AMAZING Aerial Footage of Arkansas Tar Sands Oil Spill!

[dixiegrrrrl]

I had no idea it was this massive.

This is hundreds of acres of spill, and also contaminates an entire housing sub division.
News media are being kept away, but a chopper got excellent coverage of an enormous area of contamination, both lakes and swamps and neighborhoods.

&feature=youtu.be

[Scuba]

1. Exxon's clean-up plan calls for deploying several thousand yards of bright colored booms.

That way it'll look like they're doing something.

[arely staircase]

67. no shit eom

[SoCalDem]

72. Oil diapers & hazmat suits.. that'll do it

[NightWatcher]

2. See, pipelines do create jobs

Jobs for cleaners
Jobs for disaster response teams
Jobs for helicopter pilots to fly over the spill

[SunSeeker]

15. Jobs for doctors. Jobs for undertakers. nt

[alfredo]

26. Jobs for lawyers

[ReRe]

44. Disaster Capitalism strikes once again!

Why, it's endless! (Just in case someone thinks I'm a bit too exuberant.) It's a big cycle. Make mega-money making a mess, and make mega-money cleaning it up. Get it? It's the reason we go to war. We go use up all our war machines, and then, bygolly, they've got to have more money to make more. Just like that Dell McCoury bluegrass song says "Money money money money, more more more more!" It's the reason we ignore global warming. If we ignore global warming, then we have plenty of work cleaning up the mess. Forget about all the lives lost. Or property loss, by the pollution of oil running all around your house. Human life and our problems mean absolutely nothing. Not when there's money to be made. I can't imagine what those home owners will do now. Would you live there? They will have to condemn that housing area and bulldoze it to the ground. Do home owner's insurance cover oil spills? It'll be a Super-Fund site!

And before you know it, when they finish up that Keystone XL pipeline down through America, why it will be one big effing oily mess all over the effing place. If the American people aren't jerked awake then, then we are unconscious effing zombies, running around with black mucky oily hair and wondering why.

Yet, here we are, millions of our people unemployed. How DO they do that? All this money to be made, and still millions of people out of work.

[jonthebru]

86. I'm gonna use those lines.

[SamKnause]

3. Oil Spill

Thanks for posting this video dixiegrrrrl.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Glad I stumbled across it.

I don't even want to think about how many of those booms are placed incorrectly.

One lesson learned, from watching BP's massive Golf contamination, was that un-monitored booms actually made the contamination worse.

[G_j]

27. I know it's on YouTube but

putting the title in search didn't bring it up.

[Z_I_Peevey]

78. Video is available on Lee Camp's 'Moment of Clarity' channel

Perhaps other places by now

[HereSince1628]

4. Didn't Exxon also have a break in an oil pipeline in the Yellowstone basin a year or two ago?

Seems I remember one, maybe it wasn't the Yellowstone, but in that watershed

Anyway 2 points.

1. These things happen apparently commonly

2. Fines that get slapped on Exxon aren't enough to make the company stop, and it seems likely that fines on Keystone could similarly have no effect on reducing the occurrences of these ecosystem/human community poisonings.

[montanacowboy]

5. Yes it was Yellowstone

nt

[Carolina]

6. K&R

This is simply horrendous. Alaska, the Gulf, parts of Michigan & Minnesota, now this...

What fools. You'd think that maybe, just maybe, those who bellow: drill, baby, drill might reconsider their mantra. But sadly, I doubt it.

We are in the handbasket; we are Rome circa the 470s AD

[socialist_n_TN]

33. Well the implied promise of "Drill, baby, drill!" is that......

all that oil will be used in the good old USA to bring down the price of gasoline and other refined products that Americans use. However, what is unsaid is that the oil drilled here is sold on the world market by the capitalists and could just as easily be bought and used in China, India, or East Bumfuck, Egypt. "Drill, baby, drill!" doesn't do anything for anybody, but the ones who own oil company stocks.

Of course, these profiteers won't be the ones paying for the long term affects of this spill. It'll be the good ole American taxpayer.

[99Forever]

7. These bastards want to...

... run this poison from Hell across the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest aquifer on the planet, supplying the water needs for literally millions of us, on top of the environmental disaster it's already done to Canada. This cannot be allowed to happen. It MUST be stopped.

