"It doesn't smell like the beach. It smells like a gas station."

[kpete]

Oil spill: Is Gulf safe for swimming?

"I only went into the water up to my ankles. That's as far as I wanted to go," said Joe Chambers, 28, of West Pensacola as he scrubbed off oily residue from himself and his son, Ethan, 4, in the public showers at Casino Beach. "It doesn't smell like the beach. It smells like a gas station. There are no fish in the water. There's nothing alive in the water. I don't know how public officials can just look at the water and make a call to reopen it for swimming."

http://www.pnj.com/article/20100626/NEWS01/6260322/Oil-spill-Is-Gulf-safe-for-swimming-

[mdmc]

1. the beaches are open?

I thought BP shooed everyone away..

[Catherina]

3. Yes. The beaches are open. The weather is fine. Come go shopping n/t

[nc4bo]

4. Come go shopping & eat some seafood too! Good eats! nt

[Catherina]

12. I'm done with seafood unless I know where it was caught

What a sad state of affairs. Meat and poultry is out unless it was humanely raised which makes it scarce. Genetically modified vegetables and fruits are out which means I can't buy them in supermarkets unless they say they're organic and I know where they're from. Sorry Whole Foods but organic food from toxic fields in China doesn't cut it.

And great, now seafood is out.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up like Dick Gregory.


I guess the good news is that shopping is still in!

[William Z. Foster]

17. fruit

Deciduous fruit is not (yet) GMO. Being in the rose family they naturally and spontaneously generate new varieties and breeding still is done the traditional way, by controlling cross pollination. Cornell researchers visited the primeval fruit forests in Kazakhstan and have a test orchard going now from seeds and cuttings from there. Those trees by definition have developed pest and disease resistance. Very promising.

[Catherina]

25. Deciduous fruit is one of my mainstays

I vitamix it with carrots, a veggie and ginger every morning. Delicious.

This is good to know. Thank you William.

[William Z. Foster]

27. broader nutritional intake

Nutrition levels vary widely between different varieties of fruit (as well as flavor) which makes it worthwhile to seek out more varieties, and older varieties. This is deciduous fruit I am talking about (apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, pears, apples, berries) which are higher in nutrition levels than tropical and semi-tropical fruits.

Best nutritional delivery methods -

- Ripe and fresh off the tree, especially in more northern areas (24 hour temperature swings typical of regions around the 45th parallel cause more complex chemistry in the fruit, resulting in better flavor and nutrition).

- IQF (individually quick frozen) fruit. I hope people will look for and support this.

- Fruit juice concentrates from domestically grown fruit. Ready to drink juices are lower in nutrition levels and quality, less economical, and too often made with fruit from unknown sources. Imported fruit juices - most fruit juices now - cannot be trusted.

- Dried fruit.

- Canned fruit.

Unfortunately, much fruit in the supermarket trade was picked before it was ripe, the number of varieties is limited (Red Delicious but not Winesap for example), the fruit has been in storage too long, and it has not been kept sufficiently refrigerated.

[Mimosa]

33. Seafood

God, I am so sad about that, Catherina. I loved red Snapper, lemonfish and oysters from the Gulf.*editing to add redfish and speckled trout* I hope they aren't spoiled forever.

Is it true that Whole Foods buys produce from CHINA? *eek*

[truedelphi]

36. Only problem with the shopping -

I used to actually enjoy shopping for food. <Sigh>

[earth mom]

28. Wow, that sounds eerily reminiscent of * after 911.

:scared:

[SharonAnn]

30. Read "An Enemy of the People" by Ibsen. Sure, the water's fine. Come on in!

[nc4bo]

2. Where did all the common sense go?

Does a teevee commercial, a governor's statement, a GOVERNMENT'S statement trump commonsense?

Doesn't the sight, smell and appearance of dead things have any effect on the primitive brain? Stick around or run away fast and furious! How can there be any question in anyone's mind that that water is bad for all living things?

There's no way in hell anyone should be anywhere near that disgusting, toxic ocean of death and it's totally irresponsible for any public or private official to say otherwise.

Get a brain morans!

ETA: I now have concerns about the toxic smoke from those fires that are being set. How many miles inland does the wind carry it? What nasty chemical pollution is now airborne and what about the health of those who have no choice but to breathe it everyday.

Egads.

