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PENSACOLA, Fla. – This morning residents and tourists in Pensacola Beach awoke to the day they long feared.
The high tide, plus southeast winds overnight, brought globs of oil onto the pristine white sand beaches here. The oil is now fouling those beaches for as one official said, "as far as the eye can see."
Photo by Mark Potter/ NBC News
Globs of oil washed up on Pensacola Beach Wednesday morning - fouling the pristine white sand beaches.
All along the water line this morning, tar has been washing ashore. You can see it in the surf – it is all over the beach. It is sticky, brown and running in lines all along the waterline, in front of the hotels and near Pensacola’s famous fishing pier.
This morning, there were a few people out on the beaches, walking, looking at the oil and shaking their heads, but no one is going in the water.
Clean-up crews are here and starting to work on the beaches. Some skimmer boats could be seen off in the horizon, trying to catch the oil as it comes ashore.
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But when I got out here early this morning, shortly after dawn, there were no skimmer boats out there catching the oil, it came ashore unimpeded.
The fact that the skimmer boats are offshore suggests there is probably more oil still coming in. The wind continues to blow from the southeast, pushing whatever oil there is toward the shore. So this is something that could continue throughout the day. But already the beaches are fouled and swimmers are not able to go into the water.
The number of people coming to the beach already has dropped dramatically throughout Florida and especially here. And it couldn’t come at a worse time – this is the height of the tourist season.
People here make their money from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and the tourists are not coming here in the numbers that they normally would. The amount of oil on the beach in Pensacola today is going to be a big hit against the tourist industry here.
Pensacola officials had been saying for some time that the water is fine and the beaches are clean – and indeed, they were. Previously, just a few tar balls washed ashore a few weeks ago, but that was it.
For the last few weeks, Pensacola had dodged a bullet. But today its luck ran out and the oil did come ashore here.
Photo by Mark Potter/ NBC News
Tar balls wash up on Pensacola's pristine white sand beaches.
The question is whether the oil that hit the beaches also got past the booms and various barriers that have been set up to stop the oil from getting into the back bay area in Pensacola Bay.
That is a major fear of residents here – that the oil could get into the estuaries, marshlands and other protected areas in Pensacola Bay.
They tried to seal off the entrance at Pensacola Pass, to keep the oil from going up, but they haven’t been totally successful in the past. With this onslaught, the question is how much oil got up there and the fear is that perhaps quite a bit did.
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even though cleaning the oil is a priority is it possible for a county to get residents that want their roads paved to get rakes and rake this tar into a pile and the county to buy something like a crafco machine with B.P. 's money to melt this tar and oil down to make roads for the community in places needing them the most .maybe some of this could be used for roads in poor communities with dirt roads or substandard roads. Is this possible?
B.F.: You have a great idea there - recycle the stuff by mixing it with aggregate. Essentially, this is what a paving company would call "chip seal". But, getting a county in Florida to do this, well... don't hold your breath. We live in Alachua County, near Gainesville, and it personally took me 15 months of hard negotiation to get our county Public works to fix a 3 block stretch of potholes in our neighborhood, which they patched up with chip seal. They only have one paving machine, and a small crew... and a $50 million budget shortfall. So, yes, in theory it sounds great, but in practical terms in Florida, its just a bunch of damn haz waste on our beach. Probably can't even burn it for electricity, due to air quality problems.
As a nation, we should be doing everything in our power to stop this, but, after two months, we are not. Much, much more could have been done to avoid this situation, but many people don't want to accept this brutal fact. Like sheep, they just accept the unacceptable! If this spreads to our beach, I'm not going to be so docile. Forget the incompetent liars at British Petroleum. The federal government is absolutely obligated to get off its lazy ass today to resolve this national catastrophe--to act to stop the leak and to prevent the oil from coming to shore. And, my sheep friends, please do not dare to tell me that the Obama administration is doing everything that it can because it's not doing very much at all. This is way beyond the ability of state and local governments alone. If the federal government cannot act effectively to resolve a national calamity, what is it's purpose in the first place?
And please tell me what these "little people" or "sheep" that you call them to do? Drop everything and clean up the oil spill for free? Who are going to pay for their mortgages or bills while cleaning up for free? I don't own a million dollar beach house right there by the coast so why should I help?
Who do you think the politicians going to listen to eh? Me with couple of dollars of donations or a biga$$ corporations with millions to donate? Money talks.
Our "leader" feels he has more pressing things to do. Golf, lunches on our dollar flying about the country, more golf, a couple vacations and a few fund raisers. All since this has happened. He did find time to shake down the company that NEVER has denied responsibility though. Our "leader" is a thug and an attention hound. As long as he is in the media, he loves it.
Shakedown on a innocent company eh? BP acted more like a thug than anyone. Robbed millions among the coast of their livelihoods.
This 20 billion shakedown that you claim is going to help out the "little people". What do you propose? Fill the court with lawsuits that will drag on for years and have the lawyers get filthy rich and end up paying pennies on a dollar?
