On the three year memorial of the BP Oil Spill disaster I wanted to share with you one very important fact. BP has been lying to you! Due to decades of abuse by the oil and gas industry and a willingness by state and federal government officials, the Gulf of Mexico was already a compromised ecosystem. But in the wake of this tragedy, the oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit has wreaked havoc in ways that can been seen clearly, such as oil on Elmer’s Island near Grand Isle three years later. But it has had effects in ways much harder to measure such as in the health of local residents. deformities in the seafood commonly seen in certain parts of the Gulf and coastal land loss.
The island shown in this clip was full of life, but now is completely dead. We got a chance to visit another island close to this which was still holding on, but for how long? Much of the beauty of the Gulf cannot be seen from the comfort of a sandy beach, yet it is these island that give sanctuary for wildlife that can be seen all throughout the region. We need to act now to save the few remaining habitats.
Compromised seafood is being sent throughout the country around the world from the Gulf and what has been instituted is a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Local shrimper don’t know what this blackening in the gills of the shrimp is every time a questions gets raised definitive answers don’t follow. This is maddening! With all the money being spent in the region nothing is being done illuminate what is happening to the seafood that is being harvested, consumed and distributed from the Gulf. Would you feed something that was questionable to your kids? I hope not.
Music by: Max Richter – On The Nature Of Daylight
