majkia

At the salon where I get my hair cut, was the perfect example of how frustrated, scared and depressed the locals here are regarding what is and could happen with the oilspill.

Bad enough we were all near tears over what the oil was doing to the local animals - not just oiled birds and dolphins and whales, but the oxygen depletion in the gulf that will kill our reefs, our fish, our shrimp, our oysters and will take decades to reverse itself after, apparently, destroying everything.

From there we went on to what might happen if we have a hurricane. It seems insurance companies are already saying they will not be liable for damage to our residences and beaches by the oil. So they could refuse to pay for damages.  Our insurance charges are already sky high, now we find out that they might not even cover us after we pay them giant bucks.  We face the real prospect of losing our homes completely.

Of course we all ended up even more depressed when talking about the fact that there is STILL no solution!  The well continues to gush oil.

People are angry, frustrated and furious that the government continues to let BP remain in charge of cleanup efforts. 

Of course the network news shows continue to spend hours covering the most inane shit possible, rather than actually addressing the many major issues facing the country.

Yet more good news:

That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives.

"This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.

A six mile stretch of Florida coastline is closed because health officials say there is too much oil in the water. The closed part of the ocean starts at the Alabama-Florida border, through Perdido Key to Johnson Beach. Tourism leaders say the beach is open, but access to the water is closed. This stretch of beach is to our west, oh maybe 25-30 miles. Our beaches will be listed as Santa Rosa Island, Fort Walton Beach, Destin/Sandestin. Jim was supposed to attend a class this morning about laying out booms. BP was handling it. For some reason, it was cancelled at the last moment. No idea what's up with that. http://tinyurl.com/2bfojef

quite possibly the ugliest damn worm I've ever seen. he's sitting on the edge of a potted plant.

Interesting article about people reporting things on the beach, thinking they are indicators of the oil spill.  The exoskeletons are really interesting. Jim reports they've seen a lot of them.

They may well be an indicator of things going wrong in the Gulf but they're natural not fiberglass fragments.

Things are not looking well for our beaches. The weather has turned filthy with heavy seas and winds. There is a coastal flood watch, which means the slick will be driven even faster toward shore.

So far, no word on them stopping the continuing leak, and the thing is expected to reach our local beaches on Monday or Tuesday.

Jim does Turtle patrol at least once a week (this is riding a 3 wheeler down the length of the beaches at dawn to search for signs of turtle nesting and to mark the nests so people won't mess with them and destroy the eggs).  He's already been advised that they are to carry environmental suits on the back of the vehicle so they can don them if they run into contamination on the beaches.

This is such a nightmare.

We're hoping at least they can keep the oil out of the bay, but we'll see.

Jim picks up phone. Dials.  Listens, turns to me.  "Is it a holiday or something? I'm getting 'after hours' message."

Me, trying desperately not to laugh out loud, "No, it isn't a holiday.  But it is Sunday."

Jim, "Oh."

It was down to 18F/7C here at dawn.  This is SUPPOSED to be Florida...

I know 'Winter is Coming' but still...

Here is an article about a local initiative using stimulus monies to make our beaches safer:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/island-21987-new-okaloosa.html

A shame the article doesn't point out how many drowning victims we have every year. A TON, really. Lost of rip current activity here. We've also had our share of shark attacks.

pick 15 books that stick to your ribs:

Book Meme:

1. Julian - Gore Vidal
2. Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
3. The Pliocene Exile Saga - Julian May (yes 4 books but so what)
4. Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein
5. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
6. A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
7. The Time Machine - Jules Verne
8. Childhood's End - Arthur C Clarke
9. The Hand of Mary Constable - Paul Gallico
10. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
11. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M Miller
13. Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula LeGuin
14. Contact - Carl Sagan
15 The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins