SANDY: 300,000+ Gallon Oil Spill Staten Island

Originally posted by fltcui
The Coast Guard states they are in the initial stages of cleanup. So what does that mean when the
Nor'easter hits the area on or about Wednesday??
This could end up being a huge mess.

This means more cover up, to the extent we will never know...
A few years later, and goop from the Oil Spill were washing up on the beach after Isaac.

They will clean it up. Sure. What they will do is make it sink, only to resurface at a later date.

It's not safe to eat sea food anymore, that is what this all means. You can't eat if from the Gulf, and now you can't eat it from the Atlantic.

The end of Red Lobster.........

It is amazing. Here there are long term implications of businesses permanently closing. People being permanently displaced over an area far larger than the 9th ward of New Orleans.
And yet, here are all these people posting thread after thread about Obama vs. Romney!
Ridiculous!
There are 538 voting members of the Electoral College. That's it. That is who will decide the election.
Who knew so many of them posted here on ATS! LoL. Get a fawking clue.

This is about as big a deal as they come, outside of a catastrophic earthquake under southern Cali ripping up the Pacific coastline.

reply to post by PaperbackWriter

Those 538 of the electoral college were chosen in a process YOU could have participated in and it started right in the county you live in. I did participate in it as did many others here. The fact it's something of a mystery to people for how it works is no fault of their own, I get that. The media and GOP/DNC work long and hard to insure it remains a mystery people are happy to never bother with. Their power depends on it.

The fact of the matter is, the electors vote by how their state votes, and the state carries by how your local votes are tallied and totaled. Really...there isn't some big room somewhere that 500+ people conspire to set the future of the world. That's a far SMALLER group and they worship an Owl or something.

To Topic...........being a part of what MAKES the system work beats the hell out of being a part of what the system works ON. 2016 is another season and another try. Hopefully more people step up to RUN the system and not simply be RUN OVER by it. Crap like the New York response would be more meaningful......if those politicians REALLY BELIEVED they'd lose their office over screwing this up. How many got re-elected after Katrina? They have no fear...and no reason to care THAT much. We all make sure of that.

Are they sure it's not runoff from the gowanus?

My wife and I just saw this thread. Just want to throw this out there:

She's a pollution responder in the Coast Guard and she said 100,000 barrels + is considered a major spill. For comparison, Exxon Valdez spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels.

Hope this gets contained

OIl isn't measured in gallons, unless the author is trying to pile on a little shock value.


Oil is measured in "barrels", and 300,000 gallons is about 5,400 barrels. Not much of a disaster, to be honest.

Originally posted by ZeroReady
My wife and I just saw this thread. Just want to throw this out there:

She's a pollution responder in the Coast Guard and she said 100,000 barrels + is considered a major spill. For comparison, Exxon Valdez spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels.

Hope this gets contained

See? This guys wife, who he says is a specialist in this sort of thing, was fooled by the switcheroo in measurement quantities done by the author.

MAJOR difference between 300,000 barrels and 300,000 gallons. And it is obvious that the author is being more than a little dishonest if it is only 300,000 gallons.

This has been hushed pretty well. I always hate oil spills, and as this one directly threatens my job (the lobster industry of the Atlantic) I am very concerned, but can find very little info on this. Gee, the mainstream media is so useful...

Originally posted by LoneCloudHopper
This has been hushed pretty well. I always hate oil spills, and as this one directly threatens my job (the lobster industry of the Atlantic) I am very concerned, but can find very little info on this. Gee, the mainstream media is so useful...

Because it is only 5500 barrels of oil. The cost of that oil is about 550,000 dollars, assuming it is valued at $100 a barrel (which it really isn't right now).

This is sensationalist journalism at its worst.

reply to post by loam


CBS did mention how the water carried strange Oil like odours, they did send an official to NYC / Staten Island to take samples of the water and he did say, he had found several means of pollution - including Oil...
www.cbsnews.com...

I heard this on 2 seperate CBS news broadcasts.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Quantity in relationship to severity requires consideration of the impact to location as well.

