In a recent blog post entitled "Storm in the Gulf" I discussed the impact of hurricanes in general, & threat of, as of then, the unnamed system known now as Bonnie, to not only the coast, but, specifically, its effect on the Gulf oil disaster. I concluded that the combined environmental & ecological implications could be catastrophic & unprecedented.
As of 1PM CDT, July 23, 2010(http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/) Tropical Storm Bonnie was headed for the center of the oil catastrophe, & will make land fall in Louisiana late Saturday night, July, 24th, or early Sunday. Hopefully, as a tropical storm, the impact will be minimal, but these conditions have not coincided in the Gulf before.
This unfortunate scenario has been a topic of conversation & scientific discussion since the Deepwater Horizon Well exploded, sank & ruptured on April 20th.
No predictions of the impending oil & wind collision's result can be made by me, however I feel as most people probably do, that it cannot help the situation. Even if the storm were to miraculously disappear, the lost time in clean up operations could be costly, & as it is, the storm, at the very least, will disrupt those efforts even more.
A wait & see attitude is in place on my home front, I only hope that BP & the Federal & State Governments are working feverishly on plan A. Plans B & C might be too little too late, & BP hasn't shown yet that it has an "A" game.
Showing posts with label Oil Spill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oil Spill. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Storm in the Gulf
The news of a storm forming in or near the Gulf of Mexico is never good for folks who live on its coast. Every season, it seems, a hurricane hits somewhere on the Gulf Coast, now we have two more weather systems developing to contend with.
And contend we have. Since Hurricane Andrew hit Florida just south of Miami in 1992, sweeping across the peninsula & raging into the Gulf to make landfall again near Morgan City, Louisiana, we have had four category 3 or higher storms approach, make landfall & punish the Emerald Coast of Florida. Katrina, the monster hurricane that devastated New Orleans in the summer of 2005, threatened the entire region, giving Pensacola, Florida just a bit of clouds, wind & rain.
Unnamed as yet, the current systems, as of 7AM CDT 7/22/10, have a 70% & 50% chance respectively of developing into tropical cyclones(http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/).
Direct hits on any particular location along the Gulf Coast is, at best, a crap shoot, though tracking technology has improved tremendously even in the last five years. The last hurricanes to make land fall in Pensacola were Ivan in the fall of 2004 & Dennis the following summer. A double whammy, as both storms were a strong category 3.
Living 30 miles north of the Gulf, our home did not bear the brunt of either storm, however hurricane force winds in excess of 80 mph were recorded in our area for both. On our property five large trees were felled, roof shingles ripped off, the patio screened enclosure torn apart, but thankfully, because we are not prone to flooding, we had no water damage.
It's the howl of the wind that is most frightening. Windows & doors rattle, storm driven rain drums constantly on the panes of glass & the threat of accompanying tornados is ongoing.
Ongoing, as well, in the storms aftermath is the clean up. Months go by then years before the last vestiges of storm damage are removed or repaired & even then evidence of the storms lingers. Boats lie abandoned in the marshes to this day. Derelict commercial & residential properties remain fallow. Broken or leaning trees are visible. Two of our 50 foot high long leaf pines lean to the northwest at a 60 degree angle!
The sight of downed utility poles & power lines, fallen trees littering yards & streets alike, the distinctive whiz of chain saws filling the still air, electric company trucks & crews from around the region clogging the streets & huge piles of debris and mulch accumulating are etched into our memories.
In the mix this season is the recent Gulf oil disaster. What will a storm do with the oil? Right now clean up is halted. Boat crews have to scurry ashore, resuming their important work only when the sea is calm.
A hurricane is an environmental disaster in its own right as is the oil crisis. Put the two together & the combined impact would be unprecedented.
When & where will the next storm go? How serious will its impact be? How will the region survive, & at what expense?
As a society we must learn & live on, doing what we can to protect our precious wildlife resources & most important, muster the courage to build anew, better, stronger, safer & sustainable.
And contend we have. Since Hurricane Andrew hit Florida just south of Miami in 1992, sweeping across the peninsula & raging into the Gulf to make landfall again near Morgan City, Louisiana, we have had four category 3 or higher storms approach, make landfall & punish the Emerald Coast of Florida. Katrina, the monster hurricane that devastated New Orleans in the summer of 2005, threatened the entire region, giving Pensacola, Florida just a bit of clouds, wind & rain.
Unnamed as yet, the current systems, as of 7AM CDT 7/22/10, have a 70% & 50% chance respectively of developing into tropical cyclones(http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/).
Direct hits on any particular location along the Gulf Coast is, at best, a crap shoot, though tracking technology has improved tremendously even in the last five years. The last hurricanes to make land fall in Pensacola were Ivan in the fall of 2004 & Dennis the following summer. A double whammy, as both storms were a strong category 3.
Living 30 miles north of the Gulf, our home did not bear the brunt of either storm, however hurricane force winds in excess of 80 mph were recorded in our area for both. On our property five large trees were felled, roof shingles ripped off, the patio screened enclosure torn apart, but thankfully, because we are not prone to flooding, we had no water damage.