[timdog44]

13. Don't we have

any reasonable people anymore? Is everyone purchased? It makes me ashamed and inflamed.

[99Forever]

16. I dunno...

... but it's pretty damn discouraging. It's like our "leaders" either don't want to face reality, or just don't really care. Either way, it's bad news for Mother Earth.

[timdog44]

30. Mother

always seems to suffer. Shame on us.

[Jack Sprat]

23. Hardly any. Most everyone. nt

[CrispyQ]

24. My theory is that collectively the human species knows its fucked,

& our mentality is "Party like it's 1999!" The rich are hoarding as much as they can, hoping it will cushion the fall. The rest are grabbing what they can & tuning out while they watch the latest "reality" tv show.

[timdog44]

29. I hate to think

mankind is so resigned to this fate. Although I have to admit that I climb into my hole occasionally. But them I am back again and saying too much to some and not enough to others. I hate reality TV the most. My ex governors wife was, I think, on one.

[CrispyQ]

34. Oh, don't listen to me.

I'm a cynical, pessimistic misanthrope.

Keep fighting the good fight - that's all we can do.

[timdog44]

39. Oh, I listen to you.

I think you more clever than you let on.

And yes, fight the good fight.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. Last one over the cliff wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had the same theory.

Watching the "Floating World" ship launch fully booked with 300 veddy veddy expensive staterooms sold out,
made me realize that no one on that self contained "city of the ultrarich" has any clue they cannot outrun a destroyed earth.

[CrispyQ]

38. For me it was the ski resort in Dubai.

Oh & the $400 per gallon of gas that American taxpayers pay for the troops in Afghanistan to have air conditioned tents. Tents!

Last one over the cliff wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yellerpup]

17. It can't be allowed to happen.

Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2013, 10:38 AM - Edit history (1)

Keystone XL must be stopped. This spill is a disaster. All these people will lose their homes. They shouldn't be breathing the fumes from this stuff at all.

[arely staircase]

68. i hope, and am pretty sure, they are lawyered up by now eom

o

[yellerpup]

75. Did you see the Arkansas AG on Rachel last night?

He's a Democrat and he is going after this hammer and tong. He was amazed (as am I) that the investigation of this disaster will be conducted by the Transportation Dept., NOT the EPA.

[dixiegrrrrl]

76. Did he say WHY the Trans. Dept would do it as opposed to EPA????

[yellerpup]

79. This is the way the law is set up.

I'm sure a lot of lobby money went into setting it up this way. Another example of our representatives at work protecting their big contributors instead of the People.

[yellerpup]

81. Here you go--a link to last night's Rachel segment

covering the oil spill. She sets it up in a minute and a half and then they go into the story and the interview with the Arkansas AG.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/#51411138

[progressoid]

8. Holy shit.

[sheshe2]

10. We know how well the booms worked in the Gulf,

Yup. umhmm!

Sure kept the Gulf safe from harm!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

11. Is that a lake or is that all oil?

[NoMoreWarNow]

21. looks like a lot of water with contamination

I don't think you can really see how bad it is from this footage, imo.

[angstlessk]

12. I would like to see this same aeiral shot when the trees are supposed to turn green

It will show the true destruction

[winter is coming]

14. Wow. All I'd seen before this were pictures of a single street.

This is obscene.

[SunSeeker]

18. Booms and paper towels. Same old ineffective stone-age technology.

If they can't clean it up, they shouldn't drill it!

[lastlib]

22. They really need Bounty--the quicker picker-upper!

But what they really need is to STOP POLLUTING OUR PLANET!!

[Mnemosyne]

54. And I think Bounty has pick-a-size now! How freaking big can they go. nt

[KansDem]

74. No! No! No! Not "Bounty!" "BRAWNY!!"

Product of Koch Industries:

Among Koch Industries' subsidiaries across various industries[17] are:

[edit]Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific is a paper and pulp company that produces "Brawny" paper towels, "Angel Soft" toilet paper, "Mardi Gras" napkins and towels, "Quilted Northern" toilet paper and paper towels, "Dixie" paper plates, bowls, napkins and cups, "Sparkle" paper towels, and "Vanity Fair" paper napkins, bowls, plates and tablecloths. The Atlanta-based company has operations in 27 states.[18]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_Industries

With oil-extraction being one of their undertakings, the KochBros know the value of paper towels!