This is a sizable spill for that area.

The Arthur Kill and its tributaries do support a surprising array of wildlife despite the negative impacts on the water and wetlands. Two major heronries exist on islands on the New York side, and great egrets, snowy egrets, black-crowned night-herons, and glossy ibis from these rookeries feed on a variety of fish and other organisms on both sides of the Kill, Blue crabs, diamondbacked terrapins, and several species of shrimp frequent these waters as well, and so do five species of gulls in large numbers, depending on the season of the year. Bonaparte's gulls, for example, are found here in winter months and were among the birds found oiled following the spill. Mallard, black, and other dabbling ducks use the creeks and wetlands for feeding, and canvasbacks, scaup, red-breasted mergansers, and two species of cormorant dive for fish and other food in Kill waters. Migratory shorebirds find the mud flats here every year during spring and fall migrations, among others black-bellied plover, greater and lesser yellowlegs, least and semipalmated sandpipers, and short-billed dowitchers. Harbor seals are seen in the region in February. Among the fish species important to recreational use of these waters is striped bass. There is a significant resource here which needs to be protected and compensated for when there is environmental damage.

Source.

See also: SIGNIFICANT HABITATS AND HABITAT COMPLEXES OF THE NEW YORK BIGHT WATERSHED

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Ha ha I thought about this, then checked the article just now to see if it was gallons or barrels. I was gonna post my mistake but you beat me to it. Sure enough...shame on me for misreading.

But the wife and I both were immediately thinking in terms of barrels, even though it said gallons.

Originally posted by loam
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Quantity in relationship to severity requires consideration of the impact to location as well.

This is a sizable spill for that area.

The Arthur Kill and its tributaries do support a surprising array of wildlife despite the negative impacts on the water and wetlands. Two major heronries exist on islands on the New York side, and great egrets, snowy egrets, black-crowned night-herons, and glossy ibis from these rookeries feed on a variety of fish and other organisms on both sides of the Kill, Blue crabs, diamondbacked terrapins, and several species of shrimp frequent these waters as well, and so do five species of gulls in large numbers, depending on the season of the year. Bonaparte's gulls, for example, are found here in winter months and were among the birds found oiled following the spill. Mallard, black, and other dabbling ducks use the creeks and wetlands for feeding, and canvasbacks, scaup, red-breasted mergansers, and two species of cormorant dive for fish and other food in Kill waters. Migratory shorebirds find the mud flats here every year during spring and fall migrations, among others black-bellied plover, greater and lesser yellowlegs, least and semipalmated sandpipers, and short-billed dowitchers. Harbor seals are seen in the region in February. Among the fish species important to recreational use of these waters is striped bass. There is a significant resource here which needs to be protected and compensated for when there is environmental damage.

Source.

See also: SIGNIFICANT HABITATS AND HABITAT COMPLEXES OF THE NEW YORK BIGHT WATERSHED

LOL, ok.

Just sayin'.....those of us from States that are on the Gulf kinda know a thing or two about what an oil spill really is.

And a headline that says "300,000 GALLONS!!!!11" is certainly more shocking than "5400 barrels". It is kinda obvious what is going on with the headline.

Next thing you know, you will see reports of thefts in pennies. "The 7-11 robber made off with over 30,000 cents." Then we can dicsuss how, because of the lower profit margins of 7-11, that 30,000 cents is, relatively, as damaging as a major bank heist that rakes in 3mil dollars.



ETA: I have maintained that the whole Superstorm Sandy thing has been hyped by a sense of self importance of East Coasters. No, hurricanes don't normally hit there. But it isn't totally unprecedented either. But this Category 1 storm, while still a bad storm, is nothing compared to what batters the Carribean Islands annually. But ohhhh no....it is only a Superstorm when it blows down trees and overtakes the levees in NYC.

Then to have you state that somehow oil is more damaging to the area that the "Superstorm" hit.....man, talk about supporting my assertions of self importance in that region. Do you really think the estuaries in the rest of the coastal regions of the US are no less delicate?

