tagged w/ Florida Keys
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Alligators in B-Flat haunt Tampa Bay Times journalist Klink! (2013 Video Interview)
ALL NEW!!! I've known Jeff Klinkenberg a long time -- Fabulous Nosecaps, anyone? And his lovely daughter Kristin K. Bowman looked out for my daughter during our braces journey a few years ago -- but never really sat down and had a conversation with the long-time St. Petersburg Times/Tampa Bay Times journalist until now. If you know and enjoy Jeff's 'Real Florida' work, I think you'll really enjoy this video interview! Hope you'll share it, comment and click to buy his new book! And thanks for your support! http://www.mrmedia.com/2013/05/alligators-in-b-flat-haunt-tampa-bay-times-journalist-klink-2013-video-interview/#.UYo_8IKftJYALL NEW!!! I've known Jeff Klinkenberg a long time -- Fabulous Nosecaps,... more-
- andelman
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- 10 days ago
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Two Stranded Pilot Whales Released Off Florida Keys
CNN...
Two stranded pilot whales released off Florida Keys
By Phil Gast and Rich Phillips, CNN
May 7, 2011 11:13 p.m. EDT
Rescue groups and volunteers work to save a group of stranded pilot whales off Cudjoe Key, Florida, on Friday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Two male pilot whales are released in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida Keys
Five others are being treated 24/7 in a holding pen
They will be taken to Key Largo for further rehabilitation
Fourteen other whales died after stranding themselves
(CNN) -- Volunteers and veterinarians caring round the clock for stranded pilot whales were buoyed Saturday evening by news that two were released off the Florida Keys.
After being transported by boat, the males swam away in the Atlantic Ocean about nine miles off the lower Florida Keys shortly before 6 p.m., said Karrie Carnes, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman.
The pair are 12 feet and 13 feet long and weigh more than 1,000 pounds each. They are considered teenagers.
Five other surviving pilot whales are being cared for in a sea pen established at Cudjoe Key, about 20 miles east of Key West.
"They (the whales) are being literally cradled 24 hours a day," Carnes said.
Fourteen whales died after stranding themselves in shallow waters over a 12-mile stretch of sand flats.
Veterinarians are not sure why the protected whales came to shore, said Carnes, adding that they are usually found in 300-meter deep waters in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. "We may never know why this group stranded."
The pod showed no evident signs of significant emaciation or illness, but may have become disoriented and followed each other to the shore.
"They are very social animals," Carnes said.
The rescue effort, which began Thursday, has included hundreds of federal and state employees, veterinarians and volunteers, said Carnes, who works at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Rescuers plan to transfer the five survivors to a rehabilitation facility in Key Largo once they are healthy enough to undergo the journey, Carnes told CNN.
Tents and wet sheets are protecting the five from the sun and temperatures. Veterinarians are checking their blood and body fluids and are pumping them with antibiotics and enzymes.
Volunteers from the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo have been crucial to the operation.
"For a lot of people, marine animals are very charismatic," Carnes said. "People have a love of the ocean and mysteries of the deep."
Sea World, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also have provided assistance in the lifesaving effort.
Adult pilot whales can measure up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 3 tons. Due to their social nature, they are often involved in mass strandings, according to the American Cetacean Society. The ACS is a nonprofit group based in California that works to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises, according to its website.
A similar incident occurred in the Florida Keys in 2003, when 28 whales were stranded. Most of them died, but after several months of care, five were released back into the ocean.
CNN's Lateef Mungin contributed to this report.CNN... Two stranded pilot whales released off Florida Keys By Phil Gast and Rich... more-
- EthicalVegan
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- 2 years ago
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"On Planet Warm Mineral Springs" with Rev. Juliette Jones
We are 70% water. Our bodily relationship to water can be compared to the relationship between the ego and the soul.
JEWELSbeautifulFACE2.jpgRev. Juliette Jones, PhD serves as Chaplain of ‘Spirit Quest’ on Planet www.WarmMineralSprings.com Coined the “Fountain of Youth” by Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon, Warm Mineral Springs, Florida has a new mission.
http://tammytymeproduktions.podbean.com/2010/08/19/on-planet-warm-mineral-springs-with-rev-juliette-jones/We are 70% water. Our bodily relationship to water can be compared to the... more-
- tammytymeproduktions
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- 2 years ago
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Thad Allen Vows Long-Term U.S. Commitment on Gulf Oil Spill | BP Hires on Former FEMA Head James Lee Witt
Allen vows long-term U.S. commitment on Gulf oil spill
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 30, 2010 6:28 p.m. EDT
,
BP hires former FEMA chief James Lee Witt
Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida (CNN) -- Federal officials are far from ready to "write the obituary" on the Gulf oil spill, even as crews count down toward two efforts to seal the crippled BP oil well once and for all.
The retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the federal response, Thad Allen, offered that assurance to Gulf area residents Friday, as preparations continue for the first of the efforts -- known as a "static kill" -- when mud and cement are poured into the well from above. The static kill has been pushed back about a day, and now is likely to happen Monday or Tuesday, so that debris that collected during Tropical Storm Bonnie can be cleared out.
That will be followed by a final "bottom kill" after a relief well intercepts the crippled well -- a step expected by the end of August. But sealing the well is not the end of the story.
"We should not be writing any obituary on this event," Allen said. He vowed that won't happen "until the well is completely sealed, until we have no more oil on the surface of the water, until we understand where all the oil has gone to, until the beaches are clean -- and state and local officials agree that the beaches are clean."
He noted that tar balls and oil will be "showing up on beaches for quite some time."
"We're still engaged in this fight, and we need to stay engaged," he said.
The next priority, after the well is sealed, will be getting a better picture on how much oil was released and how much oil remains below the surface, even though it's getting harder and harder to spot oil from the air, according to Allen
Flights are going out continually to check for surface oil, including 103 sorties Thursday and 98 Friday, he said. But recently, little has been detected beyond thin sheens of oil.
In fact, there are so many flights, Allen met before Friday's briefing with service personnel at Tyndall Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle to review air coordination efforts. The briefing then was held at the base.
Allen said a coming priority will be to develop an "oil budget" -- estimating how much was released altogether during the nearly three months the BP well was spewing out oil after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, how much was removed from the surface by skimming ships, how much evaporated, how much was removed from burning surface oil and how much was broken up through the application of dispersants.
A ream of additional data will come when the static kill is performed, he said. But in addition, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ships are combing the Gulf -- with about five operating at any one time -- testing the water for hydrocarbons that would indicate the presence of oil. Another method involves placing in the water modified crab pots that contain oil trapping devices.
"Right now, it's incumbent upon us to acquire as much information as we can," Allen said.
Another step expected in weeks ahead involves gradually removing the 11 million feet of boom arrayed along the Gulf Coast. It was effective in helping to stop thick oil from reaching shore but does little to stop tar balls from washing up from the ocean depths.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources made that point as it outlined a plan to remove all boom off its shores by the end of August.
"While we will continue to see tar balls come on shore, they are scattered events that are cleaned up by BP contractors, and they maintain the capability to quickly move tar balls," the department said in a news release. "Boom does not stop tar balls most of the time, and the placement of some booms could cause severe damage to our marshes and property damage if we have a storm."
The department developed the plan after meetings with coastal mayors and county officials.
Allen's comments followed similar assurances from incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley -- that BP has a "long-term commitment" to the region.
Dudley, currently the company's managing director, stressed during a visit to Mississippi that the spill has been a "catastrophe" and a "real wake-up call for change." We have to "treat it as an opportunity to change for the better," he said.
Shortly before Dudley made his remarks, BP announced that it is setting up a $100 million charitable fund to support unemployed oil rig workers experiencing economic hardship due to the deepwater drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration.
The establishment of the Rig Worker Assistance Fund "fulfills the commitment" BP made on June 16 to provide $100 million in assistance "as a gesture of good will for the people of the Gulf region," according to a company statement.
The company also announced that James Lee Witt, director of Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration, will be advising Dudley on BP's disaster response efforts.
Witt, who was appointed in June to conduct an independent review, joined Dudley in Mississippi.
There was a bit of good news for residents of South Florida, the Florida Keys and the East Coast. A NOAA analysis indicates the region will be spared much of the fallout from the spill -- assuming the BP well remains capped.
"The coast remains clear," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a news release. "With the flow stopped and the loop current a considerable distance away, the light sheen remaining on the Gulf's surface will continue to biodegrade and disperse, but will not travel far."
Meanwhile, the man on the receiving end of much of the public anger over the disaster -- outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward -- said in an interview published Friday that he has become "a villain for doing the right thing."
"But I understand that people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company," he told the Wall Street Journal. "I didn't want to leave BP, because I love the company. ... (But) because I love the company, I must leave BP."
Hayward will be replaced by Dudley on October 1.Allen vows long-term U.S. commitment on Gulf oil spill By the CNN Wire Staff July... more-
- EthicalVegan
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- 2 years ago
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Volunteer To Clean Up The Oil Spill!
