Latest news has oil already hitting beaches in both Mississippi and Alabama with an estimated time of arrival on the first Pensacola Beach in Florida sometime later today.
From a Press Association release earlier this morning:
An oil slick from the Gulf of Mexico leak was confirmed a few miles off the Florida coast today as the impact of the disaster spreads.Officials are saying it could hit the white sands of Pensacola Beach later on Wednesday.
Escambia County officials started putting out booms on Tuesday and making other plans for the arrival of the oil which has already impacted on 125 miles of the Louisiana coastline.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says oil is hitting the state for the first time.
Mr Barbour said a two-mile strand of caramel-coloured oil has been found on Petit Bois Island, a barrier island near the Mississippi-Alabama border. The discovery means Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all been hit by oil.
Mr Barbour says vessels will be dispatched to clean up the oil. Officials believe the strand broke off a patch of oil on Sunday south of nearby Horn Island
Note to Watchworld regulars: Haley Barbour is the same politician who just last week expressed little concern for the oil spill. He assured his state citizens the oil spill was breaking up, was 75 miles from Mississippi, was moving westward, and the oil which was washing up in Louisiana was not that toxic as it was breaking up and was just more messy than anything. Suddenly, Barbour went silent over this past weekend. Now the oil has arrived. Now he's eyes wide open.
Also contained in the Press Release is the news that Avatar director James Cameron is offering help to fight the oil disaster:
Meanwhile, federal officials are hoping blockbuster movie director James Cameron can help them come up with ideas on how to stop the disastrous spill in the Gulf.
The Avatar and Titanic director was among a group of scientists and other experts who met officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak. Canadian-born Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies.
More than 20 scientists, engineers and technical experts attended the meeting, which also included representatives of the Energy Department, Coast Guard and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Private groups represented include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Oceanographic Institute at Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University; University of California at Santa Barbara; Nuytco Research Limited; World Wildlife Fund; and the University of California at Berkeley.
If only Mr. Cameron could call up the Navi who could bring their healing power to our ailing portion of the planet.
In another headline this morning on the Huffington Post website which read in huge cap letters "FL-OIL-RIDA: BP Oil Spill Close To Florida: Oil Sheen Spotted Nine Miles From Pensacola Beach" we read the oil is just offshore from Pensacola Beach's white sands. We also read how their request for aid from BP has gone unanswered for the past 3 weeks:
Escambia County officials started putting out boom Tuesday and making other plans for the arrival of the oil. Crude has already been reported along barrier islands in Alabama and Mississippi, and it has impacted some 125 miles of Louisiana coastline.
Fla. officials say their request for about $150,000 from BP to buy sifting machines and a tractor to help remove oil from the beach's famous white sands has lingered unanswered for more than three weeks.
Santa Rosa Island Authority executive director W.A. "Buck" Lee says he is fed up with delays from the unified command center in Mobile, Ala.
Now who here still doesn't believe we're possibly heading into a Double Dip Recession and a continuing crash in Keys Real Estate?
Stay tuned,
Rock
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