The Gulf Spill

[Jstangl]

This isn't Outer Banks related, but it's still a very interesting article in Time about the Gulf Spill.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...007202,00.html

[bizbach]

wow interesting. its still a shame but good to know its not as bad as they had thought.

[FreshFish]

Quote: "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," says Van Heerden, who, like just about everyone else working in the Gulf these days, is being paid out of BP's spill response funds. "There's a lot of hype, but no evidence to justify it."

[anchorman]

I hope they are right, but if onshore impacts are not as bad as predicted it is a function of the massive dumping of correxit and other dispersants into the ocean. All that oil is under the surface poisoning the food column from top to bottom. From what toxicologists tell me, it will be a very long time before I ever eat Gulf seafood again.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...p-2041241.html

And this brief talk from toxicologist Susan Shaw is a must-see:
http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_shaw_...trade_off.html

[hatterasnc]

Originally Posted by FreshFish

Quote: "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," says Van Heerden, who, like just about everyone else working in the Gulf these days, is being paid out of BP's spill response funds. "There's a lot of hype, but no evidence to justify it."

Hey Fish - agree and I am brought back to your earlier quote regarding never letting a crisis go to waste. Unfortunately, when the "crisis" doesn't pan out, it must be reformed and reframed into a "new crisis" so it may continue to be politicized and be used for blame, litigation and funding, as we are seeing now with "potential" damages due to dispersants. Next will come the endless marine life "testing" that only a few are privy to. Right out of the second-half game plan.

Do your best at saving the "environment" - not good enough to the second-guessers/non-participant suits in the Charlottesville office.

Anyway, non-local issue, should not have responded to you on this. Sorry.

[Crotalus]

Yeah, I watched a video the other day of a fisherman showing a news anchor one of his favorite spots off of the marshes and it was dead. No birds or birds fishing, no fish or shrimp jumping. He was pretty upset.

[hookedonfishing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM(language)

[Jim and Ginny]

My favorite was a piece aired that despite the requirement to limit dispersents because of harmful effects the coast gaurd continued to grant permission to use dispersents. Now what is interesting is that Obama went on TV and said BP cannot do anything he doesn't approve (the buck stops here). So I wondered how Obama would get out of this one.

Well it seems that the research on dispersents has been inconclusive and has been going on so long that it was defunded. So yesterday the white house administration releases a study that claims dispersents do less harm than the oil.

Sound familiar, DOI/NPS/SELC we want to close the beach we release a study that supports our position.

[anchorman]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_664298.html

See above for a revealing piece on dispersant use. Like I said before, I think I just ate my last Gulf shrimp.

[hatterasnc]

Gin - understand, but...Any temporary loss of gulf seafood, which shall thrive again, bodes well for our commercial partners on the Atlantic Coast! After all, when you get your shrimp in NY, Arlington, Charlottesville, Raleigh...or wherever...how do you know where they come from? Must you have to give up seafood entirely?

The only stamp you can trust is local. BUT, you must be local to see it.