The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Ok, this is interesting and terribly tragic. I saw a show on the discovery channel that showed The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and it went on to discuss how this floating mass of trash, mostly plastic waste, has become a sort of habitat for fish in the ocean. I found that disturbing and I am certain anybody who reads this and the articles I post below will also. I am not an expert on this topic, but essentially there is a spot in the Pacific Ocean where floating debris tends to end up. Essentially what has happened is that this garbage patch has formed which is the product of trash, mostly plastics, that do not readily decompose.  This patch is no ordinary patch. When I think of the word patch I think of something small like a patch of flowers or grass or something. In this instance patch indicates something that is the size of Texas at a minimum and possibly twice as large.  Pretty cool, huh?

Links:

Blog #1  - This is a great account of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Probably more than you ever wanted to know.

Article #1 - Here is a link describing how this all happens, etc.

 

FOOD WASTE

I had a conversation with a friend regarding this issue, based on personal observations regarding my own lifestyle. I am guilty of being wasteful with food.  Too often it seems that the loaf of bread I bought molds before I can finish it, or that last banana goes to mush, or the Parmesan cheese in the fridge molds, or I don't manage to finish the casserole that I thought making would save me time and money. I have good intentions. I don't like the idea that I end up throwing out food which I bought and intended to eat, yet it happens. When I look at it realistically its my money that is being thrown out, and wasted, its the resources that went into producing that good, transporting said good that turns out being completely frivolous, and an externality of my own personal consumption. The really sad part is that where I live does not have a compost bin and my living arrangements do not provide for the opportunity to compost even if I wanted to.  Pretty lame, I know.

If interested, here is an article which may shed some light on the concept of food waste in America. I never gave much thought to this concept until recently, but I found the overall numbers concerning.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/from-farm-to-fridge-to-garbage-can/?hpw

Waste is a fact of life and a product of society. However the quantity of waste produced, especially food waste is, in my opinion, a product of the individual and their desire to utilize that with which they purchase. I took a bunch of eco classes in college and one thing that really comes to mind is a concept called the frugality movement. (Article) This is something I think about frequently, and try to embrace whenever possible. Conceptually it is very simple and to many it's probably common sense, but to only a handful is it a way of life. 

The Gulf Oil Spill: Cautious Optimism

So the newest cap solution has been reported to have completely stopped the oil spill for the time being.  However, this is not a permanent stop or solution but it is definitely a step in the right direction after 87 into the largest environmental catastrophy in US history.  This spill ranks #1 for worst oil spills with the exception of a spill that was deliberately set in the Persian Gulf during the first gulf war in order to prevent US troops from coming ashore in Iraq.

I don't know about you but I have my fingers crossed.

BBC
MSNBC

The Gulf Oil Spill: Relief Well Drilling

So...this is a graphic portrayal of the relief well and drilling components. For a full article and a better image, see (IMAGE, ARTICLE)  This is the solution for stopping the run away oil spill, lets just hope it works.  The well drilling and capping is still scheduled to take place sometime near the beginning of August even though its estimated to be ahead of schedule.

Cleanup Update:

A new oil collection vessel 'A Whale' has been brought to the Gulf and is being tested for its oil collection capabilities. This ship has the capacity, best case scenario, to skim up to 300,000 barrels of oil a day from the waters surface.(LINK)  Otherwise, the 2 existing rigs and the containment cap are collecting approximately 25,000 gallons a day from the well, while an estimated 60,000 gallons a day is being released.  In the coming days BP estimates that it will be able to upgrade its containment cap solution, by adding a third vessel to collect oil, to recover as much as 53,000 gallons a day.(LINK)  It takes a lot of time, it turns out, to hook up a hose to the ports on a containment cap thats been sitting over the well for weeks now. 

Spill Migration:

Oil has now been found on a few Texas beaches, that means the oil spill has come ashore on all 5 gulf states.  Further, the rough weather has pushed oil into  Lake Pontchartrain located north of New Orleans.  This is sad for many reasons but mainly due to the fact that this was a lake that used to be fished and utilized then experienced significant pollution and was eventually closed. However, the Lake was restored over the last 20 years, where it eventually returned to being a productive fishing area, one of the last ones left in the Louisiana area in the wake of the oil spill.  Apparently it was not so lucky. (NYT, AP)

Economic Implications:

Amidst all of the spill problems, BP is putting a rather large spill mitigation effort forward.  This spill could cause the company to be bought out, meaning no more BP.  BP has spent nearly $4 billion on this situation in the last 77 days, and their stock has plummeted to half its previous value.  They have agreed to put $20 billion into an escrow account for cleanup costs, and estimates are still greater for what they will ultimately be on the hook for. (LINK)  I guess we will just have to wait and see how this plays out. This spill has been very unfortunate for the gulf states, the fishermen, the wildlife affected, the independent gas station owners and basically the entire region with implications spanning years into the future. Apparently, the same holds true for BP based on the fallout from this catastrophe.  At least they claim to be willing to pay claims to all affected parties at this point.  I guess in the light of this we will see if BP stands for bottomless pockets, instead of whatever its supposed to mean now a days.

