I was going to take my daughter fishing, but there's oil in the lake...

[mike_v_s]

The portion of the lake my town fronts on is closed to fishing thanks to the discovery of oil in the water. I'd like to thank those in charge of cleaning up the spill. It's been a stellar effort to this point.

Originally Posted by Our President

"The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort,"

That statement infuriates as much as it frightens.

In case anyone missed last week's news, US coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen announced that getting within 65 feet of cleanup efforts (including the media) is now a felony and carries a fine up to $40,000. BP routinely denied media access to their cleanup efforts and now they've got a partner.

Again, stellar job, fellas. The repsonse effort has been mindnumbingly poor.

Mike

[MakiSupaStar]

I've seen footage of them hauling in sand to cover up oil on the beach.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I've seen footage of them hauling in sand to cover up oil on the beach.

Two months ago I wouldn't have thought that possible. This whole thing makes me sick and the fickle nature of public outrage means that most are moving on to the latest issue.

Mike

[MakiSupaStar]

I'm still watching. I've seen nothing good. I mean covering up oil with sand. Redonkulous if it wasn't pathetic.

[Happynoj]

Surely there must be a good reason that the cleanup effort has proceded the way that it has?

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I'm still watching. I've seen nothing good. I mean covering up oil with sand. Redonkulous if it wasn't pathetic.

The supertanker designed to cleanup oil spills is still undergoing testing by the government before being cleared to do just that. A local reporter took a tally of how many skimmers were alotted to each Parish vs how many were actually being used. 50% was the best he found. These skimmers are under the direct control of Thad Allen. St. Tammany Parish, where the oil is now encroaching, had something like 13 of 19 docked.

Mike

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Happynoj

Surely there must be a good reason that the cleanup effort has proceded the way that it has?

Of course there is. Multiple failures on the part of nearly everyone involved in coordinating this. In a word: incompetence. Sadly, this'll be Page 2 news in less than a week and the cleanup effort will continue to blunder on.

Mike

[mike_v_s]

Here we go: http://www.wdsu.com/news/24127406/detail.html

The Louisiana National Guard is now going to be monitoring the deployment of oil skimmers that the US Coast Guard apparently can't do.

Mike

[MakiSupaStar]

We're all so ******.

[NickInMesa]

Originally Posted by Happynoj

Surely there must be a good reason that the cleanup effort has proceded the way that it has?

BP said they would do it, they also said they would plug it in a couple days.

I think we don't have anything to take care of the cleanup.

Sad to admit, but we can go and invade anything and turn anything into a big parking lot but we can't take care of our own country.

Add to this the lack of rules and regulations, big corporate $ running EVERYTHING in this country, what do we have left?

You can always watch the news. Oh wait...

I more and more believe, as George Carlin did, that mankind is doomed, that we screwed up our environment and that we are going to go extinct in a couple generations, that the Earth will shrug it off and go back to normal in a few decades, then it will be "Earth with plastic".

I hope I am wrong, I have kids. But the more I think about it and the more pessimistic I get.

[TheSuzie]

Shoot. I read about this earlier. Sounded like they already pulled thousand of pounds of oil fouled materials, vegetation etc. out of the lake and they were saying it was only a drop in the bucket.

Been many years since I've been down there but I remember it as quite beautiful. 8(

S

[MJ5150]

Where did my post go?

-Mike

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Where did my post go?

-Mike

My original thread included some color commentary that was against the house rules. It was deleted. I don't think your post was part of that, however, so feel free to repost.

Mike

[shadowtippy]

Look at the bright side. The fish are already "blackened" Think of all the time and money you save by not having to buy oil to cook the fish in, providing you ever get a chance to catch any.

[Thunderscreech]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Here we go: http://www.wdsu.com/news/24127406/detail.html

The Louisiana National Guard is now going to be monitoring the deployment of oil skimmers that the US Coast Guard apparently can't do.

Mike

Speaking of incompetence, anyone catch the typo in the article?

If not, here it is:

Originally Posted by CBS

"We can't afford for skimmers to be sitting idol while there is oil off our coast," Jindal said. "Twice this week we've been out to view oil (and) we haven't seen skimmers while we were out there."

