Have they never heard of osmosis?

[Skidmore]

Jeez, just heard a report on MSNBC in which the reporter related that the tarballs on the beach in Pensacola were not dangerous unless you touched them. Or so say the local officials. What do these people not get about toxins from said tarballs leaching into the water? I would not go into the waters of the Gulf right now if you paid me to.

[Poll_Blind]

1. Oh they're just flat-out "the air in NYC is fine after the WTC collapse" lying.

PB

[bdamomma]

5. yea, exactly.

[RainDog]

2. after the U.S. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima

the NYTimes reporter who was there said that the damage was vast but things were safe... three days after the blast.

[hedgehog]

3. I think you are dealing with typical television air headedness

The tar balls are not immediately harmful to someone who doesn't touch them; true. Now as to long term consequences including atmospheric pollution, you want people to consider something that's more than 24 hours ahead? Are you kidding?

[pipi_k]

4. Yeah, and swimming in a septic tank isn't toxic either unless you touch the poo...

Who the hell are they trying to fool here?

OK...I guess I really don't need to ask that question... :dunce:

[TheMadMonk]

20. Actually it's safe enough provided you don't drink it or have open wounds.

Country plumbers would routinely strip to underpants and go in to clear a blockage below the surface.

The reason they say tarballs are safe(r) is because by the time the oil has become tar, most of the most highly toxic components of the fresh crude have evaporated off.

Once it's reached tarball stage it's not particularly toxic unless of course you ingest it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. That is why we used HAZMAT protocols

with the patient that fell on one...

And both him and us got all kinds of vaccines.

There are days...

[arbusto_baboso]

6. Nah, that's too science-y for them.

Remember that these are the same "librul media" who think there are two viable opinions regarding global climate change, too.

[Skidmore]

7. The REPORTER was just passing on what officials were saying.

You'd think government entities would have learned something since 9/11. Maybe, for instance, that some sort of environmental assessment needs to occur before making such statements.

[laundry_queen]

8. Well, I suppose

that says more about the caliber of reporters now. "Just passing along what officials say" is pretty much the extent of 'reporting' now. Gone are the days of investigative journalism.

[Skidmore]

9. So do you have anything at all to say about the officials and their

responsibility or is your ire solely directed to the person who was making this information known to the public?

[arbusto_baboso]

11. BOTH are responsible and should be held accountable. However....

If our press were doing its goddmaned job, officials wouldn't be able to get away with talking such stupid shit.

[Skidmore]

13. Well, I do have some appreciation for the fact that this young lady

did not bury it or leave out the point entirely. It's public knowledge now and the public needs to exercise pressure on appropriate officials putting out this crap in those states. If the water isn't safe enough for cleanup people to go into without hazmat suits on then the public shouldn't be told that it is okay to swim in it.

[laundry_queen]

19. Thank you.

That's what I meant. Not saying there aren't a lot of reporters out there right now doing a good job, however they all seem to disappear if there isn't some sort of crisis or catastrophe. If they would hold officials accountable in between disasters, instead of only during, perhaps there would be fewer disasters period.

[Gin]

18. yes...they are "repeaters" not reporters

[Gregin Orlando]

10. BP oil could foul desalinization plants that use reverse osmosis

Not only is more oil leaking than we have been told by the corporations and their corporate media, there may be up to three oil leaks in the gulf in addition to the three at the Deepwater Horizon site. Furthermore, this means more than just fouled beaches and dead marine life. Oil can clog the intakes of water from the Gulf that is used to cool coal and nuclear power plants, resulting in power outages. It can also clog the intakes of desalinization plants that use reverse osmosis to produce drinking for cities on the GUlf coast. For more information, check out: http://www.examiner.com/x-38220-Orlando-Independent-Examiner~y2010m6d9-Satellite-imagery-shows-up-to-three-oil-leaks-in-Gulf-FL-power-and-water-supplies-may-be-at-risk

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Maybe they're not paranoid?

[Fumesucker]

14. And maybe the tarballs got onto the beach without ever touching the water..

Probably dropped right in place by the tarball fairy.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. Maybe they've heard of Paracelsus.

[Fumesucker]

16. I doubt the tarballs have heard of Paracelsus..

But no doubt the tarball fairy has some knowledge of him.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. Right, because not only are weathered tar balls either, they're also sentient.

Like that chunk of pure evil at the end of that documentary Time Bandits, that causes your parents to explode if they touch it.

[Berry Cool]

22. Do not taunt Happy Fun Tarball. n/t