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Government Report on Gulf Oil Spill Inaccurate, Scientists Say at Least 79% of Oil Still in the Sea
Think the Gulf oil spill is over? Think again, say some scientists.
A few spots of oil sheen can be seen from the air off the coast of Grand Isle, La. Researchers from the University of Georgia called a recent government report "inaccurate" on Monday for claiming that three-quarters of the oil leaked from BP’s blown-out underwater well had either been collected, evaporated or burned off. Instead, the scientists say nearly 79% of the oil still remains in the Gulf of Mexico in some form. (Maloney/AP)
Researchers from the University of Georgia
called a recent government report "inaccurate" on Monday for claiming
that three-quarters of the oil leaked from BP’s blown-out underwater
well had either been collected, evaporated or burned off.
Instead, the scientists say nearly 79% of the oil still remains in the Gulf of Mexico in some form.
"One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless," said Charles Hopkinson, a marine scientist who headed the study, told the Wall Street Journal. "The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade."
A second study, conducted by a team at the University of South Florida, says dispersants used to break up the massive spill has pushed the oil to the bottom of the ocean floor.
"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," said John Paul, a USF marine microbiologist told CNN.
The April 20 explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig triggered the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, spewing more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf, the government reported.
Eleven rig workers died in the blast.
According to the report filed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior two weeks ago, 33% of the oil from the spill was collected, skimmed from the surface, burned or dispersed.
About 25% naturally evaporated and 16% dispersed into "microscopic droplets," the report said.
Meanwhile, the government’s point man for the oil spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said Monday he is not sure when the "bottom kill" for the exploded well will begin, but that once it does, it will take up to a week to complete.
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38 Comments so far
Show AllWell, for one thing, the Government wouldn't lie to us.
Also, the Gulf Oil Spill was YESTERDAY'S news. Now it's a Mosque near Ground Zero. Do you expect us to remember stuff that happened days, even weeks ago?
" Move along, people. Nothing goin' on here. Move on. Everything's under control. We got it covered. Now move it! Don't look back, either. I said, MOVE IT!!! Why does everyone I raise this subject with say " I'm so sick of this. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Those people and their families are so screwed. " The only people who think this disaster isn't still going on are on medication or work for BP. Even the fishermen and fish sellers aren't letting their families eat the products they are trying to sell. The average American knows all this baloney is to hide the errors of the regulators who are paid off flacks. We seem to be standing in line waiting our turn to be ground to dust by the corporate grist mill.
linkwray,
I think you are getting at a crucial point - many people are apathetic because they do not have to depend on the Gulf for their food supply or to make a living. It is the same thing with dead Iraqi civilians - if what happened in Iraq happened here in the U.S., people would react very differently because it directly affects them, whereas because Iraq is so far away, many people say "that is sad" when a car bomb explodes, killing 61 Iraqi civilians, and change the television channel.
On the West Coast we get little of our seafood from the Gulf area. I believe over 70% goes to East Coast markets. Yes, when they refused to show the caskets coming back from Iraq and we were told to go shopping to aid the war effort I fully understood this was a whole new ballgame. The weirdest thing I heard was at the meatcounter of a local grocery store. This couple in their early 60s interrupted my conversation with the butcher about this topic to yell, " Yea, it goes East but if they don't have it to sell our seafood will double in price and that is wrong, dammit, catfish will be $8 a pound. " Isn't that special? So much for caring, huh? The butcher looked at me and said, " Those people are so uninformed they don't know catfish comes from commercial ponds, not the ocean. " We are dealing with some pretty strange fellow countrymen and their selfishness in the face of this catastrophe is only exceeded by their ignorance. C'est la vie.!
And it's now perfectly safe to eat shrimp and Gulf seafood.
Wink, wink, wink.
I heard a Gulf shrimper on NPR say exactly that, and furthermore, that he brought home the shrimp to feed his family. This, after he noted that the oil,etc. was all on the bottom where the shrimp are found in the drag nets. He further worried that if the shrimp are thought to be contaminated that the industry will be shut down, so ...connect the dots.
No more shrimp for this lady.
