h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi KWDave,
Thank you f0r the most iteresting talk by \Keith Seillan. It certainly demonstrated the particular accent of your neck of the woods and was intensely interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and thank you for posting it on the thread.

Go well, my new friend,

Sincerely,

Christiane
AR80

thursday 29th July, 2919 16.20

I was lucky enough on Monday night to get to sit and share a beer with a fellow who has been one of the mission coordinators on the Gulf oil spill for the entire duration. This was his first break since it started. Since I've tried to keep current without being alarmist, it seemed to be nice for him not to have to leap in and defend the activity, and we had a pretty good conversation.

Their primary worries at this point are the columns of oil in the deeper parts of the Gulf, and the secondary effects of the dispersant.

They are working very closely with the educational arms of the university oceanography departments to carefully document and catalog all of the results of the spill. Once quantified, there will be a great deal more useful knowledge about this spill and the effects on the Gulf than we've ever had available. If there is a silver lining, this is it. The money was simply never there before.

I was struck by how deeply this man was personally committed to the task at hand, even after all this time. I imagine I would have turned off the emotional connection much, much earlier. This was incredible (to me) to see.

It seems the Gulf has suffered much, but we have learned much also.

Reports out yesterday seem to suggest that the university researchers have found a thick sedimentary layer of oil/slime covering much of the deeper areas of the ocean floor near the spill to a depth of up to two inches. They have taken 480 samples in a large "X" shaped test pattern surrounding the well.

This could indicate many things, but they seem to be focusing on the oil-eating microbes at work. Apparently the breakdown of the oil produces a heavier-than-water "slime" (their word,not mine) that is part of the biological removal of oil from the water column. It carries oil residue with it to the bottom.

I guess now we just wait a million years or so, and the oil ends up back where it began...

Interesting. That sounds about right

Websailor

Word now is that the director of reimbursements has had to recognize the fact that most of the people working on the Gulf fisheries routinely do business with cash and a handshake. That makes documentation difficult, and a lot of people are getting shut out because of this fact.

Fisheries work tends to be a multi-generational family business, much like farming. Farmers however, must document land use, production costs, yields and net profits on a yearly basis. Getting on a boat and catching something you can sell is a little less structured, and far more exposed to the whims and vagaries of the mighty sea. A great day today has nothing to do with tomorrow, or yesterday. Similarly, what you get paid for your catch varies by a wide margin on a daily basis, dependent upon demand.

Boats are licensed and regulated; crews mostly are not. Able bodies and the ability to work without getting killed are the priorities. Inland Revenue and bank accounts are low on the list. Yet these are the very people that are hardest hit by the closing of fisheries and loss of livelihood.

It speaks volumes that the director is now willing to take statements from other people about what a crew member might have been making. Is the rent paid? How much does he spend at the bar? Do his kids have shoes? Is the supermarket a weekly stop?

How would others speak for you if this were your life? It makes me glad there's a monthly bank statement and a pay stub in my case.