I really wish there a was reset button on humanity, but the only one I know of it connected to the ICBMs...maybe, if we're lucky, some bored aliens will come and blow us up for the lulz

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

BP said they would do it, they also said they would plug it in a couple days.

I think we don't have anything to take care of the cleanup.

From the start, this should have been a approached as a cleanup before the oil hit shore. This was discussed ad nauseum by the local municipalities in the days and weeks after the initial blow out. They knew a cleanup as sea would be easier and less detrimental than a cleanup of the marshes. It was friggin' commen sense.

We have the capability, just apparently not the leadership or coordination. Getting the right ideas "OK'd" by the Corps of Engineers and the right equipment in place has been a series of hurdles that we have the capability of removing, but haven't yet.

As I stated earlier, the world's largest oil skimmer is still under going "testing" before being deployed. The skimmers that have been assigned are, in many instances per the article, sitting. The workers on those boats are still paid and counted among the numbers that BP and Thad Allen give out as part of the cleanup effort.

We're about 75+ days into this and the people who were screaming the loudest from the beginning (Billy Nungesser, David Carmadelle, et al) still are not being heard by the people who claim to be in charge of this. I'm absolutely baffled. Every effort is not being made.

Mike

[wazzel]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

The portion of the lake my town fronts on is closed to fishing thanks to the discovery of oil in the water. I'd like to thank those in charge of cleaning up the spill. It's been a stellar effort to this point.



That statement infuriates as much as it frightens.

In case anyone missed last week's news, US coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen announced that getting within 65 feet of cleanup efforts (including the media) is now a felony and carries a fine up to $40,000. BP routinely denied media access to their cleanup efforts and now they've got a partner.

Again, stellar job, fellas. The repsonse effort has been mindnumbingly poor.

Mike

Sorry to hear that Mike. I take it you live on the North Shore? We are supposed to go visit my family and go fishing later this summer. Just going to have see how things are in Terrebonne Parish in mid August. I don't have much faith in BP or the govt.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by wazzel

Sorry to hear that Mike. I take it you live on the North Shore? We are supposed to go visit my family and go fishing later this summer. Just going to have see how things are in Terrebonne Parish in mid August. I don't have much faith in BP or the govt.

Slidell. According to the maps, the lake is only closed to the Hwy 11 bridge, but that pretty much screws all of the easy "drive up" places (Rat's Nest Point and the immediate area on the Southshore where 11 hits, specifically). I'm not a big outdoorsman, I just thought I'd try to take her a time or two before the end of the summer. Sure, I could locate a more distant non-oiled body of water or portion fo the lake, but the fact that I even have to do that 75+ days and 125 miles from the spill is asinine.

The fact that the construction of the temporary berm near the Chandeleur Islands (protecting the inlet to the lake) was halted and moved because there was concern that the sandbar it was in front of might disappear is ludicrous. At the time, they speculated that work stoppage might halt the effort for a couple of weeks. That was (you guessed it) two weeks ago. At least the sandbar is in tact. I have zero faith that either BP or the government will get this right.

Mike

[wazzel]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Slidell. According to the maps, the lake is only closed to the Hwy 11 bridge, but that pretty much screws all of the easy "drive up" places (Rat's Nest Point and the immediate area on the Southshore where 11 hits, specifically). I'm not a big outdoorsman, I just thought I'd try to take her a time or two before the end of the summer. Sure, I could locate a more distant non-oiled body of water or portion fo the lake, but the fact that I even have to do that 75+ days and 125 miles from the spill is asinine.

The fact that the construction of the temporary berm near the Chandeleur Islands (protecting the inlet to the lake) was halted and moved because there was concern that the sandbar it was in front of might disappear is ludicrous. At the time, they speculated that work stoppage might halt the effort for a couple of weeks. That was (you guessed it) two weeks ago. At least the sandbar is in tact.

Mike

There are some drive up spots near the causeway on the north shore. Friends of mine fish there and catch a few.

I agree that ther is lots of stupidity between the govt and BP. Not much hope for things getting cleared up soon still.

Mark

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by wazzel

There are some drive up spots near the causeway on the north shore. Friends of mine fish there and catch a few.

I agree that ther is lots of stupidity between the govt and BP. Not much hope for things getting cleared up soon still.

Mark

Thanks. Are you talking about the park (Sunset or Sunshine?) that you access from Monroe St.?

Mike