The Gulf Oil Spill Tracker

WKRG.com News


If you put your cursor over the spill tracker you can switch between the 2 estimates.  One for the higher estimated spill rate and one for the lower estimated rate.

The Gulf Spill: No End In Sight

Update:

So its been over 2 months now since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sunk resulting in 11 casualties and a massive oil spill.  Every since oil has continued to gush from approximately a mile below the ocean surface.  So far all containment efforts have either failed or not met projected recovery estimates.  At best BP has been able to recover maybe half of the oil spilling from their well, using the latest containment cap solution, and not the 90% that they had forcasted that they would be able to by this point. This is also exacerbated by continual blunders on BPs part to keep the containment cap in place, or to get one in place to begin with.  The other little tid bit is that there is great uncertainty at the amount of oil being released into the Gulf.  Estimates range from 30-60,000 barrels a day or approximately 1.25 to 2.5 million gallons a day.  The oil will continue to leak into the Gulf until relief wells are drilled in August, more than a month away.  Already, an estimated 40-110 million gallons have been spilled into the Gulf. This spill will likely take the place as the worse oil spill in history that was not deliberately set into motion, however based on the court hearings and as evidence comes to light we may find that it was somewhat deliberate due to gross negligence on behalf of BP. (BBC, NYT)

Oil has now washed ashore on the coast of every state in the Gulf.  Birds, turtles, fish, sharks, marshes, developing and young animals, and all the little organisms in the ocean that these creatures ultimately feed on to survive are being affected, poisoned, killed by the impacts from the millions upon millions of gallons of crude oil spewing from the ocean floor.(CSM)  This link will explain more than you ever wanted to know.

To top it off, as if the above news was not good enough, well guess what....It Hurricane Season! So what this means is that BP will be unable to capture any oil or make progress drilling their relief wells during times when tropical storms threaten the area.  So, expect oil to be spilling, lots of it, unmitigated, for days and days on end. You know, seems to me to be pretty much the same news that we have been hearing for the last 2 months. All I have to say is pretty awesome, thanks BP, my hat's off to you! (Wall Street Journal)

Mend it

When I was young, there was nothing more thrilling than getting something new.  Now I feel like there's just too much stuff in the world.

This month's illustration is about maintaining the belongings we already own (mending a shirt, re-soling shoes) so they serve us well.

Not all items accept maintenance.  When a new purchase is necessary - when you can't do without, borrow, or buy from eBay or the Goodwill - it's a good idea to choose higher-quality things that can be fixed and enjoyed for a long time.

Thank you for all of the great ideas you emailed to me last time!  Keep them coming, and I hope July is beautiful and frugal for all.
Morgan

The Gulf Spill: BP's Culpability Grows

Updates:

The "Top Kill" solution seems to be working, and reports so far say that it has been effective at blocking the flow of oil and hydrocarbons from the well. Here is a link from BP describing the procedure, quantities of materials required, and desired out comes of this technique. (Link) So far news reports say the procedure is a success, however it will take a matter of days for the well to be completely sealed. With the track record of this event now going on 5 weeks, its difficult to be hopeful that anything will be accomplished, yet I am holding out hope. (NYT's Article) I would make an estimate of the quantity of oil spilled thus far but if you look at the NYT's article or many of my previous posts you will see that it is highly contested. Either way, this oil spill is the worst in American history, the previous being the Exxon Valdez that took place in Prince Williams Sound, AK in 1989.

BP's Guilt:

There has been a vast amount of news coverage oriented around figuring out what exactly caused this well blowout, and investigative task forces have been put together, and the government is not going to stop until the truth is known and the spill is cleaned up and on and on. I for one applaud the effort. If I were in charge I would probably do and say the same things. Hopefully with a little more expedience than what we have seen from our fearless leaders. Regardless, if you are curious about this spill and what happened and who's ultimately at fault I highly suggest watching the "60 Minutes" link I have provided. The interviews and documentation is deeply disturbing to say the least. Something has got to be done. Things need to change. It almost makes you wonder whats next or where the checks and balances are or how many people have to die?

