Do the People We're Trusting to Keep Lake Michigan Oil-Free Know What They're Doing with that Boom?

First, let me clarify what I am not saying: I am not saying the Enbridge folks, the contractors, or the government agencies currently charged with the duties of protecting our Michigan waters don't know how to string boom properly. I am not saying that, because: 1) I am not a boom expert myself, 2) I am not seeing much video that shows how boom is being utilized along the Kalamazoo River - although I'd like to - and, 3) I prefer to ask the question in earnest, to see if any boom experts are willing to respond and put my mind at ease: do these guys know what they're doing?

Because I sincerely want to be assured - and reassured - by some legitimate third party that the workers stringing the boom meant to keep Lake Michigan clean really are competent and qualified. I also want to know they have absolutely everything they need to do their jobs right - equipment, training, incentive, initiative, everything.

As we saw in the Gulf of Mexico, there are no do-overs, and frankly, we're running out of time in Michigan now, too. Enbridge's oil is on the verge of penetrating Morrow Lake, the so-called "last stand," leaving just 75 more miles between the spill and Lake Michigan. One million gallons of oil - the EPA's latest estimate - has already traveled over 25 miles in 3 days. Bear in mind our men on the job fully intended to stop the oil back in Marshall, at Talmadge Creek... or at least before it hit the Kalamazoo River... or Morrow Lake... except it just now entered Morrow Lake - or did it?

July 29's minute-to-minute news coverage reported the EPA denied oil had reached Morrow Lake, while a governor's office rep confirmed an ominous sheen had been visible during a flyover that same day. Meanwhile, "Kalamazoo County Emergency Management officials told 24 Hour News 8 [they received] conflicting reports on just how far the oil has been spotted." It's too bad they can't all agree on exactly where that oil is, but at least they have lots of boom.

Now get this: I watched countless hours of Gulf of Mexico oil spill video, never once imagining all that boom I saw stretched across the waters - all that boom which consistently failed to contain the oil - could have been done wrong. How would I know? I would never know, but I - like all other similarly ignorant and trusting souls - would assume the experts knew what they were doing. Weren't they experts? We watched the news videos, saw the boom, and - for awhile - hopefulness would briefly return.

It was already well into the heartbreaking decimation of Gulf wildlife, beaches, and livelihoods that I ran across an astounding video (link to it here or under "Sources" below). It featured the very fine rant of a perfectly P.O.'d and seemingly knowledgeable boom technician, who plainly pointed out all the problems with BP and its booming. Glaring problems, once you became aware of them - and, of course, if what the narrator says is true. For example, boom is not meant to contain oil - ideally, it is used to divert oil into catch basins or collection areas, which must be emptied regularly by vigilant boom attendants. Proper use of boom consists first of laying it out accurately in relation to the shoreline, currents, wind conditions, and other factors, and then manning it 24/7. Just a few points this video makes.

I have never found feedback on the Internet either praising or condemning the technical content of this video - seems no one wants to touch it with a 10-foot-pole either way - so I have not yet found a reason to disbelieve it. Even putting aside all the narrator's frustration and political commentary, the straight info on boom and boom alone is mind-boggling. I was left with the hollow feeling that I'd been had, that news consumers were being had, that the Gulf had been had... but how could that be? Were we being misled, over and over, regarding a delicate ecosphere's life-or-death situation? How could that be?

Fair warning: the narrator's eye-opening observations come generously steeped in sarcasm and heavily salted with blue language, but all adults - especially those in proximity of oil-spilled waters - should give this video a try. I watched and listened to it no less than 10 times and then I cried. You mean to tell me the Gulf marsh rookeries and sandy beaches could have come out of that horrible and unnecessary mess relatively unscathed, if only there had been a sufficient supply of boom and the technical know-how to go with? In the case of BP, it seemed even scarier - if BP didn't have the ability to master the relatively simple technology of the boom, how in the world would they conjure up the advanced technology required to safely cap that gusher for good? And that, of course, remains to be seen, God help us.

As for my Lake Michigan, all I can personally do to help protect it now is just raise the question, with the utmost urgency, just one more time, in case anyone ever decides to answer... "Do those guys really know what they're doing with that boom?"

SOURCES

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/oilspill/story.aspx?storyid=125432&catid=250

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kalamazoo_and_battle_creek/Booms-placed-at-Morrow-Lake

"Booming School 101"
http://current.com/technology/92451096_bp-fails-f-king-booming-school-101.htm

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UFNjJzHuX0

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwjQBl0OjZ0