mudra Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:02 pm
And the Dam Began to Crack…Two Studies and the Fishermen Speak Outhttp://draketoulouse.com/2010/08/18/and-the-dam-began-to-crack/Scientists, fishermen, activists…all across the Gulf Coast have been speaking out against what many of them believe to be unrealistic numbers from the government and with the news of two recent studies, the news media appears to once again be listening as the NOAA, state officials and in one particular instance, a seafood factory owner was forced to go on the defensive.
First the Georgia Study called into serious question the government’s claim that 75% of the oil was “gone,” instead suggesting that these numbers were being widely misinterpreted, that in fact dispersed oil is still toxic and is also still there, up to 79% of it lurking in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Next came a study by the University of South Florida finding oil from the Deepwater Horizon may have settled to the bottom of the Gulf as close as 40 miles away from the Florida panhandle. John Paul, a marine microbiologist at USF stated, “The dispersant is moving the oil down, out of the surface and into the deeper waters, where it can affect phytoplankton and other marine life.” The DeSoto Canyon, a channel on the ocean floor where the oil has spread is a part of the spawning grounds for much of the Gulf’s commercial fish. David Hollander, a USF chemical engineer said there is concern these droplets of oil could be consumed by fish and accumulate in the food chain, “small larval fish see these droplets as food so they’re ingesting pure oil.”
An NOAA spokesman, Justin Kenney defended his agency’s calculations, saying they were “based on direct measurements whenever possible and the best available scientific estimates where direct measurements were not possible.” NOAA response scientist, Bill Lehr, however disagreed, saying the vast majority of it is based on “educated scientific guesses,” because unless the oil was being burned or skimmed, measurements weren’t possible.
So, if all this oil does indeed exist under the water’s surface as these two studies suggest, it would seem to give pause to the government officials who continue to open up fishing grounds.
This is not the case.
And a growing number of fishermen are unhappy about it.
Read full article here and check links :
http://draketoulouse.com/2010/08/18/and-the-dam-began-to-crack/Love Always
mudra
Last edited by mudra on Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:48 am; edited 1 time in total