Oil Spill in the Gulf

[Barbara]

Hi guys!
Haven't been here for awhile! Good to be back!
-We live about 3 miles from the Gulf in Florida and are hearing some ominous threats about evacuation and Martial law! Wondering if anyone is picking up on these stories.
-We've noticed a tremendous amount of new Police vehicles also, in our own area recently.
Have also read Gov. Jindal of La. wrote to Obama asking for assistance in case of evacuations.
-Also am wondering, since we live only a few miles from the nuclear power plant that provides power in this area, and gets its water cooling feed from the Gulf, what damage that would cause when the BIG oil hits?
-When the Exxon Valdez debacle occurred, the animal activists were extremely vocal. There are hundreds of thousands of sea life, coral, etc., being affected - bodies of animals washing on shore, WHERE ARE THE ACTIVISTS NOW? There is an eerie silence.
-According to what we learned yesterday, there is over 700,000 gals. per day (that they will admit to) leaking into the Gulf - not to mention the effect of the chemical dispersants in the water!
This is a deep water event that has NEVER happened in history! Yes, they're discussing evac of millions in states along the Gulf, including where we live, because of the environmental effects that are increasing DRASTICALLY each day!!! Where is the outcry

[Soldier4Christ]

There are a lot of rumors going around right now and it is really difficult to tell between the facts and conspiracy suppositions being made that are nothing but unfounded assumptions. Some of the supposed martial law claims have not been that at all but rather it has been National Guard Engineers that are attempting to help with the oil spill. These Troops are not enforcement type Troops. There has been stories of certain areas being blocked from access by the general public and by news reporters. This was done by BP personnel that had no authority for doing so.

There is a no fly zone over certain areas of the Gulf but not over the shore line as stated by some. This was an effort to limit activity to those that are attempting to stop the leak and contain the spill.

As for evacuation orders. There has nothing been put out officially as of yet but that always remains a possibility and if it comes to that I don't doubt that there will be martial law imposed for the evacuated areas. I have heard that evacuation of the hardest hit areas is being considered by the Governors over those areas. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is one of those that is supposedly considering this. Yet at the same time he has asked all citizens that are able to turn out to training centers so that they can help.

I haven't heard anything about nuclear power plants but i would think that they have filtering systems on the water intakes since salt water is not sufficient for cooling. Whether they would be clogged by oil or not is a good question.

As for how much is leaking it seems that it is all guessing at this point. No one seems to be able to agree on the amount that is leaking per day. According to Fox News they are currently putting sensors down into the tube to be able to get a better more scientific answer to that question.

The activists are being relatively quiet. I personally think that it's because they are afraid for themselves and if they yell too much they will be told to go into the area to help and they don't want to expose themselves to all of that.

Personally I don't see an evacuation helping very much. If we get a storm hit in just the wrong place it will have an effect on more than just the coast. It will spread the oil and chemicals they are using across land along the path of that storm. This will have a great effect on plants and animals. The path of these storms usually go right across the farming belt. With the food sources in the Gulf already contaminated and then if a storm hits even more of our food supply will be affected. Add to this the flooding already taking out many farms and the colder temps experienced in some areas. A possibility of extreme famine could be seen and soon.

[Barbara]

How are you Pastor Roger? Good to talk with you again!

I agree with all you've written. Just wanted to add something from an article we received through a Christian ministry headlined:
TOXIC OIL SPILL RAINS WARNED COULD DESTROY NORTH AMERICA
   A dire report prepared for President Medvedev by Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources is warning today that the British Petroleum (BP) oil and gas leak in the Gulf of Mexico is about to become the worst environmental catastrophe in all of human history threatening the entire eastern half of the N. American continent with "total destruction."
   Russian scientists are basing their apocalyptic destruction assessment due to BP's use of millions of gallons of chemical dispersement agent known as Corexit 9500 which is being pumped directily into the leak of this well head over a mile under the Gulf of Mexico waters and designed, this report says, to keep hidden from the American public the full, and tragic extent of this leak that is now estimated to be over 2.9 million gallons a day."
    I have the rest of the article and would like to ask you if I can post the source so I don't have to type it all. It comes from an EU newspaper - can I post the link 

[Shammu]

Yes sister you may.

