Saturday, September 11, 2010

Spill chief’s credibility questioned
~John DeSantis


Rig Workers had Chance to Prevent Explosion? ~Oil Drum

Scientists Find Thick Layer Of Oil On Seafloor~NPR

New Orleans chefs send letter to BP
~Liz Reyes, WVUE


Potentially dangerous 92L steadily developing; Igor nears hurricane strength~Jeff Masters, Wunderblog

Geaux James Gill!

~Also~Seafood officials say they need more BP aid

Future chefs help raise money for cooking school

Big Easy Rollergirls Tonight!

~Hat Tweet~lunanola

A ripple runs ahead of a wave, guest ed
~Linda Usdin, The Lens


Got Change?~Harry Shearer

"I can't make it go away"
Editilla was doing a very fine thing that morning: building some kid a perfect snowball, at the Flora Cafe', when Valentine came in for his early juice. {I also did a fresh juice bar there.}
Only this morning Val was a bit up on breaking news: "Hey, Juicy," he says "Did you hear that one of the World Trade Center towers is on fire?" "Nah", said I, more interested in making sure to swirl the condensed milk just right around the cone of shaved ice to the top, without breaking it down, which would not do at all, mashing up all the color layers I had painstakingly laid in the snowball already. While the kid watched, Val, stepped across Royal to get a paper and comes back in looking a little scared...looking me right in the eye he said, "You may want to get over to Big Daddy's and check the TV." "What?", I said, stepping around a few more of the children waiting for their snowballs. Then da'Angel storms into the cafe, "HEY EVERYBODY! SOMEONE HAS JUST FLOWN A GODDAMN AIRLINER INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NEW YORK!"

The place emptied like fire in a theater, as everyone ran to the bars across the street to see it on the Tube. Suddenly Schiro's was packed too. Suddenly there was not a car on the street outside, as I suspect anywhere else in America. Me, I turned around and looked at the kids waiting on their snowballs and asked, Who's next?

*It's just how I feel about the whole show: 9/11, 8/29, 4/22...waiting to exhale.
~greenheritage "The times they are a-changin remembered on 9/11 - Green Heritage News - ( http://bit.ly/b2TeTs )
~thefrontloader Remembering 9/11: Bruce Springsteen – Songs from “The Rising”: http://bit.ly/cKT0dN
~ahuntre YouTube - Robbie Robertson - Fallen Angel http://goo.gl/xaxP
~veracitystew 9/11: ‘Peace On Earth’ Recalls That Fateful Day (audio) http://bit.ly/bWUtBb #tribute #groundzero
~WhoDat35 #9/11 Remembrance to all the beautiful souls: How fragile we are...http://bit.ly/cyRB2B #Peace

So Many Books About 9/11; So Few About Katrina and the Federal Flood of New Orleans~Chloe Schama

Is Katrina More Significant Than September 11?~Levees Not War

“Battle of New Orleans” – Historic Meeting Unites BP Oil Spill Gulf Residents, Victims of Exxon Valdez Spill, Hurricane Survivors and 9/11 First Responders~Humid Beings

Release Katrina/Federal Flood hospital deaths file, Louisiana judge says

New Jersey criticizes Army Corps on dredging discharge~Gov. Christie and Environmental Protection Commissioner Martin blasted the corps for violating a court order that restricted the project from New Jersey and failing to disclose the dike problem until this week. "We will pursue every possible avenue, including legal steps, to make certain the Army Corps is held accountable for these failures," Martin said. Christie called the situation "completely outrageous and typical of the Army Corps' attitude of barreling ahead with this ill-conceived deepening project with no regard for the environment or the significant questions raised by the State of New Jersey." Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum said the corps was "acting in bad faith, violating the law, now violating court orders, all in their blind passion to deepen the Delaware River no matter what the harm and what the cost."

Charm City~Nicholas Lemann

Harold Battiste, a jazz man of letters ~Jason Berry

Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt Steams to New Orleans in the New Orleans
~Kathy Warnes


Funes, the Memorious
~Jorge Luis Borges

2 comments:

Horatio Algeranon said...

Editilla, Thanks for keeping the information coming even though most of the media seems to think the Gulf oil disaster is "over and done thank goodness" (Mission Accomplished, right?)

"Scientists on a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico are finding a substantial layer of oily sediment stretching for dozens of miles in all directions. Their discovery suggests that a lot of oil from the Deepwater Horizon didn't simply evaporate or dissipate into the water — it has settled to the seafloor." -- NPR

Scientists Find Thick Layer Of Oil On Seafloor
by Richard Harris


Horatio can't wait to see how NOAA Chief Jane "Most of the oil's gone" Lubchenco 'splains this one away.

It's interesting (though not really surprising) that the same scientist (Dr. Samantha Joye) who discovered some of the early evidence for plumes (which Lubchenco initially poo-pooed but which was subsequently affirmed by others [including NOAA researchers]) has now discovered the oil on the sea floor.

Joye is a good scientist precisely because she follows the evidence.

Those who have been so keen to dismiss the potential persistence (and possible long term impacts) of significant quantities of oil based on a "lack of evidence" are not scientists.

As Carl Sagan liked to say (and as any good scientist understands) "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence".

And as Horatio is fond of saying,
"if you don't look, there is no chance you will ever find anything".


Unfortunately, "Not looking" seems to be a preferred approach with some people in this case -- even (especially?) some in high places.

Don't look at the oil flow to accurately gauge the flowrate (because it does not matter).

Don't look for oil plumes (because "oil floats" and they don't exist).

Don't look for folks who might have been sickened by oil and dispersant (because neither oil nor dispersant presents a hazard [not even to those laying boom, doing 'cleanup" and otherwise in close proximity]).

Don't look for oil that might have gone to the bottom (because the vast majority of the oil has either been skimmed, "evaporated" [and airborne oil and dispersant present no hazard, of course] or "dissolved" [a mere "drop" in the "oceanic" volume of the Gulf])

Don't look for possible long term impacts on the ecosystem (eg, food chain) because oil and dispersant do not bio-accumulate and certainly don't accumulate in the mud at the bottom)

Just don't look. Don't bother. You won't find anything.

Someone needs to tell that to Dr. Samantha Joye

Oh, Horatio forgot.

Someone already tried (but was obviously a little less than successful)

Editilla said...

Thanks, Ho. Great comment.
Been wondering where'yat lately.

"Out of sight out of mind" is also a PR dictum believe it or not, and distinguishes that business from the idea of promotions and advertising. With P&A any news is good news, but with PR the goal sometimes involves burying the bad by raising the (in their view)good.
Unfortunately, it appears that our news media seems to factor in PR more than actual journalism, and our government uses it instead of forthrightness and transparency.