Part II, Firsthand Video Oil on Florida Beaches

This is a follow up to my original thread. My original thread was done on the spur of the moment after visiting the beach for a relaxing afternoon with my wife and kids. Here is a link to the original thread with the original 5 videos.

First Hand account: Florida Beaches Are Polluted With Oil (I was wrong)

Now, that thread shocked me with its popularity, and the YouTube videos got over 18,000 hits (combined)!! Wow! and THANK YOU!

There were still a few skeptics, and my video skills were not all that great, so I promised to go back to the beach, shoot better video, take water samples, and really dig into this revelation that I had from "the beaches in Florida are fine" to "oh no, my beaches are ruined!"

The following day after my last thread went up, the local news (WCTV) began reporting on Tar Balls at St. George Island, and a "Mousse-like substance" at Alligator Point. The Mousse-like substance is exactly what I covered in my videos and they were shot at Bald Point, adjacent to Alligator Point. It was nice to have the corroboration of the local news to support my videos.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Today, Sunday Aug. 22, 2010 I picked up my nephew and we went back to the beach with shovels, coffee filters and water sampling jars.

First off, we were surprised that the water had cleared up some. The beach sand was whiter, the conch shells, hermit crabs, and horshoe crabs were gone, and there were a lot of seabirds around. We started to worry if we might debunk our own videos by finding a clean beach! When we got to the water's edge, I shot some quick video of the water, sand, and storm clouds, then we paced off about 12 feet up the beach, beyond the high-tide line, and we began digging. Soon enough, we found the same nasty oily substance embedded in the sand.

Secondly, I went to a new beach, St. Teresa, about 5 miles down the coast to the West. I was urged to go there by my nephews friends and family, because they have been going there and they claimed the water was beautiful and untainted. When we arrived there, we were greeted by some tourists in timeshare rentals, as well as some locals that live along the beach. They were eager to help, and at first, the beach and water were crystal clear! We walked out in the water up to our waists, and I was still filming my feet visible below. There were birds, and fish jumping, and people were catching crabs. It was beautiful! So, we started to dig our test holes. For the first 5-8 inches, the sand was white, and the water was crystal clear. We were hoping to use it as a control sample. We turned to talk, and when we looked back it was as if someone had injected chocolate syrup into the bottom of our test hole! There was a very apparent layering of clear water and oily water in the hole. The deeper we dug, the deeper dirty chocolatey layer was. The clear layer was a thin inch or two on the top, and everything below that was very nasty. The beachgoers and residents were stunned!

We got word from the locals at St. Teresa that there had been boom spread out along the entire area for most of this fiasco, and it had only recently been removed. There was some thought that perhaps that was the reason for the clear water, and maybe the oil along the bottom (below the boom) had seeped into the sand.

I was also extremely surprised to hear the residents talk about the nightly aerial spraying of Corexit! I did not bring this up, or even mention any of the conspiracies revolving around the oil and dispersants. I represented myself as a volunteer for the testtherain.com... website that Cloudsinthesky and Paxnatus have set up. The residents and locals jumped to the Corexit issue all on their own. I must qualify this accusation by saying that none of them have seen the spraying of Corexit firsthand. All of them said it was rumor, but it was a well-accepted, common knowledge type rumor in the community.

The videos follow. We did take a good sample from each location. We did recover many tar balls, but I am not sure what to do with those. We also called the Franklin County Emergency Management hotline several times now, and messages have been left, but they have not returned my calls.

The videos are uploading to Youtube very slowly. There will be more videos added later, or check out the Youtube channel to see them all.

1st Video at St. Teresa


Start of Digging St. Teresas


Oily Holes dug at St. Teresa


Last Video at Bald Point, after Running Samples through Coffee Filter


Tar Balls as we were packing up on Bald Point


One more video will be coming from Bald Point. It keeps having errors, and it is not uploadiing to Youtube correctly. There are two more, larger videos that won't upload either. Apparently I have a 1 GB limit on the Droid uploading videos. I will try to upload the larger ones via USB and put them up tomorrow.

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reply to post by getreadyalready


Thank you so much for your dedication and work. I live in Louisiana, so this id near and dear to me.

I really hope that everyone doesn't believe that we have seen the last of the damage from this oil disaster! We won't know the true impact for a very long time. I still believe that this disaster may well be an extinction level event in slow motion. Everyone these days is accustomed to swift results and lots of action all the time. Our attention span has grown so short that we dismiss the evidence of disaster because it's not happening fast enough!

reply to post by getreadyalready




Finally got another video from Bald Point to load. Keep in mind when watching this video that this water is filtering through the sand! It is not tidal water, it does not contain seaweed, the foam is not from wave action. We are 12 feet from the water's edge. We are above the high water mark from the last tide, and we are 18 inches into the ground at the top of the water. More like 30 inches to the bottom of the hole!

The foam was oily. It created a film on our hands that coated and would not rinse off.

Millions have phones and cameras. If many uploaded first-hand reports like you do, it could only benefit all, more info please, everyone !
Thank you for your in-depth, on-the-spot efforts .
Anyone who thinks the oil just disappeared, or who wants to ignore the months-long destruction and the ongoing corexit, is a gutless and useless eater; get a gut is my recommendation!
We must reason and though it hurts, we must face reality. Why? Because this thinking will ensure our survival.
Oil does not disappear in a month. Corexit spraying has no logical benefit.
Stop the lunacy ! Face the facts and go fight the corruption. It will enhance your lives, I can say with confidence you will be blessed for your work.
Thank you dear reporters.

Nice Job Get!! Lets put this on the test the rain site. I can keep the story line as you have above........

