Thursday, June 03, 2010

Gulf Oil Disaster : Day 45 Thurday June3rd,2010 The Silent Victims, The Damage Done....


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"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”~Rachel Carson
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Today the BIG PICTURE released their photo montage of the Oiled Birds from the Gulf Coast "Caught In the Oil". It must be seen and shared, it is horrendous, it is Documenting the Damage. And sadly tonight I am posting some photos, because it is time. Below I will have updates regarding actual Damage Numbers and also list of places to donate and help the Wildlife in the Gulf, and other Media that is covering this part of the Disaster.

Another post that must be seen, heartbreaking and graphic is is by Alheli Picazo on Rabble.ca with photographs AP photographer Charlie Reidel.
And this is her actual Blog post with smaller photos, "Wildlife – Brought To You By BP".
I do encourage that if you live in the Gulf to please do take photos and video, and if you want me to post any here on Twitter I will post. ( I will also protect your privacy if needed, and give credit as requested. I also am willing to post Interviews and On Scene Updates from the Gulf.)
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Has the Truth been Muzzled : Interfering with America and World Seeing the Damage?
Today is Day 45 It is striking that we have not seen more photos and videos on the Internet or in the Press until today. Today at 4:45 PM finally Video came forth on CNN from Anderson Cooper that actually showed Oil Drenched Birds gasping for air as they were rescued on Grand Isle. By the Time the Evening News Came on, NBC and CBS were both showing more horrifying footage of Oil Damaged birds struggling to move and breath. From another standpoint, do look at these photos from the NYT , especially the Massive FishKill photos and it is easy to also understand these birds if not oiled are in huge danger of eating Poisoned Fish.

The Bigger question is why have we not seen the Wildlife photos, both damaged and or dead up until now ? Because BP has been carefully controlling, strong arming the Visual Aspects of this disaster. But I also do not have an answer why Federal Dept of Fish and Wildlife or NOAA or even Coast Guard could not have been releasing Footage and photos of what is being seen in the Gulf. We as a Country need to see the Damage, the Reality of what has been wrought upon our precious fragile Gulf Ecosystem.The Damage is historic and must be documented by all involved. It is unfathomable why BP who is facing Criminal Investigation is being allowed to control what we see, The Evidence , from the Crime Scene.

On another level the Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post has been trying to post what photographs and images that they do have, but there is still very little that has been seen from Residents of the Gulf. As someone who lives currently in another part of the Country I am encouraging our Gulf Neighbors to please post photos and video on the Internet, via YouTube, and photo servers ( Flickr,photobucket etc) and Twitpic/Twitter/Skype.


BP to some degree appears to be very much controlling the Message by having Contracted employees and Gulf Helpers sign papers/ contracts to not speak of what they "see" and witness. In other ways BP is quartering off Beaches have citizens and reporters threatened with arrest, but also preventing them from documenting damage to their own beaches. The Fishermen and Shrimpers that have volunteered to help with Clean Up or in a very sensitive position as they can not risk losing this short term source of work and payment by speaking to press, regarding what they see ( or of physical complaints or concerns as well). It is concerning that BP is attempting to control the Truth and also perhaps is now intimidating the Residents and workers in the Gulf. BP has also been quartering off Beaches, and making access unavailable for people to check on the Water and the creatures, they know if they see Netting and Barriers there is Damage.


Other Media Sources are raising Concern regarding BP's Muzzling of Press in this Crisis:
(1) From Sfgate.com "Media reports BP allegedly suppressing pictures of dead dolphins & turtles ).

(2) Think Progress has more about the questionable issues that are arising as all of us ask WHERE are the Photos ?

(3) This was brought forth by Jay Rosen, Did BP make fishermen sign a contract banning them from speaking to media about what they "saw" on the job ?

(4) The real question is WHO is responsible for showing us the truth, the reality, the depth of this tragedy, the Media ? the Government ? BP ? WHO ? Maybe all of the Above. Brian Ross's story on ABC asks did BP and the Federal Government withhold Video that would have showed the true mammoth dimensions of this Man Made Disaster? But if BP and NOAA lied about the Gusher Flow and Volume, then of course we need to ask questions even about the smallest victims.
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What are the Actual Statistics at this time regarding the Wildlife and the Birds. The IBRRC has been an amazing resource as they continue to work saving Birds daily. Meanwhile if you want to learn more about other effected creatures there is more here from NWF regarding growing Evidence of OilSpill's Impacts on Dolphins, Sea Turtles, especially the death of a variety of Turtles is over 225, which is not the norm, and not all were oiled. Dead Dolphin numbers are up as well.

