Life seems healthy in Gulf coral habitats

Poor obama can't use the Gulf to further his anti oil agenda with a straight face. I find it amazing how resilient Mother Nature is.



ON THE FLOOR OF THE GULF OF MEXICO | Just 20 miles north of where BP's blown-out well spewed millions of gallons of oil into the sea, life appears bountiful despite initial fears that crude could have wiped out many of these delicate deep-water habitats.

Plankton, tiny suspended particles that form the base of the ocean's food web, float en masse 1,400 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, forming a snowylike underwater scene as they move with the currents outside the windows of a two-man sub creeping a few feet off the seafloor.

Crabs, starfish and other deep-sea creatures swarm small patches of corals, and tiny sea anemones sprout from the sand like miniature forests across a lunarlike landscape illuminated only by the lights of the sub, otherwise living in a deep, dark environment far from the sun's reach.

Scientists are currently in the early stages of studying what effects, if any, BP PLC's April 20 oil-well blowout off Louisiana and the ensuing crude gusher has had on the delicate deep-sea coral habitats of the northern Gulf.

So far, it appears the area dodged a bullet, but more research is needed. Some of the deep-sea corals near the spill site were only discovered just last year.

"Originally, when we saw the trajectory for the oil spill and where it was going, we were very concerned that these habitats would be impacted," said researcher Steve Ross of the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Mr. Ross and others are conducting research from a Greenpeace ship in the Gulf, using a two-man sub as they work to determine if the corals have suffered damage, or may take a hit from long-term impacts, such as stunted reproduction rates.

"We thought certainly that … we would see signs of damage," Mr. Ross said. "And we're very pleased to say so far, that in these locations, we haven't seen a large scale damage to the coral habitats. We're still looking, but so far, it's good."

Mr. Ross was part of a team of researchers that studied deep-sea corals in the Atlantic Ocean between North Carolina and Florida. The research eventually helped lead to added federal protections for a roughly 23,000-square-mile network thought to be among the largest continuous distribution of deep-water corals in the world.

Mr. Ross and others have now turned their attention to the Gulf.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/24/life-seems-healthy-in-gulf-coral-habitats/

 

Not sure how this is going to play out in the end concerning the environmental aspects. Mother nature is certainly resilient, but I am not so quick to think this is over.


But I will man up about one thing of this disaster, originally I was a HUGE BP hater in the beginning of this fiasco. But when they readily agreed to put up the 20 billion, they won me over. Yeah, they goofed and made a mistake, likely made a bunch of them. But when they "manned up" and put the money where there mouth was, I admitted that I was wrong about BP.
Hell Exxon fought paying for nearly 20 years and it took a Judge to make them. BP had no legal obligation, according to our laws, to do anything until the courts made them.
No, I come away from this disaster with a new found respect for BP.

 

Wow, that's a huge burn. Except for the fact that Obama expanded off shore oil drilling.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/science/earth/31energy.html

 

But did they actually issue any permits?

 

Is there a deadline they have to meet to where expanding drilling is relevant?

 

Check the date their genius, March 2010 was before the oil spill and the moratorium.

 

Well, if they announce they have expanded offshore drilling then don't issue any new permits, then they haven't really expanded it, have they?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/offshore-drilling-ban-dec_n_759392.html

 

Check the dates the expanded offshore drilling was issued before the spill and the moratorium. Since the moratorium, no new drilling or exploration has taken place, negating any expansion.

 

Don't be silly; the Gulf oil spill IS AN EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT !!! Just like "Global Climate Disruption" has become.

The BP oil spill is just sneaking up on us,waiting for us to let our guard down,and then.... BAM!!! We're dead.

 

That's my point. It's great to say that you've expanded drilling and lifted the moratorium, but if your underlings don't issue any new permits, then there has been no expansion and the moratorium is effectively still in place.

 

This is interesting, and I'd like to hear more surveys of the affected area to see how quickly things recover.

 

But expansion is still allowed, regardless if there hasn't been any permits issued yet. If a law is passed and nobody breaks it, that doesn't mean that the law doesn't exist.

 

I agree, but the big thing is the expansion was issued months before the spill even took place, and it was in areas that oil companies already know don't have oil, and then BP comes along and gift wraps a disaster for Obumble (which he screwed up anyway), which prompted the moratorium which then negated the so called expansion.

 

No it wasn't once the moratorium was put in place the expansion meant nothing.

 

Expansion is NOT allowed unless you issue the permits to do so. If no permits have been applied for since the time the expansion was announced, then your point is correct. But if permits have been applied for but not granted, then expansion has not really been allowed.

 

Permits have been requested for shallow and now for deep water as well, but very few if any have been granted. It is what we are calling a defacto moratorium.

 

So some have been granted. How about that moratorium?

 

Could it possibly be that the department overhaul promised is actually taking hold? If you no longer simply rubber stamp applications and actually started demanding critical planning and demonstrable methods of implementation than I'd certainly expect the flow of permits to slow to a trickle, at least for a while. If a real review is demanded and staffing is cut due to funding constraints, (as proposed by the Republican platform), then Jindal ought to applaud this new responsible government.

Simply another case of getting what you ask for.

 

Listen I understand you want to try and make it look as though Obumble is some sort of hero in this mess but unless you live here and are affected by what happened then you have no idea or clue. The moratorium may have technically been lifted, but it should have never been enacted the way it was to begin with and with all of the red tape and the holdups by those issuing the permits it (the moratorium) is still in place.

 

Remember that when you have to pay a lot more for EVERYTHING, because there isn't much that doesn't depend on the petroleum industry.

 

It's good to see that the coral habitats are doing well, but i think we should wait and see what a few years brings. It might take awhile for the effects of so much oil to really start to show in the area.

 

You admitted that the moratorium had beeen lifted and some permits had been granted. If you also want to argue that the moratorium hasn't been lifted, then you need to talk with yourself on what you actually mean, because you're saying two separate things. Paint my reaction (as correct as it was) however you want, but as long as permits are granted the moratorium is history. As you said.

 

This is good news.

Tip of the hat to Obama, Admiral Thad Allen, and BP for making sure the well head was safely capped.

It's a reminder that things could have been disastrous if Obama, BP, and the Coast guard had not brought the underwater oil gusher to a successful conclusion.

 

I'm confused... are you saying it wasn't a big deal that so many gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf? Or that we shouldn't be concerned if it occurs again so, drill away?

The truth is we don't really know the true extend of the damage and probably won't for years to come. In the meantime, it's in the best interest of America to persue other means of energy development. Wouldn't you agree?

 

Well then using your logic then I guess that racism is doesn't exist, considering that slavery was abolished over 100 years ago a some minorities have been very successful, and even elected president.