[Mnemosyne]

89. Wouldn't want them to miss a single prof, er, drop!

Damn, those guys make me physically ill.

[TexasBushwhacker]

50. There's technology available, but it costs more than paper towels

Granted bitumen (tar sands) is harder to clean up than sweet crude, but they need to start sopping this stuff up. There are booms and mats made from old stockings filled with hair (that's right, hair). There are the big barge mounted centrifuges that separate oil from water. Oddly enough, the company that makes the centrifuges (Ocean Therapy Solutions) is owned by Kevin Costner. He sold several of these to BP to help clean up the Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

[SunSeeker]

53. It's a lot cheaper than letting that oil sit there, which is what the towels & booms are doing. nt

[SCVDem]

19. History

Love Canal

Times Beach

Centralia

Prince William Sound

Cuyahoga River

Uranium tailings on Navajo Reservations Grand Canyon

and too many more...........

Does anyone under 45 even know about these enviromental disasters?

[lastlib]

25. And these:

Hanford

Three Mile island

Bhopal

Chernobyl

It's becoming quite an awful litany......

[SCVDem]

35. Let's not forget

DDT dumps in Santa Monica Bay

The Pacific Gyre

We know even less of Africa and the USSR.

The GOP wants LESS regulation. What could possibly go wrong?

[Art_from_Ark]

97. And then there was Santa Barbara, 1969--

The largest US oil spill until it was overtaken by the 1989 Alaska spill. Now, it's down to 3rd largest.

[dixiegrrrrl]

37. Fukishima, the BIG one.

[logosoco]

41. I reminded Senator McCaskill about Times Beach in my second email

about this issue (the first was before this but I figured since Arkansas is our neighbor to the south she may start paying attention). Times Beach is about 10 minutes from my house. Used to spend lots of time at the river there as a teen. The U.S. government spent a fortune cleaning that mess up, and this crap makes dioxin look like a walk in the park (dioxin breaks down naturally after a while, if I recall).
I have told my kids (I am just a bit over 45, but I am trying to teach anyone who will listen and my kids were often a captive audience!) about that place because we drive through it often. There is no one living there as there had been before they discovered that contamination.
The Keystone is supposed to go right through Missouri, a place that is well overdue for a large earthquake. Can't imagine what a pipeline full of tar sands would do in an earthquake.

[dixiegrrrrl]

51. The Keystone is going thru the New Mardrid fault ???????????

The 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes were an intense intraplate earthquake series beginning with an initial pair of very large earthquakes on December 16, 1811.
These earthquakes remain the most powerful earthquakes to hit the eastern United States in recorded history.

These events, as well as the seismic zone of their occurrence, were named for the Mississippi River town of New Madrid, then part of the Louisiana Territory, now within Missouri.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1811%E2%80%931812_New_Madrid_earthquakes

I remember hearing about those quakes years ago, it is said that church bells rang in Boston from the shock.

[logosoco]

55. Well, technically, the New Madrid fault is down in the

bootheel area, and the pipeline is more through the center of the state, but I am sure if the magnitude is large enough it will impact it.

(Interesting note, when I googled to make sure of this (and not relying on memory) several positive stories were at the top when looking for Keystone XL pipeline.
I honestly will feel like I have failed my kids and grandsons if this passes through our state>

[WCGreen]

69. The Cuyahoga River is pretty much cleaned up...

The Cleveland area has started on a complete segregation of storm sewers and waste sewers. They were combined at one time and if the rain was heavy, they commingled out into the river and then the lake.

It's pretty good pollution control and we all voted for it and pay extra on our water bills. It's worth it.

Of course all the big industrial polluters scrammed when the Ohio EPA started to clamp down on chemical waste, but just the same, we have a great asset here in NE Ohio and we have been taking care to not fuck it up again.

[Carolina]

92. Thank you for these reminders

Those under 45 are likely oblivious

[malaise]

20. Rev Al will cover this after the break n/t

[Rex]

28. It is a good thing we have such a strong EPA.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

58. And Jimmy Fallon to write a protest song about oil spills

[randome]

31. The only thing we should be saying about this...

...is that the oil companies have destroyed an American neighborhood. Enough is enough!

