Two Years Later, Grim Photos From the BP Disaster

[xchrom]

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/05/greenpeace-bp-photos





It's been two years since the Deepwater Horizon disaster unleashed 4.9 million barrels of oil on the Gulf of Mexico. In the midst of the disaster, BP and its contractors did everything they could to keep people from seeing the scale of the disaster. But new photos released Monday offer some new insight to just how grim the Gulf became for sea life.

The images were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act Request that Greenpeace filed back in August 2010, asking for any communication related to endangered and threatened Gulf species. Now, many months later, Greenpeace received a response from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that included more than 100 photos from the spill, including many of critically endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles dead and covered in oil.

Most photos are missing dates and descriptions, though the FOIA request covered the period of April 20 to July 30, 2010. But they're pretty shocking—which is probably why they weren't made public at the height of the spill. "It just makes me furious," said John Hocevar, a marine biologist who works for Greenpeace. "I had so many conversations with people in various government agencies working on the Gulf spill, and I feel like they were hiding things from all of us."

"The White House was sitting on this stuff for over two years, at the same time they were saying everything was fine, that the oil was gone, and while they were rushing ahead with plans for new drilling in the Gulf, the Arctic, elsewhere," Hocevar continued. "It's just not OK. This is not an acceptable type of collateral damage."

[CrispyQ]

1. And BP is still in business, making money.

Love their happy ads on CNN every night about how great the Gulf is.

The photos at the link are heartbreaking.

[Magoo48]

3. Should have shut them down and seized everything they own. Talk about a threat to national security!

[Gregorian]

2. I cringe to think of the planet when the next billion is reached.

It may seem inappropriate, but it isn't. More people will mean more corporations. It is impossible to argue otherwise. There is only one way out of this. Even with renewable energy we'll still be using too many resources.

[Nihil]

6. Important points.

> More people will mean more corporations.

> Even with renewable energy we'll still be using too many resources.

[GliderGuider]

7. Our numbers and activity levels tell the story

If we insist on increasing our numbers and our level of activity, we are implicitly accepting these incidents as just another cost of doing business.

When an environmentalist speaks, I discount their opinion by over 50% if I find out they have produced children. Under age 30 with kids? -90%.

[Gregorian]

8. You have company.

When I discovered that Dick Gregory had ten kids I was rather upset. What a great man.

I can't get past it either. Funny how we feel very much alike. My vigilance hasn't failed me yet. I drank 4 or more beers per night for many years. I am athletic. But still, when I began to sense that something was wrong with me, I was conscious enough to immediately begin major changes. What I'm so upset about is the unconsciousness of these so-called modern people. Like my drive home yesterday. I have a sports car, and what extremely limited driving I do is done not only for transportation, but for fun while I'm at it. The number of people who are oblivious to someone who is behind them, at their mercy, exemplifies the unconsciousness of people today. Imagine trying that in previous generations where we lived in the wild. The unconscious were ripped apart by wild animals. We've been lulled into some kind of unconscious state.

[girl gone mad]

4. Drill baby drill.

It's never been safer.

[Blue Owl]

5. Just hate seeing the fish, turtles, and other sea life drowning in our toxic greed

Makes me vow to ride my bike more and use less oil.

[trof]

9. Tar mat unearthed in Orange Beach, AL Sat. May 5, 2012

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- A submerged oil mat filled with gooey tar remained buried under the sand east of Perdido Pass just north of Perdido Pass Bridge on Monday, while coastal officials devise a plan to get rid of it — just weeks before the summer tourists hit the beaches.

The tar mat was discovered Saturday morning when a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge contractor hit it, creating a strong odor and oil sheen near Outcast Marina, according to Phillip West, coastal resources manager for the city of Orange Beach.

West said he and response officials are 99 percent positive that the tar mat is a result of the BP oil spill of April 2010. Water samples were taken and sent to Auburn University.

BP PLC, majority owner of the oil well that was the source of the spilled oil, declined comment Monday and referred questions to the oil spill National Response Center.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/oil_mat_attack_planned_in_oran.html