11 votes

Deepwater Horizon disaster altered building blocks of ocean life

5 comments

  1. [2]
    nil-admirari
    Link
    Oil spill disaster reduced biodiversity in sites closest to spill, report finds, as White House rolls back conservation measures.

    Oil spill disaster reduced biodiversity in sites closest to spill, report finds, as White House rolls back conservation measures.

    7 votes
    1. jprich
      Link Parent
      Those fish and turtles and such cant donate to re-election campaigns. So fuck em.

      Those fish and turtles and such cant donate to re-election campaigns. So fuck em.

      3 votes
  2. [2]
    Neverland
    Link
    I am a bit surprised the oil dispersant Corexit was not brought up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corexit#Criticism

    I am a bit surprised the oil dispersant Corexit was not brought up.

    EPA whistleblower Hugh Kaufman gave an interview to Democracy Now during the height of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill news coverage and explained his views on the use of Corexit, saying "EPA now is taking the position that they really don’t know how dangerous it is, even though if you read the label, it tells you how dangerous it is. And, for example, in the Exxon Valdez case, people who worked with dispersants, most of them are dead now. The average death age is around fifty. It’s very dangerous, and it’s an economic — it’s an economic protector of BP, not an environmental protector of the public."[101]

    Marine toxicologist Riki Ott blamed BP for poisoning locals with Corexit, which she alleges they used to hide their responsibility.[102] In August 2010 she wrote an open letter to the Environmental Protection Agency alleging that dispersants were still being used in secret and demanding that the agency take action.[103] The letter was published in the Huffington Post. Ott told Al Jazeera, "The dispersants used in BP's draconian experiment contain solvents, such as petroleum distillates and 2-butoxyethanol. Solvents dissolve oil, grease, and rubber. It should be no surprise that solvents are also notoriously toxic to people, something the medical community has long known."[104]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corexit#Criticism

    6 votes
    1. nil-admirari
      Link Parent
      IIRC Corexit was banned by 18 nations and BP continued its use despite being banned in the UK. Fuzzy memory about this so if I am mistaken, hopefully someone will correct me.

      IIRC Corexit was banned by 18 nations and BP continued its use despite being banned in the UK. Fuzzy memory about this so if I am mistaken, hopefully someone will correct me.

      3 votes
  3. MangoTiger
    Link
    Not surprising, but disappointing all the same. I think this will be one of the key takeaways of the Trump era: that we shouldn't expect true, lasting change to come from the top down, it must...

    Not surprising, but disappointing all the same.

    “In the absence of a president who is willing to lead, it is now more important than ever that coastal governors, tribal leaders, state legislatures and local communities take up the mantle of leadership and work together to defend and restore the health of America’s oceans.”

    I think this will be one of the key takeaways of the Trump era: that we shouldn't expect true, lasting change to come from the top down, it must come from the community, local, and state level on up. This will be crucial for not only reversing these measures, but also for ensuring that future protections can't be rolled back so easily.

    2 votes