Tarballs

I, perhaps like you, only heard the term tarball in the last week or two. A tarball can refer to a certain type of computer file, but in this case, I mean the tarball associated with oil.

When the media began reporting tarball findings in the Florida Keys I paid attention. I live very near to the Gulf Coast shore in Sarasota Florida. I think all of us would expect that the tarballs were some manifestation of the oil that is spewing from the Deepwater Horizon site. I was surprised to hear that the tarballs found were NOT from that spill. That made me question my whole notion of the tarball.

A tarball is indeed a remnant of an oil spill. NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration- explains it very well and to summarize, the oil that escapes from tankers or wells will go through many changes brought about by the elements, time, temperature and the like. The oil begins as one big mass and while some lighter components of the oil will evaporate and some will break down, the majority is spread out into smaller pools of oil. This occurs from the tide and wind and even the temperature of the air and water. The division continues over time and tarballs result. They can be as big as a small plate or the size of a marble or pea. Often they will become hard on the outside but remain sticky inside. A tarball that becomes crusty like that, like a toasted marshmallow NOAA says, is said to be weathered. (the balls should be avoided and can cause irritation to peoples skin if you see any you should call the Joint Information Center at 251-445-8965.)

If the tarballs are NOT from the Deepwater Horizon explosion - where are they from? There is actually a test that can be performed to get the "fingerprint" of the tarball and link it back to a previous spill. The ocean is vast and wells exist off many lands while tankers sail the waters world wide.

Yesterday I was saddened to read of the marine life in the Louisiana marshes. Pelicans who cannot fly because their wings are oil coated. I always feel the strongest angst when animals and very young children suffer so- especially due to NO ACTION on their part. The fish and sea fowl, the mammals of the deep - innocents. The worst part is that we cannot tell them what happened - we cannot explain to them why they cannot fly or why their young may die.

I wish there were no tarballs. To read more about them click here.

Environmental Health (it is Earth Day)

I recently heard someone speaking about wind farms in regards to an option for generating energy. The person was on CNBC I believe and when she was asked for a final comment, she said that the only negative about wind farms were NOT having them. I did not find anything wrong with that statement.

More recently, I came across a story about a big expansion in wind farming - I believe it was a Swedish proposal - and I had to do a double take when I was reading - as it said offshore wind farming. Offshore? Off shore - as in off shore oil drilling - as in "in the ocean?"

I was (am) very concerned to hear about this. Certainly there is not the risk of oil spill or the pollution that is associated with other fossil fuel production - even on shore, but here again - we are exploiting an ecosystem. There is no way that building a structure and embedding it in the ocean floor will not disrupt the life cycles of countless species of marine life.

I am surprised that I had not caught this before - as offshore wind farms are not a future plan, but a past, present AND future one. There are many off the coast of the UK and also off land from France, Portugal, Spain- Sweden make have the biggest off shore wind farm in Europe and in the USA one is planned, if not begun, in the Nantucket Sound. WOW.

Yes the turbines generate a great deal of clean energy - I LOVE that part - but what of their adverse environmental impact? In fact, there is a term for what I am referring - EIA - or an Environmental Impact Assessment. Some countries require that the EIA be completed before a permit will be granted. In some cases, the studies are ongoing - and occur while the wind farms are created and used. In other words, well, let us build it and see what happens. It is less invasive to US (people) - it is not something we see or hear in our backyards - but it is certainly not neutral.

At this time - looking into the matter just briefly, I see more reports on how to do an EIA than I can find results of one. Instead, there are guidelines on what to look for and examples of how it is less harmful than some other measures. A report that reports ocean based wind farming as nearly risk free comes from the Ocean Energy Council, but that is a group that wants to use the ocean for energy. I would like an independent source.

Don't think for one minute that the brilliant scientists across the globe do not already know exactly what could happen - I just don't want something positive to cause something catastrophic for the aquatic world. And yes, it is a personal issue. We take things out (oil, orcas and more), we put things in(fuel,trash, emissions, ourselves) - we need to leave it alone....