Warren,
We too would like to be hearing more than the media is sharing as we are spending the summer in northern MN. We also have missed Dr. Bob's normally very frequent postings.
I have been following things daily on the internet though and here is what I've been lead to believe:
Most all of the coast beaches at least as far east as Panama City have had oil and tarballs. Some but not all of the bays and backwaters have had some oil, but to a lesser extent. I have not heard that upper Perdido Bay (Dr. Bob country) has seen any oil at all. Some of the AL backwaters have been spared and some of Mobile bay as well. No oil made it into Bon Secour R. where we are. A lot of the backwater areas saw effective use of booms and small skimmers. From what I've been able to tell, very little oil made it as far east as Marc. I sure hope and am expecting him to chime in on the topic.
WE ARE ELATED THAT THE GUSHING HAS BEEN STOPPED.
If all goes well, in a week or two or even sooner the floating oil will be history. It is down to just sheen now. It was reported just this morning that no more recoverable oil was present on the gulf. Last Thursday AL reopened shrimping in Mobile Bay. To me these are very favorable reports.
The huge unknown is: What have we lost, and how long will it take before we get it backl? Only time will tell.
Our hope is that when we return home in late Sept., we can enjoy the water again and maybe eat some fish and seafood. Probably have to get our oysters from Marc!
Dan
