Chile Forum

(I know this has nothing to do with Chile - Save your breath - But we've all seen the powerful results that volunteers from allchile have achieved... I'm hoping to tap into that for anyone interested in the Oil Spill in the Gulf)

http://www.spillfighters.com is working to draw attention to use of BIOREMEDIATION and how it can help clean up the oil in the gulf.

I am assisting in coordinating those efforts.

Right now we have a need for skilled volunteers who can help in the following areas.

Our most pressing needs are: 

WORDPRESS GURU - familiar with using wordpress  - willing to act as the site administrator (perform maintenance/post articles/insert code for widgets & flash)  (( if you know somebody skilled at WORDPRESS who may be able to contribute, please pass this along to them)

MODERATORS - able to monitor comments on the website and police as necessary (removing foul language & spam etc)

PROOFREADERS - able to check the site for errors/proof documents for publication

RESEARCHERS - able to scour the web for content as directed/summarize content and pass it along to writers  ((ability to discern what websites are credible is key - we're not wasting time on kooky blogs))

WRITERS for WEBSITE - able to read provided content/summarize and rewrite as appropriate/send to PROOFERS for approval+upload)

WRITERS for PRESS RELEASES (more than just the website) - able to produce quality briefs from provided content/must understand basics of the science

GRAPHIC ARTIST  - Professionals would be great!  Have Illustrator/Photoshop etc - 

VIDEOGRAPHER  - work with basic direction to independently produce quality content for internet usage/ possibly more professional footage required later on as media presence expands/ Access to a FTP server for data transfer would be very helpful.  

SCIENCE LIASON -  Those with degrees in a complimentary scientific field who want to help ensure that the SpillFighters message is being communicated in a scientifically sound manner are very welcome. 

If you want to help, email me at volunteers@spillfighters.com or you can PM me here of course.

Please feel free to share this with anyone you choose, we need to get a strong framework in place as soon as possible - things are going to get very busy for SpillFighters in the coming months!

Bioremediation is not a panacea - but it is the best option around for cleaning the crude sludge from the Gulf Coast without adding more chemicals to the mix.

THANK YOU

If I was not already up to my eyeballs in my own local emergencies, I would jump in. When it starts washing up on the Chilean coast (that might not be a joke in 6 months), I definitely will jump on it.

Thanks Charles - Does Chile have any idea how lucky they are to have you??

Dagny,

I have been all over this solution since the outset of the spill. Alcanivorax borkumensis (oil eating microbes) are a huge force multiplier in cleanup along shorelines, and unlike the pathetic power-washing of rocks that Exxon did in Valdez, Alaska for 15 years, these bugs will multiply like crazy and chase every last drop of oil deep under the sand, rocks, and root zones of marsh vegetation, dying off when their food supply (the oil) is gone. Had they been able to use these bugs in Alaska, the cleanup would have taken 6-12 months instead of 15 years, and would have been complete instead of superficial and a PR related jobs program.

Here's a good site that explains the tech details: http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/ ... e-you.html

Here is also a site that was sent to me (because I'm a registered federal contractor) by the Dept of Energy, soliciting suggestions for solutions. I encourage as many people to read up on this solution and fill out this form and submit it. They will then have to acknowledge receipt, and then reply with their opinion and decision regarding your proposed solution. This will make the feds tell you why not!!

The form: http://www.horizonedocs.com/artform.php

Here is a company that is willing to produce it (and even license it for outside production even faster):
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20 ... /100509918

Good luck! You are NOT a lone voice!

Pat

NYT, 28 July:

"The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises tricky new questions about how fast the government should scale back its response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of square miles of the gulf after the April 20 oil rig explosion are largely gone, though sightings of tar balls and emulsified oil continue here and there."

ABC News 26 July:

Today, ABC News surveyed a marsh area and found none, and even on a flight out to the rig site Sunday with the Coast Guard, there was no oil to be seen.

Economic Times 29 July:

The gulf has an immense natural capacity to break down oil, which leaks into it at a steady rate from thousands of natural seeps. Although none of the seeps is anywhere near the size of the Deepwater Horizon leak, they do mean that the gulf is swarming with bacteria that can eat oil.

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Faster than anybody expected? Hardly. The people who really know the natural degradation processes of oil and who have observed past oil spills knew that the sky was not falling. But it's much more fun to publish stories that life as we know it is going to end in 15 minutes unless we all go down to the beach and pull our hair out.