If the manufacture of your car were as shoddy as the US mainstream media's coverage of the Greatest Ecological Disaster in US History, you simply could not drive it. If the nutrient value of your food were as shoddy as MSM coverage of that disaster, you would reach malnutrition within a couple of weeks. If your education were as shoddy as MSM coverage of that disaster, you could not get a decent job.
The deliberately poor performance of the US mass media, even when appearing to criticize the elite establishment, is intended to preserve the elite establishment, by misinforming and confusing the people, primarily through distorted frames and false assumptions.
To understand how, you only need to consider the questions raised in your own mind when reading the MSM articles. They usually raise more questions than they answer. This article is a prime example.
This is entirely predictable. Under U.S. environmental law, BP "owes" us for damages. Damages are assessed using a process called the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA, pronounced "nerd-ah"). The lower the volume of oil, the lower the assessed damages. Given the influence of corporations, especially Big Oil, on our governement ("influence"--there's my understatement of the day), expect the volume of oil to be zero by about mid-September, chemistry be damned!
Eddie -"Under U.S. environmental law, BP "owes" us"
FastEddie, my friend... you seem to have made a one-keystroke error. If you replace the "e" with an "n" - then your statement is crrect. Here... I'll do it for you..."Under U.S. environmental law, BP "owns" us".
Just remember... PB donated more to Obama(nation) over his career than any corporation in histoty.
So, YES... they do in fact OWN US!
Dear kalki:
BP owns us? Does China know this? What will we do! What will we do?
Oh, I see, BP will herd all of the angry and screaming citizens of the Gulf into metal fish farm cages, fatten them up, and sell them overseas to China as Cajen Crabs. Wow, we'll be exporting again.
Halliburton will take over the fishing boats for a "See the Whales Die" tour. With all of the decomposing sharks, the fins will come right off and leave the dead shark in the water. Labor free Shark fin soup! Exports to Japan and China!
BP will take those citizens dying from what will be know as the "Gulf Effect," and ship them to their off-shore hospices, called "The Happy Palin Place, where somewhat similar to the Alaska's wolves, citizens will be shot from subs as they dock and the right forelegs will be given to Monsanto for tissue and seed testing."
Hey, more jobs, fewer people; it's a win-win for the United Corporrations of America!
BP's new motto will be "WE RECYCLE EVERYTHING!" And don't you forget it!
I'm feeling very mean spirited about all of this, sorry***
stardust, maybe mean spirited, but very witty!
If the manufacture of your car were as shoddy as the US mainstream media's coverage of the Greatest Ecological Disaster in US History, you simply could not drive it. If the nutrient value of your food were as shoddy as MSM coverage of that disaster, you would reach malnutrition within a couple of weeks. If your education were as shoddy as MSM coverage of that disaster, you could not get a decent job.
The deliberately poor performance of the US mass media, even when appearing to criticize the elite establishment, is intended to preserve the elite establishment, by misinforming and confusing the people, primarily through distorted frames and false assumptions.
To understand how, you only need to consider the questions raised in your own mind when reading the MSM articles. They usually raise more questions than they answer. This article is a prime example.
If the media were doing its duty it would retain trusted knowledgeable sources for commentary on the disaster. They would explain where the bulk of the oil is and why, if the answer is not obvious. Those of us in technical fields would recognize the validity of the sources and support them, or not. Nobody is supporting the MSM's sources.
Actually, I wouldn't call the MSM's performance "poor," since I think they are doing exactly as they're told. From the point of view of their corporate owners, they are performing perfectly!
"Governments lie." I.F. Stone
It's unfortunate that Obama has seen fit to renege on his promise of transparency in the government, that he continues the GOP tradition of blatant lying to the people, and that he bends over backwards to allow corporations to continue to screw the American people. Only fools would believe that the greatest oil catastrophe in US history has simply and magically vanished into thin air and that the seafood in the Gulf is somehow unaffected and safe to eat. Bon Appetit!
"It'll be up to the shrimpers to determine if it's non-contaminated according to Kindra Arnesen"
So, the people who make their living selling this stuff to the public are the same ones who are going to determine if it's safe to eat. And Ms. Arnesen doesn't see a problem with this?
Obama is just a peg boy for the ruling elite! Isn't that bloody obvious? When they say "jump," he does. "Go swimming in the Gulf, peg boy." "Yes sirs!"