(1) The IBRRC Bird numbers are higher on Friday: As Noon June 3: 85 oiled live; 527 collected dead; 25 released.

(2) From IBRRC Day45 Gulf AnimalReport:Total 604 documented birds affected in OilSpill :PDF download breaks down the chart of which animals were found dead, dead and oiled. Concerning about this report is the number of animals that are being found dead and not oiled. Including the Turtle number which is over 200 and the Dolphin number which is also rising. I did write to IBRRC today and ask if the Necropsies are assessing exposure or toxic burden of Dispersants ? I asked if they had been tested. I will post results when I know more. On another level are animals and birds dying from eating contaminated "food" ( fish etc), that has been contaminated with Oil and or Dispersant.

**** Do go to the IBRRC and learn more about their work, and their research, and you can even support their work, and "adopt" a bird in the Gulf.
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More Information about the Damaged Wounded Wildlife and Learning How to Help
(1) On the Internet and on Twitter, I encourage you to follow @IBRRC and @DawnDishSoap they are both doing admirable work rescuing and caring for the Oil Damaged Birds and wildlife. @IBRRC has been caring for the Birds and also their website and twitter page has updates of rescues, care and also of Releases. (IBRRC is an International Bird Rescue organization that was contracted early on to work on this ecological disaster.) Dawn Dish Soap posted this link to the that is information from the Audobon Action Center of how people can help.

(2) This is the Latest Gulf Wildlife report:Total 604 documented birds affected in OilSpill : See PDF download here and more Updates coming soon. This was posted by IBRRC. It is true that if you look at the report carefully there are still a significant number of Un-Oiled Animals dying, this raises questions about the Dispersant. I have written to IBRRC and asked to please inquire as to whether the Dispersant is being tested in the necropsied animals. It is alos relevant at this point to ask if we are now starting to see the Oil and Dispersant have entered the Water Column and the Food Chain. Marine Experts will have to document and determine the damage of this Disaster. Please do Follow @IBRRC and @DawnDishSoap on Twitter and support their brave work caring for the fragile Oiled Creatures.

(3) If you do want to help, donate or contribute here is the earlier post that links Volunteer organizations that are working in the Gulf. This post will be updated tonight with more information of where to help and assist.

(4) As of yesterday the Fishing Zone by NOAA was declared, expanding the No Fishing Zones to 37% of the Gulf, >88,000 SqMiles,which no one has mentioned in relation to the Wildlife feeding zones. (Here is the NOAA MAP showing the massive area where Fishing is not allowed). Many of the Wildlife , Birds (ie.pelicans and egrets,gannets) are fishing in those zones for food, they may not be Oiled yet, but they may also be eating contaminated Fish. They therefore face added Risks and Death just trying to feed themselves. The Turtles who swim deep for their food also face the same Dangers. The examples of this devastating chain of damage can be followed closer by following the work on Twitter of the Audobon Society,Defense of Wildlife, NRDC and the Costeau Family and Sierra Club.
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{Enlarged NOAA No Fishing Map LINK here.}
June 2nd NOAA Map shows NO FISHING AREAS ( please do note the Waveland Dead Fish shown above in NYT link-raises questions as to whether the NO FISHING ZONE should include Waveland,Miss). Concern is that People are not Fishing in the Zones on this Map. But Animals are and may suffer damage or death from the Oil and the dispersants, even by eating fish from this NO FISH ZONED area (which spans >88,000 Sq.Miles) ?

{{ NOAA PDF with more information re; NO FISH Zone.}}
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The Gulf needs our Support and creative compassionate skills to help with this Disaster, please do think of ways you can help our Neighbors in the Gulf.

6 comments:

enigma4ever said...

for Twitter...

Plz see #Volunteer post http://bit.ly/dAJUgm //BlogUpdated http://bit.ly/lf5Iu // #Dispersant Post http://bit.ly/bGhluv

Pls share #OSHA #OILSPILL Factsheet 4 Safety of #Gulf Workers & Residents http://bit.ly/a3Z91g (goodinfo on #fumes etc)

enigma4ever said...

friday even June4th


Photos updated...
turned out that the top one was not from this spill-so tonight we do have oil drenched bird from Louisiana...from Audobon....( others are from Audobon and Greenpeace)

Fran said...