For information on how to volunteer visit:
http://keysspill.com/
Provided by the Florida Keys Environment Coalition
2,300 Volunteers and over 300 Captains.
Our Motto.....Be Prepared For The Worst
Now partnered with The Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife, US Coast Guard
The United Way, GLEE, REEF Relief, and Miami Dade Schools.
We Need Volunteers
Attn: Media - Please Contact Dan Robey
at 305-321-2305 for latest spill info, volunteer meetings
and info on this site. Email dan@abritt.com
Florida Keys Oil Spill Response
URGENT!
Scientists say that oil from the spill could be here in 8 days via the Gulfstream current loop!
Attn: Shoreline monitors
If you see any oil or tarballs IMMEDIATELY CALL the
US Coast Guard at 1-800-424-8802 also make sure you check with Reef Relief or the Nature Conservancy on the proper way to walk shoreline so as not to damage any sensitive habitat areas. !
Attn: All commercial Fisherman, Shrimpers, Charter Boat Captains. Please make sure you and every professional you know is signed up at keysspill.com, we are working directly with the United States Coast Guard and BP, you will need to be HAZMAT certified to be offered contract work for your vessel. Please note that there is no guarantee that BP will contract your boat.
In an effort to be proactive in protecting our Florida Keys environment, KeysSpill.com has been created to help link all partner projects (US Coast Guard,U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service , Nature Conservancy) with volunteers, including Charter Captains,Divemasters, Businesses, Organizations
and Individuals.
KeysSpill.com now has a database of over 2,300 volunteers and is growing everyday!
OUR MISSION
To protect the fisheries, living coral reefs, marine life, the Florida Keys economy, and the Keys way of life!
This KeysSpill.com site is being updated daily with the latest news on meetings and events, visit this site often to stay informed. Things that you might help with include
pre-assessments, boom deployment, beach clean ups, boat work, organizing efforts, local informational meetings, trainings, etc.
Please email "EVERYONE" you know and tell them to sign up at www.keysspill.com, we need volunteers.
***** IMPORTANT *****
Please print out our Flyer and give to everyone you know, you can make copies of it at Office Depot or any other quick copy location. Click Here to download the Flyer in Word Format
IF YOU DID NOT FILL OUT THE "SUBSCRIBE" FORM WHEN YOU FIRST ENTERED THIS WEB SITE PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SITE AGAIN AND FILL OUT THE INFO IN THE "SUBSCRIBE" BOX
***** Training *****
Hazmat Training
(Please note: We have contacted the Coast Guard and BP in regards to providing free HAZMAT training to our volunteers. The response we received is that BP pays for training but not until Spill Oil has been indentified in
our area by the Coast Guard.)
FULL DISCOUNTED HAZMAT TRAINING COURSE NOW ONLINE FOR KEYSSPILL.COM VOLUNTEERS PBSA Inc, has setup up a unique page on our website for keysspill.com volunteers.PBSA has established a discounted price of $69.00 per person for the OSHA Hazwoper (Hazmat) 24 hour training course. Once the student starts the course, they may take the course at their own pace and may login and logout as needed. The course includes 24 hour support by telephone, email and live chat. They may print their completion certificate immediately after successful completion of the course.Here is the link for the course: http://www.oshacampusonline.com/keysspill-24-hour-hazmat.html
***** Documents *****
Coastal Cleanup Checklist
Preparing For An Oil Spill
Coast Watcher Map
(Note: Professional Wildlife Rehabbers are being sought click the link below for a PDF file with more info.)
Professional Wildlife Rehabbers
***** Meetings *****
If you are hosting a local oil spill related information or action event, send us an email to let us know
email dan@abritt.com
* May 22 - Key West is having a special Commission meeting tomorrow, Saturday, May 22, 10:00 am to 11:00 am at Old City Hall. It is an opportunity to brief the Commission and the citizens of Key West on the status of the two continuing oil spill issues, the Deepwater Horizon spill in the northern gulf and the tar ball incident in the lower keys. Incident response representatives from USCG, NOAA, NPS and BP will provide status updates. Written questions will be taken from the audience and will be compiled and presented to the experts for comment as time permits.