I've seen online chatter now is about the possibility of evacuating 40-50 MILLION people from the Gulf Coast and East Coast up to North Carolina. That, along with no crops and no seafood, could definitely affect the entire US. This chatter began also with discussions of a fractured sea floor which is now being confirmed by US congressional members. There is also a virtual news blackout in the area with local residents even unwilling to discuss what they know.

[Barbara]

Hi again DreamWeaver! Good to talk with you again!
     All I have to say is YIKES  - we've been hearing up to 200 miles inward of the western coastiline, but we're aware that this spill is now swept up into the Loop Current - a big underwater current that is greatly involved in controlling the weather around the planet - that's why it's heading up the east coast now - BUT I 'd like to hear more info, if you could provide it, about the fractured sea floor 

The rest of the above article is at:

www.eutimes.net/2010/05/toxic-oil-spill-rains-warned-could-destroy-north-america/

[Barbara]

Ya know I'm having a little problem with the above site - if you are also - tell me and I'll take the time to write the whole article....

[Soldier4Christ]

Yes sister you may.

I've seen online chatter now is about the possibility of evacuating 40-50 MILLION people from the Gulf Coast and East Coast up to North Carolina. That, along with no crops and no seafood, could definitely affect the entire US. This chatter began also with discussions of a fractured sea floor which is now being confirmed by US congressional members. There is also a virtual news blackout in the area with local residents even unwilling to discuss what they know.

The fractures sea floor has not been confirmed as of yet. The member of Congress that supposedly confirmed this used the words 'may have' and 'might be' and people jumped on that in the same manner as they do in support of evolution. Using Google Earth and fly overs people have spotted what appears to be a plume at 7 miles and another at 172 miles away from the main oil leak. It is also thought to be a crater forming in this area (an indention in the floor where the floor appears to be sinking). Again this has not been confirmed. Some supposed experts have said this is just a pool of oil that has gathered that came from the original oil spill. It would require a submersible to verify this one way or another and so far none has done this.

The chemical Corexit 9500 is not being pumped into the oil well but it is being used on the surface part of the spill. To put it directly into the well would render the oil completely unusable which they are not doing to what little oil they are capturing. The use of this chemical and others it is estimated with the event of a storm it could affect as far north as Illinois and perhaps even further.

[Soldier4Christ]

The link works fine for me. Thank you.

[Barbara]

The chemical is not being pumped into the oil well. But I'll quote from a 1 hour documentary being shown on the SCIENCE channel (will be on Wednesday night, if you get the channel - it's called Disaster on the Gulf)
[i]"Day 11 - The Crisis Team launches a plan to keep the oil from reaching the surface. For the first time in history dispersents are used under the surface - shot though hoses by remote underwater vehicles at the source of the leak itself.
Jon Rogers, Coord Subsea Dispersants, "We're trying to get as close as we can to the crude, ideally, before it mixes with seawater - so we've actually got an injection point right at the point where the oil is coming into the Gulf of Mexico (points at underwater map)."
   It's a short term method to minimize the oil's impact, but some believe that toxic dispersants are worse than the oil.
David Mizejewski, National Wildlife Federation, "It's really like a giant, chemical lab experiment that we're doing in the Gulf and it's kinda scary to think about because we don't know..."[/i]

[Soldier4Christ]

They were pumping dispersants into the well head at one time. That was at the time in which it appeared to have fire coming from the well head. It wasn't fire, it was the dispersants that made it appear that way. They are not using the dispersants since they got that last weak cap placed on it where they started siphoning some of the oil from it.
 

[nChrist]

Hello Sister Barbara,

It's great to hear from you. By the way, I just went to the site you linked, and I'm not having any problem with it.

