Gulf Oil Spill Tracker - a collective effort

[suffragette]

http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/05/spilltracker-show-us-whats-happening-on.html
Spilltracker - Show Us What's Happening On Your Beach

In partnership with Surfrider and Ocean Conservancy, SkyTruth has launched an interactive website, the Gulf Oil Spill Tracker, that lets Gulf-area residents document what's happening to their coast. Anyone can search the site, using an interactive map, to find reports that others have submitted. Reports can include text descriptions, photos, and links to video and news articles. Anyone can submit their own report by clicking on the map to indicate the location, and uploading their own photos and info:

We intend to use this to document pre-spill and post-spill conditions, and to give cleanup volunteers a way to show the world the great work they're doing. The more people who participate, the better, so please send this link to your Gulf-area friends, members, and other organizations!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_edvxM1dkFlo/S-hpBP_rLVI/AAAAAAAAAdY/qEIDTMlIP58/s400/Gulf+Oil+Spill+Tracker.jpg

http://oilspill.skytruth.org/main



Looks like a worthwhile endeavor to chronicle the extent and impact of the oil spill.




More about them:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/01/nation/la-na-oil-spill-measure-20100502
Tiny group has big impact on spill estimates
SkyTruth, with one paid staffer and a one-room office, has caused officials to backtrack and revise what they say about the size of the gulf disaster.
May 01, 2010|By Julie Cart, Los Angeles Times

SkyTruth first analyzed satellite and radar data on the spill shortly after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank after a fire April 22. It challenged initial estimates that 1,000 barrels of oil were gushing daily from the wellhead nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, about 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. Federal officials and BP quickly revised the estimated daily rate to 5,000 barrels.
~~~
Saturday, the group updated its analysis to estimate that the slick contained more than 11.1 million gallons of oil, which would make it the largest oil spill in American history. John Amos, the group's president, also revised the estimate of the rate of oil leaking to 25,000 barrels a day, saying it was a "rock bottom" figure. There are 42 gallons in a barrel of oil.

Oceanographer Ian MacDonald of Florida State University had a slightly smaller estimate, saying on Saturday that the spill was 10 million gallons of crude oil.

The Coast Guard said Saturday it was becoming too difficult to estimate the spill's size. "Any exact estimate is probably impossible at this time," Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

[flamingdem]

1. This is excellent to see nt

[suffragette]

2. Yes, isn't it

I like the collective and grass roots nature of it.

[Stardust]

3. While iI applaud their effort, I do wish they would not refer to this disaster as a "spill."

That term is archaic and not appropriate to this situation. Maybe they've given up on calling it what it really is, i.e. a gusher from the gaping wound in our planet.

[suffragette]

4. I agree that gusher would be a better term

It's definitely more descriptive of what's taking place.

[intheflow]

8. Gusher is what I've been calling it from the start.

A spill would indicate a container, and would therefore be finite by definition. We have no idea how long this will go on, we don't have any way to even guess when this is going to stop.

The only things Mississippi and Alabama had going for them was that magnificent coast. Now it's going to be gone.

[suffragette]

10. I watched the video showing the oil gushing

from the pipe underwater. There's so much and it's so powerful. And as you note, we don't know how long this will go on.

Although I also think they should use a different word than spill, I think their endeavor is a good one: both to note the condition of the area now and the impact as it occurs.

[suffragette]

5. Kick for the morning crowd.

[Scurrilous]

6. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Jumping John]

7. An Amazing Youtube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8JHSAVYT0

[suffragette]

9. That is an incredibly powerful video

Welcome to DU!