower it is still possible. (From How Stuff Works Website)
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| beach, boom, bp, bp oil spill, estuary, Florida, Florida panhandle, gulf, gulf coast, kevin costner, oil clean up, oil spill, oysters, scallops, seafood, wetlands, wildlife |
| I live in Lynn Haven, Florida which is part of the Panama City area. |
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Comments and discussion:
| Subject | Thread Starter | Last Reply | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| What a Mess | nap | Jul 20, 2010 10:14 PM | 38 |
| An Enlightening Article... | gordo | Jun 22, 2010 6:26 AM | 1 |
| Thanks, Connie | Aguane | Jun 20, 2010 3:38 PM | 1 |
