Florida declares state of emergency as oil spill nears coast

I want it to go further south and get the west cast of Florida. A few mean people live there.

If it eventually hits San Francisco I'm sure those dudes won't mind because they enjoy getting thoroughly lubed up.....

that's a shame. the destin area has some of the best beaches in the world imo.

Agreed.

Where are Florida's coral reefs? I hope they all die.

All coral reefs are already dead, where have you been?

got this in email ...

I read that Florida is now in a state of emergency because of the oil spill.

The good news is that now, all those assholes who chanted "Drill baby drill" like it was their mantra now have to clean up the oil spill for free... right?

Why is it that none of the weather sites have any satelite picks of this thing?

I poked around and found this:
[link to www.worldcorrespondents.com]

Actually it doesn't look so big compared to the whole Gulf.

Also, they say that the well is still leaking.
Is the well under that visible part there?
And if indeed there is soooo much oil pouring out
Why isn't this think getting any bigger?
Shouldn't it be twice as large by now?

I don't see and predictions as to how large it will get. do you?

its time for mother nature to rid of the parasite called man

The majority of people here in Florida DID NOT WANT Gulf Oil drilling..it was a political move where AGAIN they ignored the voice of the people.

And it is HIGHLY suspect it was ANOTHER political move for this accident to occur.

This is like a game of chess, where the price paid is NEVER those controlling the pieces.

Similar to the saying..."Old men start the wars..young men fight them.."

May the controllers have a future destiny that is just and fitting.

[link to wonkroom.thinkprogress.org]

Oil Rig Disaster Could Soon Be Worse Than Exxon Valdez

Oil reaching shoreThe catastrophic gusher of oil unleashed by the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig last week is on track to quickly exceed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, an independent expert warns. An explosive burst of oil destroyed the exploratory rig 41 miles off the Louisiana coast on the eve of Earth Day, killing 11 workers. After the shattered hulk of the rig sank to the ocean floor a mile down, the pipeline continues to spew oil that has now reached shore, with an end weeks or months away. John Amos, the president and founder of the nonprofit firm SkyTruth, “which specializes in gathering and analyzing satellite and aerial data to promote environmental conservation,” estimated from satellite photos that the calamity is increasing at a rate of 850,000 gallons (20,000 barrels) a day:

That’s right: more than 6 million gallons spilled into the Gulf of Mexico so far. This, and other radar images that SkyTruth is getting, confirm what we’ve seen on the NASA/MODIS images so far, and support our conservative calculations showing that in the first week of this spill at least 6 million gallons have entered the Gulf. That’s a spill rate of at least 850,000 gallons (20,000 barrels) per day, 20 times larger than the official Goast Guard estimate of 42,000 gallons per day.

By today, about 7 million gallons will have been spilled, taking the Deepwater Horizon disaster more than halfway to the 1989 wreck of the Exxon Valdez, which dumped 11 million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound — one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. This catastrophe — which occured as Halliburton was cementing the well — will exceed the scale of the Exxon Valdez within a week.

The sea of oil spewing from the mangled pipeline is already larger than 31 nations. After the Montara oil platform blew up in Australia’s Timor Sea last August, it took 10 weeks to stop the flow of oil. If recent history is any guide, it may be months before the sea of oil stops growing.

On April 22, the U.S. Coast Guard estimated the flow rate to be 336,000 gallons of crude a day, but BP officials claimed on Sunday that the rate was only 42,000 gallons a day. By Thursday, officials admitted that the disaster is increasing at least 210,000 gallons a day, much closer to the Coast Guard’s original estimate. Amos called that estimate a “bare-bones limit.”
Update On ABC's Good Morning America, White House adviser David Axelrod makes it clear that the White House will not support new domestic drilling until this disaster is resolved:

No additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what happened here and whether there was something unique and preventable here. No domestic drilling in new areas is going to go forward until there is a adequate review of what's happened here and of what is being proposed elsewhere.

Update Amos estimates the breadth of the oil slick may now be 4,400 square miles, twice official estimates -- which means that instead of 6 million gallons, there could already have been 12 million gallons spilled -- 1.7 million gallons a day -- already exceeding the scope of the Exxon Valdez.

all in all ..what a fuckin stupid thing to say

AMEN

This only happened because Charlie wants the attention.
That guy is such a prick.
Just like yesterday, it ain't about Florida it's all about Charlie.

I was thinking of retiring (many years from now) around there and enjoying those beaches. Lucky for me I have not bought anything, but I am quite sad about this destruction.

I went diving in one a few years ago, it was stressed but still hanging in there.

No I won't tell you where it was!

"The majority of people here in Florida DID NOT WANT Gulf Oil drilling..it was a political move where AGAIN they ignored the voice of the people."

must be stupid people in florida

many are old

to old and stupid to say no and mean it and get it done

they had a bush guy in office

they like oil men

the evidence is clear- Floridians- to lazy and self absorbed to keep oil of their shores like a decent peoples

You are some kind of vile human excrement to wish such a thing on others ... do you not have the intellecutal capacity to understand how such a thing impacts an eco system? You are without a doubt a complete JACKASS .... You MORON!

Key West = Castro = Fire Island

Ill show you...we can go for a little boat ride but you wont be coming back,cocksucker.

I would hate for the Keys to be destroyed by this.

It's so beautiful there.

So sad.

What the fuck are you talking about?

As far as I know Jeb Bush was not in favor of drilling off Florida.

This is not a Florida well either.

Hey, I live there... don't wish doom on all of us.

As far as I know there are no oil platforms in Florida waters as of yet... Check out this map from last year:
[link to blogs.tampabay.com]

And some marine life that can't be found anywhere else in the world.

What are you smoking? What has this to do with Charlie? We kind of like him here, he has the center of dems and repubs. What in the world are you alleging he has to do with this spill? Facts please.