A brown pelican coated in heavy oil struggled in the surf yesterday on East Grand Terre Island in Louisiana. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)
"Animal rescuers try to stay ahead of oil tide" by Beth Daley, Globe Staff | June 4, 2010
BURAS, LA. — A brown pelican, its delicate feathers layered with gooey black oil, squirmed as a veterinarian held its long beak closed and plunged the bird into a black sink bubbling over with Dawn dishwashing soap.
Within 45 minutes, the bird was clean — and headed for a blow dry. Then it would join other de-oiled pelicans in recovery at “Pelican Island,’’ a large plywood cage located in a sort of MASH unit for birds suffering from the biggest oil contamination in the nation’s history.
Until now, the number of oiled animals plucked from the crude-slicked Gulf of Mexico and its shore has been perplexingly small: more than 140 birds and 26 turtles by yesterday. Scientists believe that the location of the oil spill far from shore, as well as favorable weather, has limited the visible death toll thus far.
But....
Sigh.
Yesterday, as
Officials are worried not only about how the oil on the surface is harming wildlife, but also about oil under the surface, in prime fish habitat.
They also do not know how dispersants used underwater to break up the oil will affect sea life.
Umm, no, actually they do, Globe (sigh).
See: The New Dead Zone
Chemical Dispersant Caused New Oil Leak in Gulf
Sigh.
What am I to think about what we are reading right now, dear readers?
Officials say they have not spotted any fish kills thus far, and it will take time to analyze tissue samples of dead animals to discover whether they were harmed by dispersants.
Translation: The MSM and government are hiding it.
So far, the oil has remained largely offshore and away from critical bird nesting grounds and out of the public eye.
And why would that be, Glob?
“For most of us, things are out of sight, out of mind,’’ said Barbara Schroeder, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sea turtle coordinator, who is overseeing the sea turtle response in the Gulf. “But the things that are happening out of sight are just as significant or even more significant than what we are seeing.’’
Hey, we are not talking Gaza or Palestine here.
In the immediate aftermath of the April 20 explosion that led to the oil leak, wildlife disaster experts expected to see mass strandings of marine animals on beaches and widespread bird deaths. But that did not happen.
No MSM coverage so it didn't happen, right?
Related: BP, Coast Guard withheld video showing massive scope of oil spill
So what is the MSM cover story excuse?
The weather has helped. Winds have not pushed the oil onto critical bird nesting grounds, and the warm weather also may be helping oiled birds stay alive.
In cold weather, oil-coated birds lose the critical insulating properties of their feathers and many die, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. But the Gulf air has been steamy, probably allowing many to live longer, although they may still be ingesting oil as they preen feathers....
--more--"Don't worry, BP is on the case and the government is on them and the Globe is on the govern.... ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.... I thought I could get through it without laughing, sorry!
Time to get some oily BG s*** all over you, readers:
BP widens effort to stop oil spill in Gulf - The Boston Globe By Henry Fountain. New York Times / June 4, 2010 ... would sort of surprise me if they don't get it on the first try,'' said John Hughett
Yeah, that is what is in my PRINTED PAPER, all right; however, did you see where the link took you?
Related: Engineers lower ‘top hat’ onto Gulf well (By Joel Achenbach, Washington Post)
INTERESTING CENSORSHIP, 'eh, readers?
Oh, right, they call it an UPDATE!
"Oil spill cap making headway; rigs keep drilling relief wells
By Henry Fountain
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Officials reported some progress....
I'm so sick of being lied to it ain't even angering or funny anymore, it is just damn sad.
Given the string of engineering problems so far — the shears were used, for example, because a diamond-laced saw had become dull, perhaps from objects pumped into the well as part of an earlier failed effort, and got stuck — the relief well plan has faced its share of skepticism.
What, the ultimate fail-safe not such a surety?
Doubters have pointed to past problems with relief wells, including one drilled during a blowout off southern Mexico 30 years ago that was unable to stop the gusher for three months after it was completed, and another off Australia last fall that didn't hit its target until the fifth try....
And the MSM has been making it sound like no problem.
The work could be delayed by hurricanes or by equipment or drilling problems, and the wells might initially miss the target, causing further delays as the drill bits are backed up and redirected. But BP officials and outside experts say that the relief wells will work....
The wells start out on the vertical, but then are drilled at an angle to intersect the existing well, which was drilled vertically. This directional drilling, which uses steerable drill bits and other specialized equipment and software, is commonplace, although....
Although....
engineers know with a high degree of certainty where in this haystack their needle is....
All of sudden I'm not feeling so good about a relief well and its success.
John Hughett, a petroleum engineer in Dallas who isn't involved in the effort:
"It would sort of surprise me if they don't get it on the first try."
on condition of anonymity....
--more--"
Update: BP: Cap collecting some oil
Yeah, right, not from the gushing I saw on television.
I'm beginning to think the pressure is so great down there that they really can't cap it.
They just want you to calm down, America.
"Cap showing signs of success; Some oil being sent to tanker; Obama keeps pressure on BP" by Clifford Krauss and Henry Fountain, New York Times | June 5, 2010
HOUSTON —
But I WAS TOLD that PROGRESS was BEING MADE, blah, blah, blah, above.
As the cap hit the oil and gas streaming with great force from the top of the well, it suddenly disappeared, hidden from the video cameras by clouds of hydrocarbons spewing everywhere, said a technician who was there. But a few tense moments later the cap was successfully centered over the wellhead, 5,000 feet below the surface, then lowered half a foot to make a seal....
It sure does not look like it on TV.
The oil company had paid billions of dollars in stock dividends and spent millions on image advertising while people who suffered from the disaster were reporting difficulties getting claims paid....
Related: BP Apologizes -- to Its Investors
--more--"Also see: What if BP Never Stopped the Oil in the Gulf of Mexico?
