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Science-Technology Title: Invisible Disaster Unfolding In Gulf of Mexico: Experts Oil may not yet be washing ashore in large quantities in Louisiana but an environmental disaster is already unfolding deep down in the Gulf of Mexico and in the swirling currents on its surface, experts warned Thursday. "Everyone is focusing on the beaches and coastal wetlands, which, goodness knows are important enough, but we're missing many of the already ongoing ecological effects of the spill," Doug Rader, chief ocean scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, told reporter. Louisianans and Floridians were warily watching their beaches and wetlands and laying down booms to trap any sludgy mixtures of oil and sea organisms that might wash ashore in key tourist and wildlife expanses on the U.S. Gulf coast. Wildlife officials in Louisiana Thursday reported finding two lifeless oil-coated gannets in fishing waters near the Grand Gosier Islands off the coast of the southern state. But other, much less visible, lethal effects of the spill could have an equal if not greater impact on the region. Toxins in the crude oil that is still flooding out of the pipework of a sunken rig, mix with the tiny larvae of sea animals that move with the surface currents to nearby and far-away spawning zones. "That surface zone is where the oil is at its most toxic and the animals are at their most sensitive," said Rader. "This could wipe out an entire generation of snappers, groupers and other fish." If the oil gets into areas where fish are spawning, "You're affecting the offspring, so that could have effects for a couple years," said LuAnn White, a toxicologist at Tulane University's Center for Applied Environmental Public Health. With the complex network of currents in the northern Gulf threatening to overlap the spill area and suck the pollution downstream, "a whole litany of really important essential habitat and ecosystems" are in danger, said Rader. "People have been thinking of the beaches and wetlands of the northern Gulf in terms of shorebirds and people sitting on the beaches, and hotels and tourism, but the surfzone just adjacent to the beach is a really important foraging ground for all sorts of sea creatures." Of course, the oil doesn't just float on the surface and latch onto currents heading to Florida, the western Atlantic and potentially into the Gulf Stream. It is also taken up and held onto by particles that sink to the bottom of the sea in a drizzle of hydrocarbons and toxins. "The reason that's disproportionately important with this spill is because where the spill is overlies one of the most important ancient deepwater coral reefs in the northern Gulf - Viosca Knoll," said Rader. Coral reefs not only provide protection and shelter for many species of fish but also help to control how much carbon dioxide is in ocean waters and protect coastlines from strong currents and waves. "The oil spill is raining down little bits and pieces of toxic material on this multi-thousand-year-old reef," said Rader. Subscribe to *Spill-Baby-Spill* Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Rush Limbaugh:
“The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there. It’s natural. It’s as natural as the ocean water is.” Being a Republican means you get to choose your own reality. #2. To: go65 (#1) Obama Administration via the Coast Guard: 'There is no leakage' The Today Show, first Monday after the explosion occured. Matt Lauer interview. I can see NOVEMBER from my House.... #3. To: Badeye (#2) (Edited) Obama Administration via the Coast Guard what the Coast Guard REALLY said: A petroleum drill rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico did not appear to be leaking oil from the ocean floor as of yet, US authorities said Friday. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry said cameras inspecting the wreckage did not pick up signs of leaking oil but the possibility could not be ruled out. #67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace #4. To: war, badeye (#3) A petroleum drill rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico did not appear to be leaking oil from the ocean floor as of yet, US authorities said Friday. facts are not badeye's friend. Being a Republican means you get to choose your own reality. #5. To: go65 (#4) They said it before Monday as well, huh? Ooookay. Doesn't change the fact it also was said the Monday after the explosion live on The Today show as I mentioned above. But then again, as I've been noting, being a Liberal Democrat means you are required to ignore reality. I can see NOVEMBER from my House.... #6. To: Boofer. go65 (#5) (Edited) They said it before Monday as well, huh? Chuckles...your first post on the topic of what you misrepresent as the Coast Guard's position noted that it was said on a Friday. Now youo're not onlyh pretending what they said, you're pretending when they said it. /dumbfuck #67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
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