BP Spill: Has the Damage Been Exaggerated?

garysher · 07-29-2010, 02:47 PM

"The impacts have been much, much less than everyone feared," says geochemist Jacqueline Michel, a federal contractor who is coordinating shoreline assessments in Louisiana.

Yes, the spill killed birds — but so far, less than 1% of the number killed by the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska 21 years ago.

Yes, we've heard horror stories about oiled dolphins — but so far, wildlife-response teams have collected only three visibly oiled carcasses of mammals.

Yes, the spill prompted harsh restrictions on fishing and shrimping, but so far, the region's fish and shrimp have tested clean, and the restrictions are gradually being lifted.

And yes, scientists have warned that the oil could accelerate the destruction of Louisiana's disintegrating coastal marshes — a real slow-motion ecological calamity — but so far, assessment teams have found only about 350 acres of oiled marshes, when Louisiana was already losing about 15,000 acres of wetlands every year.

Marine scientist Ivor van Heerden, another former LSU prof, who's working for a spill-response contractor, says, "There's just no data to suggest this is an environmental disaster. I have no interest in making BP look good — I think they lied about the size of the spill — but we're not seeing catastrophic impacts." Van Heerden, like just about everyone else working in the Gulf these days, is being paid from BP's spill-response funds.

"There's a lot of hype, but no evidence to justify it."

The scientists I spoke with cite four basic reasons the initial eco-fears seem overblown.

First, the Deepwater oil, unlike the black glop from the Valdez, is unusually light and degradable, which is why the slick in the Gulf is dissolving surprisingly rapidly now that the gusher has been capped.

Second, the Gulf of Mexico, unlike Alaska's Prince William Sound, is very warm, which has helped bacteria break down the oil.

Third, heavy flows of Mississippi River water have helped keep the oil away from the coast, where it can do much more damage.

And finally, Mother Nature can be incredibly resilient. Van Heerden's assessment team showed me around Casse-tete Island in Timbalier Bay, where new shoots of Spartina grasses were sprouting in oiled marshes and new leaves were growing on the first black mangroves I've ever seen that were actually black. "It comes back fast, doesn't it?" van Heerden said.

Read more: BP Oil Spill: Has Environmental Damage Been Exaggerated? - TIME

intangible child · 08-02-2010, 09:13 PM

No way!

http://www.defendingthetruth.com/glo...shing-oil.html (Many in Gulf are outraged at reports of vanishing oil)

garysher · 08-03-2010, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intangible child

No way!

http://www.defendingthetruth.com/glo...shing-oil.html (Many in Gulf are outraged at reports of vanishing oil)

Way!

leighredf · 08-03-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

Way!

We'll have to wait and see, but the hype here has simmered down a lot.

garysher · 08-03-2010, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leighredf

We'll have to wait and see, but the hype here has simmered down a lot.

Perhaps if they find a fourth 'visibly oiled carcass' the howling will begin anew.

intangible child · 08-03-2010, 07:38 PM

http://www.defendingthetruth.com/env...publicans.html (The BP Republicans...)

If'n their oil stocks plunge they'd be ruined, too many eggs in one basket!