Earth Changes
Barataria Basin, Louisanna -- Barataria Basin fisherman are now calling this thick patch of BP oil in Bay Jimmy, "The Black Sea."
The fumes are overwhelming and the sludge is toxic to the fragile marshes between Grand Isle and Lower Lafitte, south of New Orleans.
Tuesday, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agents discovered dead fish floating in the oil.
© Unknown
Oil-covered pelicans sit in a pen waiting to be cleaned at a rescue center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, on June 7, 2010.
Oil-covered pelicans sit in a pen waiting to be cleaned at a rescue center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, on June 7, 2010.
Despite the images of oil-soaked pelicans flooding the media in recent weeks, wildlife experts say the toll on sea birds from BP's Gulf Coast oil spill is smaller than was anticipated, so far.
That is expected to change drastically for the worse.
Scientists warn that as shifting weather and sea conditions conspire with the dynamics of avian life cycles, a tremendous number of birds will soon be put in jeopardy.
In the coming weeks, millions of waterfowl and other birds that flock to the Gulf Coast on their annual fall migration will arrive in the region either to roost for the winter or to make brief stopovers en route farther south.
With toxic crude still gushing from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and streaks of the slick creeping inexorably farther inland, many more birds and other wildlife that nest, feed and find shelter on shore are likely to become casualties.
What can go wrong will go wrong. Such is the case for the Gulf Coast and the unending saga of the BP oil spill that's now in its eleventh week. What's wrong now is this: winds from Hurricane Alex are pushing tar balls as large as apples onto Gulf Coast beaches. This has stopped cleanup efforts momentarily and even undone some of the spill control. As one marine scientist put it: "We lost all the progress we made." But the winds picking up are a giant concern for something else.
This is without a doubt, the most disturbing video I have ever produced.
I saw at least 100 Dolphins dying or struggling to get out of the oil. It was many miles from any water that was not contaminated. In all likelihood, the Dolphins and Sperm Whale seen in this video are dead by now.
The Dolphins were disoriented. Some already dead and others struggling to keep their heads up high enough to see the fires. The Sperm Whale was covered in oil.
We have to spread this around the world! Who will be accountable for their lives?
All involved in this disaster will be held accountable to a higher power than any on Earth. Man should not destroy the gentle creatures God created.
I saw at least 100 Dolphins dying or struggling to get out of the oil. It was many miles from any water that was not contaminated. In all likelihood, the Dolphins and Sperm Whale seen in this video are dead by now.
The Dolphins were disoriented. Some already dead and others struggling to keep their heads up high enough to see the fires. The Sperm Whale was covered in oil.
We have to spread this around the world! Who will be accountable for their lives?
All involved in this disaster will be held accountable to a higher power than any on Earth. Man should not destroy the gentle creatures God created.
© NOAA/Reuters
Hurricane Alex is seen in a satellite image taken June 29, 2010.
Hurricane Alex is seen in a satellite image taken June 29, 2010.
The hurricane hampered efforts to control the massive BP Plc oil spill off the Louisiana coast, and its winds of nearly 100 mph bent over palm trees and lashed the port city of Matamoros across from Brownsville, Texas.
Rain from the first named storm of the 2010 Atlantic season swamped beaches, as soaked Mexican marines in towns in Tamaulipas state ushered residents into shelters as 10-foot (3-meter)-high waves slammed into the shore.
"We're getting out of here, this looks really ugly," said a 50-year-old housewife who gave her name as Juana as she packed belongings into a truck in the beach town of Playa Bagdad.
© Agence France-Presse
Villagers protect their homes against flooding in north-eastern Romania
Villagers protect their homes against flooding in north-eastern Romania
Around 7000 people have been evacuated so far and large areas of arable land are under water, officials said.
The Romanian government has asked for aid from the European Union to help repair the damage to roads and farmland.
Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said that the situation was especially bad in the north-east of the country.
Thousand of riot police continue to enforce flood defences and help to evacuate residents, Mr Blaga told parliament.
He warned that the damage caused by the floods would take a heavy toll on the Romanian economy, which is struggling to emerge from a recession.
Planet BP reporters tell positive oil spill stories made to look like the news so we can feel better.
Part 1 - The economic impact
In this video, the first of a series on the Gulf Coast oil spill, the WSWS interviews Dean Blanchard, the owner of a shrimp processing and distribution company located in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Like many others, his business has been ruined by the oil spill that has contaminated the gulf of Mexico and largely destroyed shrimping and fishing in the region.
In this video, the first of a series on the Gulf Coast oil spill, the WSWS interviews Dean Blanchard, the owner of a shrimp processing and distribution company located in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Like many others, his business has been ruined by the oil spill that has contaminated the gulf of Mexico and largely destroyed shrimping and fishing in the region.
© AP
In this June 10, 2010 file photo, a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is lifted back to its temporary tank after being weighed, getting its heartbeat and temperature taken, and getting a shot of antibiotics at the Audubon Nature Institute’s Aquatic C
In this June 10, 2010 file photo, a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is lifted back to its temporary tank after being weighed, getting its heartbeat and temperature taken, and getting a shot of antibiotics at the Audubon Nature Institute’s Aquatic C
Pensacola Beach, Florida - An effort to save thousands of sea turtle hatchlings from dying in the oily Gulf of Mexico will begin in the coming weeks in a desperate attempt to keep an entire generation of threatened species from vanishing.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will coordinate the plan, which calls for collecting about 70,000 turtle eggs in up to 800 nests buried in the sand across Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.
It's never been done on such a massive scale. But doing nothing, experts say, could lead to unprecedented deaths. There are fears the turtles would be coated in oil and poisoned by crude-soaked food.
© United State Geological Survey
A United State Geological Survey map shows a series of small earthquakes felt in the Searcy area in recent days.
A United State Geological Survey map shows a series of small earthquakes felt in the Searcy area in recent days.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists nine quakes in White County since Saturday, with the strongest occurring that night about 7 miles northwest of Garner. That quake measured 3.3 on the Richter scale.
The quakes have continued each day since, including a 2.2-magnitude earthquake reported just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday about 6 miles west of Searcy. More than 100 people have reported feeling the stronger tremors.
Scott Ausbrooks, the geohazards supervisor with the Arkansas Geological Survey, said the temporary earthquake sensor should be online by the end of this week and will record better data should more quakes occur in the same White County region.
"You can equate it to tornado-chasing," Ausbrooks said by phone from the White County site. "You hate to say it but you need more earthquakes to get more data."