What a surprise! You mean the miraculous clean up by BP didn't get all the oil? You mean all that dispersant didn't really disperse it all but only sunk the oil to the deepest depths where we can't get at it? And all that oil that they burned wasn't even the majority of what made it to the surface? I'm amazed.
Of course this problem will be with the gulf, and the world for many years to come. BP will be off the hook within a few months and the American public will be mentally long gone in less than that. The medical problems will persist and the depletion of the ecosystem will endure... The ongoing disaster that is Western life continues.
The Gulf Oil "Spill" will be haunting us for decades to come.
Maybe it will be an antidote for Americans' short attention span.
well as long as it's turned into a cartoon series..................
Not Likely...
Haven't you heard??? ... Red Lobster and Golden Corrale are have "Shrimp Fest".
The shrimp have such a beautiful sheen... ya just keep comim back for more.
Obama, same old two-faced, ambivalent, playing it both ways, "bi-partisan" rogue prez.
you inadvertantly left an "n" out of your name -- oinkos. It will be centuries, if ever, before this garbage is cleaned up, but blaming Obama for it just feeds the Murdoc/Saudi diversion machine. If you can't lend a hand, don't stand in the way. It just shows you an obstructionist. Let me know when you hear the loud popping sound so I'll know you've left the FauxNews payroll.
I suppose a government report has nothing to do with Obama, because, well, clearly Obama is not a member of the government.
(As for humor, you get an F. Don't be so sloppy next time, please.)
"spewing more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf"
Why do peole insist on equating this spill to: "Gallons" instead of "barrels"???
The legal fines with will be levied on "BARRELS" NOT gallons...This gallons/barrels multiply divide confusion is annoying at best...Why not just use the common denominator of BARRELS which is equal to 42 gallons?
Is this another BP conspiracy???
"33% of the oil from the spill was collected, skimmed from the surface, burned or dispersed. About 25% naturally evaporated and 16% dispersed into "microscopic droplets,"
...and buildings really do explode and planes really do vaporize. Up is down, the earth is flat, and the moon is made of cheese. Out of sight is out of mind. So go back to sleep little boys and girls. Daddy has more killing to do.
"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen". I am a scientist. Let me assure you that the conclusion that 79% of the oil is still in the Gulf is balderdash too. If these scientists had told me 80% plus or minus 20% or something like that I might have believed them but 79% sounds too accurate, too precise to be believable. The Gulf is huge, therefore "nobody knows...."
Very interesting ........I remember statistics. Indeed, where is the margin of error here?
The stupid oil is still there, as it should be, B.P. did not collect 200 million barrels, so it's in the ocean on the bottom, and floating half way down from the surface. Obama is a liar, and a jerk from hell. At least with Bush we knew he was an idiot, and a war crazy,oil man, Obama pretended he was on foodstamps and suffered as a boy, which was hyped up lies. He is so freeking bad, I hate him and his lovely wife and her shopping trips while the country burns, they fiddle, I wonder if those kids know what a creep their dad is. Doesn't matter they are being raised to be the same, waving and smiling and eventually lying... I'm really getting very mad ....The Gulf is very sick and the animals are dying, and it's not even on the news anymore. Hell New Orleans is still laying in ruins ,60% of the city hasn't even been touched. We suck and we don't protest or do anything but bitch...even the stupid teabaggers are at least doing something it may be wrong, but they are trying, the supposed smart liberals aren't doing shit...I wish I could be like the rest of America, just not caring, going about my business with no clue or worry about the ,wars,the Gulf, the climate, oil and gas fracking, dead Afghanistan civilians,e poor Americans loosing their homes, dying because they don't have enough money,and their own neighbors say let them die I am not paying for their healthcare, I'm a good Christian so let them die. How can anyone be proud of their country when it behaves as ours does. We blame it all on the big corporations but the rudeness and lack of care is on the street level too, average people are as mean to each other as th companies are. It's almost like we are a ruined people like sour milk or something. We are tainted with the blood of innocent children with our illigal wars, and we turn our backs on each other...United We Stand ...Devided We Fall...well we have fallen and we can't get up !!