Memorial Weekend Ruined

[IAMICHABOD]

I just left Refugio State Park hours before the spill and there were many campsites that were set up or were setting up for the Big Weekend.

Refugio Oil Spill

[bgum]

The earth does not heal from oil spills it hides oil spills. I know this because my father drilled over 100 wells as a field supertendant for an oil company. I grew up in an oil field and worked there to fund my college education. We need oil to live. It is a shame this happened. We just need to clean it up the best we can.

Travelyn that was a cheap shot.

[Veebyes]

The good thing these days is that the effort is made to clean up the spills.

Growing up in Bermuda during the later 50s & 60s tar on the shore & beaches was everywhere. Where did it come from? During WW2 hundreds of ships were sunk in the Atlantic. No effort was made to clean up the spilled bunker oil. Nothing could be done about leaking ships sunk in the deep ocean. Cleanup is a very low priority during a time of war.

Over 70 years later nature has all but finished the cleanup job. Very few small areas of tar covered rocks can be found.

[RedRocket204]

Meanwhile the vast amount of natural gas seepage in the Santa Barbara Channel continues:

These natural seeps have leaked gas and oil through cracks below the ocean surface for the past thousands of years.

Santa Barbara Channel’s Natural Oil Seeps

If you've ever been on a boat there, you would know the seepage is all over the place. I'm not trying to lessen the importance and horrible situation of this current major oil leak... but the amount of sensationalism surrounding the oil spill and how that area will be ruined for decades is also appalling.



Should be about time for another anti-oil protest by those showing up in their petroleum produced kayaks. IRONY is watching Seattle enviros protest oil…

They came in auto­mo­biles fueled by oil, wear­ing cloth­ing made from oil, to protest oil, in kayaks made from oil. Then they tweeted their pho­tos on phones made from oil and drove home.

Share the irony.

[traveylin]

using the same standards as the BP oil spill in the gulf, everyone within a hundred miles of the coast, 300 miles north south will have cause for a money claim. The campground has been reserved for lawyers and accountants. Anyone with a post on this blog can happily point to intent to use that park for claim backup documentation

[Ron3rd]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
I just left Refugio State Park hours before the spill and there were many campsites that were set up or were setting up for the Big Weekend.

Refugio Oil Spill

We saw that on the news and also like to go to Refugio and El Capitan next door. We're going to Jalama beach in a week (north of Refugio) and hope we don't run into that stuff.

[Crowe]

I agree it's disappointing and frustrating but relatively speaking, quite minor. If it happened to me, I'd try to find another place or just plan day trips for the weekend.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

fla-gypsy wrote:
The earth has amazing recuperative powers. In time, with some effort everything will be restored.

I saw that on our Glacier Boat Tour of Prince William Sound. What Man didn't clean up, Mother Nature has. I know if you turn over a rock, there might be oil goop underneath, but the wildlife has recovered. Magnificently.

[Dtank]

Veebyes wrote:
I am sorry, there is risk of serious & very expensive enviromental damage & you are worried about YOUR weekend!!! Go & help clean it up.

Where I live we don't worry too much about oil spills, except from ships, but we do get hurricanes.

When that happens almost every able bodied person gets out & helps to clean up roads to make them passable again.

State campsites can't be occupied - period.

No volunteers. Verboten Veebyes & H2O Bug...:R

However, someone could volunteer to one of the animal rescue outfits
removing oil from birds, etc.

.

[dodge_guy]

Glad I filled the X last weekend!

[mileshuff]

I tend to think the area affected will be cleaned up. While any spill is bad this one is far smaller than most. Anyone remember Avila Beach where most of the town had to be torn down, dug up and rebuilt? Pipeline had been leaking for years before being discovered.

[Veebyes]

I am sorry, there is risk of serious & very expensive enviromental damage & you are worried about YOUR weekend!!! Go & help clean it up.

Where I live we don't worry too much about oil spills, except from ships, but we do get hurricanes.

When that happens almost every able bodied person gets out & helps to clean up roads to make them passable again.

[fla-gypsy]

The earth has amazing recuperative powers. In time, with some effort everything will be restored.

[Gene_Ginny]

I saw it on the evening network news and it was really UGLY! By ugly, I mean the damage to the environment and wildlife. What had been a beautifull white beach turned black with oil. Seems the spill was much larger than the first reports.

SAD, verry sad. :M

[nineoaks2004]

Being disappointed is a normal thing, but what if you had gone and the spill happened while you were there camping ? That would have really been a bummer as you would have had to pack up and leave during your trip.

[CavemanCharlie]

toedtoes wrote:
While I agree that the significance of the impact on the environment is far greater than the impact on RVers, I don't think that means that RVers don't have any right to be disappointed that their holiday plans have been affected. The truth is, these oil spills have far reaching affects in many different ways - every impact should be vocalized if just to keep it in the public eye.

.

I agree.