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According to government estimates, as of yesterday anywhere from 39 million to 111 million gallons of crude oil has gushed into the Gulf of Mexico [from the Deepwater Horizon leak]...
Yet, while this oil spill and others before it have dominated the news, according to a National Research Council (NRC) report, at least 375 million gallons of oil end up in the world's oceans virtually unnoticed every year from natural sources and from human activities associated with the extraction, transportation and use of oil. Should the current rate of uncaptured oil discharged from the BP well continue, the spill will equal the yearly amount of oil entering the world's oceans sometime in August. Which is just about the time relief wells will, supposedly, completely plug the Deepwater Horizon gusher.
Unfortunately, no such end is in sight for the apparently massive background level of oil pollution.
Originally posted by Ceriddwen
To trivialize it as such is rather irresponsible...
Originally posted by LDragonFire
Tell this to the fishermen out of work, tell this to the families affected by this slow motion catastrophe.
Originally posted by LDragonFire
Tell this to the countless numbers of birds and aquatic plants and animals that are going to die in the coming weeks and month. [including the ones already dead]
Originally posted by LDragonFire
So should we just reopen the beaches and take a dip? Would you Doc?
Originally posted by Doc Velocity
Yet, you can't SHOW ME any precedent for that statement. Point me to an instance of a crude oil spill killing "countless numbers of birds and aquatic plants and animals"... You've seen a few photos and videos depicting a couple of dozen dead fish, a handful of oil-stained Pelicans (who walked away just fine), and you've read these anecdotal stories of threatened marshes — "Tonight, everything in that marsh is dead."
Except that there's no proof to back it up.
Originally posted by SonicInfinity
Quick question Doc Velocity: If a major hurricane hits the Gulf area soon and completely destroys the Gulf Coast by covering it in oil and Corexit 9500, will you take back your statements on this being an "extinction level event"? I mean technically, humans, fish, birds, etc., will still exist around the world, but all of the Gulf Coast's heritage, livelihood, etc., will be extinct.
Originally posted by Doc Velocity
C'mon, I know there are some people down there in Galveston who can back me up on this.
Originally posted by burdman30ott6
II'm still trying to figure out whether you really believe that this oil is no big deal or whether you're sitting with a lockbox full of BP stock and trying to convince yourself that as long as you say everything's OK, everything will stay hunky dory, Doc.
People, crude oil is organic. In its natural state, it poses little or no threat to the environment. It's when we humans gather the stuff up and process it and distill it and refine it into synthetic petroleum products that the stuff becomes very toxic.
But, people, you can put natural crude oil in your mouth without any consequence. I mean, I wouldn't recommend it — it has a very rich, nasty taste that you'd probably find disagreeable.