Originally posted by ZeroReady
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Ha ha I thought about this, then checked the article just now to see if it was gallons or barrels. I was gonna post my mistake but you beat me to it. Sure enough...shame on me for misreading.

But the wife and I both were immediately thinking in terms of barrels, even though it said gallons.

and the person originating the story knew this would happen.

It is what passes for journalism in todays world.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


You know, bigfatfurrytexan, thank you for making me realize you're right!

I'm someone who has to visualize stuff and your comment made me go look:

Visualizing 5,000 Barrels of Oil a Day as a Victorian Row House

Although no one knows exactly how much oil is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico per day, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has estimated the number to be about 5,000 barrels a day (or a whopping 210,000 gallons/day). But what does 210,000 gallons look like exactly? In order to paint yourself a picture, check out this nifty visualization we found over at The Architect’s Newspaper Blog created by Hulett Jones of the San Francisco firm Jones | Haydu. Basically, 10,000 barrels of oil spillage (approximately 2 days) would roughly fill up the size of a Victorian row house in San Francisco meaning that at this point, we’ve filled up almost 12 houses worth!

That really places it into context for me.

So looking at the location:



Definitely less extreme than I initially assumed.

reply to post by loam


Here is what I say:

Sandy is, on the whole, a good thing for America. Yes, I realize there are personal tragedies. And in no way do I feel that they are a good thing to have happen. The personal tragedies are not what I am talking about in this. Rather, I am talking about the whole nation, including the parts that are not on the East Coast.

A big problem with business since 2008 is "stagnation". Money has been injected into the system, then put into a mattress somewhere. The markets are unruly enough that a lot of folks have sought to invest their money in hard capital (or just let it rot in an account somewhere).

With the damage caused by this storm, you will see some of that money get spent. That is dollars that were otherwise kept out of the economy will now have to be recirculated to rebuild. And the damage in NYC, in particular, is most promising from the perspective of injecting real revenues (not currency devaluing QE money) back into the economy. The damage in NYC was fairly severe as far as storms go in that area. And NYC happens to be the epicenter of currency hording companies.

But who knows. Only time will tell. It may not really matter with the rate that we are exporting our currency to places like India (all those Indian doctors and businessmen sending money home to their families.....).

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


My prediction is the wealth gap will grow. Those poor and middle class neighborhoods wont be rebuilt for them.

So yes, there will be a boost....but some opportunities come with a price.

In this climate, such things make me nervous.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

I hope you're holding off just a bit there on declaring this a long-term 'good thing' for America.

In fairness, I know you and your posts too well to play word games or gotcha garbage, to be sure. I know what you mean and in the cold analysis of long term effect..you MAY very well be right too.

I say MAY...and I write this at all...because I also recall similar things being said about New Orleans ..in the start...and how those 10's of billions in aid flowing in...enough to rebuild the whole place..would bring a great new dawn for the greater N.O. area! All would be benefiting before anyone knew it. Well....the National Guard were still there on and off just a few short years ago and the Lower 9th is still a mess beyond any excuse. I guess by this point, New Orleans is as good or recovered as it ever will be. Which is to say...they never fully recovered by a long shot.

New York, of course, may be radically different..and I hope to God it is. That's not New Orleans. It's the Western Financial Capital and the overall region is the concentration of a fair % of the United States population. :eek:

There is NO reason they shouldn't recover. There is NO reason this should get worse......but then, there is NO reason New Orleans shouldn't be a showcase city and a model for all disasters to follow in rebuilding and recovery too. Lets just hope together that the Human Factor in leadership at any level of the chain doesn't "happen" to screw things into a total FUBAR. So many millions depend on these men just doing it right for once.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


All very good points.

I do think however NY will be different than New Orleans... In other words, I think the Hamptons just spread west and got a whole lot bigger.

This is BS..just fckin* BS

Hearing stories about major oil spills just pisses me the right off! Why can't mega oil companies prepare their plants for any major storm to ensure there is no spill in the first place?

If this isn't a wake up call to them then I have no clue what is...an earthquake?