Author’s note: Not much of my own writing in this one, but there are two very disturbing articles referenced. When are people in FL going to realize how bad this is?
Excerpt:
An analysis of satellite imagery suggests there may be oil leaks at three separate sites in the Gulf of Mexico, in addition to the possibility of three leaks at the Deepwater Horizon site. Meanwhile, the tar mats creeping closer to Tampa Bay may pose a threat to drinking water and power supplies in many areas of Florida.
According to both The Atlantic and the Alabama Press-Register, the Deepwater Horizon is not the only well that has been leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the last month. In addition to the multiple leaks at the Deepwater Horizon site revealed by Sen. Bill Nelson on MSNBC two days ago, there may be two others.
Kate Sheppard, who covers energy and environmental politics for the Washington bureau of Mother Jones, writes:
John Amos, head of the West Virginia-based nonprofit SkyTruth, was looking at satellite images of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon site when he noticed what appeared to be another small slick of oil about 11 miles off the coast of Louisiana and about 40 miles from the major spill. Amos’ group uses the images to assess environmental problems; he was among the first independent experts to point out that the spill estimates from BP and the government were far too low, which has now been confirmed. Amos reported a “small but persistent leak or oily discharge” at a second site in the Gulf, one that appeared to be coming from platform 23051 in the Gulf of Mexico. It can be seen on multiple satellite images of the region. Minerals Management Service (MMS) records indicate that the platform belongs to Taylor Energy Company.
Amos contacted J. Henry Fair, a New York-based photographer who specializes in artistic renderings of the human impact on the environment. Fair was in the Gulf last weekend taking aerial photos of the spill with the group Southwings, and at Amos’ suggestion sought out platform 23051. Fair found a rig with an oily sheen extending out into the water and snapped a series of photos. But upon closer inspection, it was a different rig – the Ocean Saratoga rig owned by Diamond Offshore. In some of Fair’s photos, a platform is visible in the background, possibly the one he was originally searching for, 23051. Amos couldn’t give an estimate on how much oil might be coming out of either site.
That would mean there are potentially two other operations in the Gulf leaking oil. So just how common are such leaks? The sad reality is, we really don’t know.
Florida residents, however, may be more concerned with this report from Wayne Madsen, another Washington DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. In a piece picked up by the web site, Global Research, Madsen writes:
…Emergency planning sources in Florida have informed [me] that the state faces severe fresh water shortages and power blackouts if the thick crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster clogs sea water intakes at the largest seawater desalinization plant in the United States – the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalinization Plant at Apollo Beach.
The plant, which uses seawater reverse osmosis to turn seawater into 16 to 19 million gallons of drinking water daily for residents of the Tampa Bay area, faces the threat of filtration membranes becoming clogged if oil from the Gulf of Mexico enters its intake pipes. Such an event would render the plant unable to process seawater, resulting in a major fresh water shortage for Tampa Bay.
Similarly, oil clogging the water cooling intakes at the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant on the Gulf of Mexico coast, some 80 miles north of Tampa, could force the shutdown of the Unit 3 pressurized water nuclear reactor. Such an event would result in power shutdowns in the Florida areas served by the power plant.
According to these sources, there is much more at stake for Florida residents than fouled beaches and dead marine life. When BP’s oil hits the coast of Florida, it may become an economic disaster of epic proportion.
Get imagery, links and video here: Orlando Independent Examiner: Three oil leaks in Gulf possible, FL power and water supplies may be at risk