(LINK - "60 Minutes" interview)

Personal Note:

After watching these videos, reading countless articles and on and on I find myself deeply moved by this event. This is really sad. The oil in the ocean, looks absolutely disgusting, and the quantities involved are incomprehensible to me. Yet, I do have a car, I rely on it, and the gulf provides something like a third of American oil supplies and BP is one of the, if not the, largest oil producer in America. I realize that this spill is not going to stop off shore energy production. However, seeing the responses from the BP representatives, and listening and reading the statements they have made, and then seen and reading those from the actual rig workers, makes me angry. I don't want to support a company like that. Where do those guys get off? How do they sleep at night? They have killed something like 26 Americans in the last 5 years due to negligence!

Regardless, these events and the way they have been handled does lead to some out rage on my part. Just for good measure, here is a list of BP owned companies if you, I don't know, decide not to support them: Castrol, Arco, Aral, am/pm, Amoco, and Wild Bean Cafe, and Safeway gas.

I don't usually read op-ed articles but like I said I have been reading a ton of oil spill related stuff. Ideally what I would like to see Obama's response be is to out law deep ocean oil production, because obviously the drilling technology far surpasses cleanup and mitigation technology and practices. Further, I would like to see him use this even to launch a pro-environment campaign, which would hopefully pave the way for energy production that moves away from oil into more renewable sources. Op-Ed Article. Obama ran on a platform of change. Well here is his chance to make that change....gonna make a difference,,,,gonna make it riiiiiiiight. Like I have said before, we will just have to see how it goes, I still have some faith that Obama will save the world and end the wars. C'mon Obama...

The Gulf Spill

Here is something that I have come across relating to this event that I thought was interesting, I credit Nikki Olson for this source, it's a statement prepared by the Society of Wetland Scientists.

(Link)

P.S. I am pro-wetlands!!

New illustration project

Hi folks, my name is Morgan and Polar Bear Soup has graciously invited me to share a new project that I'm starting.  I'm taking my ideas about ways to save our planet's resources and putting them into illustrations.

The first piece deals with water bottles:

According to Wikipedia, "The U.S. is the largest consumer market for bottled water in the world....  In 2008, U.S. bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons for 28.9% of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market, exceeding sales of all other beverages except carbonated soft drinks....  Americans drink 21 gallons of bottled water per capita per year."

Feel free to share this artwork!  Also, if you have any cool ideas of your own that you'd like to see in an illustration, leave a comment on this post or email me at morgan.nomura@gmail.com.

Have a beautiful and frugal day!
Morgan

The Gulf Spill: Oil On-shore

Update:

So now its be 34 days of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, from an oil exploration well which was drilled under the direction of BP, who now claims that they never intended to use the well for oil production. This seems funny to me, I mean why drill an oil well if you don't intend to produce oil from it?(Link) Further, why go through the trouble of drilling a 12 thousand foot deep well in nearly 5,ooo ft of ocean if you never intended on producing oil from the well? How much sense does that make? If that makes sense to anybody else, I have a great business opportunity for them....wanna buy this bridge? Its a great investment and the best part is, you don't even have to use it!

Regardless, oil has begun washing ashore in Louisiana. An estimated 65 miles of coast line have been impacted with more to come. This scenario will likely get much worse. Here is a link to some pictures to give you an idea of what this stuff really looks. (Pictures) This stuff, sweet crude, is not going to be easily cleaned up.

In The News: Pressure Put on BP

The Government is really sticking it to BP on this whole oil spill issue, now-a-days, as it turns out. Let me ask, where have you been for the last month or more EPA? Government? Hello...Hello? Oh wait, turns out someone is there after all. Huh, could have fooled me. I thought BP was running the country there for a bit. So, that first link pretty much supports this but it turns out that there are some concerns with the use of vast quantities of dispersant's in the Gulf. Personally, when it's documented that a chemical has not been tested, and the effects from said chemical are not known, that's a red flag for me, and kind of leads me to question whether it should be used at all. I guess what's a months worth of use, couple hundred thousand gallons of an untested chemical, who's ingredients are unreleased by it's manufacturer? We do know one thing, its effective in making millions of gallons of oil a lot less visible on the surface of an ocean. It gets better though. So the EPA says, hey BP we want you to use a less harmful dispersant, and BP says no. Makes you wonder who is really running the show. BP did agree to using lesser amounts though. Who knows what that means at this point, probably means that they are going to use as much as they see fit and just report whatever amount they agreed to with the EPA.

