Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
MOBILE, Ala. ? As the hulking Air National Guard C-130 drops to an altitude of 500 feet and slowly tips to one side, a scene emerges that's both overpowering and heartbreaking: the vastness of the Gulf of Mexico, coated in crude oil.
"Look at that, I mean, my gosh," says Gov. Charlie Crist, peering out the window.
Reality sets in: The huge slick is slowly drifting toward the Florida coastline. The spot is off the Louisiana coast at midday Tuesday, less than 10 miles from where the BP well ruptured off the Louisiana coast two weeks ago.
A vivid rainbow is reflected on the darkened water, creating a visual and emotional counterpoint to the thick, splotchy sheets of oil clearly visible below. The slick at times looks rust colored, what officials say is a reaction to the use of chemical agents.
As the big gray C-130 rumbles westward, a pocket of thick gray clouds temporarily obscures the view of the oil-slicked water below. The cloud cover looks pristine by comparison.
Crist says the "vastness" of the spill looks much greater than his first visit here a week ago. The rear ramp of the plane opens to offer a closer look at the oil-coated Gulf. "This thing is going to be with us for a long time," Crist says.
"It's just a mass of gunk," says Attorney General Bill McCollum. "It's brown, it's ugly, it's very much out there, and there's a lot of it."
Earlier Tuesday in Pensacola, Crist got a briefing on oil spill cleanup operations and heard county and city officials talk about bureaucratic bottlenecks: They are frantically awaiting Coast Guard approval of their local cleanup plan to deploy people and equipment, and it's not yet forthcoming.
Maps of the spill's trajectory and anticipated ocean currents point to oil flowing into Pensacola Bay, making Thursday a key day for Pensacola, said John Dosh, the Escambia County emergency manager.
/.../
More at :
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...ays-vastness-greater-than-last-flight/1092418
"Look at that, I mean, my gosh," says Gov. Charlie Crist, peering out the window.
Reality sets in: The huge slick is slowly drifting toward the Florida coastline. The spot is off the Louisiana coast at midday Tuesday, less than 10 miles from where the BP well ruptured off the Louisiana coast two weeks ago.
A vivid rainbow is reflected on the darkened water, creating a visual and emotional counterpoint to the thick, splotchy sheets of oil clearly visible below. The slick at times looks rust colored, what officials say is a reaction to the use of chemical agents.
As the big gray C-130 rumbles westward, a pocket of thick gray clouds temporarily obscures the view of the oil-slicked water below. The cloud cover looks pristine by comparison.
Crist says the "vastness" of the spill looks much greater than his first visit here a week ago. The rear ramp of the plane opens to offer a closer look at the oil-coated Gulf. "This thing is going to be with us for a long time," Crist says.
"It's just a mass of gunk," says Attorney General Bill McCollum. "It's brown, it's ugly, it's very much out there, and there's a lot of it."
Earlier Tuesday in Pensacola, Crist got a briefing on oil spill cleanup operations and heard county and city officials talk about bureaucratic bottlenecks: They are frantically awaiting Coast Guard approval of their local cleanup plan to deploy people and equipment, and it's not yet forthcoming.
Maps of the spill's trajectory and anticipated ocean currents point to oil flowing into Pensacola Bay, making Thursday a key day for Pensacola, said John Dosh, the Escambia County emergency manager.
/.../
More at :
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...ays-vastness-greater-than-last-flight/1092418