A WWL report carried on CBS: Massive La. Fishkill Prompts Oil Spill Questions

It’s been a rough summer in some of the waters around Plaquemines Parish in Lousiana – first, hit by the oil spill, and now, hit with fish kills .

“This is an extremely large fish kill, and there are many species in there,” said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. “It’s not just one group of fish– it’s redfish and trout and flounder. All species have been identified in this fish kill.”

Plaquemines Parish officials spotted a massive fish kill on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of dead fish were floating west of the Mississippi River, in Bayou Chaland. It came several days after the discovery of starfish kill in nearby Barataria Bay. Then, on Monday, came the discovery of a dead baby whale near Venice.

The death of the starfish eliminates them as culprit in the empty oyster shells, and the death of the baby whale sheds doubt on the low oxygen level hypothesis, so you are sort of left with toxicity as a cause of these kills.

[Read more →]

There is nothing really new in the column, The media is in denial about its own failings. It covers the same complaints we have all had about the M$M and the crummy job they have been doing lately… well, except for the fact that it’s on the ABC site, complaining about the Australian media.

It is cold comfort to know that the Australians are also watching their media surrender reliable information on the altar of profits for corporations. When all of the “cost containment” comes from “production” the “product” will always suffer. The problem isn’t producing a product cheaper, it is producing a cheap product and expecting people to pay the same price for it.

Position: 20.2N 56.5W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [295°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 135 mph [215 kph].
Wind Gusts: 160 mph [255 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 240 miles [390 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 75 km].
Minimum central pressure: 942 mb.

Currently about 980 miles [1580 km] Southeast of Bermuda.

If you don’t have to stay on Bermuda, now would be a good time to leave.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 20.2N 34.6W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [315°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 115 mph [185 kph].
Wind Gusts: 140 mph [225 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 125 miles [205 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 35 miles [ 55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 962 mb ↑.

Currently about 755 miles [1215 km] West-Northwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

When Julia peaked this morning and become a category 4, it was only the second incidence of two category 4 storms in the Atlantic Basin at the same time. The last time this occurred was 1926.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 19.4N 90.7W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [290°] near 15 mph [24 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 80 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 60 miles [ 95 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1000 mb.

Currently about 35 miles [ 60 km] South-Southwest of Campeche, Mexico.

Karl is slowly weakening over land today. It has reached the coast of the Bay of Campeche.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the coast of Mexico from La Cruz southward to Barra de Nautla.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the West Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Ciudad del Carmen northward to Celestun.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

The Day of His Noodly Appendage

The holiest of holidays for Pastafarians, is of course the birthday of His Most Holy Prophet, Marco Polo (b. Sept 15, 1254), who brought the word of his Noodly Appendage back from the East. As Talk Like A Pirate Day falls on September 19th, this five-day period constitutes Holy Pasta Week, during which spaghetti is consumed liberally. With a nice Chianti until the last day when it’s grog for all.