Here's a Town, that said "Hell No, to the Crude" -- NOT on their Watch!
Magnolia Springs, Alabama, Weeks Bay.
Updated: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Residents, officials prepare for oil
Chasity Byrd
Photojournalist: Riccardo Montgomery
WEEKS BAY, Alabama (WALA)
As the oil continues to gush, people along the Gulf Coast are stepping up to protect their paradise. Residents in Magnolia Springs are doing whatever they can to protect Weeks Bay.
Those in Magnolia Springs put part of their oil plan into effect over the weekend. The plan is to put barges in front of the boom to break down waves. That would essentially keep the water from rushing over the boom.
[...]
"The barges are working wonderfully. We got them all deployed yesterday. We had about a two and a half foot chop in the bay and it was smooth as a swimming pool behind them," said Hinton.
If only we had more Barges? Or Bays and Marshes narrow enough, to protect this way.
Still the Residents in Magnolia Springs, may have some "Red Tape" to deal with. It seems their are some "regs" and procedures, they may have sidestepped, in their rush to protect their Town harbor, from the scourge of BP.
Ala. river mired in red tape to protect from spill
By JAY REEVES (AP) – June 8, 2010
MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Ala
"What you've got here is a community that has taken charge of the situation and said, 'To hell with the system,'" said Gib Hixon, an old friend of Hinton and chief of Fish River/Marlow Fire and Rescue.
"It's illegal to block this waterway. But if the oil comes, we're going to bring a barge in and use it as a gate to block it," said Hixon. "They can arrest me and Jamie if they want to."
The story began when Hinton called his local county emergency management office to ask about plans for protecting coastal waters and was shocked by the response.
"The first thing the guy said was, 'People are blowing this thing out of proportion, it's just light crude'," Hinton said. "I told him I don't care if it's light crude or dark crude or sweet crude, I don't want it in my damn river."
Baldwin County officials deny that anyone ever told Hinton such a thing. But whatever happened, Jamie Hinton was fired up.
[...]
"It's not rocket science, but it sounded like it might work," Hinton said. The engineering didn't seem that hard since the passage into Weeks Bay is only about 530 feet wide and fairly shallow.
[...]
Scott Hughes, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, said the delay sounded like an issue for the unified command in Mobile to address. The head of the command, Coast Guard Capt. Steve Poulin, said it sounded like an issue related to the state's approval process.
Don't you fret there Weeks Bay, it's just Oil -- you know the stuff you put in your Car's Engine, and Lawnmower. Nothing to lose any sleep over!
There's a slightly different kind of Citizen Action, a little bit further down the road, in Florida. It seems to be more Noise, than Action, at this point in time.
But the "Unified Command in Mobile", seems to have gotten the message -- as they are hiring more people, ahead of the pending surge. Smart Move.
Florida Panhandle residents, state officials demand answers about oil clean-up on beaches
By Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer --June 6, 2010
Chief among the complaints is a lack of skimmers to collect oil before it can contaminate the pristine beaches and, perhaps more important, the fragile marshes hugging the coastline.
[...]
BP and the Coast Guard signed off on the county's plan to use boom to protect the inland waterways into harbors and marinas and will make the final call on whether to close them, county spokeswoman Sonya Daniel said.
[...]
Jeff Taggart, owner of Pensacola Beach Marina, was outraged over the possibility of closing Pensacola Pass.
[...]
Taggart said gates should be used to allow boats, including "vessels of opportunity" BP has hired to scout for oil, to travel back and forth.
"They need to have ships out at sea sucking up this oil" to allow the moneymaking waterways to remain open, he said.
Others are angry because state and local health officials are allowing beachgoers to swim in Florida waters.
Just a few miles away, Alabama has halted swimming and fishing in the gulf.
"You've got people swimming in the water with people cleaning the beach with hazmat suits," said Joy Bowles, a nurse. "It makes me sick. Until they close that pipe and get this crap cleaned up, it's not safe."
Sole said his agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and health officials are testing the water and will close the beaches as soon as they are deemed a hazard to public safety.
The Unified Command in Mobile, Ala., said Saturday it would hire about 4,500 unemployed workers in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi to help with the cleanup effort.
[...]
A shirtless heckler [...] demanding to know, "Where's the military?"
The Panhandle is home to four major military bases and thousands of retired military personnel.
Good Question, from a nameless, shirtless citizen.
I wonder if those planners in that "Unified Command in Mobile" heard him? How about putting our "National Guard" to work, maybe Protecting OUR Nation? (I hope they already are.)
And about that,
Unified Command -- this seems to be the place.
It might be worth a look, or even a Call?
Current Operations
BP Ongoing Deepwater Horizon Response Updates
DATE: June 08, 2010 08:47:12 CST
Operations and Ongoing Response - June 8, 2010
Nice High Level Summary -- of Actions taken to date. (must be what they mean by "Unified")
[Including some very interesting "Subsea dispersant used" stats, on that page ... Hmmmm, someone's been counting the underwater Dispersant used, afterall.]
And what about those fleets of "grounded" Sea Captains, who want to lend a hand ... to protect their sea ...
Vessels of Opportunity Program
DATE: June 02, 2010 10:57:46 CST
DHR: Vessels of Opportunity Program
As part of BP's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Vessels of Opportunity (VOO) program was designed and implemented to provide local boat operators an opportunity to assist with response activities, including transporting supplies, assisting wildlife rescue and deploying containment and sorbent boom.
[...]
Training and Participation
At this time, the need for additional vessels is limited. When new opportunities become available, residents will be notified of new training/induction sessions. These sessions are for vessel owners, captains and crews and will be posted here and on www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
That's a bummer Captain dudes, that link kind of goes in big circle, to nowhere. I guess, they'll call you, when they need you?
However, just between you and me, from the News Reports, it kind of seems like They NEED You! ... Maybe YOU should CALL Them?
Here's the Volunteer Page, from the Incident Response Site.
Maybe they DO need Help Afterall?
Volunteer
If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering, please call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816 or visit the Web sites below.
State specific volunteer opportunities:
-- Louisiana: http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/
-- Mississippi: http://www.volunteermississippi.org/...
-- Florida: http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/
-- Alabama: http://www.servealabama.gov/...
Volunteer Hotlines:
-- Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information:
(866)-448-5816
-- Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system:
(281) 366-5511
It's like I always say ...
If you want something done RIGHT -- sometimes, you just have to DO it, yourself.
If more folks got involved,
Think of the kind of world, we'd have someday ...
Maybe a even, a Better one?
========= Updated ====================
Here are some more "practical ways" you can help out:
Gulf Oil Disaster: How You Can Help (UPDATE)
by Pam LaPier
Things You Can Do to Help the Coast
by Crashing Vor