Friday, July 30, 2010

CA & NJ oppose new oil drilling

Recent polls from California and New Jersey demonstrate strong opposition to new oil drilling. In a recent PPIC poll in California 59% of the population oppose more offshore drilling.

A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Press Media Poll reported that 63% of New Jersey residents are opposed drilling off the Jersey shore. It's notable that 80% of New Jersey residents favor placing electricity-generating windmills off the coast of New Jersey

Voice your opposition to oil drilling here.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

State of the Spill - Week 14

Spill Size/Extent

We have frozen our spill counter at 93,812,000 gallons (86 days) because of the apparently successful cap that was placed on the Macondo well nearly two weeks ago.

Note: Surfrider’s estimate of the spill volume is based on a rate of 26,000 barrels per day. The
most recent estimate of the rate of the oil gusher is between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day (1,470,000 to 2,520,000 gallons per day). If the release was at those rates since Day 1, the total volume of oil released is between and 126 and 217 million gallons. The vast majority of the spill has not been recovered and is unaccounted for in government statistics.

NOAA’s
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool provides images/estimates of the current extent of the surface oil plume, the location of “beached oil” and surface water currents.

State of Efforts to Stop Flow


BP’s
tighter fitting cap (termed "capping stack") was installed over two weeks ago and it was announced on Thursday, July 15 that flow from the well had been stopped. Although there have been reports of oil seeps in the area and the measured pressure in the well is less than expected (possibly indicating that oil is leaking out of the well bore into the surrounding formation), it is now believed that the observed oil seeps are unrelated to the Macondo well. BP hopes to leave the cap in place until a relief well (to permanently seal the well) is completed.

The permanent sealing of the well is now anticipated to occur in two phases. First there will be an attempt to perform a "static kill" by pumping mud and cement in from the top of the well. That could occur as soon as Sunday or Monday. Then efforts to perform the "bottom kill" (pumping mud and cement into the lower potions of the Macondo well through the relief well) will start 5 to 7 days after the top kill.

Ecological Damage


The fishery closure area is still 57,539 square miles, covering about 24% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone. The GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool can be configured to show the fishery closure area and confirmed marine mammal and sea turtle strandings and observations. The National Fish and Wildlife Service publishes daily reports showing the current number of birds, sea turtles and marine mammals that have been "collected" in the oil spill area.

Volunteer Response Resources


Surfrider volunteer oil spill toolkit

Volunteer Phone numbers:
(state-specific contact information below)

Deepwater Horizon Incident Volunteer Hotline: 866-448-5816

Vessel of Opportunities Program - Fishermen should phone 425-745-8017

Fact sheets related to oil spills in general and this spill:
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon
http://gulfseagrant.tamu.edu/oilspill/index.htm
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

Official Response Resources


Restore the Gulf: http://www.restorethegulf.gov
Twitter: http://twitter.com/usnoaagov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov
Podcasts: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast.html
NOAA Roles and Tools:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/topics/oceans/spills/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/

Phone numbers:

NOAA media inquiries: keeley.belva@noaa.gov or 301-713-3066
For response inquiries: Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985-902-5231 or 985-902-5240

BP Horizon Response Hotline: 281-366-5511

To report oil, or general Community and Volunteer Information: 866-448-5816

To report oiled or injured wildlife: 866-557-1401

Coast Guard officials say not to pick up any tar balls you find and to report them at (800) 424-8802


Florida Specific Volunteer Information:

Volunteer at
www.volunteerflorida.org
For jobs, visit www.floridagulfrecoveryjobs.com or call 1-877-362-5034
Visit www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org for updates

If you live in these areas and want to help:
Okaloosa County call: 850-651-7150 



Bay County call: 763-6587 



Walton County: go to
http://www.waltonso.org/

The
Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Florida needs volunteers and donations to support their educational and research work.

