The Cullen Café

[CellarDweller115]

Hello, Dave Cullen Forum members, and welcome to the Cullen Café.

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[CellarDweller115]

Ok, so to get this ball rolling......I'll post here first.

*shocker* 

Ok, I just have to ask, why the hell can't they stop the oil spill in the Gulf?  What's the deal with this issue and how hard is it to cap off a pipe stop this oil from gushing?

All I can think about is how the people in that area have not even recovered from Katrina yet, and now they're hit with this.  And I can't even imagine the effects this is going to have on the wildlife there. 

[dejavu]

Well, this sounds interesting, Chuck.  So I guess I'll make the first post by saying that I'm almost all ready for tomorrow's trip. 

[fritzkep]

People down there are worried sick about it. The price of many seafood items has skyrocketed, so we weren't able to get some of the foods we normally get at this time. The economy of the area, so dependent on oil, seafood and tourism, is really shaky, and it's not a good time to be selling a house, as we are doing, but it doesn't look like it will get better anytime soon.

[CellarDweller115]

Fritz, did you go to the shoreline?  Were you able to see oil all over the place?

[dejavu]

Your first post was better than my first post, Chuck.

That's a good question, about the oil spill.  I spent part of today catching up on several weeks' TIME magazines.  It sounded like they had the cap in place last week, but had to remove it temporarily because it got hit by some unidentified object, and right now oil is gushing again as it was in the beginning.

Not that the cap was any kind of real solution; it merely cut down on the amount of oil gushing.  They are drilling two "relief wells" which are still expected to be ready in about August, and when they are working, they're supposed to take up the bulk of the oil that wants to come up, therefore relieving the oil pressure in the "bad" well.  Right now the high oil pressure is working against all the efforts to stop the gushing.

[CellarDweller115]

Not that the cap was any kind of real solution; it merely cut down on the amount of oil gushing.  They are drilling two "relief wells" which are still expected to be ready in about August, and when they are working, they're supposed to take the bulk of the oil that wants to come up, therefore relieving the oil pressure in the "bad" well.  Right now the high oil pressure is working against all the efforts to stop the gushing.

Ok, well, that explains what is going on, but damn......July and August, we're still in June.....that's a lot of time for that oil to be gushing that way.

[fritzkep]

Fritz, did you go to the shoreline?  Were you able to see oil all over the place?

I didn't get to any shoreline in the eastern part of the state, but I did drive along the coast on the way to New Orleans from Texas, including a short stretch right along the Gulf near Holly Beach, LA, in the southwestern portion of the state. Traffic was occasionally stopped by Army or National Guard personnel who were setting up barriers on the beach, but this was being done as a precaution ("Just in case", as one of the Guardsmen said) should winds or a hurricane drive the oil westward instead of the northeasting trend that it's doing now. I didn't see any oil while I was down there, except for local coverage in the area media. But the subject was on everyone's lips, seldom did a few hours go by without someone talking about it, and it was one of the first topics of conversation when meeting up with friends and relatives.

[dejavu]

People down there are worried sick about it. The price of many seafood items has skyrocketed, so we weren't able to get some of the foods we normally get at this time. The economy of the area, so dependent on oil, seafood and tourism, is really shaky, and it's not a good time to be selling a house, as we are doing, but it doesn't look like it will get better anytime soon.

I feel really sorry for the people who live there, Fritz.  The articles I read today also showed pictures of oil-slicked penguins, and explained that even birds who survive may carry oil back to the nest to pollute the eggs or destroy the young birds.

[CellarDweller115]

But the subject was on everyone's lips, seldom did a few hours go by without someone talking about it, and it was one of the first topics of conversation when meeting up with friends and relatives.

I would imagine that this topic would be discussed often, and I'm sure that the mood in the area must be very "down".

[fritzkep]

I feel really sorry for the people who live there, Fritz.  The articles I read today also showed pictures of oil-slicked penguins, and explained that even birds who survive may carry oil back to the nest to pollute the eggs or destroy the young birds.

Yes, the effects will be long range, in ways we can't even imagine yet. It's true that the warm waters of the Gulf can break the oil down much more quickly than the cold waters of Prince William Sound in Alaska, when the Exxon Valdez spilled, but the sheer volume of the oil and continued output is overwhelming nature's capacity for healing.

[Miaisland]

I feel really sorry for the people that lives there too.

We don't get so many news here about it anymore.

[dejavu]

In addition to the birds, I was reading about the swamplands themselves.  They may have to burn the oil-soaked grasses to get rid of the oil, but are optimistic that the grasses will grow back.

It's what's going on below the surface that's really worrisome.  That's where the marine life, including all the seafood, lives.

My mother said that CNBC (the business network, which she watches) had reported that Red Lobster's oyster industry in the Gulf had been "wiped out."

[fritzkep]

God kväll, Mia kärlekissima!

I'm glad you had such a good time in Spain, though I haven't gotten that far yet in my ketchup.

[fritzkep]

In addition to the birds, I was reading about the swamplands themselves.  They may have to burn the oil-soaked grasses to get rid of the oil, but are optimistic that the grasses will grow back.

It's what's going on below the surface that's really worrisome.  That's where the marine life, including all the seafood, lives.

My mother said that CNBC (the business network, which she watches) had reported that Red Lobster's oyster industry in the Gulf had been "wiped out."

Yes, we didn't have any oysters while down there, which I really miss. We were able to get shrimp in the form of a po-boy sandwich.