Hi Clouds,

This experience Sunday was even more eye-opening than the original. I couldn't believe that a beach that seemed relatively clean, in an area where people were enjoying themselves, swimming, fishing, and collecting crabs, would have this much oil below the surface!

It was disgusting!

My partner/nephew had been going to this exact spot his whole life, and he had never seen anything like this!

Also, the water, although clear, it had an amber tint to it. It is typically much clearer and bluer.

In Mississippi, says Gov. Haley Barbour, “almost anywhere on the coast, except the very far west, you couldn’t really tell anything had happened if you didn’t know what it looked like before.”

MSN Article Link

This is the problem!!

If you didn't frequent these areas regularly, you wouldn't notice the difference! That doesn't mean there is no difference, it only means that the difference is subtle and sneaky.

The Governor said more than he intended I think.

The article goes on to say that the mishandling of Katrina was such a complete failure that it became political shorthand for critics. I say that in 5 years the same will be true of the BP Deepwater Horizon!

I just wanted to thank you and your nephew for your initiative. This video you posted comes out when the MSM seems to have all but forgotten the gulf disaster. I Commend you for your efforts to get up, get out, and actually doing something.
We need more people like you who live down there to be active in reporting firsthand their experiences.

S+F

~meathead

I'm surprised this isn't getting more attention, but I think it is a clear example of how ALL of us find it so much easier to bury our heads in the sand, just like BP has done with the oil.

I believe now that this was the goal all along. You don't think they've learned from past spills? They know just what to say to us and how to make us believe it!! Pour enough chemicals in there and it will just settle to the bottom and mix in with the sand. (most of it) THE PEOPLE want it to go away so will be more than happy to believe it has.

My question now is what does this mean for the environment? What will happen to the oil now? Will it eventually filter through and sift deeper and deeper to eventually become another time-table marker for future geologists, or does it still pose a threat?

If this were a safe way to be rid of it, why not just tell the public that was how they were doing it? For that reason, it leads me to think the danger is not past, but perhaps only delayed, to come out in ways we would not have anticipated and will be hard to prove it is from the oil.

What do you think?

I live in Florida as well and live in Gulf Breeze, the ocean is literally in my backyard and I know what you are talking about, if you dig a few inches into the sand, basically there are a bunch of dump trucks located near scenic route 98 by Navarre beach and they just dump sand on top of the oil to sweep the dirt under the rug so to speak. A lot of people have been reported to feel tired and feeling sick. People are swimming in this stuff without a care in the world though. Everytime I go outside in my backyard, I get headaches or feel extremely tired and my friend gets them as well when we go out there.

To Be Entirely fair and forthcoming:

There is another video in contrast to my videos. The man that made the video has worked at a lab in the area for the last 22 years. He gets his water from this very source for the water in his aquariums. He rehabs sealife and he has been diving these waters and walking these beaches almost daily for the last 22 years.

He does not think the videos are oil, he thinks it is Organic Peat, and he makes a great presentation. He says this has been a rainy year and the tannins are high and that is why the water is amber colored. Also, erosion has uncovered a lot of peat.

He does believe that dispersed oil is either already here, or will be here soon, and he is going to help with the water sampling project at www.testtherain.com...

He is not a disinfo agent, and is not contracted with BP, Nalco, or anybody else, and he has a vested interest in knowing exactly what is in the water that he pumps through his aquariums. I had the pleasure of spending the entire day with him on Aug. 28, and I believe him to be honest and knowledgeable.

We will wait until the water sample results come back before making any retractions or declaring the water clear, but here is the video in the spirit of full disclosure:



[edit on 28-8-2010 by getreadyalready]

reply to post by getreadyalready


Thanks Getreadyalready for taking the time to go visit the marine lab.

Your effort is commended.

But not all beaches can be explained as St Teresa’s beach with decaying organic peat. Just 300+ miles west of St Teresa’s sits Ocean Springs Mississippi.

No organic peat here, just plain crude oil.

testtherain.com...

Originally posted by Cloudsinthesky
reply to post by getreadyalready

 

Thanks Getreadyalready for taking the time to go visit the marine lab.

Your effort is commended.

But not all beaches can be explained as St Teresa’s beach with decaying organic peat. Just 300+ miles west of St Teresa’s sits Ocean Springs Mississippi.

No organic peat here, just plain crude oil.

testtherain.com...

Clouds, you are exactly right, and you don't have to go 300 miles. Less than 50 miles to the west is St. George Island, and it had 71 confirmed tar balls on the same day as my original videos. Also, the man in this contrasting video is in touch with several universities, and there is confirmed oil, just off shore in the "valley" or trench that is a breeding ground for many species of marine life. The oil is lying in wait, and the first storm will certainly bring it ashore.

He also told me that the death of sea turtles and other life was almost double this year compared to his last 22 years. He has no way to confirm that it is related to the BP leak, and all of his aquariums monetary claims have been denied by BP!

Very thanks for video. Everything Good for You & Your Family!

Ok this time your oil under the sand video is the real deal.

S&F

What really needs to happen is monthly analysis of the concentrations down there. For the best science from at least a few spots. This would really help scientific understanding in how dispersed oil is broken down over time by bacteria.

I'm not convinced that dispersants like Corexit equate to oilpocalypse via toxicity, but melting the oil to where it cannot be collected by skimmers and bucket brigades doesn't seem good to me.

It's very interesting how the top of the sand can look so clean, and all, this early on.

reply to post by IgnoranceIsntBlisss


By your post Ignorance.....it appears you have not read all the post in the thread........There was no oil found on these beaches......its organic peat.

You can see the information I put out including comments from the marine lab.

testtherain.com...

Originally posted by Cloudsinthesky
reply to post by IgnoranceIsntBlisss

 

its organic peat.

Veritas Ad Infinitum. i see you chose your way.