Sixty-two days have passed since the initial explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the crude oil and natural gas continue to gush from the seafloor. Louisiana's state treasurer has estimated environmental and economic damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could range from $40 billion to $100 billion.
Here are recent photographs from the Gulf of Mexico, and of those affected by the continued flow of oil and gas into the ocean.
3 comment(s):
And how about the oil spill in the Red Sea? That has been going on for a week now!
http://www.scientias.nl/olielek-rode-zee-lekt-nog-steeds/11608
Bye Bye Hurgada! :-(
An Environmental Emergency
As we continue to try to deal with the largest oil spill in history, it's important to recognize that other oil sites like the tar sands of Alberta, Canada are just as destructive to the environment as the accident in the Gulf of Mexico, yet no one considers it a disaster. The truth is we've got to kick the oil habit, and we've got to start NOW.
WATCH and learn more @ (http://www.babelgum.com/browser.php#play/SEARCH,channelID:180727,order:FEATURED/0,3015242)
Lily, anyone uneducated enough to call them "tar" sands needs to do a bit of research. They are bituminous sands; tar is something else entirely. The land there is indeed polluted - naturally polluted. I've talked to folks who grew up there, and they're telling me how different it is to be able to canoe down rivers that are now clean, and no longer have oil slicks floating on them.
Oh, and the open pit mines can only be done where the bitumen is close to the surface - where it's also most harmful to the environment. That's only about 2% of the entire works. The rest is in situ mining, which is completely different. As for those tailing ponds? They're what's keeping contiminated soil and water from re-entering the ecosystem. Cleaned soil and water is being returned after only about 20 years, instead of the 100 or so years it would take naturally.
Would you really rather have all the bitumen to continue contaminating the soil and water, as it has been for thousands of years?
Post a Comment