The article also pointed out that there is some doubt regarding the quantity of oil actually released and what has been reported by BP. Here is a time laps map produced by the NYT which shows the progression of the spill and the spill estimates as the days go by. What we are shown are the 3 leading estimates, one by BP ie. NOAA, and 2 others derived by independent experts. (Map) (BBC, MSN great links) Seems pretty striking that the BP provided estimate is soo much lower than the others. This might be contributing to the reason why BP has not released all information they have gathered on this issue, but have no fear, the EPA is here! They are going to form a task force...Oh, yes we can! We will see, it may take another month to raise the same questions I did a month ago, but better late than never.

Two Sides to Every Tale:

So, I think we can all agree that this is a terrible event and given the circumstances by which this occurred one would think that it would have been stopped by now. However, since all solutions so far have failed we wait till tomorrow to see if success can be had with BP's 'Top Shot' solution. Surprisingly enough, not everybody in the Louisiana area is fed up with the off short drilling, even in the midst of this spill. Off shore drilling began in Louisiana, and it will continue down there regardless of what happens with this spill. (Link) All I can say is that I hope this next solution works, I hope that the MMS folks are fired or prosecuted, I hope that much greater regulations of the oil industry are put in place, I hope that the mitigation caps are raised, and I hope beyond hope that this never happens again. But as long as there is oil being drilled and produced there will be oil being spilled.

The Gulf Oil Spill: Update

Update:

So nothing really new is going on. BP is siphoning off approximately 5,000 barrels of oil a day into a supertanker, utilizing a hose connected to the gushing failed well. However, oil continues to be released in vast quantities into the ocean.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8696073.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10141194.stm

Its been documented that the spill far exceeds BP's original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day. The oil plume is reaching coast lines, and washing up on shores. Untold quantities of oil are still being released and potentially will be for weeks to come. This is the worst oil spill in US history far exceeding that of the Exxon Valdez spill. The above links have a few videos embedded in them that show what the oil looks like and Obama's declaration of the policy action he intends to take. (It's about time)

The way I see it is that some good will come from this oil spill. Finally, the government will get involved in the oil industry in the United States. Regulations and standards will likely be created. Unfortunately its kind of a too little too late scenario. These regulations are being forced onto the agenda by public outcry. The gulf states are going to be majorly impacted for many years to come. The wildlife in the gulf is likely going to suffer much greater loses than we puny humans. Furthermore, off-shore oil exploration and production will continue.

Personal Note:

I don't claim to be an expert, I don't claim to be an oil proponent and I don't see myself as a 'radical liberal environmentalist.' However, I have had conversations with many many people regarding this issue and I find it interesting to see their reactions and the amount of attention people are giving this event. The vast majority of people I have spoken with don't seem to have any clue whats happening, the extent of the situation, none of it. Those that do either agree with me that there is a serious problem with industry/governmental relations that is very destructive to our country and that this is a very sad event, or they think more along the lines of what the news and BP have disclosed, kind of a devils advocate mentality. Most notably, I had a length conversation with a gentlemen who literally word for word regurgitated the news coverage saying things like "Its a big ocean" or "oil leaks from the ground naturally, oil spills are nothing new" or "look, personally I don't really care because its not in my backyard." I find it funny that people are willing to believe everything that they are told, and that they are ready to be down right combative when you question there opinions. How can society, and peoples intellect progress if nobody is willing to question things or look for greater truths or open themselves up to possibilities that are outside of their personal comfort levels. I also think its funny that some people are willing to be complacent about soo many things happening around them. I mean yeah its a big world, and yes we are all busy with our day to day lives, but things are happening around us at all times and many of those things are outside of our control, but that shouldn't mean that these events don't or won't have an effect on us or that our personal existences are more important than those of people on the other side of the country. I don't claim to have all the answers or be the most involved person, but I do have curiosities, I do question people and the news, I want to know whats happening around me, I want to be involved, I am effected by events regardless of there proximity to me, and further I want other people to know what I know so that they can hopefully pass that along to others and spread the collective wealth of knowledge, and information around.

The Gulf Oil Spill: The Truth Comes Out

Spill Update:

The numbers regarding the amount of oil being released into the Gulf, daily, have been updated by scientists, from what BP wanted us to believe. Turns out the amount is at least 10 times greater than what BP had estimated, and possibly even greater than that. (Link) So what can be deduced is after 24 days of unmitigated oil flow, at our new estimate of 50,000 barrels a day, from the failed exploration well, that around 1.2 million barrels have been released into the Gulf or approximately 50 million gallons. To put that into perspective with other oil spills it is now 5 times the amount of the Exxon Valdez spill and it continues. So far the biggest oil spill in American history.

