New Federal Report Says Gulf of Mexico Cleanup Needed “Urgently”

[GoLeft TV]

A preliminary report released Wednesday by the federal Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force says that cleanup is needed for the Gulf of Mexico “urgently,” in order to protect the environmental and economical status of the Gulf.

The task force was established by President Obama after the oil disaster in the Gulf last summer, and is set to deliver a final report on the status of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a restoration strategy for Gulf Coast states to implement in order to save the region. The goals set forward by the task force include conserving habitats along the Gulf Coast, improving water quality, protecting coastal resources, and enhancing the resilience of coastal communities.


After last year’s oil geyser and decades of runoff from the Mississippi river, the Gulf is facing extreme conditions that are making it more and more difficult to sustain the life of the Gulf Coast region.

Full story at DeSmogBlog - http://desmogblog.com/new-federal-report-says-gulf-mexico-cleanup-needed-urgently

[ensho]

1. kick

nt

[Javaman]

2. sadly, this will be relegated to the bottom of the pile...

in politics bringing up old news that was "dealt with" is a big no no.

not until bodies of congress people poisoned by the spill start washing up on the shores of Louisiana, will something be done.

[izquierdista]

3. Oxygen

What's required for cleanup is oxygen, as in pumping air into the water. The dead zone due to fertilizer runoff down the Mississippi? The missing ingredient is oxygen to get critters to eat all the phytoplankton that's being produced. The crude oil spilled from the BP well? The missing ingredient is oxygen to keep the bacteria metabolizing the oil.

This is not unknown science. A research group from the University of Georgia has been measuring oxygen levels, mapping out the areas affected, and studying the results of oxygen deficient waters. What they haven't done is to install regenerative blower pumps and see what that can do to improve the situation (they are scientists after all, not engineers).

If we actually had an EPA that could actually order remediative actions, they would be requiring every drilling platform and oil rig in the Gulf to be pumping a certain number of cubic feet of air per hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, into the water. They might even install barges whose sole purpose was to oxygenate the water, pumping air to the bottom and diffusing it out into small bubbles.

Yes, it would cost money. Any competent engineer could calculate how much fuel it would take to run how many pumps for each cubic foot of oxygen that was added to the water. There would also be costs for equipment and for personnel to run the equipment. But that's what it's going to take. Otherwise, the Gulf Coast is going to turn into an anoxic sea of death.

[Nihil]

7. As you say, the solution is shockingly simple ...

... and the political will is pathetically absent.

:-(

[bvar22]

4. Anybody know what happened to the $20 Billion Dollars?

What percentage actually trickled down to the people who needed it?



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

Solidarity 99!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[hatrack]

5. Why, it all went to tv commercials and YouTube ads, of course!

nt

[Nihil]

6. Only the bit that didn't go into the pockets of the politicians. (n/t)