Oily American Chernobyl

There is really nothing I can say at this point that would accurately describe my rage at the mindless corporate greed, my frustration at an uncoordinated government response, and utter sadness seeing a vital ecosystem and way of life being killed in slow motion. However, I can talk about the ignorance amongst the flotsam and jetsom of the uneducated masses who in many cases still scream out "Drill Baby Drill" or think the ocean will take care of this on its own.

One of the Marching Morons I am around on a regular basis said just a few days ago he did not see what the fuss was about since it was just a "swamp" and back before all those tree huggers they just use to fill such places in. Given his position I had to hold my tongue, I need to keep my job. Another fine example of intelligent citizenry commented on a local radio talk show that I tune in every now and then that he believes this is all some grand conspiracy to further push the country into socialism.

Such intellectual giants give me real warm fuzzies over the future of the country but there are other things I'd like to mention.

If I had a couple of more beers in me and really felt like pissing my time away I guess I could look up articles about how BP is said to own massive oil tankers equipped with pumps that can suck in contaminated sea water and separate the oil from the water which is pumped back into the ocean. These tankers were supposedly used to help clean up a spill in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea several years ago but people I feel reliable on one of the cable news networks say BP has them already filled waiting for the price of oil to go up before off loading them.

Also while I am no fan of Governor Bobby Jindal it has been reported that he has been begging the federal government for permits to dredge up sand to create barrier islands between the open ocean and the marshes to at least prevent some of the oil from getting in. Why the federal government is dragging their feet on this I have no idea. Give the current situation while creating these islands will not solve the problem they sure as Hell can't make things any worse.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that while the Gulf area is blasted with another epic disaster President Obama has been making the political rounds fund raising for the Democratic party. Hey I'm cool with that on a certain level but unfortunately perception governs reality, even more these days, and the cool detached Spock persona is being replaced with one more akin to Nero fiddling while Rome burns.


Greenpeace marine biologist Paul Horsman inspects oil washed ashore on a Mississippi River beach this week.
History suggests marshes don't easily bounce back from oil. For instance, the 1991 Gulf War spill—which occurred when the Iraqi military intentionally spilled up to 336 million gallons (about 1.3 billion liters) into the Persian Gulf—was most toxic to Saudi Arabian marshes and mud flats.
Up to 89 percent of the Saudi marshes and 71 percent of the mud flats had not bounced back after 12 years, according to Miles Hayes, co-founder of the science-and-technology consulting firm Research Planning, Inc., based in South Carolina. (See pictures of freshwater plants and animals.)
"It was amazing to stand there and look across what used to be a salt marsh and it was all dead—not even a live crab," Hayes said last week.

It gets even worse:

If the Gulf of Mexico oil spill kills just three sperm whales, it could seriously endanger the long-term survival of the Gulf's native whale population, scientists say.

Right now between 1,400 and 1,660 sperm whales live year-round in the Gulf of Mexico, making up a distinct population from other Atlantic Ocean groups, in which males make yearly migrations.

All sperm whales are considered endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. But the Gulf of Mexico population is thought to be especially vulnerable due to its relatively small size.

The whales are now at risk from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill, because they are likely to ingest or inhale toxic crude and noxious oil fumes. (See pictures of the oil seeping into Louisiana marshes.)

"We know there's going to be some [oil] exposure, and we know there's an endangered species. If you put those two thing together, there is reason for concern," said Celine Godard-Codding, an environmental toxicologist at Texas Tech University.

A 2009 stock assessment report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated that the potential biological removal, or PBR, level for the Gulf of Mexico sperm whale population is three.

That means the whales' long-term survival is at risk if, in addition to natural deaths, three sperm whales a year are killed or removed by human causes.

The loss of a handful of whales each year can impact a population of hundreds, because sperm whales—especially females—require a very long time to reach sexual maturity. Females then give birth to just three or four calves during their entire lifetimes.

"They're like humans. Most of the human population is not going to have six kids at once and do that every year," Godard-Codding said.

"As soon as we get to the level of three deaths caused by human interaction—and this would include the oil spill—that would jeopardize that particular sperm whale population."