How many skimmers are available, deployable within 2 months? How many are actually working in the gulf? Can't we do any better?
You see how big the Gulf coast is? Even if they hire 5 million skimmers, it still won't be enough since the dam leak is still spewing up to 60k per day.
Guess you are right. Might as well call in the skimmers they have working out there. Just shug our shoulders and go home. The oil is going to just keep washing up on the beaches, so no use in trying to clean them upeither.
I keep reading this same response. I am asking what I think is a very simple question. How many skimmers are on the job and how many are reasonably available?
I live in southwestern IN and have been watching this situation since May. I had reservations for Panama City Beach and cancelled them. It amazes me the difference one gets in reading the news and reading the resorts' websites. I know the resorts need to do business, but there are some websites that I feel are purposely misleading prospective guests all to make a buck. By watching the current and wind predictions, it only makes sense that the oil is now hitting the Panhandle.
Don't cancel that Florida vacation! That's the last thing you want to do to this financially devastated state. I live about 30 minutes north of Tampa (Spring Hill).
Re-book your stay farther down the coast. The beaches at Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and farther south are in pristine condition!
Yeah, no thanks me and my family are going to Cape hatteras NC instead. I'm not going to subject my children to toxic sludge so that a bunch of Red Staters can sell me crappy food in one of the most tacky parts of the country.
But for how long? The beaches in Clearwater and St. Petersburg are currently clean, but the oil leak will continue until late summer and will likely head south from Pensacola. I have received emails from Florida resorts with vacation guarantees......if the oil shows up during your stay, a 100% refund back to day 1 of your trip. So if the oil shows up, the resort will use my cancelled vacation documents to file their claim against BP. So I spend my money to travel to Florida and back, end up coming home early due to tar balls and the resort gets paid. Something seems wrong in this equation. It appears the resorts are using their customers as a means of collecting money from BP. How about a refund on my travel expenses?
I guess the short answer is "for now, at least."
With anything, it's about timing. I certainly wouldn't advocate travelling blindly and finding out after the fact that the beaches are tarred and feathered. The original post gave me the sense that the trip was planned in the immediate future. In that light, I can post pictures of my kids at Honeymoon Island 3 days ago. The only oil on the beach was Coppertone.
With respect, I don't follow your logic regarding the travel expense reimbursement. Destination fees (airfare, car rental, etc.) notwithstanding, isn't the resort simply recouping the refund they pay you through their claim with BP? Seems like a net zero equation.
In addition to reimbursing any unfortunate visitors, what the resorts should (and no doubt will) be doing is filing claims with BP for all of the empty rooms that are a result of this endless tragedy.
Drill, baby, drill!
I've been dreading this day for weeks now. Pensacola, and the Panhandle beaches are truly some of the most gorgeous beaches on the planet. This picture makes my stomach turn. My heart just aches.
There was an excellent news piece on Dan Rather Reports yesterday evening regarding the spill.
He spoke with so many people whose lives are forever changed by this mess. They liken the oil spill to a never-ending hurricane churning out in the gulf or a beast that has yet to fully strike.
My heart and prayers go out to all those affected - and generations to come who will also be affected by this unimagineable disaster.
Guess the east coast of Florida will make a bundle this year!
As one who lives on the east coast, I don't expect to make a dime on the tragedy of others, and I wouldn't be so confident or cocky that it won't reach here at some point. Nobody seems to know how to stop this leak, and I wouldn't believe anyone even if they said that they could. The world is full of liars and pretenders.
I grew up on those beautiful beaches, how very sad.
I visited western FL a while ago and I recall what gorgeous white sands they (used to) have. The whitest and most beautiful I've seen anywhere. What a disgrace - all for corporate greed and special treatment from by our gov't.
This all started with the industrial revolution and building of machines to do our work. We contantly needs more and more energy to meet the demands of our toys. We are willing to slash and burn the forest, dig and mine the earth and drill for oil. We are going to have to change or perish. Oil companies and the Auto industry, have manipulated us to buy, buy buy. Capitalism has outlived its usefullness. We can't just keep using without understanding the impact we are creating on this planet. This planet is all we have...where else are we going to go?
Hundreds of us trained as volunteers for the clean-up work; however, we are now told that the training we underwent is insufficient by OSHA standards and we will not be able to participate in any organized unpaid work. Now we are told that there are not enough skimmers or booms to protect our formerly pristine shores. Hate feeling like a victim.
They should make it safe, but they should also be paying you to do it. If they can't develop a training program in 2 months, they aren't trying.
I would think that if BP was serious about cleaning up the mess, they would have crews on the beach at dawn cleaning it up. They have had 2 months to prepare and hire the crews. Unemployment is high, I think they could hire the people.
I would also think BP would sponsor research into cleaning and rehabilitating birds. We don't know what the survival rate for these birds are. What an opportunity to produce something of value as well as a good public image.
