Hurricane Alex damages oil spill barrier erected at Perdido Pass
Published: Thursday, July 01, 2010, 5:09 PM Six-foot waves from Hurricane Alex have damaged a new, $4.6 million system meant to prevent oil from flowing into Perdido Bay. The structure is composed of more than 3,000 feet of long steel pipes that are strung together in Perdido Pass between dozens of pilings in Orange Beach to guard against the massive Gulf oil spill. But the city’s coastal resources manager, Phillip West, said Thursday about 800 feet of the protective system began coming apart when thick bolts started shearing off in heavy seas. Workers took apart other sections to prevent further damage to the system, which wasn’t yet finished. West said the steel booms should be back in place with thicker bolts by Saturday. He said not much additional oil entered the bay because of the failure.
Hurricane Alex damages oil spill barrier erected at Perdido Pass
This raises the interesting question of mitigation. The industrialized nations of course don't want to admit culpability for the suffering of third world countries that are already experiencing floods, droughts, and sea level rise that are the direct result of impacts from the most intensive carbon polluters, chief among them, the US.
On the other hand, giving financial aid to the most vulnerable countries to build infrastructure designed to spare them from those effects is going to be futile.
So what should we do?
Home sharing for refugees is the only answer, I think. Oh, and a complete shift in thinking about social justice, and species survival, would help.