John McCusker, The Times-Picayune - A shrimp boat drags skimmers through the oil slick in the Gulf Of Mexico on May 6.
From NOLA:
Tired of daily news reports about oiled pelicans, tar-balled beaches and out-of-work fishers? You might check out a BP blog that offers a more upbeat take on the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The proverbial glass of oily seawater always seems half-full for the company's "reporters" as they file dispatches on a couple who may lose their seafood restaurant but refuse to blame BP; oil-skimming boats that resemble a "spectacular ballet at sea;" and a touching scene of mothers cleaning a beach on Mother's Day, "reminding everyone that this spill response is only a very small part of what's important."
Many of BP's "Blogs from the Gulf" are tributes to "extraordinarily dedicated responders," often BP employees who are lauded for working long hours to clean up the company's mess.
In a May 28 post, "BP reporter" Paula Kolmar said it was "oddly an inspiration" to fly over the spill zone.
Look at the photo. The colors are exquisite - like a beautiful painting.
And at the BP Blog link above, we learn:
I wanted to understand why authorities repeatedly have warned the public not to handle injured birds, but instead instructed people to report the location of injured birds and leave it to specialists to rescue the animals. One look at a distressed, oiled pelican arriving at the center answered part of my question. The birds are dangerous and can be aggressive when under stress.
See? You must not handle the birds not because the oil is toxic or anything. It's the fault of the birds. The oil-soaked pelicans are aggressive!
This is sicker than the noxious oil fumes.
ReplyDeleteFrom Sojourner's via the Washington Post (with apologies for the term "oil spill"):
ReplyDelete"The oil spill is like a cancer or tumor ... It is creeping and unpredictable from whether people will have livelihoods or health issues later from helping clean it up. You just don't know whether it is benign or malignant."
- Michele Many, a social worker at Louisiana State University who helps fishermen's wives. (Source: The Washington Post)
Elizabeth, the bloggers at BP must not get around the blogosphere very much. If BP is paying for this sort of PR advice, they need to hire another firm. This sounds more like a do-it-yourself project in the workshop in the back yard - much like all of their operations.
ReplyDeleteI read the story at the WP. so true and so sad.
Last night, Tom said that he would not be too sorry if his days came to an end soon, and he never talks like that. If you think about the situation too much, it's beyond depressing, moving into despair.
Mimi, my husband and I are headed for the Gulf Coast later today. We decided that our vacation dollars are needed here at home in Alabama, so that is where they will stay. Besides, we hail from Kansas and West Texas; give us a place to watch people, drink beer, eat good food and maybe play at little putt-putt and the beach part is all bonus anyway.
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ReplyDeleteannski, good for you.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow, Tom and I will try to visit Grand Isle, La., since our planned trip on Tuesday was canceled due to Diana, our dog, being under the weather. She's much better.
Good news that Diana is better at least.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where to start with BP.
Actually I would think a distressed pelican might be a handful, since they are big, strong birds, but this does not mean rescue needs to be left to "specialists".
Cathy, the process of cleaning the oiled birds takes several steps, and I agree that it's best that only those trained in the steps undertake the cleaning. But I had to laugh (or cry!) that BP so quickly steered the conversation away from any suggestion that the mess covering the birds might be toxic to people.
ReplyDeleteA number of birds don't survive, either because they have been poisoned or due to stress, but the prevailing thinking is that enough survive and breed to make the cleaning process worthwhile. Remember that the brown pelican was just making a come-back from being an endangered species.
Mimi, I know the actual cleaning takes several steps, but it seems to me there is nothing to stop people either getting the training, or catching the birds if they can and taking them to someone who is trained. If it gives the birds a chance at surviving, that is something.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mark Brunson. Not sure the government would then do significantly better though, that's the problem. I am sure the president figures it's better to let BP look like the idiots.
Mark, of course, BP must deal with trying to cap the gusher. As to the clean-up, while it's true that the federal agencies may not be a huge improvement, they could hardly be more incompetent than BP.
ReplyDeleteit seems to me there is nothing to stop people either getting the training, or catching the birds if they can and taking them to someone who is trained.
Cathy, there are special locations where the live creatures are to be taken, where they permit them to rest a while and recover from their capture before the cleaning starts. It is a fairly specialized process that couldn't be done easily say - in your home. And the oil and the dispersants may be toxic to humans.
My problem with BP's approach is they seem to be taking it like some summer community project.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is, this is a devastating environmental disaster that we can't fully predict the outcome of, yet. What we can predict is horrifying.
1. The presence of surface oil at this time of year significantly changes rainfall patterns for the South.
2. If a hurricane can survive the surface oil, it will then sling toxic sludge over massive areas of the interior.
3. The problem is a U. S. one, now, but will soon become a Caribbean one, hence a Cuban one. The Chinese may or may not support Cuba as the USSR did, but it will still be a replay of those tensions in the 1960's.
4. The oil on the surface is one thing, but we don't know where deep water currents are leading - caught right, it is possible to lead it into the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal into the Pacific, toxifying the whole shebang.
Frankly, worst case scenario is a civilization-collapsing one. So, I really think that BP's "community project" attitude is inexcusable.
Mark, you are correct. At this moment we have no idea of what the ripple effects of the Gulf catastrophe will be or could be, and we know that they won't be good.
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