Dead birds, dead fish, climate change, the Gulf oil spill and the Apocalypse

How quickly people seem to forget the anger and frustration they felt when they were watching the BP Macondo well erupting a volcano of black poison into the Gulf of Mexico. Nine months later, millions of fish and birds are suddenly, inexplicably dropping dead all over the world. Is the fear brewing among a confused population a subtle admission that we have finally lost the war we have been waging on our planet?

From the earliest days of civilization, humans have been trying to conquer and harness the forces and resources of nature. Each time we are humbled by an earthquake, or tornado, we pick up the pieces and rebuild, as if falsely convincing ourselves that an act of nature will never touch us again.

With technology came unnatural disasters; namely oil spills. Since the 1950’s when widespread oil drilling began, a feeding frenzy for black gold has evolved. It has pushed us deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth to fuel our growing thirst for energy. Along the way, political corruption and the drive for corporate profits have made oil spills one of the deadliest assaults on our world.

All oil spills are avoidable. Including the Deepwater Horizon disaster that polluted the Gulf of Mexico with so much oil, methane gas and toxic chemical dispersant, no one can say with certainty that the 5 million barrel event has not changed our environment forever.

In the midst of our delusions that the pollution of our atmosphere for the past 70 years has had no effect, we are fighting the battle of climate change. Science proves that our planet is changing. The debate revolves around whether it is natural, or if human pollution is either causing or accelerating it.

On New Year’s Eve 2010, thousands of birds, followed by millions of fish all over the world began to suddenly die. Like everything else we don’t truly understand, we manufacture what we think is a rational explanation for a disruption in our ecosystem that is mysteriously devastating the top of the food chain on four continents. Must be bad weather, authorities say, or perhaps noisy fireworks.

The always arrogant human race has blinded itself to the possibility that at the start of 2011 our planet reached a breaking point and finally said to us, “Enough. The damage is already done.”

Corporate greed and corruption has spread through our governments like a malignant cancer. And even if we found the strength to implement a ‘cure’ tomorrow, the decades of damage we have already done may be irrevocable and irreversible.

Prophesies of the Apocalypse do not always specify how or why we will meet our end, only that we inevitably will.

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Sunken oil from BP spill forms deadly blankets in Gulf waters

Fears of scientists over the BP oil spill are becoming evidenced in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Contamination from sunken oil is covering patches of the sea floor like black toxic blankets, smothering the ecosystem and threatening its delicate balance.

Sediment around the site of the BP blowout is showing high levels of toxins, according to data sited in the Wall Street Journal. “There is no practical way to clean up the spilled oil that has settled deep in the Gulf, officials said.”

During the height of the disaster, BP’s unprecedented use of nearly 2 million gallons of chemical dispersant came under fire from the EPA and scientific community, and in early May, just two weeks after the April 20, 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon that took eleven lives and marked the beginning of the disaster, the EPA ordered BP to stop using the dispersant for fear of long term environmental damage and risks to human health.

In June, under suspicion of a media blackout on the gushing Macondo well, the EPA did a sudden reversal on the dangers of the dispersant, issuing a report that claimed BP’s chemical was as harmless as ‘dish soap.”

The EPA turnaround, say whistleblowers, came in the form of pressure from the Obama Administration and BP officials concerned about the falling stock price of the oil giant.

By June 11th, 71 oil spill cleanup workers had been hospitalized in Louisiana, due to exposure to vapors from the toxic dispersant. On June 23^rd, the US Coast Guard confirmed the death of two members of the cleanup crew.

2010 Gulf oil spill aftermath: Millions of dead fish floating to surface

Image by SkyTruth via Flickr

The oil flow may have stopped flowing but the environmental disaster lives on. Environmental expert Rick Steiner believes that the oil spilled into the Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon disaster may have caused permanent damage to the ecosystem. Steiner and top NOAA official David Kennedy believe sheer volume of oil spilled is at the heart of the grim prognosis.

Approximately 4 million barrels of oil were poured into the Gulf of Mexico during the four month long gusher. Many scientists believe that BP’s heavy use of the chemical dispersant, made long term ecosystem damage worse.

Senior Washington Correspondent for the Huffington Post, Dan Froomkin said, “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is hoarding vast amounts of raw data that independent marine researchers say could help both the public and scientists better understand the extent of the damage being caused by the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico”

BP has been hiding data since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010. Just days after the disaster took eleven lives, BP officials persuaded an unknown number of scientists with lucrative contracts designed to block the public release of environmental and public health and safety data.

In a recent Fox 8 News interview, Louisiana Plaquemines Parish President, Billy Nungesser said he was demanding federal involvement when it comes to testing the waters in the parish hit by heavy oil. “We’ve never seen so many species floating in so many different areas. I’m begging the E.P.A., or somebody,” he said, “I’m begging them to do their job, get out there and let’s test and see what the hell is going on in the water.” 

