Oil could hit Florida Panhandle by Wednesday

[tacomancer]

Oil could hit Florida Panhandle by Wednesday

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. - A Florida beach might get hit with oil from the Deepwater Horizon accident for the first time Wednesday as sheen likely caused by the accident was reported less than 10 miles off Pensacola Beach.
A charter boat captain reported the oil Tuesday afternoon and state and local environmental officials confirmed that it was about 9.5 miles offshore. Winds are forecast to blow from the south and west, pushing the outer edges of massive slick from the spill closer to western Panhandle beaches.
Emergency crews began Tuesday scouring the beaches for oil and shoring up miles of boom. Escambia County will use it to block oil from reaching inland waterways, but plans to leave beaches unprotected because they are too difficult to protect and easier to clean up.
The spill's arrival coincides with the beginning of the Panhandle's summer tourism season, which normally brings millions of dollars to the region.
"It's inevitable that we will see it on the beaches," said Keith Wilkins, Escambia's deputy chief of neighborhood and community services.
The oil has been creeping toward Florida since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and eventually collapsing into the Gulf of Mexico. An estimated 20 million to 40 million gallons of oil has spewed into the Gulf, eclipsing the 11 million that leaked from the Exxon Valdez disaster. The rig was being operated for petroleum giant BP, which has tried unsuccessfully for six week to stanch the oil.
The Florida report followed an orange and oily mess washing up on Alabama's beaches earlier Tuesday. Crews cleaned up the oil that they described as having the consistency of a "tarry mousse," but health officials closed the beaches to swimming.
Pensacola Beach officials said their request for about $150,000 from BP to buy sifting machines and a tractor to help remove oil from the beach's famous white sands has lingered unanswered for more than three weeks. BP has promised it will pay any expenses, but Panhandle officials say the bureaucracy has been slow. Some think the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be running the cleanup operation, not BP.
"We need the sifters and we haven't gotten them approved yet," said W.A. "Buck" Lee, Santa Rosa Island Authority's executive director. "It's been three weeks and the oil is coming. In my opinion, this entire thing should have been a FEMA project all along. If a hurricane blows the roof off your jail, you shouldn't have to wait and send a letter to BP to replace the roof on your jail."
Lee said BP has spent money on public relations, but not on preparations for beach cleanup. The company has provided the sate with $25 million to promote tourism. Escambia approved $700,000 in emergency funding for tourism promotion Tuesday, with another $700,000 to be allocated in 45 days.
Lee said the bureaucratic process set up at the federal staging centers in Alabama and Louisiana have also made it difficult to get information about his pending request.
Coast Guard Chief Peter Capelotti, spokesman for the Mobile, Ala.-based command center, did not have an immediate answer late Tuesday about the delay in approving Escambia county's request for the tractor and other equipment.
Capelotti said command center officials expect more oil to make landfall in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Friday.
On Pensacola Beach, emergency crews are prepared for a long summer of oil clean up. They plan to remove oil in cycles after it is pushed onshore and the winds shift. Removing oil while it's moving onshore doesn't make sense, Wilkins said.
"It would be like trying to go out and clean up in the middle of a hurricane," he said. "We will wait until after the bands make their way onshore and the weather shifts and then we will clean up before the next band hits."
___
June 01, 2010 07:34 PM EDT

 

[Minnie T. Mouse]

WHAT A FUNKY, NASTY,TOXIC ,CHEMICAL ,ECOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL MESS !!!!! AND WHAT'S UP BP ????
YOU HAVE LOST ALL CREDIBILITY !!! THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF THE DISASTER AND DAMAGE TO COME !!!

WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT IT AND WHEN WILL THEY ADMIT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE DOING ??? THEIR CLEAN-UP EFFORTS ARE LIKE PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE ... ITS HIT IT OR MISS IT...
In the meantime they keep coming up with lame excuses, lies, pointing fingers and dragging their muddy feet as NATURE DIES ALL AROUND THE GULF !!! THIS IS A RED LIGHT EMERGENCY !!! WHO ARE WE GOING TO CALL ???
S.O.S TO THE RESCUE !!!

