Update March 20, 2011: A Coast Guard officer with a command center in Morgan City, LA, said today the Coast Guard has confirmed that oil is not coming from the Deepwater Horizon well but that they have found what appear to be smaller oil slicks in the Gulf. Their investigation into reports of large oil slicks is continuing. Additional photos and information from pilots John Wathen and Bonnie Schumaker who flew over the area yesterday are expected to be released today.
The Coast Guard is investigating reports of a potentially large oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico not far from the Deepwater Horizon site. According to a knowledgeable source, the slick was sighted by a helicopter pilot on Friday and is about 100 miles long. A fishing boat captain said he went through the slick yesterday and it was strong enough to make his eyes burn.
According to the Times Picayune, the Coast Guard has confirmed they are investigating a potentially large 100 mile slick about 30 miles offshore. They are going to a site near the Matterhorn well site about 20 miles north of the BP Deepwater Horizon site, according to the paper. The Matterhorn field includes includes a deepwater drilling platform owned by W&T Technology. It was acquired last year from TotalFinaElf E&P.
Independent pilots are attempting to reach the slick today. Bonnie Schumaker with Wings of Care reported she saw a slick two days ago and is attempting to reach the site.
Photos of oil slick in Gulf off Grand Isle, LA, March 18-19, 2011
Jerry Moran / Stuart Smith oilspillaction.com
Also, another Louisiana fisherman reports that fresh oil is coming ashore near South Pass, LA, and that cleanup crews are laying new boom near the beach. He also reports that cleanup crews in four-wheeled vehicles were patrolling the beaches near the marsh filled coast spraying a substance on the beach.
Cleanup crews are still operating along the marshes and beach areas of Louisiana and other gulf states. The Bay Jimmy of Louisiana's Barataria Bay remains heavily oiled.
Oil is also being discovered in more populated areas too. With spring break coming, students and tourists are already heading to the Gulf to escape the winter up north. Recently a group of Missouri college kids came across oil off the beaches of Pensicola. "We were fishing with nets for shells, we call it shelling, and it was just brown, I thought it was shark poop at first," one incredulous student told local Pensacola station WEAR-TV.
"It kind of did surprise me with all the efforts I thought BP was making to clean up but obviously as you can see, there's still so much to do," said another.
Check out the entire TV report here.
More spring breakers will likely come in contact with oil as they migrate in greater numbers to the Gulf. Residents across the coast complain they continue to see oily sheen and a white dispersant like mix washing in, leaving unusual blobs of brown foam that sometimes shine like tiny rainbows on the shore.
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Bravo!
Many posters on this forum aren't aware:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/21/first-deepwater-exploration-us-approved_n_838668.html#
Keep this story active or it will get lost in the media's memory hole.
Robert Healy
I don't know about you but I trust the USCG in dealing with this matter about as much as I trust the USACE in matters pertaining to a house built in the lower 9th Ward.
However, that seems inconsistent with the statement in the article above: "Also, another Louisiana fisherman reports that fresh oil is coming ashore near South Pass, LA, and that cleanup crews are laying new boom near the beach. He also reports that cleanup crews in four-wheeled vehicles were patrolling the beaches near the marsh filled coast spraying a substance on the beach."
This leads to the simple question: if there is no oil spill to be worried about, then what chemical(s) are they spraying on the beach and why are they spraying it in the first place?
Frankly, the official government position (regardless of what it is) is absolutely no longer reliable or trustworthy based upon the actual BP oil disaster itself and its aftermath. Independent testing and confirmation are absolutely required.
The Coast Guard, specifically, lost most if not all credibility with most people when they became an extension of the BP corporate machine.
It is always possible that it is what they are saying it is. But only when that is verified by reputable, independent organizations and marine scientists/chemists, should we believe it to be so.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2011/03/21/USCG-No-Deepwater-Horizon-oil-in-gulf/UPI-23931300713765/
Robert Healy
PLEASE make this article front page, I know there is a-lot going on in the world right now but this is THE GULF OF MEXICO and not one "News" agency is covering this story.
Thank you,
Me, the human being in Florida
But I saw headlines for stories on "Sandra Bullock" and "Juan Williams" way before seeing anything related to this story. I hope we're not becoming desensitized to environmental news. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people (if not more) are directly affected by yet another oil spill in the Gulf: What are we doing about it?
I found some relief in the Working for Green online community, which is bringing people of all shades of green together to discuss their solutions. Brilliant. Hope it inspires more folks to "go green" or helps inspire someone to start a green business or helps someone find a green way to save money!
My personal solutions to kicking my oil habit & saving money are to eat fresh, local foods (haven't had a banana for over 2 years now!); drive efficiently & also link my errands; giving up all plastic products (excluding medical supplies); boycotting all products "Made in China" b/c they're such a polluting industry; and -- although not related to oil addiction-- I'm also hoping to help keep our oceans alive by minimizing actions which are warming them: composting our food scraps to help prevent methane (a potent global climate change gas) from building up in landfills
HP - can you please put this back on the front page?? And maybe see if we can get the print and tv media to start covering it?
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/di-mayor-confirms-“minorâ€-leak-in-gulf
http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-new-oil-spill-under-investigation.html
http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-gulf-problems-more-oil-in-fishing.html