My son is a nuclear analyst for one of those nuclear power plants in Florida, and he hasn't mentioned any problems they are anticipating. I, for one, don't know enough about this to even guess on environmental and other impacts. I fully expect this administration to somehow use this disaster to advance cap and trade, so I won't trust this administration for accurate news. It will be a political football that's kicked around for a long time. Who knows? - political corruption may be one of the causes of the disaster. In the meantime, many people will be suffering the real and harsh consequences for an unknown number of years. I think there's a lot we don't know right now.

Love In Christ,
Tom

[Barbara]

More from Science Channel:

"Satellite imagery shows an oil slick that covers more than 88,000 square miles on the surface - what lies beneath is just as ominous. Droplets of oil and chemical dispersant are suspended under the water. Researchers have found one plume that is 20 miles long and a mile deep. Under the plume are the most ancient, sensitive and least known marine eco-systems in the world, and the real 'joker in the deck' is the use of dispersants. Adding dispersants to oil makes a toxic soup that no one really understands...."

[Barbara]

Hi Brother Tom!! So glad to speak with you again!! I must have been writing while you were posting.

Woe  a nuclear analyst in the family is very impressive - that's one smart boy!!!! You must be extremely proud of him!!!
   It's so funny that you mentioned cap and trade because my husband just read that Obama wanted to take "advantage" of the situation. We also don't trust anything that comes from this admin and have to rely solely on what we're reading on the internet and hearing from the locals as to what they've seen.
   We also think there's alot we haven't heard. We're planning on leaving Fla. as soon as the LORD makes it possible. We can't sell our homes in this area though - but in the last few months b/4 this disaster we've been talking with alot of Christian folks who feel, even though they were born here, that it's time to get out. Many are looking at land further north and sharing what they're finding with the rest of us in the prayer group that have been in agreement. Maybe the Spirit of God put this on the hearts of alot the people down here...we thought it was the economy but now this...

[nChrist]

Sister Barbara,

Yes, I am very proud of my son. The Navy paid for his education in exchange for 6 years of service aboard the Nimitz Aircraft Carrier. He now works at St. Lucy Nuclear Power Plant near West Palm Beach. My wife and I got a tour of the facility - at least what we were allowed to, including part of the water cooling system. I'll assume that any significant oil contamination in the water would shut down St. Lucy and Turkey Point Reactors.

I'll be praying for you on your home and moving situation. I'll stay in Oklahoma, but we are considering a move to a smaller home in the country. It's a buyer's market everywhere, and housing prices have gone down. My son tells me that's especially true in Florida right now, so he couldn't sell his home for what he owes. Back to the solid ROCK:  God will provide and keep us until He Comes to take us HOME.

Love In Christ,
Tom

"Oh! the mysteries, the excellencies, the glories which are in this incomparable book! There are none so useful, none so needful, none so delightful, none so necessary to make you happy and to keep you happy--as this!"

- Thomas Brooks

[Barbara]

FLORIDA GULF OIL SPILL: PLANS TO EVACUATE TAMPA BAY AREA ARE IN PLACE
Updated: June 14, 2010

As FEMA and other government agencies prepare for what is now being called the worst oil spill disaster in history, plans to evacuate the Tampa Bay area are in place.
THE PLANS WOULD BE ANNOUNCED IN THE EVENT OF A CONTROLLED BURN OF SURFACE OIL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, OR IF WIND OR OTHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE TOXIC FUMES THROUGH TAMPA BAY. 
   This practice has been used by the US Forestry service when fire and smoke threaten the health and well being of people.
The elderly and those with respiratory problems would be more susceptible to health risks, in the event of a controlled burn.
   Estimates of the rate of BPs Deepwater Horizon oil spill have varied. Independent scientists now suggest that the true spill rate, before the riser pipe was cut off in June, was between 20,000 and 50,000 barrels a day.
   Since the April 20th explosion, which resulted in the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig, there have been more than a million barrels of chemicals poured into the Gulf of Mexico in efforts to break up the spill. The chemicals have come under scrutiny because of their own toxic nature.

    Cont'd...