Sitting here in Sarasota on the veranda of our friend’s vacation condo overlooking beautiful Sarasota Bay all seems quiet, serene and beautiful.  The pelicans, Cormorants, herons and egrets inhabiting the area beaches and perched atop ocean pilings have no inkling of the black gooey threat looming just a few hundred miles to the northwest.

In the last 24 hours British Petroleum has lowered a 100 ton containment dome over the splooging oil well in the hopes of stemming the leak – but the damage has already been done.

Lighter surface oil and pollutants are already hitting the Louisiana coastline, while heavier oil and sludge both suspended beneath the surface and on the ocean’s bottom will soon be caught in the Gulf’s Loop Current and head south toward Cuba, the Florida Keys and perhaps, with the aid of the Gulf Stream, the East Coast of Florida and points north.

At this moment the extent of the deep-water oil problem is hard to define; it may remain a recurring source of pollution for years to come, as deposits of oil lying on the ocean’s floor move, get dislodged by storms, or are carried shoreward by changing currents.

One can only hope that efforts to contain and disperse the oil are more successful than anticipated, or we may soon be sitting on our favorite beaches amongst tar balls and oil splotches for years to come.  Communities dependent on tourism, fishing and pristine beaches have no way of knowing whether or not they will be spared this environmental tragedy.

There are currently over 4,500 people responding to the spill – 2,500 of whom are trained volunteers.  For more info on what’s currently going on visit deepwaterhorizonresponse.com. If you’re looking for ways to help checkout volunteerlouisiana.gov, volunteerflorida.org, or matteroftrust.org for it appears Mother Nature is going to need all the help she can get.

photo credits: ap