[Swede Atlanta]

32. This is reality..........the "haves" keep the rest of us from knowing anything unless...

a maverick such as this reporter step in.

The oil and gas companies know that the average American is stupid. They know if they can continue to charge $4.00 a gallon and profit $2.00 for each one the consumer will never question why prices are where they are. They also know that if they raise the price too much people would be checking them out (can't do that).

That's why O/G industry opposes increases in gasoline taxes or ANYTHING that could make people/companies drive less and therefore use less of their product.

These guys are the contemporary "robber barons" along with the "financial services" sector (aka the screw you crew).

[Moostache]

47. Where will our much needed modern-day Trust Buster come from?

I hoped it would be President Obama in his second term, freed from electoral politics and re-election concerns...that's looking about as likely as getting goddamn Guantanamo closed down.

I was much happier when I allowed ignorant bliss to dominate my life. Now, its just gotten to be a never ending stream of depressing news and fighting to claw back a status quo that is slipping into history after 30+ years of assault by sociopaths and psychotics.

The popular 80's phrase of "Greed is good" left out the most important part - Greed is good, until it kills us all.

[Brigid]

85. I believe it was Chief Seattle who said,

"You can't eat money."

[Plucketeer]

57. The average Joe pumpin' the tank of his Suburban

only cares about the price of what they're buying. Collateral costs? Wha's dat? Hell, they couldn't find Afghanistan on a map - let alone Arkansas! This spill happened someplace that THEY don't know or care about. Ho-hum.

[Carolina]

93. so sadly true

some other guy is affected, not me so why worry.....

[lunasun]

96. exactly I agree -they do not care -maybe do not even know or want to

[MotherPetrie]

40. Holy fuck. K&R

[AtheistCrusader]

42. Where are all those people staying?

You know damn sure they aren't living in their homes right now.

[madrchsod]

43. where ever they can.

they were given very little time to gather what they needed. the police and other
officials have blocked off all the effect areas

[watoos]

45. The problem with oil sand oil

is that once it spills into waterways, it can't be cleaned up.

Even if the corporate-controlled media were allowed in, the reporting would be controlled.

[dreampunk]

82. Right you are watoos.

The Yellowstone river pipeline spew has yet to be cleaned up. There are actually quite a few examples where the news media or citizens themselves could be learning the dirty truth about this stuff. Number one is that you don't DRILL for this shit. You literally scrape the forest and topsoil away for miles and miles. Then you dig the goopy sand/gravel out and move it to your steaming boiling water extraction plant(s). Once the heavy crude is separated it gets mixed with more toxics so that it will flow. Only THEN do you begin stuffing it into pipelines and pumping it along. Back at the oil extraction areas there are huge gigantic toxic holding ponds of what was once perfectly good drinking water. Millions of gallons of water sucked out of the water table to use for this filthy toxic bitumen goop. Water's pretty important stuff to us humans.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

When this tar sands oil spews into a river or lake it SINKS. Most of the product will go to the bottom of the river or lake and ADHERE TO WHATEVER IS IN THAT RIVER OR LAKE. Remember seeing the crews who were "cleaning" after the Exxon Valdez crashed in Prince William Sound? THIS goop is 100 times as toxic as that and much much more difficult to clean up - if at all.

IT HAS TO BE STOPPED.

[annabanana]

46. This has been seen more times here than at YouTube.

Share it, email it, forward it!

[bahrbearian]

48. Too bad for Exxon that it happened in an Up Scale neighbor hood.

They might have gotten away with the cover-up.

[Berlum]

49. k and r

Stop the Keystone-Tar Sands debacle now.

[Curmudgeoness]

52. No one might have heard about this

if it were not for the guy who videoed the street and put it on YouTube. Hard for them to ignore it when it is that explicit.

But since no media is being allow near this, we might have never known. The internet can be an awesome tool.

[joanbarnes]

56. By land or by Sea, the NEVER figured out how to clean it up!

[spanone]

59. how the hell can they keep the media out? do they own the land?