Florida Palm Beach/Treasure Coast area volunteers can email Surfrider's Florida Regional Manager : Ericka D'avanzo

Florida DEP is not encouraging private citizens to clean up shorelines. However, should a homeowner have oil soaked materials, there are two options:
  • Have the homeowners contact 1-866-448-5816 and someone will be sent out to retrieve the oiled materials.
  • Emerald County Utilities Authority (ECUA) has provided several 55 gallon drums at certain walk crossovers on Pensacola Beach. They are marked for oil debris only. BP/ Waste Management will be responsible for all collection and disposal. ECUA has provided the containers at no charge to help with the response.
Florida Information Numbers and Websites:

DEP Related Media Questions: Amy Graham at 850-245-2112 or -2113
Florida Emergency Information Line: 800-342-3557
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) incident response website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

Resources in Other Gulf States:

Louisiana: http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/
Mississippi:
http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do
Alabama:
http://www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

Also see:

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Galveston Bay Foundation
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - (228) 374-5000
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
National Audubon Society
National Wildlife Federation
Restore America’s Estuaries
Save Our Gulf

More Information & Call to Action

Help us track oil spill impacts (including human health impacts) at: http://oilspill.skytruth.org/

Urge President Obama and Congress to ban new drilling: http://www.surfrider.org/nodrilling

Donate to support Surfrider's Emerald Coast Chapter water testing in the Florida Panhandle area.

Walk your beaches daily to ensure no garbage or plastic debris is present. Do not disturb bird nesting areas!


Join
the Surfrider Foundation: http://www.surfrider.org/join

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Raging Grannies Sing Drill No More

If you haven't heard about the Raging Grannies, now is a great time to begin your appreciation for them.  They started in 1986 and have 'organized groups' around the world.  They typically sing protest songs about social and environmental injustices.  Learn more about them here and here.

I came across the Albuquerque Raging Grannies when Surfrider was organizing for the Hand Across the Sand event.  They sent me an email with a link to their song and said:
"We're 800 miles away from the nearest beach, but we want to offer our encouragement!   Please feel free to use our song at your demonstration.  It's the to tune of "Blowin in the Wind" which everyone knows and is a real crowd-pleaser"!  
Enjoy!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

State of the Spill - Week 13

Spill Size/Extent

We have frozen our spill counter at 93,812,000 gallons (86 days) because of the apparently successful cap that was placed on the Macondo well late last week.

Note: Surfrider’s estimate of the spill volume is based on a rate of 26,000 barrels per day. The
most recent estimate of the rate of the oil gusher is between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day (1,470,000 to 2,520,000 gallons per day). If the release has been at that rate since Day 1, the total volume of oil released is between and 126 and 217 million gallons. The government estimates that about 760,000 gallons of oil have been recovered.

NOAA’s
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool provides nearshore and offshore “spill trajectory estimates” for the current oil plume and the next two days. You can also use the tool to show the current plume, the location of “beached oil” and surface water currents.

State of Efforts to Stop Flow


BP’s
tighter fitting cap (termed "capping stack") was installed early last week and it was announced on Thursday, July 15 that flow from the well had been stopped. Although there have been reports of oil seeps in the area and the measured pressure in the well is less than expected (possibly indicating that oil is leaking out of the well bore into the surrounding formation), it is now believed that the observed oil seeps are unrelated to the Macondo well. BP hopes to leave the cap in place until a relief well (to permanently seal the well) is completed.

Meanwhile, BP continues to drill two “relief wells” that are intended to intercept the blown-out well at a depth of about 16,000 feet. Drilling mud and cement would then be pumped into the well to seal it. It is hoped that this work can be accomplished by late July or early August.
Read the latest.

Ecological Damage


Today (July 22) NOAA announced that it was reopening 26,388 square miles (68,345 sq km) of area it had previously closed to commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool can be configured to show the fishery closure area (now 57,539 square miles, covering about 24% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone) and confirmed marine mammal and sea turtle strandings and observations. The National Fish and Wildlife Service publishes daily reports showing the current number of birds, sea turtles and marine mammals that have been "collected" in the oil spill area.

Volunteer Response Resources


Surfrider volunteer oil spill toolkit

Volunteer Phone numbers:
(state-specific contact information below)

Deepwater Horizon Incident Volunteer Hotline: 866-448-5816

Vessel of Opportunities Program - Fishermen should phone 425-745-8017

Fact sheets related to oil spills in general and this spill:
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon
http://gulfseagrant.tamu.edu/oilspill/index.htm
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

Official Response Resources


http://www.restorethegulf.gov
Twitter: http://twitter.com/usnoaagov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov
Podcasts: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast.html
NOAA Roles and Tools:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/topics/oceans/spills/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/

Phone numbers:

NOAA media inquiries: keeley.belva@noaa.gov or 301-713-3066
For response inquiries: Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985-902-5231 or 985-902-5240

BP Horizon Response Hotline: 281-366-5511

To report oil, or general Community and Volunteer Information: 866-448-5816

To report oiled or injured wildlife: 866-557-1401

Coast Guard officials say not to pick up any tar balls you find and to report them at (800) 424-8802


Florida Specific Volunteer Information:

Volunteer at
www.volunteerflorida.org
For jobs, visit www.floridagulfrecoveryjobs.com or call 1-877-362-5034
Visit www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org for updates

If you live in these areas and want to help:
Okaloosa County call: 850-651-7150 



Bay County call: 763-6587 



Walton County: go to
http://www.waltonso.org/

The
Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Florida needs volunteers and donations to support their educational and research work.

Florida Palm Beach/Treasure Coast area volunteers can email Surfrider's Florida Regional Manager : Ericka D'avanzo
Florida DEP is not encouraging private citizens to clean up shorelines. However, should a homeowner have oil soaked materials, there are two options:
  • Have the homeowners contact 1-866-448-5816 and someone will be sent out to retrieve the oiled materials.
  • Emerald County Utilities Authority (ECUA) will provide several 55 gallon drums at certain walk crossovers on Pensacola Beach. They will be marked for oil debris only. BP/ Waste Management will be responsible for all collection and disposal. ECUA has provided the containers at no charge to help with the response.
Florida Information Numbers and Websites:

DEP Related Media Questions: Amy Graham at 850-245-2112 or -2113
Florida Emergency Information Line: 800-342-3557
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) incident response website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

Resources in Other Gulf States:

Louisiana: http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/
Mississippi:
http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do
Alabama:
http://www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

Also see:

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Galveston Bay Foundation
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - (228) 374-5000
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Restore America’s Estuaries
Save Our Gulf
National Audubon Society

More Information & Call to Action

Help us track oil spill impacts (including human health impacts) at: http://oilspill.skytruth.org/

Urge President Obama and Congress to ban new drilling: http://www.surfrider.org/nodrilling

Walk your beaches daily to ensure no garbage or plastic debris is present. Do not disturb bird nesting areas!

Join the Surfrider Foundation:
http://www.surfrider.org/join

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Location, Surf conditions and meteorological report


Tuesday July 20, 2010

Summary: Oil observations from Land based reconnaissance groups include new products ashore in Johnson Beach, various locations along Santa Rosa Island, Ft. Walton Beach, Tang-O-Mar Beach in Walton County and Bay County. Wind and wave forces continue to the north and northwest reducing risk of oil moving eastward. Other than small continued occurrences of tarballs and related products, shoreline impacts expected to occur primarily west of Pensacola.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Laird Hamilton says reinstate the moratorium!

Surfrider Foundation Water Testing in the Gulf

The Emerald Coast Chapter of Surfrider Foundation has begun "on the ground" efforts to test their local Gulf beach waters in Florida for dispersants being used to 'clean up the oil' and oil. They have taken the approach to adapt SF's Blue Water Task Force Program to specifically address this disaster. They have chosen to test because none of the agencies are testing for dispersants and they are not currently publishing the results of oil testing. The lack of information being shared with the public is a major health risk to both residents and tourists as tar balls wash up on these shores daily.

On Sunday there was a sheen in the waters as far east as Miramar Beach (Walton County) and multiple reports of health concerns, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, skin and eye irritations due to people entering the water. The Suncoast Chapter (St. Pete/Sarasota) and other Florida chapters may also initiate testing if the surface and underwater plumes sync with the loop current and make their way east and south.

As you might imagine due to the severity of this spill, this testing may be needed over an extended period of time. The cost for testing dispersants is about $350/per test and samples have to be shipped to a lab in Washington state. Oil testing is about $80/per sample. Surfrider's Emerald Coast chapter is directly impacted by the spill and could use help in getting the word out and/or by making a donation to this campaign.

To find out more go to www.SurfriderEmeraldCoast.org and if you wish to contribute you can click on the "Donate" button.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

State of the Spill - Week 12

Spill Size/Extent

Size: 91,628,000 gallons (84 days)

Note: Surfrider’s estimate of the spill volume is based on a rate of 26,000 barrels per day. The
most recent estimate of the continuing rate of the oil gusher is between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day (1,470,000 to 2,520,000 gallons per day). If the release has been at that rate since Day 1, the total volume of oil released is now between and 123 and 212 million gallons. The government estimates that about 750,000 gallons of oil have been recovered.