P.J. Hahn, the Director the Plaquemines Parish Coastal Zone Management Department, is also deeply concerned about the implications from the numbers of dead fish now floating to the surface in Louisiana waters.

Sources and related articles

• BP's Oil Spill Still Killing the Gulf [Oil Spill]

• Third fish kill reported in Plaquemines Parish

  BP oil spill: Gulf of Mexico environmental damage may be permanent: NOAA video

Senate Republicans block subpoena power for BP oil spill investigation

Image via WikipediaThere was no explanation, only an objection by Republicans which effectively blocked the Presidential Commission on the BP oil spill from having subpoena power to conduct the investigation. “These guys are in bed with the oil industry,” said MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews.

The move makes little sense, apart from Matthews conclusion which suggests that Republicans have been financially motivated to protect BP from being forced to supply the facts on what caused the April 20, 2010 disaster that killed eleven people, and polluted the Gulf of Mexico with almost 5 million barrels of oil and 2 million gallons of toxic chemical dispersant.

Sen. Byron Dorgan D-ND said, “At a hearing that I was at we had Halliburton, Transocean and BP, all of whom were involved on this rig and this drill, and you know what they were doing is pointing at each other. Well, listen, the only way you’re going to get to the real truth and find out exactly what happened is to be able to subpoena all of them and say, look, you have got to produce all of your books and records so that we can inspect them and understand what happened a mile under the ocean out there.”

Historically, blocking subpoena power in disaster investigative commissions is unheard of. The terrorists crisis, the financial crisis and Three Mile Island commissions all had subpoena power.
Protecting BP does not serve the American people, and it will not bring the truth to the millions of people along the Gulf Coast who are entitled to answers. Moreover, it is an insult to the families of the eleven men who were killed the night the Deepwater Horizon exploded. It is difficult to fathom how the Republicans can justify obstructing justice in the BP oil spill, but that is exactly what they have done. The bigger question is, how can Americans let them get away with it?

BP To Remove Damaged BOP From Gulf Oil Spill Well

Image via WikipediaBP is scheduled to remove the damaged blowout preventer from the well that leaked more than 4.7 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico during the course of a four-month long oil spill disaster that began on April 20, 2010, with the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The BOP will be used as evidence in the United States Attorney General’s Office criminal investigation against BP.

According to Gulf Oil Spill Incident Commander Thad Allen, The Department of Justice is overseeing the removal of the old blowout preventer, which failed to stop the oil well from gushing out of control.

“Keeping the blowout preventer intact is important because it's considered an essential piece of evidence in determining what caused the blast aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20. After the explosion, 206 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico until the temporary cap stopped the flow. A new blowout preventer will be placed atop the well once the one that failed is raised. After that, the goal is to drill the final 50 feet of a relief well beginning Sept. 7, Allen said. From there, it will take about four days for drilling crews to reach their target,”according to Fox.

Once the new BOP is installed on the BP Macondo oil well, the relief well should complete the final sealing of the oil well before the end of September.

BP Chemical Dispersant called the Agent Orange of the 21st Centruy

Image via WikipediaThe Vietnam War and the BP 2010 Gulf oil spill may have more in common than most people think. Time will tell if Agent Orange and the BP oil spill dispersant, Corexit, are equally dangerous to human health. Some data suggests that the BP dispersant may be worse.

In August 2010, the government reported the death toll for animals in the Gulf oil spill disaster. Many scientists believe that the 4,181 count is a gross underestimation of the real numbers. Considering the fact that BP grossly underestimated the number of gallons of oil they spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, it should be no surprise that the public may be getting another miscount.

More than 150,000 Vietnamese children were born with birth defects after the US government used Agent Orange to clear forests during the Vietnam War. Another 3 million suffered other adverse health affects.

Democracy Now said, “With BP having poured nearly two million gallons of the dispersant known as Corexit into the Gulf of Mexico, many lawmakers and advocacy groups say the Obama administration is not being candid about the lethal effects of dispersants. ”

EPA whistle blower Hugh Kaufman said, “These dispersants were used in massive quantities, almost two million gallons, to hide the magnitude of the spill and save BP money. The government—both EPA, NOAA, etc.—have been sock puppets for BP in this cover-up. By hiding the amount of spill, BP is saving hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in fines, and so, from day one, there was tremendous economic incentive to use these dispersants to hide the magnitude of the gusher.”

During Senate hearings on the oil spill disaster, Senator Barbara Makulski (D- Maryland) referred to BP's chemical dispersants as the “agent orange” of the Gulf oil spill disaster.
It may be years before we know the true impact from the BP dispersant used in the Gulf oil spill disaster.

As more BP whistle blowers come forward with damaging evidence on the oil spill chemical, there will be more need for the public to be concerned. If it turns out that Corexit is as dangerous to human health as Agent Orange was, the worst part of the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster may be yet to come.

More links:

BP media blackout feeds conspiracy theory with false govt. reports of vanishing oil

BP Media Blackout Hides Dead Oil Spill Animals, Cutting Heads Off ...

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