* May 20th (Thurs) - Hair Boom Response Meeting 6:30pm at Salute’s on the beach, 1000 Atlantic Boulevard, Key West. We are inviting individuals who will take on the responsibility of being Volunteer Coordinators. We need Carpenters, Materials list, plywood, 2 by 4's, Duct Tape, 4' PVC Pipe, dust masks, gloves. See www.matteroftrust.org for video on boom making construction. For Info contact Diana2030@yahoo.com , 305-879-7682
* May 22nd (Sat) – Shoreline Clean Up of Torchwood Hammock Preserve on Little Torch Key, 8:30am-Noon. Sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. Volunteers should bring kayaks or canoes, sun protection, water bottles, gloves. The Nature Conservancy will provide drinking water and trash bags. Directions: Little Torch Key is at mile marker 28, from US1 oceanside onto Pirates Road, at the end turn left on Jolly Roger Drive then drive to the end. Parking is limited so please carpool and don’t block the road. For more information: Contact Caitlin Lustic at The Nature Conservancy office at 305 745 8402 x 114
May 20th (Thurs) – Annual Hurricane Preparedness Workshop for the Tourism & Business Industry. Keynote speaker is National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read. Will include update on Transocean/BP Gulf Oil Spill. Marathon Government Center, MM48.5 Bayside, 1pm. $10/person, rsvp to 296-4959 or email executiveoffice@keyslodging.org . Although the conference is geared to tourism-related businesses, it is open to the business community and anyone
can register.
* May 29th (Sat) - Mangrove Clean Up – Sponsored by Reef Relief. Meet at Hurricane Hole Marina, 5130 Overseas Hwy 1, Stock Island. Bring a kayak if you own or can borrow one. 10am - 1pm
*May 31st (Fri) – Deadline for businesses to sign the Letter to President Obama in support of halting oil leasing and drilling.
* June 5th (Sat)- Pre-Oil Shoreline Clean Up at Garden Cove County Park and Dagny Johnson State Botanical Site, 9am-Noon. Meet at end of Loquat Drive, just past the Circle K on Card Sound Road in Key Largo. Sponsored by the Florida Keys Chapter of the Izaak Walton League.
For details on the proposal and request for comments send an email to dan@abritt.comFor information on how to volunteer visit: http://keysspill.com/ Provided by the... more-
- Carrie_Gay
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- 2 years ago
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Giant Plumes of Oil Forming Under the Gulf
Photo caption: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar visited a wildlife treatment center in Louisiana on Saturday.
May 15, 2010
Giant Plumes of Oil Forming Under the Gulf
By JUSTIN GILLIS
Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.
“There’s a shocking amount of oil in the deep water, relative to what you see in the surface water,” said Samantha Joye, a researcher at the University of Georgia who is involved in one of the first scientific missions to gather details about what is happening in the gulf. “There’s a tremendous amount of oil in multiple layers, three or four or five layers deep in the water column.”
The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes.
Dr. Joye said the oxygen had already dropped 30 percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. “If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months,” she said Saturday. “That is alarming.”
The plumes were discovered by scientists from several universities working aboard the research vessel Pelican, which sailed from Cocodrie, La., on May 3 and has gathered extensive samples and information about the disaster in the gulf.
Scientists studying video of the gushing oil well have tentatively calculated that it could be flowing at a rate of 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day. The latter figure would be 3.4 million gallons a day. But the government, working from satellite images of the ocean surface, has calculated a flow rate of only 5,000 barrels a day.
BP has resisted entreaties from scientists that they be allowed to use sophisticated instruments at the ocean floor that would give a far more accurate picture of how much oil is really gushing from the well.
“The answer is no to that,” a BP spokesman, Tom Mueller, said on Saturday. “We’re not going to take any extra efforts now to calculate flow there at this point. It’s not relevant to the response effort, and it might even detract from the response effort.”
The undersea plumes may go a long way toward explaining the discrepancy between the flow estimates, suggesting that much of the oil emerging from the well could be lingering far below the sea surface.
The scientists on the Pelican mission, which is backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that monitors the health of the oceans, are not certain why that would be. They say they suspect the heavy use of chemical dispersants, which BP has injected into the stream of oil emerging from the well, may have broken the oil up into droplets too small to rise rapidly.
BP said Saturday at a briefing in Robert, La., that it had resumed undersea application of dispersants, after winning Environmental Protection Agency approval the day before.
“It appears that the application of the subsea dispersant is actually working,” Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer for exploration and production, said Saturday. “The oil in the immediate vicinity of the well and the ships and rigs working in the area is diminished from previous observations.”
Many scientists had hoped the dispersants would cause oil droplets to spread so widely that they would be less of a problem in any one place. If it turns out that is not happening, the strategy could come under greater scrutiny. Dispersants have never been used in an oil leak of this size a mile under the ocean, and their effects at such depth are largely unknown.
Much about the situation below the water is unclear, and the scientists stressed that their results were preliminary. After the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, they altered a previously scheduled research mission to focus on the effects of the leak.
