The Information Super-Frog

Good news; former TS Bonnie is fizzling out as a minor depression. Picayune

Meanwhile:

Palm Beach Post: Deep sea plume in Gulf 'changes concept' of an oil spill

"micro-droplets of oil, too small for the human eye, have streamed out from the spill site in plumes, adding a third dimension beyond the smelly slick and glumpy tarballs spreading across the map. [...] University of South Florida researchers said they confirmed that the invisible plumes they detected in May, 50 miles from the well, near the DeSoto Canyon that ferries nutrient-rich deep-sea water to Florida's western shore, did indeed come from the BP spill site."

"At the deepest level, the USF researchers found oil at about 0.75 parts per million. That's less than the 1 part per million that's commonly considered acutely toxic, Hollander said, but he cautioned that exposure time also matters. Some sealife have likely been exposed to those levels of oil for months, potentially making it as damaging as more concentrated oil, he added. The oil droplets could coat fish gills, be eaten by larval fish, or kill fish eggs, he said. As a result, the dispersed oil could have a long-term impact on the Gulf's marine life, he said, a picture that may not be fully understood for years."

Alternet/The Nation: BP Hides Use of Black Prison Labor For Oil Gusher Cleanup

"When the BP oil gusher mess first began, BP hired prison labor in order to reap tax benefits instead of hiring coastal residents whose livelihoods crashed with the explosion of the wellhead. When the community expressed their outrage, BP did not stop the practice of using prison labor. No, apparently BP simply tried to literally cover-up the use of prison labor by changing the clothing worn by the inmates to give the appearance of a civilian workforce."


And on the how the disaster was allowed to happen in the first place front:

Bloomberg: Alarms Were Disabled on Transocean's Gulf Oil Rig

I can add one more to the list of disasters I've been through.

A tornado (or a couple of tornados, depending on what source you go by) did some damage just after 3am in the Westbank suburb of Westwego and in the Carrollton, Hollygrove, and Pontchartrain Park neighborhoods of New Orleans. The second one is mine. I only got a couple windows blown out, mostly in the attic.

The power went out about 3am with a storm front passing through. About 10 minutes later there was a sudden short severe increase in the storm, and about 6 seconds of the house shaking and a loud WHOOMP WHOOMP WHOOMP like a washing machine with an unbalanced load. I exclaimed, "Damn!" and held H's hand tighter, and it was over. Ms. H doesn't recall, saying she slept through it.

In the morning the wind-up radio had news of a tornado in Westwego and power out in Carrollton, but I didn't know about the situation in the neighborhood until I went outside and talked with a neighbor who'd already looked around. Roofs off and walls down within a few blocks walk. My neighbor said he was sleeping in his FEMA trailer when it was lifted off the ground then dropped back down.

Helicopters started circling the neighborhood.

The tornado made a narrow path of damage, like a tiny little mini-hurricane, 3 blocks or less wide, rather than 3 states. Sometimes the visible damage seemed just yards wide.

The return of debris piles and roofing nails in the streets gave the neighborhood a sense of this time last year.

Unlike the big disaster of '05, response has been prompt, with a slew of police, Louisiana National Guard, debris clearers, and Entergy crews pouring into the area. (Of course a proportional response to Katrina was impossible when the Federal Government decides Americans should be left to die for the crime of living somewhere known to harbor people who vote for Democrats.)

Multiple busy crews were erecting new utility poles, tarping damaged roofs, boarding up broken windows, and clearing debris, with lots of work already done when I came home Tuesday evening.

The area was mostly dark the first night, with regular cop car and humvee patrols. Crews have done a good job of restoring power to most of the area except the blocks most severely effected. I'm glad to have power back, especially as it is expected to get below freezing tonight.

Times-Picayune article yesterday
Picyune today
Picayune photos

5 photos of mine and links to more pix on nola_photos LJ

Tropical Storm Cindy is raining on us now. Denis may be coming later in the week.

So, why must we have storms with such pedestrian names? Why cant the National Weather Service embrace the the spirit of privitization and start selling naming rights?

We could have Tropical Storm Mr. Pibb, Tropical Storm Chevy Canyonero, Hurricane Hello Kitty.

And no doubt the pharmeceutical industry would be eagar to name Tropical Depressions after their products.

In exchange for this idea, I ask ony 1% of the revenues generated, and 0% of any liabilities.