Mississippi coast hit by tar mats 'size of school buses'

[kpete]

Source: McClatchy



* Posted on Thursday, July 8, 2010


Mississippi coast hit by tar mats 'size of school buses'

By Geoff Pender, Melissa Scallan and Donna Melton | Biloxi Sun-Herald

LONG BEACH — What appeared to be the largest amount of oily tar to hit the Mississippi Coast at one time was washing in from west of the Long Beach Harbor into the edge of Pass Christian late Wednesday night.

Crews also were removing large amounts of tar balls and patties that washed ashore Wednesday morning on a stretch of Hancock County beach from Nicholson Avenue to Lakeshore Drive.

Harrison County Emergency Manager Rupert Lacy said the material in Harrison County was "tar mats and patties … kind of the consistency of liver." It was coming in over a 5- to 6-mile stretch from about a mile west of the harbor to the eastern edge of Pass Christian. He said the material was in large mats, floating near the bottom, and breaking up and washing onto the beach in smaller pieces.

Long Beach Fire Chief George Bass, the city’s emergency manager, said Wednesday night there were some tar mats in the water “the size of school buses.”



Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/08/97197/mississippi-coast-hit-by-tar-mats.html

[Angry Dragon]

1. Haley Barbour says it is okay

just use it as toothpaste and "our beaches are fine, com'on down!!"

[felinetta]

26. Thanks! I feel a whole lot better now.

[jgraz]

34. Speaking of bus-sized tar mats...

Just sayin...

[defendandprotect]

40. Don't know if scientists may be estimating what's actually out there ... and

what's going to be coming in but we're near 80 days of this and there must be

oil out there equal to a couple of fleets of buses waiting to roll in onto the beaches . . . ????

[jgraz]

42. I was specifically thinking of one particular bus-sized tar mat.

[defendandprotect]

43. Yep . . . . and always catapulting the right wing propaganda . . . !!

:evilgrin:

[fascisthunter]

51. Maybe Haley Barbour and his family should go for a swim

if it's him and his family, I'm sure he'd mind and wouldn't dismiss this so quickly.

[Bozita]

2. Let's see Gov. Barbour pretend those gigantic blobs away

[burnsei sensei]

45. As I've written before,

it doesn't matter what Hayley Barbour or BP does.
It doesn't matter what Bobby Jindhal does.
It doesn't matter what they hide and what they choose to reveal.
This disaster is so large that it can't help but reveal its profundity through circumstance.
I thought Barbour was a joke before.
As a joke, he's getting bigger all the time without gaining even a pound.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. It seems the gushing of oil non-stop into the GOM has consequences. One might not

know it with as little press as it gets these day. Old hat, *yawn*.

:mad:

[Mimosa]

4. BP is not collecting enough oil

When is the government going to stop asking BP (including sending letters) and start telling them?

[alterfurz]

5. Mississippi coast hit by tar mats "size of Haley Barbour"

[CLANG]

14. Now, THAT'S a DUzy!!

[myrna minx]

44. LOL.

:spray:

[Rhiannon12866]

47. Oh, noes!!!

:scared: :rofl:

[tabatha]

6. Maybe it is better to have the tar in mats

arrive on beaches where they can be hauled away, instead of smaller particles getting into the food chain?

[Uncle Joe]

37. Unfortunately, it's not an either/or situation, it's both.

USM, Tulane scientists say oil now in Gulf of Mexico food chain

SUN HERALD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4451143

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Scientists at The University of Southern Mississippi and Tulane University have found oil in the postlarvae of blue crabs entering coastal marshes along the Gulf Coast signaling that oil may be entering estuarine food chains.

Harriet Perry, director of the Center for Fisheries Research and Development at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, has found droplets of hydrocarbons or oil, in blue crab and fiddler crab larvae. According to Perry, the oil appears to be trapped between the hard, outer shell of the crab and its inner skin.

“I’ve been sampling in Mississippi coastal waters for 42 years and I have never seen this,” declared Perry. “My guess is that the crab picked up this oil offshore while in the megalopal (postlarval) stage and brought the oil with it when it came back to the marsh."
crab larva.