Hey E ~ Thanks for posting the IBRRC link-- they have linked the US Fish & Wildlife & NOAA comprehensive numbers for wildlife death toll.
Not to want to dwell on death, but this toxic brew is taking it's toll, and something money can't fix or reverse. How I wish those who still embrace offshore oil drilling as safe & good could have this aftermath reality check delivered to their front yard as a reminder of the dire consequences.

So far, collected dead:

527 Birds
235 Sea Turtles
30 Dolphins

Of course they are not sure if it's oil disaster & chemical dispersant related..... Yea right!


http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/posted/2931/FWNumbers_WEB_June4_final.590343.pdf


I'm checking the oil geyser cam post cap & I noticed they have positioned the camera up close to the vents....
not further back to show how much is gushing out of the bottom of the cap.

They are capturing a fraction of the oil, but frankly, this method is looking like it is mostly failing as well.

If by sawing open the damaged riser pipe, they increased the flow by 20% & BP is capturing 10%, than it is a net loss.... more oil continues to spew.

Of course collecting anything out of fouling up the ocean is good- 6000 less barrels of oil a day is better than nothing, but right now it still looks pretty bad & out of control.

Fran said...

Oh! I came across this list of potential laws broken, when they do the criminal charges against BP.

Relevant Laws: For summaries and links to these, see:
http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/about/laws.html#OilPollution
• Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 (NOAA promulgated regulations for assessing natural resource
damages under OPA. (15 CFR Part 990)
• Clean Water Act
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or
Superfund)
• National Marine Sanctuaries Act
• Anadromous Fish Conservation Act (AFCA)
• Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)
• Endangered Species Act (ESA)
• Executive Order 11988—Construction in Floodplains
• Executive Order 12898—Environmental Justice
• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (FWCA)
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Park System Resource Protection Act
• Rivers and Harbors Act
• National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Part 300.

Jan said...

Too sad, too awful--apocalyptic, in fact. Thank for the links, which I read through my tears.

enigma4ever said...

June 7th Rigzone:
BP said Tuesday that it collected 14,800 barrels on Monday from a leaking deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, a sharp increase from the previous day's rate and putting the company close to the limit of how much oil it can process in the near term.

U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the federal response to the spill, said a second ship should arrive in two to three days and should add 5,000 to 10,000 barrels of additional processing capacity. The current ship can only process 15,000 barrels of oil a day.

Officials continue laying the groundwork for what is meant to provide a more permanent cap than the one that was installed last week.

Any oil that can't be processed will continue leaking into the Gulf, and live feeds from the well site a mile beneath the water's surface show a sizable amount continues to gush from the area of the containment cap. The inability to more fully contain the spill and the lack of clarity on how much oil is leaking is putting additional pressure on BP as oil encroaches further on U.S. Gulf Coast areas.

"I've never said that this has been going well. We're throwing everything we've got at it. We knew this was catastrophic from the beginning," Allen said at a news conference in Washington.

He has directed BP to provide a longer-term containment plan, particularly one that will ensure the viability of the effort during the hurricane season.

Meanwhile, Jane Lubchenco, the head of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed that water samples have found subsurface oil.

"There is oil subsurface--we have always expected that, but it's good to have confirmation," Lubchenco said.

The small underwater concentrations were found in three locations, though the findings at only one--40 nautical miles NE of the well site--was consistent with the BP spill. She noted that they are very low concentrations, less than 0.5 parts per million. She said NOAA will continue to study and release the data as they become available.

In the past four days, BP has collected 42,500 barrels of oil collected. On Monday, the company flared 30.6 million cubic feet of natural gas.

However, neither BP nor the government has provided an updated estimate of how much oil is actually spilling into the Gulf since the containment effort began on Thursday.

Two weeks ago, scientists led by the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a minimum of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day were gushing into the Gulf. The scientists also estimated that when BP chopped off a pipe connected to the broken well as part of its latest containment effort, it could have increased the flow rate by about 20%, at least temporarily.

Allen said Tuesday he was directing scientists to come up with an updated estimate to be released to the public.