Oil Industry and Offshore Oil Production Clarifications:

Furthermore, updates as to why this release happened have come to light and they are rather striking. What it boils down to is that there are no government standards on what is or is not an acceptable practice when conducting off shore drilling, and therefore no oversight. In recent court hearings, it has been shown that, all three companies involved in this well exploration are negligent and some grossly negligent. For instance, the knowledge that the blowout preventer was inadequate for its role, being that it had a dead battery, disconnected hydraulic hoses, and that it had been repaired using essentially useless parts. But apparently that does not mean it’s not expected to be a failsafe device. There were short comings, corners cut, and warning signs ignored by the well drillers. To top it off there was no regulatory oversight as to what safety or mitigation devices or practices are required as a contingency plan in the event of a well blowout. (link)

It Gets Better Though, There’s Nothing to Worry About:

Never the less, it’s just crude oil being released into the Gulf. This is not something that we should really be concerned with, or at least that’s what Tony Brown, BP’s CEO would like us to believe. In a recent interview he was quoted in saying "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume." (link) No big deal. So what, right? I bet that all the dolphins, tuna, fish, shrimp, crabs, lobsters, sea turtles, whales, sea birds, fishermen, the army and coast guard and on and on all feel the same way. I mean why shouldn’t they right it’s a big ocean?

Conclusions:

Maybe it’s just me, but I have found all of the news produced this week outrageous to say the least. I guess it just goes to show the influence that Big Oil, and oil in general plays in our national economy and its perceived importance. BP was calling the shots in regards to the oil spill, and its documentation. Where was the government and the governmental agencies? They were outraged, or so they said, they did send the coast guard out to help in the cleanup, but never once did they attempt to exert control over the situation and why should they? The government doesn’t want responsibility for the cleanup, or the threats to the wildlife, or any of it. Maybe that’s the reason for the lack of oversight, regulations, standard practices, and safety or spill mitigation requirements.

The way I see it, after outside analysis, over 3 weeks after the oil spill started, we are finally being given accurate information regarding how much oil is being spilled and why. This is the largest oil spill in American history. Unfortunately, it’s not the largest in the Gulf and it definitely won’t be the last oil spill to occur out there. America has basically given free rein to the oil companies, and I really doubt this will change. Tony Harward said it himself:

Hayward insisted that deep-water drilling would continue in the US despite the growing environmental and political backlash against the company.

"Apollo 13 [the unsuccessful third mission to the moon in 1970] did not stop the space race," he said. "Neither did the Air France plane last year coming out of Brazil [which mysteriously crashed] stop the world airline industry flying people around the world. It's the same for the oil industry."

He pointed out that the Gulf of Mexico, much of it in deep waters, represented one-third of the US's oil and gas production. (Link)

I guess the reality of this is sad to me. We, America, are willing to let large companies continue to wreak havoc on our environments, oceans, fisheries, and people in the name of oil. We let them kill people in their haste and pursuit of profits. We fine them money, sure, but we don’t seem to be making meaningful strides to prevent these issues from happening. The really sad part about it is that, this situation isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Now we see that BP is concerned with the lawsuits they are going to face over this mess, and rightly so. But BP is the 3^rd largest oil company in the world, they made 5.6 billion dollars in the first quarter of this year alone.(Link) I guess if anybody can pay for this mess its them. However, the limited compensation received isn’t going to “fix” the damage caused, and the impacts that we won’t even know about for years to come.

Seattle Green Fest - June 5 & 6

Calling all eco-ninjas, or anybody who has any interest in learning more about decreasing your footprint on the planet, in anyway. That's right, it's that time of year again, GREEN FEST is coming back to Seattle.

Green Fest is a pretty neat event. It's located at the Seattle Convention Center, the admission price is reasonable, and there will be a ton of booths setup run by various ecologically conscious organizations, services, companies and on and on. There are a number of lectures and seminars being conducted during the event and Mayor Mike will even be present on the 5th.

For information regarding the event below is a link to the event, and there is a pamphlet available which shows the various booths, lecture, events and features of this years Green Fest.

Website link. http://www.greenfestivals.org/seattle/

One thing to take notice of is the various ways admission can be reduced and potentially eliminated.... http://www.greenfestivals.org/seattle/pricing/

I will post more of these reduced admission options if I come across them.

