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"That unseen oil, though, is what will foul the Gulf for years, (perhaps generations), eating away at the basic elements of the food chain that are the building blocks for fisheries, birds, sea turtles and mammal populations."
Louisiana State University (LSU) biological oceanographer Robert Carney says scientists are finding plenty of oil, under Louisiana islands, beneath Florida beaches, and in unseen ocean reaches.
Biological oceanographers Markus Huettel and Joel Kostka discovered large oil swaths up to two feet deep on a "cleaned" Pensacola beach. With little oxygen, it'll remain for decades. It gets trapped underground when tiny droplets penetrate porous sand or when waves wash it ashore, burying it. Huettel explained further that previous oil under beaches migrates into groundwater, causing hazards to wildlife and humans, not knowing what they're drinking is contaminated.
He noted also that deep sea spills are "unchartered territory," dispersants for the first time used at depths down to 5,000 feet, settling oil on the seafloor, the mixture suspended and preserved, causing long-term harm for deep-sea animals, and disrupting a large part of the food chain.
University of South Florida (USF) chemical oceanographer David Hollander is also alarmed, calling the 75% claim "ludicrous." USF scientists and Vernon Asper, University of Southern Mississippi oceanographer, were "lambasted" by NOAA and Coast Guard officials when they reported a giant undersea plume, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco telling them to stop "speculating" when, according to Asper, "We had solid evidence, rock solid."
Hollander said "What we learned completely changes the idea of what an oil spill is. It has gone from a two-dimensional disaster to a three-dimensional catastrophe," NOAA and other government agencies enforcing cover-up, denial, and distorted media reports.
On August 8, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Director Carol Browner told NBC's Meet the Press that "the vast majority of oil is gone." On the same day, Thad Allen, on CBS' Face the Nation, congratulated BP for a job well done, criticizing only its PR errors, smoothing the way to end the oil drilling moratorium, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation Director Michael Bromwich saying expect it "significantly in advance of November 30."
Hazardous Toxins Threaten Gulf Coast Residents
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