But they don't. Just think of the photo ops those 2 gestures would provide. Obviously their public relations department only knows how to produce ads. If they are that clueless, why should I trust them with anything.
What goes for BP goes for the rest of the oil companies. I don't see any of them trying to address real concerns, improve safety or protect the environment. Instead they just want to drill baby drill.
We had our family reunion at Destin last year. It was great. The white sand beaches were perfect. The water in the harbor was blue, and very clear. We really enjoyed staying there. I had read that Destin was also being affected, which is an outrage.
All of us need to band together and call our Congressmen and tell them to get their butts in gear and fix this problem, if they have to nuke the well shut with an underground device. This is a horrible travesty and a completely FUBAR cleanup operation.... It's turning the GULF of MEXICO into the GULF of TEXICO.
Billy Nungesser for President 2012!
Our college spring break trip was to Cape Sand Blas ...
Shame to see this. :(
Not only is it a shame..it's CRIMINAL!
My family visit this area yearly...We Love the beaches there. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. BP and Obama administration have failed us miserably!! Much more should be done to stop the oil from reaching the shores. Please get serious! and use every resource possible. God help us all.
How many "security guards" will BP need to hire to keep reporters from taking pictures of oiled birds on every beach across the Southern US?
We are destroying our planet, our world, our home. We are destroying a large part of our forests, we are destroying our glaciers, we are killing our worlds animals by making them go extinct. Now I guess we are destroying the rest of our sea creatures and destroying our seas. All these things so that the rich people, the people in control, can make more money. What this idiots aparenlty can't comprehend is that their children will also be afected by the decisions that they are making in the not so far future. This planet is some day going to exact its revenge on us, by wiping all of mankind out. The people who actually give a F are to few and so Earths destruction will go on.
America's love affair with the internal combustion engine is over.
I am sorry that Florida is now suffering. The entire coastline is suffering (or will suffer) due to this tragedy. Unfortunately, we are now entering into hurricane season here along the coast. I feel it will get worse before it can get better.
My thoughts go out to all those individuals and industries that make a living along the Gulf of Mexico.
I am a Tennessee resident that has over the years visited, scuba dived in the state of Florida, in particular, Panama City Beach and Pensacola. It truly is an area blessed with white prestine beaches, a great variety of sealife, good underwater visibilty, etc. prior to the oil spill disaster. What is amazing is that there is not a concerted effort of ships, skimmers, etc. being used to battle this until it washes up on shore. It is like maybe the oil will just blow out to sea even though prevailing winds and ocean currents.
I was told that some individuals, (movie star actors) had developed a machine or device that could capture or contain large amounts of oil and that these services were offered to BP Oil but BP never gave them a try.
Our government has been to lax with enforcement and granting drilling licenses to foreign companies with bad track records like BP Oil for decades. BP Oil company execs are basically crimminals in my book for the gross mistakes made prior to the explosion, which resulted in the terrible lost of life (11) employees and the countless loss of marine life, eco system damage, economic damage etc. and the handling of the disaster since it happened.
BP rather spend money on advertising blizz than on clean-up
One thing that has been lost in all of this is reporting on the BP "company man" who made the decision to drill, ignoring protocol and best practice advice from experienced drillers.
I know that mother nature can be unpredictable, but if investigation finds the man that made this decision at fault, I personally think he and anyone involved should be sentenced to hard labor cleaning up this mess with thier tooth brush. I also feel that part of BP's orientation training for ALL current employees and new hires should be a months worth of cleanup duty.... starting in FL!
It is RAINING OIL and dispersants along the Gulf Coast now. All Farms, gardens, and livestock along the gulf coast is now growing toxic poison. With at least 1/3 of America's food supply now being poisoned, this is an act of war and an attack on the United States. Livestock is now grazing on oil grass. This is a disaster of genocidal proportions and the U.S. Government continues to allow these genocidal, phsycopathic, corporations to operate. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently operating under the authority of BP, a private corporation. This in itself is an act of treason. If the Government allows this poisonous food to enter the market, it will be another act of treason. Because our food supply is now being poisoned, I declare BP, Transocean, Haliburton, and Goldman Sachs (for insider trading) enemies of the U.S.A. and consider myself in a state of war, and every other American should feel the same as i do.
It is mind-boggling that the American people are not able to put a Government in place that protects the people and protects the beauty of this country. Just this morning I read that senators are negotiating Citygroup-size loop-holes into the "financial reform bill". Who stands up for the people, and who stands up for BIG OIL and WALL STREET?
People wake up - throw the last Republicans out of Congress in November, so that a progressive Government can rescue this country! Gridlock is THE LAST THING we need! Tell your friends!
Plenty of inmates in Florida to clean up the beaches!! Bill BP and pay for jail overhead!! Call it cash for cons!
I'll be damned. Seriously, that is a very good idea to work those underworked immates.
Well, all you beach bunnies will have to find something else to do.