It's the howl of the wind that is most frightening. Windows & doors rattle, storm driven rain drums constantly on the panes of glass & the threat of accompanying tornados is ongoing.
Ongoing, as well, in the storms aftermath is the clean up. Months go by then years before the last vestiges of storm damage are removed or repaired & even then evidence of the storms lingers. Boats lie abandoned in the marshes to this day. Derelict commercial & residential properties remain fallow. Broken or leaning trees are visible. Two of our 50 foot high long leaf pines lean to the northwest at a 60 degree angle!
The sight of downed utility poles & power lines, fallen trees littering yards & streets alike, the distinctive whiz of chain saws filling the still air, electric company trucks & crews from around the region clogging the streets & huge piles of debris and mulch accumulating are etched into our memories.
In the mix this season is the recent Gulf oil disaster. What will a storm do with the oil? Right now clean up is halted. Boat crews have to scurry ashore, resuming their important work only when the sea is calm.
A hurricane is an environmental disaster in its own right as is the oil crisis. Put the two together & the combined impact would be unprecedented.
When & where will the next storm go? How serious will its impact be? How will the region survive, & at what expense?
As a society we must learn & live on, doing what we can to protect our precious wildlife resources & most important, muster the courage to build anew, better, stronger, safer & sustainable.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Searching For Oil
Since the modern discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859, Americans have been searching for Black Gold west to Oklahoma & California, south to Texas & the Gulf of Mexico, & north to Alaska. At times elusive & the rock unyielding, vast reserves have been tapped to quench our thirst, making the U.S. one of the worlds largest producers.
Now the search continues along the Gulf Coast shores after thousands, millions, perhaps "billions" of barrels of crude have been "spilled" into Gulf waters. The near pristine beaches of Florida's Emerald Coast, over 100 miles of fine, sugar white sand & aquamarine water, stretching from Pensacola to Panama City, are now threatened by an ecological disaster that is wrecking havoc on the marine environment.
With hand tools, machines, hazmat suits, boots & gloves, an army of paid workers & volunteers are today's beachcombers searching for oil-searching where Florida residents never anticipated, expected or allowed it to defile our coast by rejecting offshore drilling. The pity & shame of the debacle has not yet sunk in. Having passed from the disbelief stage of grief into the anger stage, acceptance of this nightmare is more elusive than oil itself in the early years of exploration & production.
Now that the Deep Sea Horizon well has been capped & the oil flow staunched, at least for the while, the time to breathe easy is not now. This is especially true for BP executives, government officials & residents along the Gulf who's woes will linger into the future, along with our dependence on the substance that is both our salvation & our bane. Petrochemicals fuel the engine of civilization, driving us ever closer to the brink of human existence.
Perhaps I am wrong to discount the tenacity of human nature, but at the very least I would like this coastal crisis, this ecological disaster to be the defining wake up call & call to arms for opposition to offshore drilling.
Oil can be found all over the planet, and the search will continue throughout our lifetimes. For my part, I can only look ahead thirty years. If our legacy is one of social decline on a global scale, then I hope I can be forgiven for being short sighted. Alternative fuels & sources of power may be a viable solution in the future.
People along the Emerald Coast get baptized in its waters & wed on its sands. Families enjoy the sun, sand & surf, ashes are cast into the waves & livelihoods are bound to it.
Searching for oil, too, is a way of life - people are dependent on it. For this dilemma I have no answer. The search continues.
Now the search continues along the Gulf Coast shores after thousands, millions, perhaps "billions" of barrels of crude have been "spilled" into Gulf waters. The near pristine beaches of Florida's Emerald Coast, over 100 miles of fine, sugar white sand & aquamarine water, stretching from Pensacola to Panama City, are now threatened by an ecological disaster that is wrecking havoc on the marine environment.
With hand tools, machines, hazmat suits, boots & gloves, an army of paid workers & volunteers are today's beachcombers searching for oil-searching where Florida residents never anticipated, expected or allowed it to defile our coast by rejecting offshore drilling. The pity & shame of the debacle has not yet sunk in. Having passed from the disbelief stage of grief into the anger stage, acceptance of this nightmare is more elusive than oil itself in the early years of exploration & production.
Now that the Deep Sea Horizon well has been capped & the oil flow staunched, at least for the while, the time to breathe easy is not now. This is especially true for BP executives, government officials & residents along the Gulf who's woes will linger into the future, along with our dependence on the substance that is both our salvation & our bane. Petrochemicals fuel the engine of civilization, driving us ever closer to the brink of human existence.
Perhaps I am wrong to discount the tenacity of human nature, but at the very least I would like this coastal crisis, this ecological disaster to be the defining wake up call & call to arms for opposition to offshore drilling.
Oil can be found all over the planet, and the search will continue throughout our lifetimes. For my part, I can only look ahead thirty years. If our legacy is one of social decline on a global scale, then I hope I can be forgiven for being short sighted. Alternative fuels & sources of power may be a viable solution in the future.
People along the Emerald Coast get baptized in its waters & wed on its sands. Families enjoy the sun, sand & surf, ashes are cast into the waves & livelihoods are bound to it.
Searching for oil, too, is a way of life - people are dependent on it. For this dilemma I have no answer. The search continues.
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