On the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic BP oil spill in the gulf, scientists are still struggling to figure out just how much oil is in the marshes. This excellent New York Times video explores their challenges, not the least of which is the inherent complexity of determining the damage to a vast and vibrant ecosystem. One group of researchers, for example, are guesstimating the number of bird deaths by taking bird carcasses out to sea, dropping them in, and seeing how many wash ashore. [More]
tarballs
Video: Stepping In Tarballs A Beach Vacation Lowpoint For Little Girl
By 6.28.10
This video shows a lgirl stepping into a tarball on a Destin, FL and screaming for her mother to get it off. The politicians and billboards are telling people to never mind the oil spill, come down to the shore, the water’s fine. Some of them are, but this beach is not, not today. [More]
Satirical BP Twitter Account Has More Followers Than Real One
By 5.25.10
A fake BP PR twitter account, BPGlobalPR, has started posted satirical tweets about the company’s response and attitude to the oil spill, and it has more followers than of the real BP Twitter accounts combined. And why not? Would you rather read, “BP Pledges $500 Million for Independent Research into Impact of Spill on Marine Environment” or “Doing our best to turn oil into oilinade. So far the stuff tastes TERRIBLE.” [More]
Gulf Oil Spill Oil Reaches Loop Current
By 5.20.10
The NOAA announced that a “small” amount of oil from the BP oil spill has reached the Loop Current, a warm Gulf current that passes through east to the Florida Straits and could spread any oil up the East Coast. [More]
Tarballs Hit Key West
By 5.18.10
Key West park rangers found 20 3 to 8-inch tarballs Monday that had washed up onto the shores. Tarballs are blobs of oil that become weathered after travelling through the ocean. [More]
