Please Do Not Tap On the Glass

Maybe this post isn’t exactly what the organizers of Blog Action Day had in mind, but it’s the subject that’s on my mind … the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

I grew up on the Gulf, my hometown sits on the west coast of Florida and my Dad lives about two miles from the Gulf. It’s what I think of when someone says “sea,” or “ocean,” or “beach” or “oil spill.” I really hate that last one.

Green Key Beach in my Florida hometown, 2010

If you believe our government, the same Administration recently called out as liars for not telling the truth about how much oil gushed into the Gulf by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, then the problem is solved. The moratorium on deepwater drilling was lifted seven weeks early and Big Oil promises to do a better job of not killing the planet. Beaches are opening in Florida, inspectors are sniffing dead marine wildlife to make sure it’s safe to eat (I know, right? sniffing it), BP burned off that pesky oil slick (along with hundreds of endangered sea turtles), so it’s back to business as usual, yes?

NO.

The National Audubon Society released a report on October 13 saying “… residual oil and chemicals pose substantial ongoing risk to bird population in the Gulf, which Audubon calls Grand Central Station for tens of millions of migrating birds.” Tom Bancroft, chief scientist for the Society, said that oiled birds on shore are in low numbers but the real danger lies in what we can’t see.

“I think at this stage of the game, it’s what the oil might be doing and the dispersants that was used to the food chains; are there decreases in abundance of food out there in the system; has it affected the behaviors and the reproductive ability of food things, like menhaden, which is one of the fish, or crustaceans or bivalves, all that are important food items for birds,” said Bancroft.

As for the oil being gone from the beaches in parts of the Gulf Coast, Bancroft said: “Well, we saw several things on Grand Isle State Park where we walked along the beach, there was one place there where oil was oozing up out of the sand. And they had a crew – BP had a crew there cleaning that oil as rapidly as it was oozed up. We also saw on Grand Isle, as well as on Chaland Headland, tar balls along the edge of the surf. As the waves were coming in, it was bringing tar balls. And while we were down there, on an island I didn’t get to, they had some fresh, still oily oil come ashore with some of the wave action that happened.”

Call me crazy but doesn’t sound like the oil has magically disappeared from the Gulf. In fact, University of Georgia researchers found a two-inch layer of oil at the bottom of the Gulf. “Oil at least two inches thick was found … about a mile beneath the surface. Under it was a layer of dead shrimp and other small animals, said University of Georgia researcher Samantha Joye, speaking from the helm of a research vessel in the Gulf.’

The latest findings show that while the federal government initially proclaimed much of the spilled oil gone, now it’s not so clear.”

So what happens now? Are we still counting on an Administration deep in the pockets of Big Oil to clean up the oil in Gulf waters? Are there still people out there who believe BP will continue to work on the mess they created (with help from our Congress who continually reject stricter safety standards for drilling)? Are Americans willing to stop driving gigantic cars, drink water from gazillions of plastic water bottles instead of demanding safer drinking water standards, and stop eating meat in order to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels?

What do you think?

s.

Filed under: conservation, endangered species Tagged: | blog action day, bp oil spill, gulf of mexico, gulf oil spill