Oli Slick Update

Once again the citizens of Camden County have answered the call for
help and, on behalf of the St. Marys EarthKeepers and our city, I
thank you.

The Tribune & Georgian article can be found at http://www.tribune-
georgian.com/articles/2010/05/05/news/top_stories/1topstory5.5.txt

We now have over 100 volunteers who have signed on to pitch in if
needed (some of whom are willing to go to the Gulf should we be
called to do so). In the next week or so, the GaVOAD will supply us
with the necessary HAZWOPER information - and the Gulf agencies with
whom we are registered as volunteers are in constant contact as they
assess the situation and set up training camps.

Oceanographic and meteorological experts can only "guesstimate" as to
the possibility of the slick entering the Gulf Loop current...
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/05/05/05greenwire-unpredictable-
current-is-wild-card-in-gulf-dis-51911.html?pagewanted=1

Many experts maintain that it is not an "if" scenario, but "when"...
"If the slick contacts the so-called Loop sea current, the oily sheen
could eventually be carried to Miami in southern Florida, or as far
as North Carolina's barrier islands, warned Robert Weisberg, a
physical oceanographer at the University of South Florida. "Exactly
when the oil will enter the Loop Current at the surface is unknown,
but it appears to be imminent," Weisberg said, referring to the
prevailing current in the Gulf."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6430AR20100505?
feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_
campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%
29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Should the worse happen - the oil and disperants become caught in the
Gulf Loop - it will be an "all hands on deck" situation for
Cumberland Island and the most pressing need at that point will be to
clear the 17 miles of beaches of all man-made and natural debris (in
order to facilitate more effective clean-up). But we, as a community,
are blessed by willing hands and we will be as prepared as it is
possible to be.

I thank you...and ask for your patience and prayers. I know that so
many are aching to help in some way now, but we must let nature
dictate our actions and wait for the knowledgeable agencies in the
Gulf (and our own state) to direct us. I shan't burden your inboxes
with up-dates as we all watch and wait but I will, most assuredly,
contact you all if the "worst-case-scenario" occurs.

Alex

Alex Kearns
Chair
St. Marys EarthKeepers, Inc.
Office: 912-673-6120
Cell: 912-322-7367
Email: alexkearns1@msn.com