 

[zimmer]

WHAT A FUNKY, NASTY,TOXIC ,CHEMICAL ,ECOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL MESS !!!!! AND WHAT'S UP BP ????
YOU HAVE LOST ALL CREDIBILITY !!! THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF THE DISASTER AND DAMAGE TO COME !!!

WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT IT AND WHEN WILL THEY ADMIT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE DOING ??? THEIR CLEAN-UP EFFORTS ARE LIKE PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE ... ITS HIT IT OR MISS IT...
In the meantime they keep coming up with lame excuses, lies, pointing fingers and dragging their muddy feet as NATURE DIES ALL AROUND THE GULF !!! THIS IS A RED LIGHT EMERGENCY !!! WHO ARE WE GOING TO CALL ???
S.O.S TO THE RESCUE !!!

Yes it is a mess, and obviously not easy, otherwise we would have had this solved.

What is equally troubling is the response from Obama. Play back the lashing Bush got for Katrina (and he did have a vid conference with the local and state officials before Katrina's landfall telling them they will get help they ask for before and after the storm) from the Left.
LINK> CNN.com - Transcripts, tape*show Bush, Brown warned on Katrina - Mar 2, 2006

Then there is the matter of the Stafford Act, which puts responsibility in the hands of the state.
The state and locals failed to evacuate the locals.
Remember all the buses looking like salmon during spawning season?

With this latest kick in the nuts to the region the Stafford doesn't apply because this is in Federal waters.
This IS Obama's ball. He sent a text message to Jordan long ago... give me the ball... well he's shooting airballs.
What is Obama answer to assist Louisiana?

Have another meeting with Perfessers.
Jindal is pissed, and rightly so.

JINDAL: We didn't need another meeting. We didn't ask for another meeting. On Friday with the president, we were very clear: It's not the process that interests us; it's the outcomes. So many may ask, "Are you happy with the meeting? Are you happy with the process?" I could care less about the meeting; I could care less about the process. There were a lot of professors there. And I told them when I had a chance to speak at the end, I said, "To me this is not a multiple choice test. This is not an essay test. This is a pass-fail. This is a yes-no test. This is pretty simple: If we get approval to move forward on at least our first six segments, then this will have been a successful day. If we do not get approval to move forward, this will have been a waste of another day; we could have spent this day fighting the oil and doing other things to help safeguard our coast." So for us this wasn't about process.

Jindal Blasts Obama's "Process"

Obama might be able to give nice speeches, but he isn't leading.

I wonder, if it were John McCain at the helm being so incompetent, how many time would have have heard he is a racist who doesn't care?

.

 

[tacomancer]

WHAT A FUNKY, NASTY,TOXIC ,CHEMICAL ,ECOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL MESS !!!!! AND WHAT'S UP BP ????
YOU HAVE LOST ALL CREDIBILITY !!! THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF THE DISASTER AND DAMAGE TO COME !!!

WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT IT AND WHEN WILL THEY ADMIT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE DOING ??? THEIR CLEAN-UP EFFORTS ARE LIKE PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE ... ITS HIT IT OR MISS IT...
In the meantime they keep coming up with lame excuses, lies, pointing fingers and dragging their muddy feet as NATURE DIES ALL AROUND THE GULF !!! THIS IS A RED LIGHT EMERGENCY !!! WHO ARE WE GOING TO CALL ???
S.O.S TO THE RESCUE !!!

Well, the problem with this problem is that NOBODY knows what to do. So, it just keeps getting worse and worse. Hopefully next time, we will have enough regulation that it doesn't happen ever again.