Tulane researcher, Dr. Caz Taylor has found orange-colored droplets in megalopae as far east as Pensacola, FL and as far west as Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, but analysis of these droplets has not been completed

[ORDagnabbit]

7. I hope some angry people grab those mats and decorates Barbour's homes with them...completely

inside and out...

[damntexdem]

8. Hey, Guv Barbour, how you going to pretty this up for the tourists?

"Come see the famous Mississippi Tar Mats!"

"L.A. has its Tar Pits, but we have our Tar Mats!"

"Enjoy Mississippi's La Brea Beach Resort!"

;-)

[Chipper Chat]

10. States to be renamed soon:

Louisioil
Floilda
Oilbama
Mississlicki

My heart goes out to all those poor people.

[Bozita]

15. I'll second your choices!

Nice job.

[Art_from_Ark]

33. Don't forget Texslick

And maybe, at the rate this disaster is spreading, the University of North Carolina will have to rename its sports teams the Tarballs

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. Where are the pictures? Umm... hello?

[SargeUNN]

22. yeah you might need a picture but I have something else

that I consider better. I lived in South Mississippi for over 50 years and still have family and friends there. My twin lives in Jackson County Mississippi and she calls me often giving me reports. She told me of the beach and how it looks now with all the oil and other members of my family all along the Mississippi coast tells me the same. I called my banker in Mississippi a few days ago and even though he is a Republican, he told me the same stories. Now maybe you need a picture to believe but frankly I have heard enough I don't need a picture to believe the obvious.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

39. Hi Sarge. I have no doubt of the damage being done. It is beyond tragic.

My pithy comment was directed at our failed fourth estate and the lock-down of information by both BP and our government. I am so sorry for all the people and living creatures affected by this avoidable disaster.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

46. Here are the pictures...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8716302

[PearliePoo2]

11. Barbour...you're a bought and paid for corporate whore.

All that oil spewing out has to go somewhere...you fat, ignorant, fucking weasel.

[nalnn]

12. Tired of this...

Pretending certainly won't rid Mississippi of this deluge. I can't begin to express how this is making me feel. I grew up on these beaches. I wanted my children to enjoy them like I did, but that will not happen now.

I must say, I am very disappointed with the response to this disaster. Both from the State and from the Fed. We did so well in MS after Katrina. Things got back to 'normal' quickly compared to how long this is going to take.

I know that one day the beaches and the Gulf will be back. I hope I live long enough to see it...

Where are the pictures indeed. I'd really like to know why I have to go to the beach to see this crap. How will others learn from this if no one will show them what is really happening. Perhaps next week, I'll go and take them myself. If I do, I'll be sure to post them.

[Mimosa]

18. I'm horribly sad over it too.

Welcome to D.U., Nainn. :)

[Scuba]

24. Please don't direct your anger at the government....

They have no ability to stop the gusher and little ability to help with the cleanup. That's not the fault of either federal or state governments in place today so much as it an endemic problem with a long history.

BP and the other oil giants obviously have not prepared for such a spill, which is inexcusable in itself, but worse considering they didn't do everything they could to prevent a spill.

Save your anger for the for-profit entity that caused this so they could increase shareholders dividends by one cent.

[ShamelessHussy]

27. they are responsible for protecting we the people, otherwise what's the point?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JMTaWQS5kfg/TBwsgCILzfI/AAAAAAAAC0U/zNbh8vkavos/s1600/oily+wave.jpg

[flyarm]

31. EXCUSE ME..but who the fuck do ypu think allowed them to drill with little to no oversight of their

plans for a spill? Just who the fuck do you think allowed this with zero oversight?

ever hear of Walrus's in the Gulf ??

Or sea lions..because that was in 5 Oil corps spill plans..ya think..just think anyone in our governent could have read those fucking plans????????????????

don;t be angry at our governent??? are you for real???..I want some of what you are smoking..but then again I had to breathe the fucking toxic air our government allowed BP to pollute my air and for to come into my home and my surroundings!! For days and days and week after week...and Excuse me if I don't share your lovey bullshit ..because I had to have my eyes burning for over a week and My chest feel like a ton of bricks were sitting on my chest and I had to have a fucking sore throat and a constant headache from the dispersants my government allowed a foreign corporation to pollute my air with!

Get fucking real..don't blame the government??? ..you are delusional!

and clueless ??? to what is going on in the gulf states!

