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Old 05-20-2010, 10:23 AM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Regarding current conditions in the Florida Keys and Mainland, they're FANTASTIC, warm sunny and the water's great! Canceling reservations based on current conditions would be a mistake, leaving more Florida for those that do go to enjoy.

that said on to news updates ...

"A small portion of oil from the BP spill could reach the Florida Keys within 10 days, although the bulk of the massive slick will remain in the Gulf of Mexico for the immediate future, federal authorities said Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said "light to very light sheens" had been picked up by the loop current, which conveys water from the Gulf along the Keys and up the southeast Florida coast.

The possibility of a massive delivery of oil via the loop current has led to meetings among emergency officials in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, as they plan how to protect beaches, wildlife and the tourist industry. But the small amount of oil picked up so far is unlikely to cause much harm to South Florida, authorities said. Much of it will evaporate along the way, and it might get caught up in a clockwise eddy that would prevent it from even leaving the Gulf, according to NOAA.

"That oil is going to move slowly with the loop current, and we actually expect most of that to dissipate or probably degrade or weather before it actually comes close to threatening the South Florida area and the Straits of Florida," said Charlie Henry, scientific support coordinator for the oil spill for NOAA, at a news conference in Robert, La.

The bulk of the oil remains well to the northwest. If the current reached up and caught that oil, the outlook for South Florida would be much worse. But at this point, officials said, the immediate danger to South Florida is minimal. Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole said Wednesday that he did not foresee a major environmental impact from the oil.

By the time it reaches South Florida, much of it will have evaporated and what's left of it will have degraded and congealed into less toxic tar balls, he said. "When you look at the length of transport of the oil when it goes through the loop current, the expectation is that mostly it's going to be tar balls, which shouldn't be a significant impact generally," he said. "These are things that can actually be hand-picked up."


COMMENT: Not if they clog up in the prop roots of mangroves or adhere to seagrass at lower tides. Weathering and characteristics of tar balls may differ.


"They are significantly less toxic at that stage," he said. "I don't want to go to the extent of saying they are innocuous. They're not. They actually have an impact. Turtles will try to eat tar balls, which is obviously not a healthy thing for marine turtles. But it would not have a significant impact of the kind currently being experienced in Louisiana." Sole, who was in Washington on Wednesday for a meeting on the Everglades, does not foresee precautionary measures to protect the Everglades. "You can't boom against tar balls," he said. "Tar balls go underneath the boom, around the boom easily. It's really not something that you can take oil-spill precautionary measures."


COMMENT: Not good news about booming off tar balls. If large quantities make it to the Keys, they could well foul mangroves along the Straits side of the Keys and worse be vacuumed into Florida Bay and the abundant estuarine areas there by tides and local winds. Depending on the consistency, softness of tar balls and response to mechanical pressures, they may be more or less of a problem. If they readily break open, less weathered petroleum will be exposed to air and water creating other issues. "

Complete article at: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/pal...,2784720.story


and


"Efforts spring up to protect Florida Keys

KEY WEST -- With the Gulf of Mexico's massive oil spill now in an ocean current that could bring it to Florida's East Coast, 74-year-old Bobby Kieber felt it was time to act.
On Wednesday he went to Florida Keys Community College and plunked down $575 for a class to get him certified on how to do a coastal cleanup.
``I've lived here for 50 years and I make a living off the water,'' said Kieber, who makes his living sailing yachts between the Keys and the Caribbean.
``We're all doing what we can to stop this. When they need me, I'll be ready.''
Kieber was one of about 30 Keys residents who began the three-day Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response course to achieve a technician level -- a standard set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA. There are other ways to contribute as well, and for free, environmentalists say. Volunteers can get trained on the spot and help clean up Sunshine State shorelines. The idea is to clear the shores of ordinary debris that can become hazardous once the oil hits it.

All training emphasizes that volunteers don't touch hazardous waste -- and tar balls are hazardous material -- but instead alert hazmat teams to handle it. ``Preemptively removing artificial debris from the shoreline of the preserve will reduce potential impacts from oil, and it is good for the environment in any event,'' the Nature Conservancy of Florida said in a statement."

"Meantime, the nonprofit Green Living Energy Education has divided up the Keys into a Coast Watch map that offers a grid at www.KeysSpill.com where trained volunteers can pick a portion of beach to clean, plus a coastal cleanup checklist and other critical information. The spill scare has put a spotlight on the grass-roots effort to the protect the Keys, said Dan Robey, a Key Largo author and environmental activist who created the site to mobilize local volunteers. ``People have adopted shores from the Upper Keys down to Key West,'' he said, noting: ``It's taken off way beyond what we've expected.''

About 500 people volunteered Tuesday, the day the tar ball discovery was publicized. In all, he said, 2,000 have volunteered. Hundreds of the volunteers include boat owners with large vessels that could be used to help lay booms or send out skimmers in the event that a slick of oil makes it down to the Keys, he said. But before boat owners can take on such work, they have to receive certification in a hazardous materials course."

Complete article at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/2...otect-the.html
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Last edited by ricki; 05-20-2010 at 10:40 AM.
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