Apocalyptic Church

ipsnews.net

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi, U.S., Aug 26, 2010 (IPS) – Another massive fish kill, this time in Louisiana, has alarmed scientists, fishers and environmentalists who believe they are caused by oil and dispersants.

On Aug. 22, St. Bernard Parish authorities reported a huge fish kill at the mouth of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.

“By our estimates there were thousands – and I’m talking about 5,000 to 15,000 – dead fish,” St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro told reporters. “Different species were found dead, including crabs, sting rays, eel, drum, speckled trout, red fish, you name it, included in that kill.”

The next day, a thick, orange substance with tar balls and a “strong diesel smell” was discovered around Grassy Island, near the fish kill, according to a news release.
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On a journey to take soil samples from the BP Spill we came across an island full of dead birds in various stages of decay.

We took water samples, from several areas in the Gulf, to be tested for Corexit and Petrochemicals to a lab in Mobile, Alabama. We found that most locals suspected the waters weren’t safe, although the tourist we spoke to allowed their children to swim in the water. While the lab didn’t find Corexit, in the samples we provided, the lab did find oil levels in the water (that appeared clean) MUCH higher than that considered safe.

news.yahoo.com

Ga. scientists: Gulf oil not gone, 80 pct remains

WASHINGTON – Georgia scientists say their analysis shows that most of that BP oil the government said was gone from the Gulf of Mexico is still there.

The scientists say as much as 80 percent of the oil still lurks under the surface. The Georgia team said it is a misinterpretation of data to claim that oil that is dissolved is actually gone. The report from University of Georgia and other scientists came from an analysis of federal estimates.

Earlier this month federal scientists said that only about a quarter of the oil remained and the rest was either removed, dissolved or dispersed.

news.yahoo.com

postchronicle.com

Some U.S. Gulf Coast fishermen say they have caught crabs with black-stained gills and others report seeing fish and marine life gathering strangely on the sea surface following the massive BP Plc oil spill.

They fear these abnormalities could point to a lasting and potentially devastating impact on their fishing grounds and livelihoods from the world’s worst offshore oil accident, and they say BP and the government may be downplaying the issue.

State and federal authorities, who insist they are closely following safety protocols, have begun reopening selected segments of Gulf of Mexico waters to recreational and commercial fishing after the successful capping and cementing of BP’s blown-out deepwater Macondo well in recent weeks.

But fiercely independent Gulf fishermen, many of whom harbor a deep mistrust of authority since the much-criticized government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, believe both President Barack Obama’s administration and BP may be moving too hastily to close this ecological and financial nightmare.

“The government is telling us the waters and seafood are safe, but I would not feed my family on anything I catch out there now,” said Jerry Miller, who has fished off Mississippi’s coast for 35 years.
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BP Gulf Oil Spill Skin Lesions

Study Finds Significant Impact on Health, Economic Stability, and Daily Routines

As the acute phase of the Gulf oil spill transitions to a chronic phase, marked by long-term challenges to the public health, environment and economy, researchers at Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness interviewed over 1,200 adults living within 10 miles of the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Mississippi, in collaboration with the Children’s Health Fund and The Marist Poll of Poughkeepsie, NY. The survey, conducted by telephone in July after the Deepwater Horizon well was capped, found evidence of significant and potentially lasting impact of the disaster on the health, mental health, and economic fortunes of residents and their children and on the way they live their everyday lives. The findings have implications for health and economic policies going forward.

Survey Findings
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PORT ST. JOE — In a Friday morning meeting, city officials voted 4-1 to reopen the Frank Pate Park boat ramp, which was closed Thursday afternoon after the fish kill was detected in St. Joseph’s Bay. The finding comes just before the city’s 14th annual Florida Scallop & Music Festival gets underway.

WKRG.com News

GULF SHORES, Alabama – For the first time in more than five weeks, oil has impacted Gulf Shores. On Wednesday, massive amounts of oil and tar washed up near the pier at Gulf State Park, turning the sugar-white beaches an ugly brown. But what’s even more disturbing….not one single BP clean-up or piece of beach-cleaning equipment could be found at the state park.

BP has drastically reduced its beach clean-up force because the company says they’re not needed since oil has impacted local beaches in weeks. But the tropical disturbance in the Gulf churned up oil and pushed it onshore. Not one person assigned to clean-up the beach could be found for miles.

CNN iReport

Filmed Aug 11: Oil well in the middle of a sugarcane field blew out last night. Oil and natural gas are shooting into the air. Oil is coming down like rain a mile away. This is in Assumption Parish Louisiana.

Apparently this blowout isn’t newsworthy, at least not to the main stream media.

blog.al.com

HORN ISLAND, Miss. — Weeks after BP capped its runaway well, a greasy band of oil appeared on the grasses fringing Garden Pond, a previously pristine interior marsh.

Glops of deep brown oil floated on the surface of the saltwater pond Saturday and appeared to be scarcely weathered, compared to much of the oil that has come ashore. The oil penetrated deep into the green marsh grass, coating the stalks from the mud to about 18 inches up.

The stain on the grass around the pond looked like a dirty black ring that one might see in a bathtub, although the grass still seemed vigorous.

Horn Island is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore run by the National Park Service, which includes Petit Bois, Ship and Cat islands, as well as land in Florida. The undeveloped island is open to the public but accessible only by boat.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast is: Eat oiled fish, it’s good for the digestion!

fox8live.com

A pair of fishermen in Mississippi made an alarming discovery that has many wondering what’s happening below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico. They found several full-sized crabs filled with some sort of black substance.

While it’s tough to find oil on the surface along the beaches in Mississippi, Hancock County EMA director, Brian Adam said oil is there, you just can’t see it.

“We’re still seeing tar balls everyday, and I’m not talking just a few tar balls. We’re seeing a good amount everyday on the beaches,” said Adam.

He said a rock jetty near Waveland was covered in about 1,000 pounds of tar balls in just three days, and now there’s been a disturbing discovery inside about a half a dozen full-sized crabs found near the mouth of Bay St. Louis.
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wlox.com

PASS CHRISTIAN, MS (WLOX) – In all her years walking the Pass Christian beach, Michelle Alley said Thursday morning was different.

“I’ve really never seen this many seagulls. I walked this beach for about five years and it’s really phenomenal. It’s beautiful to see, but it’s unusual,” said Alley.

It didn’t take long to figure out what had attracted all the birds. WLOX saw massive dead fish on the beach and in the water, along with crabs and sting rays.

Department of Marine Resource officials said it was the third fish kill reported to them in recent months. DMR officials sent a team out to take samples from a fish kill, but they said they already had a good idea of what happened.
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wdsu.com

GULFPORT, Miss. — Something besides oil washed ashore along a section of beach in Gulfport this week.

Millions of small dead fish have washed ashore just east of Jones Park. The fish are believed to be menhaden.

Low oxygen levels in the water are typically to blame when large numbers of the tiny fish wash up dead, experts said. Harrison County leaders said it’s too soon to tell if the fish-kill is related to the oil spill.
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msnbc.msn.com

Boom placed around 100-foot-high plume; tugboat hit well, officials say

Adding insult to the Gulf’s injury, an oil platform hit by a tugboat early Tuesday is now spewing oil and natural gas near a Louisiana marsh area.

While there was no estimate of how much oil was gushing, officials said the mile-long slick it created was small compared with the Gulf spill.

The oil and gas is shooting up 100 feet into the air, officials said, as a private contractor was called in to try to cap the well.

While small in size, the spill weighed heavy on locals. “We cannot catch a break,” Deano Bonano, Jefferson Parish emergency management director, said in a note to parish officials.
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