Whales May Be Choked, Drowned, and Poisoned

Oil spills can affect sperm whales and other cetaceans, including dolphins, in a number of ways.

For starters, the marine mammals have to surface to breathe, and if they come up through an oil slick, they can suck the toxic substance into their lungs.

Also, the fumes on the surface of the water after a recent spill can be powerful enough to knock out full-grown whales, causing them to drown. (Read an eyewitness account of smelling the Gulf oil spill.)

Finally, the oil can taint the toothed whales' prey—fish and squid—affecting the whales' diets and hurting their chances of raising healthy calves. (See pictures of a sperm whale eating a giant squid.)

"The chemicals in the oil product that move up through the food web are a great concern for us," said Teri Rowles, coordinator of NOAA's marine-mammal health and stranding response program.

Previous studies have shown that at least some of the Gulf of Mexico sperm whales are known to hang around where the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was located before it exploded on April 20, triggering the spill.

"Between 2000 and 2005, about 300 [sperm] whales were seen on a consistent basis right in that area," Texas Tech's Godard-Codding said.

Dead Gulf Sperm Whales Hard to Tally

Some experts worry that the Gulf oil spill could be as damaging to sperm whales as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was to killer whales in Alaska's Prince William Sound. (See pictures of oil lingering in Alaska 20 years after Exxon Valdez.)

After the Exxon Valdez disaster, some populations of killer whales were reduced by as much as 40 percent, according to a 2008 study led by marine biologist Craig Matkin of the North Gulf Oceanic Society in Alaska.

Even now, that killer whale population has yet to recover and will likely go extinct in a few decades, Matkin said.

"We lost so many females out of that group that they couldn't catch up again. They still haven't caught up," he said.

If the current oil spill causes more than three Gulf sperm whale deaths this year, it could push that group into the "red zone," Matkin said.

Whether marine mammals are being affected by the Gulf oil spill is unclear. Oil is a suspected factor in the stranding of several coastal bottlenose dolphins (picture), but a firm link has yet to be established, NOAA's Rowles said.

"Deep-diving whales, like sperm whales living away from the shore"—and thus closer to the main body of the oil slick—"certainly have been exposed," she added.

Finding dead or affected whales will be difficult, however, because the animals spend most of their time underwater, and their bodies do not often wash ashore.

"In the aerial surveys that are being performed as part of the cleanup and marine-mammal observations, we are requesting that people report dead floating whales," Rowles said.

"That would be the most likely way we would detect dead sperm whales."

Real questions are also being asked about the toxic chemical dispersants being used to break up the oil. They may end up causing bigger problems in the coming decades effecting every lifeform up the food chain.

Unprecedented, untestedIn the Deepwater Horizon accident, the response team has used more than 670,000 gallons of chemical dispersants as of Friday — far surpassing any previous use in the United States. Most of it has been sprayed from airplanes, but the Deepwater Horizon response team also has applied at least 55,000 gallons in a completely untested way — injecting it at the well’s leaking riser, some 5,000 feet below the surface.

Tag-a-Giant Foundation Dr. Steve Wilson of Stanford University tags a 700-pound bluefin tuna off Canada with a satellite monitoring tag. The fish was tracked in 2009 as it travelled to the Gulf of Mexico, where the fish spawn, now the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

While the dispersant may result in fewer oily egrets in the marsh, the bluefin is one of the creatures that may suffer greatly instead. The oil spill area overlaps with only known spawning area for one of two remaining bluefin populations. This bluefin population spends about 10 months of the year in the cold waters of the north Atlantic and then swims thousands of miles to reach an area near the Deepwater Horizon well to disseminate sperm and eggs in the warm Gulf waters between April and June. The larvae float about 10 to 15 feet below the surface in early stages of growth. No one is certain whether the oil will destroy the eggs or kill the larvae, but scientists fear that could happen.

“It is a critical habitat … and this is the most delicate life stage,” said Barbara Block, a professor at Stanford University studies bluefin tagged with sophisticated tracking devices. “The biodiversity of bluefin is at stake right now. … If we lose the year (of new bluefin) it will have a very large impact on a population of bluefin that is on the edge of extinction.”