NOAA’s
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool provides nearshore and offshore “spill trajectory estimates” for the current oil plume and the next two days. You can also use the tool to show the current plume, the location of “beached oil” and surface water currents.

State of Efforts to Stop Flow


BP’s “top hat” containment system plus auxiliary collection and flaring systems
are being replaced by a tighter fitting cap (termed "capping stack") that is intended to contain all of the oil gushing from the Macondo well. Read more.

Meanwhile, BP continues to drill two “relief wells” that are intended to intercept the blown-out well at a depth of about 16,000 feet. Drilling mud and cement would then be pumped into the well to seal it. It is hoped that this work can be accomplished by late July or early August.
Read more.

Ecological Damage


The
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool can be configured to show the fishery closure area (83,927 square miles, covering about 35% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone as of July 13) and confirmed marine mammal and sea turtle strandings and observations. The National Fish and Wildlife Service publishes daily reports showing the current number of birds, sea turtles and marine mammals that have been "collected" in the oil spill area.

Volunteer Response Resources


Surfrider volunteer oil spill toolkit

Volunteer Phone numbers:
(state-specific contact information below)

Deepwater Horizon Incident Volunteer Hotline: 866-448-5816

Vessel of Opportunities Program - Fishermen should phone 425-745-8017

Fact sheets related to oil spills in general and this spill:
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon
http://gulfseagrant.tamu.edu/oilspill/index.htm
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

Official Response Resources


http://www.restorethegulf.gov
Twitter: http://twitter.com/usnoaagov
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov
Podcasts: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast.html
NOAA Roles and Tools:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/topics/oceans/spills/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/

Phone numbers:

NOAA media inquiries: keeley.belva@noaa.gov or 301-713-3066
For response inquiries: Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985-902-5231 or 985-902-5240

BP Horizon Response Hotline: 281-366-5511

To report oil, or general Community and Volunteer Information: 866-448-5816

To report oiled or injured wildlife: 866-557-1401

Coast Guard officials say not to pick up any tar balls you find and to report them at (800) 424-8802


Florida Specific Volunteer Information:

Volunteer at
www.volunteerflorida.org
For jobs, visit www.floridagulfrecoveryjobs.com or call 1-877-362-5034
Visit www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org for updates

If you live in these areas and want to help:
Okaloosa County call: 850-651-7150 



Bay County call: 763-6587 



Walton County: go to
http://www.waltonso.org/

The
Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Florida needs volunteers and donations to support their educational and research work.

Florida Palm Beach/Treasure Coast area volunteers can email Surfrider's Florida Regional Manager Ericka D'avanzo: edavanzo@surfrider.org


Florida DEP is not encouraging private citizens to clean up shorelines. However, should a homeowner have oil soaked materials, there are two options:
  • Have the homeowners contact 1-866-448-5816 and someone will be sent out to retrieve the oiled materials.
  • Emerald County Utilities Authority (ECUA) will provide several 55 gallon drums at certain walk crossovers on Pensacola Beach. They will be marked for oil debris only. BP/ Waste Management will be responsible for all collection and disposal. ECUA has provided the containers at no charge to help with the response.
Florida Information Numbers and Websites:

DEP Related Media Questions: Amy Graham at 850-245-2112 or -2113
Florida Emergency Information Line: 800-342-3557
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) incident response website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

Resources in Other Gulf States:

Louisiana: http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/
Mississippi:
http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do
Alabama:
http://www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

Also see:

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Galveston Bay Foundation
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - (228) 374-5000
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Restore America’s Estuaries
Save Our Gulf
National Audubon Society

More Information & Call to Action

Help us track oil spill impacts at: http://oilspill.skytruth.org/

Urge President Obama and Congress to ban new drilling: http://www.surfrider.org/nodrilling

State Action Alert for Special Session (FL Only) – Our legislators are holding up Gov. Crist's request for a special session to make oil drilling a 2010 ballet item.

Walk your beaches daily to ensure no garbage or plastic debris is present. Do not disturb bird nesting areas!


Join the Surfrider Foundation:
http://www.surfrider.org/join