Pelicans, Otters Along La. Shore in Path of Spill

[Are_grits_groceries]

MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (AP) -- Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico was starting to ooze ashore, threatening migrating birds, nesting pelicans and even river otters and mink along Louisiana's fragile islands and barrier marshes.

Crews in boats were patrolling coastal marshes early Friday looking for areas where the oil has flowed in, the Coast Guard said.
<snip>
As the oil floated in, the National Weather Service warned of high tides and coastal flooding in the threatened area because of strong winds from the south. Tides could run 2 to 3 feet higher than usual from Friday through Sunday.

Oil clumps seabirds' feathers, leaving them without insulation -- and when they preen, they swallow it. Prolonged contact with the skin can cause burns, said Nils Warnock, a spill recovery supervisor with the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network at the University of California. Oil swallowed by animals can cause anemia, hemorrhaging and other problems, said Jay Holcomb, executive director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center in California.
<snip>
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/30/us/AP-US-Louisiana-Oil-Rig-Explosion.html?_r=1

To be correct, the headline should read "All of Us Are In the Path of the Spill."

It may take longer, but it will get around in a lot of ways.

[izquierdista]

1. Remediation, anyone?

If any DUers along the Gulf Coast want to organize and get involved in the remediation, send me a PM.

[KharmaTrain]

2. A Lot Of Conservation Work About To Go To Waste...

I was in NOLA in Spring '08 and was given a tour of some of the work being done to restore wetlands and barrier islands that had vanished over the past decades and led to the increase storm surge that went up the Mr-Go canal. I can only phathom how this disaster is going to set back a lot of their hard work in restoring plants and wildlife to this area.

If there's a saving grace in what is about to happen is that many of the migratory birds who winter there have headed north, but the toll will be heavy and endure for months and years to come.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. .

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

usually I don't check threads about harm to animals because it upsets me too much and takes a long time to get over. Especially when there's nothing I can do directly.

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: