Yes, it would be impossible to assume that with the destruction of so many oil platforms that there was no spilling of oil. The following organization tracks environmental change and impact using many of the same technology that geologist use to gather data for oil exploration.
The following information about Skytruth was obtained by their website.
SkyTruth promotes environmental awareness and protection with remote sensing and digital mapping technology. We provide stunning images backed by scientifically robust information about our changing environment to stimulate changes in habitat protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable resource management. We design and conduct our projects in close partnership with environmental groups, local planners and resource managers to complement their work on a broad spectrum of environmental issues.
HISTORY
Throughout the 1990s, working in the private sector as a geologist who used remote sensing as an exploration tool, John Amos became increasingly concerned by the mounting evidence of human-caused changes to landscapes and ecosystems around the world. He began to think that images of habitat loss and the spread of human influence could be important not only as a source of scientific data on environmental change, but also as a powerful tool for communicating these changes to the public.
SkyTruth results for the damage to oil and gas infrastructure from Hurricane Katrina
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wind and Oil
My interest in wind, the ocean and my experience of sailing has led me to research the oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. While I am taking a look at the 109 oil platforms that where destroyed in Hurricanes Rita and Katrina I can see the irony in the term "Wind Power". The very force that we could harness for our energy is the same force that can bring these massive ocean built structures to their knees.
Hurricanes Destroyed 109 Oil Platforms
Hurricanes Destroyed 109 Oil Platforms
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Wind / Man / Movement
In the last posts I explored some examples of reused ocean structures. Remnants of war produced ocean structures that were abandoned and then re-inhabited by others, modified to the new user’s specific needs and purposes.
The following site gives some insight into the vast amount of oil platforms situated in the Gulf of Mexico. It also discusses the effect of mother nature, namely in the form of Hurricanes, upon these massive structures.
Offshore Oil Platforms
So it seems that the power and effects of the wind does not leave me alone, even when I have left the sailboat behind as a mode of transportation. The wind may not push my car or bus down the road but it does rip the oil platforms from their anchored positions or sinks them under the oceans fury. Then, the price of my gas increases, and I may be left standing still. Weather, yet again, has dictated movement.
The following site gives some insight into the vast amount of oil platforms situated in the Gulf of Mexico. It also discusses the effect of mother nature, namely in the form of Hurricanes, upon these massive structures.
Offshore Oil Platforms
So it seems that the power and effects of the wind does not leave me alone, even when I have left the sailboat behind as a mode of transportation. The wind may not push my car or bus down the road but it does rip the oil platforms from their anchored positions or sinks them under the oceans fury. Then, the price of my gas increases, and I may be left standing still. Weather, yet again, has dictated movement.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Movement/Man/Data
Movement is a constant fascination for me. How man deals with movement. Animation as moving abstraction.
Our desire to move ourselves out of our known spaces or our determination to stay within our known and supposedly controlled environments. Both extremes fascinate me.
When I used to go sailing weather was key to movement. It determined when, if and how we moved. The relationship to my environment and everything around me was constantly on my mind and the minds of everyone on the boat. Days would be spent waiting in anchorage's for weather to change so that the trip could continue. Life was no longer controlled by the instant gratification of our desire to move.
Movement posed risk but so did staying still. For to stay still in the wrong place could be just as detrimental to our proposed goal, just as dangerous to our well being. It was a constant shifting of choices, when to stay, when to go, when to stop and where.
I would plot the next days passage nightly, usually trying to have at least three stopping points available and then still feel like I was ignorant when halfway along the passage the Captain would ask for alternative possibilities to our original plan. At those times I was scrambling for that knowledge through scrolled nautical charts or radioing the passing tow boat captains for their local opinion.
Nautical Bouy Data
Digital Navigational Chart System
Our desire to move ourselves out of our known spaces or our determination to stay within our known and supposedly controlled environments. Both extremes fascinate me.
When I used to go sailing weather was key to movement. It determined when, if and how we moved. The relationship to my environment and everything around me was constantly on my mind and the minds of everyone on the boat. Days would be spent waiting in anchorage's for weather to change so that the trip could continue. Life was no longer controlled by the instant gratification of our desire to move.
Movement posed risk but so did staying still. For to stay still in the wrong place could be just as detrimental to our proposed goal, just as dangerous to our well being. It was a constant shifting of choices, when to stay, when to go, when to stop and where.
I would plot the next days passage nightly, usually trying to have at least three stopping points available and then still feel like I was ignorant when halfway along the passage the Captain would ask for alternative possibilities to our original plan. At those times I was scrambling for that knowledge through scrolled nautical charts or radioing the passing tow boat captains for their local opinion.
Nautical Bouy Data
Digital Navigational Chart System
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