Keep your opinion to yourself. please..you are part and parcel of how and why this was allowed ..stay quiet unless you know what the fuck you are talking about..

and this I can assure you..I am damned pissed at my governent for allowing this to happen..to destroy the waters in my back yard and to pollute the air I am my family have had to breathe.and destroy my property values and the jobs and livelyhood of all who live on the Gulf!

This president and this government has lied ..lied to all of us in the Gulf states..they have lied about everything and allowed the most horrible cover up of what is going on..this federal government has now caused more disaster ...on top of a disaster!

Stop the bullshit now!

[howaboutme]

50. Most of us have common sense

What we don't have is a choice between Parties that represent the absolute of right or wrong. Politics and Parties is about creating minimal choices. It is more important to believe in right and wrong versus blind loyalty to some political ideal. The problem America faces is that gross moneyed interests have hijacked representatives of both Parties. We need to demand an America for Americans and a country that stands for honesty above self interests.

The America of 2010 is about more money for a few and a government that is controlled and manipulated for the money.

[fascisthunter]

52. they don't have the ability? Bullshit they don't

and they allowed it to all happen. And if they didn't have the ability why no foresight and practical plans for the worst.

They way things work in my company is we look at possible repercussions of our actions so we know how to deal with particular situations. If they didn't know they should NEVER have allowed this to happen in the first place, and YES the government and Big Oil are to blame for this.

[CLANG]

13. It's tragic news, but I can't help but laugh at that bumbfuck Haley Barbour - what a mook!

Couldn't happen to a bigger asshole! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[CLANG]

16. Picture!

You have to look just past the water line to see the big black tar mass. Looks like the tree got covered too!

[Bragi]

17. When they're as large as 747s it'll be news again /nt

[Child_Of_Isis]

19. Where is the obligatory, "not confirmed if this is due to the BP oil spill"

[Bragi]

20. Or if the voice on the tape is actually OBL /nt

[TerribleLarryDingle]

21. Come on down and take a bath in our toothpaste

-Haley Barbour

[SemperEadem]

23. I guess when one can stand up and walk to the governor's mansion

and yatch-slap Barbour is when he'll believe that there is a problem.

Just last week, he was saying some denial shit about the disaster.

[guitar man]

25. When asked to comment, Gov Haley Barbour said

"Come on down to our beaches, you don't even need to bring a beach blanket, we have tar mats!"

:crazy:

[mbperrin]

28. Tar mats on Galveston island, video!

http://www.click2houston.com/video/24177951/index.html

Watch about 1:12 into it for a picture with a person - these are huge!

[CountAllVotes]

36. Wow! Thanks for this link!

this makes me so very angry! I have relatives that live in Galveston. :( :grr: :mad: :(

:kick:

[MadMaddie]

29. The citizens should scoop it up and send it to Haley...

[truthisfreedom]

30. Pic

[nalnn]

35. That pic

Yeah, I saw that pic too on Sun Herald's web site. I do believe it shows oil underfoot of those workers, but I can't be 100% certain because of the lighting. It did not rain there yesterday, nor was it very overcast but it did the day before. I dunno...

If that IS one of the 'bus-sized' flotsam, I'd say it look a lot more like a 'Semi-sized' one, or worse.

A little anecdote: Today, is my oldest son's birthday. Being born in the summer, he has always had a big deal party at these beaches. Where are we going tomorrow for him? Over an hour's drive north to a very small water park. Now, I know this isn't a serious problem, but it IS evidence of the influence this catastrophe is going to have on people lives. Some of it very serious.

[nalnn]

41. More pics

And here are some more I just found. Taken by non-journalists for the most part I understand.

[midnight armadillo]

32. "It's a manageable problem."

Quoting Barbour...
80 percent is literally just sheen or film right on top of -- on top of the water. That is not toxic. It's not particularly damaging.

I mean, we don't want it to come ashore in Mississippi, but it's manageable. It's a manageable problem. Our people on the coast are getting ready.

And I do think a lot of people in the country are being led to believe that this is already some gigantic catastrophe. Well, that's not the case and we're going it try to keep it from ever being the case.

[Uncle Joe]

38. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[paparush]

48. What a bus-size tar mat might look like-

[Doctor_J]

49. Does Haley believe it's real yet?

or still optimistic