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Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
Sun Apr 20, 2014, 12:41 AM Apr 2014

Deepwater Horizon disaster continues to harm environment

This week, as we mark the fourth anniversary of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, evidence of that catastrophe's effects on wildlife continues to emerge.

Despite sunny assurances from BP, the largest oil spill in U.S. history is leaving its mark on everything from marine mammals to mollusks.

Bottlenose dolphins have been particularly hard-hit.

Some 900 of these graceful creatures have been found stranded, most of them dead, in the northern Gulf between April 2010 and March 2014, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently published a study linking the ill health of dolphins in Louisiana's Barataria Bay - anemia, adrenal problems and lung disease - to oil exposure.

Birds that migrate through the Gulf Coast or winter here are likewise showing signs of oil exposure.

http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Kaderka-Deepwater-Horizon-disaster-continues-to-5414014.php



A flotilla of fire boats battle flames in the aftermath of the explosion of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon on April 21, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Photo By U.S. Coast Guard/Handout

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Deepwater Horizon disaster continues to harm environment (Original Post) Rhiannon12866 Apr 2014 OP
I recommended this OP. NYC_SKP Apr 2014 #1
Thanks so much for posting this informative map, my friend! Rhiannon12866 Apr 2014 #2
I'd hoped that peak oil would force us to go to better energy solutions. But... NYC_SKP Apr 2014 #3
So much harm done in the Gulf. madfloridian Apr 2014 #4
Mahalo, Rhiannon for making us aware of our precious environment.. Cha Apr 2014 #5
Unbearable suffering inflicted upon those without power to have escaped, or found help for the pain. Judi Lynn Apr 2014 #6
K & R! lonestarnot Apr 2014 #7
 

NYC_SKP

(68,644 posts)
1. I recommended this OP.
Sun Apr 20, 2014, 01:01 AM
Apr 2014

It will take generations for mother nature to undo this harm. I wish I could say that it only happens very infrequently but there are tens of thousands of miles of pipeline UNDER WATER in the Gulf, and tens of thousands or bore holes.

The odds are against us.

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
2. Thanks so much for posting this informative map, my friend!
Sun Apr 20, 2014, 01:09 AM
Apr 2014

Reading through this article, learning about how horrifically the marine mammals, birds and aquatic life have been and still are being harmed is truly heart wrenching. We know that we're still feeling the effects of the Exxon Valdez spill from more than two decades ago, so how long will the inhabitants of this huge area continue to suffer? How soon we forget...

 

NYC_SKP

(68,644 posts)
3. I'd hoped that peak oil would force us to go to better energy solutions. But...
Sun Apr 20, 2014, 01:27 AM
Apr 2014

What we got instead are much deeper offshore bore sites, new strategies for extraction like hydraulic fracturing (not new really, just more widely deployed), extraction from shale and tar sands.

Until we revolt and say "No More!", they'll keep going.



The Gulf is one thing, watch our for oil shale:




FEATURE: Analysts predict more drilling in US shale plays in 2014

Houston (Platts)--27Dec2013/358 pm EST/2058 GMT

With thousands of shale and other unconventional wells drilled in the US this year, could 2014 possibly get any better? Most analysts seem to think so.

If more equals better, then 2014 will likely be another sizzling year for the drill bit in the US, with a cascade of funds chasing a horde of anticipated initial public offerings, expanded oil-company development programs, greater drilling efficiencies and more horizontal wells than ever, analysts and upstream experts say.

"The focus will continue to be on the core resource plays," Topeka Capital Markets analyst Gabriele Sorbara said. "Dollars are going into development mode."

To that end, "I think you'll see a robust IPO market," Sorbara said, as private operators gear up to grow in established plays such as the Permian Basin in West Texas, the Eagle Ford in South Texas, the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana, the Niobrara in Colorado, and the Utica and Marcellus plays in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

http://www.platts.com/latest-news/oil/houston/feature-analysts-predict-more-drilling-in-us-21004891


Judi Lynn

(160,211 posts)
6. Unbearable suffering inflicted upon those without power to have escaped, or found help for the pain.
Sun Apr 20, 2014, 05:27 AM
Apr 2014

Who really can forgive cruelty and indifference to others?

Thank you for bringing this forward. We need to think about it again and again and again. We seem to be the ones who care. Let's hope there are far more of us than we may have feared.

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