4 ms·

I still have trouble comprehending how truly very, very bad this all is. I think it's been hard to feel the scale of it because it's such a slow-motion event,

by jsulak 16y ago

I still have trouble comprehending how truly very, very bad this all is. I think it's been hard to feel the scale of it because it's such a slow-motion event, so it frequently falls out of the news cycle, even here in relatively nearby Houston. It makes me even more pessimistic about the prospect of humans getting it together to deal with truly slow-motion problems, like global warming.

grandalf 16y ago
Not too long ago there was a fuel oil spill in the SF Bay. Some of the oil washed up at Ocean Beach where I frequently run (barefoot). A few times (long after the spill and several beach cleanups) I'd get home and notice a blob of tar stuck to my foot. It is nearly impossible to remove and extremely disgusting. One can only imagine how much of this tar will be left by the BP spill and for how long it will remain.
Tamerlin 16y ago
What makes me most pessimistic about it is that even in the face of empirical, observational evidence of global warming, there are still people out there who deny it. The real gravity of this situation in the Gulf is being drastically underplayed -- because no one has accounted for the combination of its enormity plus the fact that hurricane season is nigh. And NOAA is predicting a higher than average hurricane season. Even if NOAA ends up being wrong about that, one or two hurricanes of even moderate strength anywhere near that enormous oil spill, which I suspect is FAR larger than anyone at BP has admitted (several researchers indicated that based on analyzing BP's video, BP's estimate of 5000 barrels per day is short by close two orders of magnitude), will whip the entire coastline into a toxic nightmare.
- jsulak 16y ago
  Exactly. I am truly dreading hurricane season. Cleanup after a major storm is bad enough without having to deal with sticky, toxic oil.
  - Tamerlin 16y ago
    I'm surprised that it hasn't gotten more attention, but the thought of a 120 MPH wind whipping all of those miles-long plumes of toxic glop into a froth and splattering all over the Gulf coast definitely concerns me -- especially with the beginning of hurricane season so close, couple with the National Weather Service forecast... http://www.mahalo.com/2010-hurricane-season-forecast http://www.mahalo.com/2010-hurricane-season-forecast

by jsulak 16y ago

grandalf 16y ago

Not too long ago there was a fuel oil spill in the SF Bay. Some of the oil washed up at Ocean Beach where I frequently run (barefoot). A few times (long after the spill and several beach cleanups) I'd get home and notice a blob of tar stuck to my foot. It is nearly impossible to remove and extremely disgusting. One can only imagine how much of this tar will be left by the BP spill and for how long it will remain.

Tamerlin 16y ago

What makes me most pessimistic about it is that even in the face of empirical, observational evidence of global warming, there are still people out there who deny it. The real gravity of this situation in the Gulf is being drastically underplayed -- because no one has accounted for the combination of its enormity plus the fact that hurricane season is nigh. And NOAA is predicting a higher than average hurricane season. Even if NOAA ends up being wrong about that, one or two hurricanes of even moderate strength anywhere near that enormous oil spill, which I suspect is FAR larger than anyone at BP has admitted (several researchers indicated that based on analyzing BP's video, BP's estimate of 5000 barrels per day is short by close two orders of magnitude), will whip the entire coastline into a toxic nightmare.

jsulak 16y ago
Exactly. I am truly dreading hurricane season. Cleanup after a major storm is bad enough without having to deal with sticky, toxic oil.
- Tamerlin 16y ago
  I'm surprised that it hasn't gotten more attention, but the thought of a 120 MPH wind whipping all of those miles-long plumes of toxic glop into a froth and splattering all over the Gulf coast definitely concerns me -- especially with the beginning of hurricane season so close, couple with the National Weather Service forecast... http://www.mahalo.com/2010-hurricane-season-forecast http://www.mahalo.com/2010-hurricane-season-forecast