[dixiegrrrrl]

60. They work in conjuction with the police and private security.

BP did same thing.
Suddenly the US Coast Guard, in the Gulf, AND "private security" goons on land would show up, on public beaches yet, and declare the area off limits.
Some Mobile Press reporters wrote about it..being suddenly bum rushed and prevented from taking pictures or otherwise reporting on what was going on.
It was all done very quickly, was very well coordinated, which is a bit chilling.

[raouldukelives]

98. Every investor prudently provides them with the cover of fiduciary responsibility.

If you know an Exxon investor, you know they sleep well. The calming awareness that Exxon officials are hard at work on behalf of you to keep the media out and keep Exxon's name and profits strong.

[dickensknitter]

61. Correxit?(sp?)??

Any word if they are employing chemical dispersants?

[dixiegrrrrl]

63. Corexit is so damn toxic, I would hope not.

There is not purpose to use in the residential, cement driveway/street areas.
I have no idea how big the lake and the ajoining swampy area is.
I suspect there may not be enough gallons to warrant having to spray.

I am just hoping the home owners and their lawyers can prevail in having Exxon mitigate damages, clean it up in a very timely manner.
Sadly, Exxon track record does not feed hope.

[LeftInTX]

62. I hope Pres Obama et al sees this video

It is just buggin awful to have tar bubbling up in your backyard. I didn't know that they buried oil pipelines. It only makes spills worse.

[lexw]

64. Posted on FB. I can't believe there are only 300 views.

[dixiegrrrrl]

65. Good move....

[lonestarnot]

66. Totally fucked! Is it repaired or is it still oozing the death fluid?

[dixiegrrrrl]

83. Pipeline is closed off, not yet repaired

AND
Exxon under gov't correction order which means ExxonMobil would need written approval from a federal pipeline safety official, according to the corrective action order.
ExxonMobil also has to submit a restart plan, complete testing and analysis about why the pipeline failed and jump through a number of other hoops under the order.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2608272

[lonestarnot]

95. At least something.

[YOHABLO]

70. Fossil fuels have run their course in time .. they're over, we don't need it them

[blkmusclmachine]

71. Let's see the savvy businessmen clean up this mess.

Yeah. Didn't think so.

[KG]

73. I'll be thrilled when the prez signs off on keystone xl!

[CoffeeCat]

77. They think they can keep the media out?

I remember when BP did this with the Gulf spill. They commandeered the Coast Guard to patrol the waters
and threaten reporters. I'll never forget that.

If I lived in that neighborhood, I would be shooting footage from public streets and driveways. It's one thing to
hide an ocean disaster, but if they are successful at hiding a disaster smack dab in a suburban neighborhood, then
I really don't know if there is any hope for the truth to surface.

I hope these homeowners are doing the right thing and exposing this.

Gee, maybe they'll just dump a load of Corexit on this housing development! It's safe, you know!

[dixiegrrrrl]

80. Lots of media coverage now, but not all from the location.

I hit Google news and entered "Ark oil Exxon" and tons of updated stuff came up, with pics.

I posted on one of the updates:

US law says no 'oil' spilled in Arkansas, exempting Exxon from cleanup dues

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022608192

[sinkingfeeling]

84. But, but our local news says it was only 5,000 barrels and it's all gone!

And only 14 animals were harmed! A muskrat and some ducks....

[dixiegrrrrl]

87. Ducks R ded.

Ded ded ded...which really pissed of the folks down there.

The pipe has been shut off/stopped. But not repaired, they have not yet even dug it up.
Still sopping up "10,000 barrels of Canadian heavy crude -"
which tends to sink in water, not float on top.Sort of like liquid asphalt..really hard to clean up.

[Sunlei]

88. a remote area of marshes and lakes probably didn't notice the break untill it got to homes.

[benld74]

90. Location could not have been worse,,,

Directly across Lake Conway is the is a State Wildlife Management Area
Directly South is another state Wildlife Management Area

Who in their right sane mind would allow a pieline to even come within spitten distance from either of these areas needs to be covered in the spill, feathered and railed into Congress for all to see.

[Cannikin]

91. They established restricted air space over the site after this was taken.

http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_3_8699.html

[Jamastiene]

94. K&R

And now they want to start fracking in my county and the county next to mine. The county next to mine has already started trying to put in an ordinance to stop it. My county? Nothing. They are cheering the hope for some jobs in the county. Those Idiots!!!