More Sick and Deformed Sea Creatures

Many of the chemicals used in dispersants after the BP blowout contain petroleum distillates and especially 2-butoxyethanol, which are are medically known to be teratogenic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic, and exposure to them can lead to a long list of serious health effects, including death.  We are reaping what BP sowed--without thought, without restraint and without concern for the inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico or their descendents.

Over 40 percent of all seafood sold in the USA is caught in the Gulf.  This number will diminish as more deformed creatures are found and birth rates of survivors drop.  The Gulf of Mexico is a rich mixture of fish, crabs, sharks, porpoises, dolphins, sailfish and huge game fish. I believe BP has destroyed this rich mix and the livelihoods of those who depend on healthy fish to sell. The oil is still present, the dispersants left byproducts and the cleanup is NOT OVER.

 

Source: Gulf seafood deformities alarm scientists. Eyeless shrimp and fish with lesions are becoming common, with BP oil pollution believed to be the likely cause. (aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/04/201241682318260912.html)

 Two Years Later, the Oil Remains in the Wetlands of Louisiana

...wetlands are areas where the frequent and prolonged presence of water at or near the soil surface drives the natural system meaning the kind of soils that form, the plants that grow, and the fish and/or wildlife communities that use the habitat. Swamps, marshes, and bogs are well-recognized types of wetlands... Sec. 404 Clean Air Act (epa.gov/owow/wetlands/facts/fact11.html).

Everyone is on the oil train again with tar sands and pipelines and drilling in the Arctic. I say STOP and think about the price of oil exploration. Is it worth it?