Interviewed on Saturday by satellite phone, one researcher aboard the Pelican, Vernon Asper of the University of Southern Mississippi, said the shallowest oil plume the group had detected was at about 2,300 feet, while the deepest was near the seafloor at about 4,200 feet.
“We’re trying to map them, but it’s a tedious process,” Dr. Asper said. “Right now it looks like the oil is moving southwest, not all that rapidly.”
He said they had taken water samples from areas that oil had not yet reached, and would compare those with later samples to judge the impact on the chemistry and biology of the ocean.
While they have detected the plumes and their effects with several types of instruments, the researchers are still not sure about their density, nor do they have a very good fix on the dimensions.
Given their size, the plumes cannot possibly be made of pure oil, but more likely consist of fine droplets of oil suspended in a far greater quantity of water, Dr. Joye said. She added that in places, at least, the plumes might be the consistency of a thin salad dressing.
Dr. Joye is serving as a coordinator of the mission from her laboratory in Athens, Ga. Researchers from the University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi are aboard the boat taking samples and running instruments.
Dr. Joye said the findings about declining oxygen levels were especially worrisome, since oxygen is so slow to move from the surface of the ocean to the bottom. She suspects that oil-eating bacteria are consuming the oxygen at a feverish clip as they work to break down the plumes.
While the oxygen depletion so far is not enough to kill off sea life, the possibility looms that oxygen levels could fall so low as to create large dead zones, especially at the seafloor. “That’s the big worry,” said Ray Highsmith, head of the Mississippi center that sponsored the mission, known as the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology.
The Pelican mission is due to end Sunday, but the scientists are seeking federal support to resume it soon.
“This is a new type of event, and it’s critically important that we really understand it, because of the incredible number of oil platforms not only in the Gulf of Mexico but all over the world now,” Dr. Highsmith said. “We need to know what these events are like, and what their outcomes can be, and what can be done to deal with the next one.”
Shaila Dewan contributed reporting from Robert, La.Photo caption: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar visited a wildlife treatment... more-
- EthicalVegan
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- 3 years ago
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Home Floats
What it is like living alternatively on a small floating home in beautiful Key West.-
- greggleason
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- 3 years ago
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Downtown Homestead, Florida
Quicklide-show of Downtown Homestead-
- mediajive
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- 3 years ago
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Tourists, residents ordered out of Keys as Ike strengthens
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Visitors to the Florida Keys were told to pack up and leave Saturday because of the threat from Hurricane Ike, swirling in the Caribbean.
"We're sorry to interrupt their vacations, but we need visitors to leave the Keys to ensure their safety," said Keys Mayor Mario Di Gennaro, who also chairs the islands' Tourism Council. "We do hope they will return and understand our concerns for their well-being."
A couple of hours after the orders were announced, Ike strengthened to an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm with winds near 135 mph, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.
At 11 p.m. ET Saturday, Ike's center was near the Turks and Caicos Islands, moving west-southwest at 15 mph.
Florida emergency management officials began evacuating visitors from Key West and the rest of the Keys on Saturday and planned to help residents leave Sunday.
The British government arranged extra flights to move visitors to Turks and Caicos, a British crown colony, out of harm's way before the Providenciales airport was forced to close about noon.
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Visitors to the Florida Keys were told to pack up and leave... more-
- riffhard98
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- 4 years ago
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Tropical Storm Fay closes schools; boots tourists from Key
Students in Monroe County will have an extra two days of summer vacation as Tropical Storm Fay's approach prompted officials to cancel classes on Monday and Tuesday, which were supposed to be the kids' first days back at school.
Tourists in the Florida Keys were ordered to evacuate Sunday morning and shelters will open later in the day as meteorologists warned the effects of Fay could be felt there by Monday afternoon.
By then, Fay could have matured into a Category 1 hurricane, packing at least 74 mph winds, National Hurricane Center forecasters said.
''Although some weakening is likely as Fay crosses Cuba, Fay is expected to be near hurricane strength as it approaches the Florida Keys,'' forecasters noted in an 11 a.m. advisory.Students in Monroe County will have an extra two days of summer vacation as Tropical... more-
- TravG73
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- 4 years ago
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Conserving Cuba, After the Embargo
Through accidents of geography and history, Cuba is a priceless ecological resource. That is why many scientists are so worried about what will become of it after Fidel Castro and his associates leave power and, as is widely anticipated, the American government relaxes or ends its trade embargo.Through accidents of geography and history, Cuba is a priceless ecological resource.... more-
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- 5 years ago
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