The Gulf Oil Spill: Set Backs

Spill Update:

Now over 3.5 million gallons of oil have been released from BP's failed oil exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico. BP attempted to lower a cofferdam or 'funnel' over the broken well piping and capture the majority of the leaking oil. However, during the lowering of the cofferdam, engineers noticed that ice or more specifically gas hydrates have formed in the piping of the cofferdam stopping it up. BP officials have moved the cofferdam some distance from the oil leak, where it is currently resting on the sea floor until engineers can come up with a solution that will allow it to work as intended or another solution that might work better.

Other options have been developed to stop up the leaking well piping and potentially the blow out preventer such as by plugging the piping with shredded tires, golf balls and other objects. Additionally it has been speculated that a smaller or different shaped cofferdam may be able to cap of some of the oil leak without having the gas hydrate issues that the larger one suffered. (news articles BBC, AP, Reuters)

Gas Hydrates:

Gas hydrates are found abundantly around the world on the sea floor and in the subsurface. These hydrates are naturally occurring in area like the sea floor due to the cold temperatures and high pressures that occur in these environments of the world. “Gas hydrates are clathrate compounds. A clathrate is simply a structure in which water molecules under certain conditions bond to form an ice-like cage that encapsulates a gas molecule, known as a guest molecule. When that guest is a methane molecule, you have methane hydrate.” (link) Gas hydrates are very flammable, and unstable which is what is causing concern for the BP engineers.

Gas hydrates are likely formed by microbial reduction of CO2 in the oceans, and these hydrates can form relatively quickly as we have seen with the cofferdam in this oil spill crisis. Methane is a hot topic as far as energy security issues go being that is the main ingredient in natural gas, which is widely used for domestic heating, and cooking needs. However, do to the unstable nature of these hydrates and the role that methane plays as a greenhouse gas have givin rise to concerns regarding climate impacts due to its release into the atmosphere. Methane/natural gas is much more efficient energy source that oil or coal, yet it is 25 times more destructive to our atmosphere than CO2. For more information on methane refer to this link. (link)

Surprising Turn of Events:

In the days following the this unfortunate turn of events, all news agencies reported that the Obama administration had put a ban on further oil drilling offshore, due to the inherent risks involved in the industry and the potential for additional releases and spills, until a full review had been conducted of the incident. However, this account was rather misleading I have come to find out. The Guardian has reported that, similar to the BP exploration well, environmental reviews have been waived on additional new offshore drilling projects. This is striking being as though we have seen that equipment can fail, rigs can sink, and that it is very difficult to control what is going on at great depths in the ocean. Check out the article.

Conclusions:

After 19 days still no progress has been made to contain this oil spill, and coast lines throughout the Gulf are beginning to see the effects first hand, arriving on their beaches. Shore birds, and sea life are being impacted and the extent of the damage has yet to be assessed. So far all mitigation strategies have failed and 5,000 barrels of oil are still being released into the Gulf. To make matters worse, in an era of government where the environment and its stewardship were large issues, we are seeing a blind eye being turned to big oil in America. I guess money is still the big motivator as far as governmental policies are concerned. Yes we can...doesn't mean we will.

The Gulf Oil Spill: How You Can Help

OK so i should have probably made this blog post earlier, but better late than never.

So we all see this environmental catastrophe playing out in the Gulf, and seeing something of this nature naturally raises feelings and questions regarding what one can do in order to make a difference, however big or small, to help in the mitigation of this natural disaster. Well here are a few places where you can either: 1. Donate money to the cause, 2. get information regarding opportunities to go there and mop up oil, 3. Write to your legislators/sign petitions to prevent future occurrences of this kind.

Here are some links to look at...

http://na.oceana.org/en/stopthedrill

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=54895

http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/05/01/2291388.aspx

https://www.estuaries.org/donation-form.html

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

The Gulf Oil Spill: Progress

Update:

Today BP has lowered the 'funnel' device down onto the leaking well. It is estimated to take 2 additional days to be able to connect a pipe to the funnel in order to facilitate the recovery of this oil by ship and minimize the spilling of oil into the gulf. This funnel is essential a 100 ton box of steel and concrete, which will cap most of the well at depth on the sea floor. However, this will not stop the oil leak completely, it has been estimated to limit the spread by 85%. So instead of 5000 barrels a day the spill will have been reduced to more like 750 barrels or approximately 30,000 gallons a day. This doesn't stop the leak, but it reduces it, showing progress, limiting the effects to wildlife that have been predicted. (BBC article with map and images)

Wildlife Effected:

News reports have documented that the Brenton National Wildlife Reserve has been closed to the public due to the slick reaching the outer most shores. Only cleanup crews are allowed into the reserve to try and protect and clean affected coastal areas and nesting sea birds. Furthermore, the marshes of the Chandeleur Islands have been impacted by the oil spill. The Chandeleur Islands are of particular importance to the Gulf fishing industry. We will have to wait and see what the effects are of this impact. (guardian article #1 and #2) Sea birds have already felt the effects of the oil and they are estimated to be the most vulnerable. The extent of the impacts to the sea birds will likely be related to how much of the coastal marsh area are impacted by the spill.