 

[Wiseone]

So Zimmer what would you like Obama to do doing that he isn't doing now? Please be specific in your details of the current process and efforts to handle the oil spill and specifically list the way you would reallocate different assets into different areas and functions.

I'm guessing you haven't a clue what he is really doing or what could be done better.

 

[rhinefire]

Meanwhile, Obla-bla has Paul McCartney singing "Michelle" in the white house to the first lady. Hey prez, what do Paul and BP have in common? Why not invite the Taliban to entertain you on 09-11-2011?

 

[CrazyMcCool]

Its strange you would think someone would first think of how to fix such events, and then build a giant drill in the middle of the ocean..Funny actually that they did not..

The best thing to do, to unite together and try every possible a thesable attempt at stoping, anyone pointing fingers is counterproductive, you will have plent of time to do so when the oil stops rushing out into the sea...

 

[rhinefire]

Well, the problem with this problem is that NOBODY knows what to do. So, it just keeps getting worse and worse. Hopefully next time, we will have enough regulation that it doesn't happen ever again.

"....it doesn't ever happen again". Ah blessed are the meek and the weak-minded.

 

[Middleground]

"....it doesn't ever happen again". Ah blessed are the meek and the weak-minded.

Off-shore drilling was considered 100% safe BEFORE this catastrophe. So remind me... who is weak-minded?

 

[tacomancer]

"....it doesn't ever happen again". Ah blessed are the meek and the weak-minded.

Wanting to prevent another ecological disaster is weak minded?

 

[The Prof]

while our gulf coast communities and economies inexorably expire on every tv tube, obama publishes his PRIORITIES with hi profile appearances

and they are:

1. go on vacation

2. sue somebody

3. raise taxes

Obama promises a fight for climate-change bill passage in Senate - latimes.com

patently pathetic

this putz has absolutely no idea how to play president

no wonder house leaders are throwing up their hands

no wonder his gallup is at an all time low

no wonder his "defenders" must resort to petty personal peeves, second guessing sources, counting words in sentences...

progressivism grows repellent under this completely unprofessional president

in a crisis his character is clear, his proclivities---sue some, tax all

live it, libs, love it, it's ALL YOURS

 

[Redress]

You do realize that Obama and his staff can do more than one thing at once, right?

 

[pro-bipartisan]

while our gulf coast communities and economies inexorably expire on every tv tube, obama publishes his PRIORITIES with hi profile appearances

and they are:

1. go on vacation

2. sue somebody

3. raise taxes

Obama promises a fight for climate-change bill passage in Senate - latimes.com

patently pathetic

this putz has absolutely no idea how to play president

no wonder house leaders are throwing up their hands

no wonder his gallup is at an all time low
no wonder his "defenders" must resort to petty personal peeves, second guessing sources, counting words in sentences...

progressivism grows repellent under this completely unprofessional president

in a crisis his character is clear, his proclivities---sue some, tax all

live it, libs, love it, it's ALL YOURS

It's pretty impressive that more people approving of his job than disapproving is his all-time low. Latest Gallup reports show Obama's approval rating is at 49% compared to 45% disapproval.

 

[The Prof]

house democratic leadership, today: when it comes to politics, this white house can't "walk and chew gum at the same time"

White House political team stumbles, bumbles - Jonathan Allen and Carol E. Lee - POLITICO.com

 

[Redress]

house democratic leadership, today: when it comes to politics, this white house can't "walk and chew gum at the same time"

White House political team stumbles, bumbles - Jonathan Allen and Carol E. Lee - POLITICO.com

This thread has exactly nothing to do with the Sestek controversy. Posting random op-ed links is not debate.

 

[The Prof]

Obama Weekly Approval Average Dips to New Low of 46%

 

[The Prof]

This thread has exactly nothing to do with the Sestek controversy. Posting random op-ed links is not debate.

you're the one who brought up doing two things at once

house leadership disagrees with you

the link was not about sestak

it was about barney fife whom the analysts at politico (msnbc's favorite source) kept comparing obama to

sorry

 

[danarhea]

Well, the problem with this problem is that NOBODY knows what to do. So, it just keeps getting worse and worse. Hopefully next time, we will have enough regulation that it doesn't happen ever again.