[Raschel]

7. That toxic water and air is not going to just stay in the gulf area.

It's me, henny penny again, I just can't help but to think that this crap is going to affect everyone in a big way. It's not as if it's in a contained area.

It's still gushing every day and it seems that the media has started to ignore it.

Dead dolphins, sharks coming closer to shore. WTH.

[kdmorris]

5. I love this part:

"Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to put decontamination stations along the beach, possibly as early as this weekend"

The water is safe... come into the water... but don't leave the beach until you've been decontaminated.

What the hell?

[Raschel]

8. That's crazy. Come to liquid Chernobyl. Just make sure you shower afterwards.

What kind of shit is this? I thought we had advanced a little, but I guess not. This sounds like hide under the desks for a nuke blast.

[kdmorris]

10. No, I guess not

And people are going to listen to the health dept and EPA and go to those contaminated areas. The last line of this article also states that 400 people have already been treated for exposure related symptoms.

The only thing I can think of is that the Escambia County Health Dept. is working in collusion with the beach front companies, who will lose a TON of money this coming weekend if the beaches remain closed. That's the only way this makes any sense to me (but it's still wrong).

[Raschel]

19. K & R and I recommend everyone read this article and comments.

[arcadian]

24. Reminds me of the movie Jaws

[earth mom]

29. Liquid Chernobyl. You nailed it! Can I borrow it?

:thumbsup:

[Catherina]

13. Criminal misconduct. Playing with people and childrens' lives n/t

[eowyn_of_rohan]

6. "Safe for swimming"? ok - this feels like ABSOLUTE ANARCHY

[CanonRay]

9. It is...Corporate Anarchy

This is what it feels like. Get used to it. :scared:

[eowyn_of_rohan]

14. with a useless, ineffectual "government"

fun as hell

[Uncle Joe]

11. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[Child_Of_Isis]

15. "we're going to face for weeks or months in the future."

Denial denial...how about years & years & possibly forever?

[Urban Prairie]

16. Is the Gulf really safe for "swimming"?

Maybe in some parts of it, esp. west of LA, but why would anyone want to play that kind of roulette game with their health, if not drastically shorten the length of their very lives?

I wonder if BP is really that concerned about the billions that it may eventually have to pay out for this ongoing catastrophe. They may believe or perhaps even know that some, many, or most of the people who will continue to file legitimate claims for loss of income, may not or will not be alive long enough to also sue them for their and/or their families' declining health that might be attributed directly and/or indirectly due to the environmental consequences of the "spill"?

[Raschel]

18. And don't let the reich wing tell you it's Obama's fault. This ban was lifted AGAINST the advice of

federal officials.

"The Escambia County Health Department lifted a health advisory on Pensacola Beach on Friday on the advice of a beach official and against the advice of a federal environmental official."

A local beach official named Buck Lee deemed it $afe.

[SoCalDem]

20. Buck Lee.. perfect name

:puke:

[nc4bo]

21. I'd like to know what Buck Lee, the spawn or any kin of Buck Lee will be doing this 4th of July?

Take a dip in the ocean you think?

[jpak]

22. "I don't know how public officials...make a call to reopen it for swimming."

it's called $$$$$$$$

same thing that happens when Portugese Man-o-War come ashore

and when beach restoration intensifies rip currents that cause drownings nearly every day.

bad news is bad for business

come on in the water's fine

[Lone_Star_Dem]

23. You don't want the businesses there to miss the Fourth of July rush do you now?

After all they've been through this season, they need that money.

And those tourist are going to be just fine. Well, probably fine. OK, maybe they'll be fine. Hey, if they're stupid enough to come to the beach during a epic oil leak crisis then they deserve what they get!

:sarcasm:

It's just sad all the way around. Public health should take precedence over the financial issues.

[dixiegrrrrl]

26. Seems so familar, doesn't it?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

31. What an excellent example!

:thumbsup:

[DeschutesRiver]

32. Soon to be renamed the Fourth of July "rash". nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

35. Hopefully a rash is the worst they'll have to deal with

Considering the multitude of toxins, from dispersants to crude, they could be facing much worse consequences for swimming in that water.

[geomon666]

34. Just imagine all of the lawsuits to come in the future.

As people start dropping dead early in life because they took a dip in toxic water. If you can smell the oil why on Earth would you swim in it? Go find a lake or just turn on your hose. Geez.