Conclusions:

Unfortunately we will not know if this strategy has been successful for sometime, likely not till early next week. One report I read says that if the piping port of this funnel becomes clogged it could cause yet another explosion, causing the funnel to fail, without stopping the leak and potentially causing more damage to the leaking well pipe producing a greater leak. This funnel will not contain all of the leaks, one will remain and if the first funnel strategy is successful a second funnel will be deployed to contain the remaining leak. I am not certain if both funnels will completely stop the spread of oil in the Gulf, from the leaking well, or if it will just greatly reduce the amounts released to the Gulf, my hunch says its likely the later. This leak and its potential to cause a greater spill likely won't be stopped until this well is finally capped by the drilling of the relief well. However, any leaking oil from a man made cause is too much in my opinion, and why greater mitigation efforts were not readily available the entire time this exploration well was being drilled is out of my realm of understanding, and makes very little sense.

For those who are really curious, here is an article which briefly describes some of the worlds worst oil spills. The worst spill of this list actually occurred in the Gulf in 1979 and it was also an oil exploration well that went uncapped for many many months and ended up releasing an estimated 147 million gallons of crude. The numbers in this report are a little deceiving being that they are reported in tonnes of oil. I guess, if nothing else this should be looked at from a mindset that while oil spills are very destructive nature has a way of dealing with those stresses. It also goes to show that the Gulf has been subject to great environmental injustices and will likely continue to be. Its amazing to me that there is still so much wildlife present in a place that has been so thoroughly tested and pushed to its ecological limits. ( Article)

Below is a youtube video for your viewing pleasure. Here is a link to some striking images of the event. (link)

Thanks for reading.

Visual Representation of the Gulf Oil Spill

Here is a you-tube video showing what happened, and shedding light on the situation as it is.. Hopefully this helps.

The Gulf Oil Spill: Cleanup

Spill Update:

Estimates of the quantity that has spill thus far tend to vary greatly. But the most consistent estimate is that 5,000 barrels of crude oil, a day, are being released into the Gulf. That brings us to at least 2.5 million gallons now and rising. New concerns are leading toward the spill getting pushed around the tip of Florida by the Gulf Stream and then up the Eastern Seaboard.

Cleanup Strategies:

So far the main cleanup strategies used to try and mitigate the spread of oil in the Gulf has been the use of booms, absorbent material and water skimmers, chemical dispersants and even controlled burns.

Booms tend to work very well at containing spreading oil, on the surface of water, when the water is fairly calm. However, this has not been quite the case so far in the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the fact that this oil is being released from approximately 4500 feet below the surface of the water and since oil is lighter than water is naturally rises, however it does not all rise to the surface in the same place. Further, oil has a tendency to spread out on the surface of water. These characteristics combined with the extremely large area of water known as the Gulf of Mexico are making booms a less than ideal way to mitigate the spread of oil.

Absorbent material and skimmers are being deployed which physically remove oil from the water. These methods are very useful in cleaning/removing rather thick puddles of oil, but are rather fruitless in trying to clean up thin, dispersed oil sheens. Sheens are what is observed as oils spreads on the surface of water, typically making iridescent or rainbow colors. In fact, there have been news reports indicating that hair is an effective sponge, and being as such hair donations from hair salons around the country are being donated, hair drives are being conducted, etc to try and aid in cleanup efforts. (see article)

Chemical dispersants have by far been the most sought after solution to prevent impacts to shorelines. In fact, it is estimated that BP has deployed over 100,000 gallons of dispersants already both on the surface of the water and at depth near the physical oil well. “Dispersants are mixtures of solvents, surfactants and other additives that break up the surface tension of an oil slick and make oil more soluble in water, according to a paper published by the Natinal Academy of Science. They are spread over or in the water in very low concentration – a single gallon may cover several acres. Once they are dispersed, the tiny droplets of oil are more likely to sink or remain suspended in deep water rather than floating to the surface and collecting in a continuous slick. Dispersed oil can spread quickly in three directions instead of two and is more easily dissipated by waves and turbulence that break it up further and help many of its most toxic hydrocarbons evaporate.” (see article)

Finally, controlled burns have been tested by the coast guard, as a potential cleanup strategy, on some of the thicker puddles of oil that they have been able to corral in booms, however to be effective as a cleanup method the puddles have to be somewhat substantial as opposed to the more common sheens or thinner, more spread out oils slicks.