We HAD regulation. Bush got rid of it all, and Obama figured that was good enough for him too. While I mention Bush deregulating the oil companies, he is no longer in office, so the blame must be held against the person who now occupies that office, and with whom the buck now stops. That would be Obama. So let's not make this political. Both Bush and Obama are complicit in this disgrace, and at this time, Obama needs to be called to account for his mishandling of the affair, which consisted of allowing the oil companies to continue to do business as usual.

 

[tacomancer]

We HAD regulation. Bush got rid of it all, and Obama figured that was good enough for him too. While I mention Bush deregulating the oil companies, he is no longer in office, so the blame must be held against the person who now occupies that office, and with whom the buck now stops. That would be Obama. So let's not make this political. Both Bush and Obama are complicit in this disgrace, and at this time, Obama needs to be called to account for his mishandling of the affair, which consisted of allowing the oil companies to continue to do business as usual.

I completely agree with that. Bush created the problem but Obama let it continue.

Doesn't change my argument though that we need good regulation (and to leave it in place)

 

[Catz Part Deux]

We spent the weekend on a beautiful pristine bay in Western Florida kayaking, swimming and fishing. We've received information that while the beaches may be impacted, booms have already been erected to protect the bays and marshlands, and BP has been extremely visible and helpful to local residents and businesses in the area that will be impacted by the oil spill. I think that BP may be getting a bad rap, in all fairness.

 

[The Prof]

"the problem" clearly predates w-stands-for-what's-his-name

and nobody fixed it, it's clear, neither our great, semi great nor mediocre historical figures

nor our president, barack hussein obama

it is what it is

obama FAILED

deal with it

 

[Redress]

you're the one who brought up doing two things at once

house leadership disagrees with you

the link was not about sestak

it was about barney fife whom the analysts at politico (msnbc's favorite source) kept comparing obama to

sorry

Your link was about his handling of the Sestak controversy and the Romanoff scandal.

In a possible repeat of the Joe Sestak episode in Pennsylvania, insurgent U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff of Colorado said deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina reached out to him — with a wince-inducing e-mail that is now public — with three possible jobs in September 2009. Obama wanted to keep him out of a race against Sen. Michael Bennet, the White House’s favored candidate.

Taken together, the Sestak and Romanoff cases suggest a White House team that is one part Dick Daley, one part Barney Fife.

See? This has nothing to do with the gulf oil spill, nor does it disprove Obama can do more than one thing at once. It's just a random post.

 

[Catz Part Deux]

Your link was about his handling of the Sestak controversy and the Romanoff scandal.

See? This has nothing to do with the gulf oil spill, nor does it disprove Obama can do more than one thing at once. It's just a random post.

It's sweet how you expect a rational response from hyperpartisans. I love how idealistic you are.

 

[MCS117]

"There can not be a single thing Obama can do to make the Oil Spill worse...."
On the radio, "Obama just passed a bill that will stop all further deepwater drilling for at least 6 months."
"I retract my last statement."

 

[FilmFestGuy]

"There can not be a single thing Obama can do to make the Oil Spill worse...."
On the radio, "Obama just passed a bill that will stop all further deepwater drilling for at least 6 months."
"I retract my last statement."

That it didn't stop it altogether until we KNOW that these greedy bastards can actually fix a problem they started by first having all safety regulations wiped away is what makes it worse; and then by not even following those which were in place because the MMA was so (literally) in bed with BP in Louisiana (good ol' Southern politics).

No one's hands are clean in this. In many ways, we're all complicit.

You can blame the Obama administration; but anyone who acts like the oil industry is the victim in this is so clearly suckling their teat that they've no idea who their real masters are.