Long Term Solutions

So far BP has come up with 2 long term solutions to mitigate the oil spill. The first is to place a concrete and steel cone over the well and funnel the leaking oil to the surface and have it loaded on ships while a more permanent solution is reached. This funnel option is estimated to take an additional week to complete and install, by which time another 1.5 million gallons of oil will have been released into the gulf. The more permanent solution is to drill an alternate well into the existing leaking well, and capping the leaking well using mud and concrete. This drilling option has already begun, with assistance from Transocean, the company operating the Horizon oil rig which sunk causing the oil spill. However, this option may take up to 3 months to complete.

Conclusions:

Mitigation of this spill will be what determines how destructive it is to the environment, fisheries, the people who live in and around the Gulf of Mexico, the shorelines affected and the oil industry as a whole. If you read the articles linked to this post you will find that while there are pros and cons to each strategy, ultimately stopping the leak is the real solution. The short term strategies are not very effective at containing a spill of this magnitude, in this setting. The use of dispersants is kind of troubling to me. While they aid in removing the physical oil slick, they end up putting that oil into suspension in the water column, and eventually the sediments of the ocean floor putting them in greater contact with marine life, shell fish, filter feeders, and on and on. Furthermore, the effects of the use of those surfactants and dispersants on the aquatic ecosystems is largely unknown, and ingredient lists are held as trade secretes. Make you wonder what is actually going on, or at least it makes me wonder. Who knows they may be doing more harm then good and we wont know this for years potentially. So best case scenario, this sounds strange to me but, we have around one additional week of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico at 5,000 barrels a day (210,000 gallons/day). I guess we will just have to wait and see.

For more information, actual numbers as they are being made public, clean up measures, pictures of the events visit: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

The Gulf Oil Spill

Ok so I am back after a long dry spell. I guess you could call it a lapse in motivation, fueled by a decrease in free time, or what have you, not really important. So a little disclaimer on this blog post…for those who know me, I am an environmental consultant by trade, I studied biology and environmental studies in college and have degrees in both. By trade I do toxic waste mitigation and clean up work, largely revolving around petroleum pollution, spills, groundwater and soil contamination, and that sort of thing. While I am no expert by any means, I do have some knowledge and experience on the subject. Further, I chose my college courses based on my personal interests. That being said I have spent a lot of time studying various aspects of the natural world, oceans, creatures, geographical areas, and on and on. This brings me to the topic of this blog and likely a few more to come, which is the oil spill which has and continues to occur in the Gulf of Mexico. I don’t think that there are many people out there that will disagree with me when I say that this is a very, very unfortunate turn of events for the people who live in that area, the people who derive their income from fishing or ecotourism or some other related trade, the companies involved, the environment which is being subjected to incredible stress and pollution, the government, the surrounding states and countries and all of the species of plants and animals which will be affected by this catastrophe.

The Gulf Spill

On April 20^th, a deepwater oil exploration rig, Deepwater Horizon, caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually sunk on the 22^nd, Earth Day, which set into motion the oil spill that is now occurring. 11 people were killed in the incident. The fire that occurred burned for 2 days, and led to the sinking of the oil rig. (Timeline of events and images).

What we are seeing now is and will likely be the largest oil spill in this nation’s history. Exxon Valdez was big; this will be even larger in a matter of days and will likely continue to get larger due to unsuccessful effort to cap the oil well. What we are witnessing is a release of an estimated 5,000 barrels of crude oil, unrefined oil, a day. (A barrel of oil, abbreviated bbl, is equivalent to 42 US gallons.) The BBC has produced a great map of this incident and many articles and even video coverage of the situation. (Map/Article)

The entire outcome of this situation is a little uncertain at this point. What we do know is that BP is taking full reasonability for the cleanup efforts, and rightly so. BP was leasing the rig from a company called Transocean, who was in charge of the drilling activities under BP supervision, which sank causing this oil spill. Further, BP owns the oil well, and the area of ocean where the oil well is located, approximately 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. We know the extent of the spill. We know that it will make it to shore. The extent of the pollution and spill will have to be assessed as events unfold. So far over 1.6 million gallons of oil have been spilled and the oil continues to flow out of the well.

Nothing good will come from this. However, what is nice to see is that BP is taking responsibility, and has been very responsive toward the situation. BP has brought members of the Big 5 (ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips), the army, and the government together along with help from local fishermen to try and mitigate this mess. However, I don’t see this being a successful venture being as oil continues to flow from the well.