BY DELORES SAVAS – Is it time to write an obituary for the Gulf of Mexico? Not yet, although hospice is standing in the wings.
Boca Grande is alive and well for now. So tourists should not stay away. Come to the island and enjoy the shores while everything is how it should be. You may not be so fortunate in the future.
Many are wondering: Can the oil reach the island’s beaches? Domenica Ventura, director, Provitapax Marine Research Association independent volunteer researcher) and area resident said, “Major surface currents in the Gulf of Mexico are essentially the same distribution and direction in winter, although average velocities may differ (in summer).
The west Florida gyre (vortex) may split into two circulations; the northernmost to the west of Cape St. George, the southernmost forming off the Tampa area. Think of where the “dead zone” landed a couple years back off Tampa south of Englewood. However, the wind direction today as opposed to then, is a variable that cannot be predicted but is a potential factor.”
Right now residents in the Keys are apprehensive and watch the sea, while other Gulf shore residents are keeping a vigil, hoping that all will be well.
It seems like all involved in this spill have gone into overdrive to put the blame on others and to downplay the seriousness of what is exactly happening, and the amount of oil reportedly spewing out of the site has been questioned by experts. There seems to be no doubt the amount of leakage has also been downplayed as many are referring to this event as “the 911 oil spill.”
The New York Times reports, “The oil that can be seen from the surface is apparently just a fraction of the oil that has spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20, according to an assessment by the Natural Institute for Undersea Science and Technology. Significant amounts of oil are spreading at various levels throughout the water column. Scientists looking at a video of the leak suggest that as many as 3.4 million gallons of oil could be leaking into the Gulf every day – 16 times more than the current 210,000-gallon-a-day estimate.” (csmonitor.com)
Now there is another major concern that experts claim is just as damaging to all sea life – the use by BP of oil spill dispersants. These dispersants are chemicals applied to the spilled oil to break down the oil into small droplets. However, some say this is creating a toxic soup in the Gulf capable of killing off many species of the sea. See motherjones.com.
Many countries have banned the chemicals that are being used. Reportedly 308,885 gallons of dispersant have been spread over the oil site.
Dr. James M. Cervino, visiting scientist for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute said, “The chemicals that are being disbursed on the sea surface remove oil in the form of clumping it up so that it can then be removed by bacteria; however, my concerns are that these chemicals pass toxins up the food chain into fish and shellfish.
“Corexit 9500, Corexit 9527, and Corexit 9580 have moderate toxicity to early stages of marine embryos, fish, crustaceans and mollusks. They say that lower water temperatures in lab investigations reveal much lower toxicity and lowered intake of the chemical dispersant.
“BUT the problem is that we’re going to be seeing an increase in higher sea surface temperatures, not a decrease in sea surface temperatures.
“The higher the food chain fish that will be severely affected, are the silver-sided fish that are heavily used as bait, not to mention a primary source of food for other large fish all the way up the food chain that humans consume.
“Oil is toxic at 11ppm while Corexit 9500 is toxic at only 2.61ppm; Corexit 9500 is four times as toxic as oil itself. This is the approach the oil companies are taking, which are the lesser of two evils, as both situations kill primary producing phytoplankton and zooplankton, which are at the VERY top of the food chain. Exposing these creatures locally could collapse the LOCAL food chains next week.
“I have not even discussed if this material makes it to the coastal zone, as the ecological disaster and persistence of these chemicals will destroy the wetlands and ecological niches for a long long time. If this ever happened in NYC, it would wipe out the 30 plus years that it took to clean these waters up and place them in the same polluted waters that were back in the ’50s and ’60s. Let’s hope this never happens here.”
Cervino is headed to the Florida Keys to conduct experiments on the side effects of these chemicals on coral and seagrasses.
Just recently 150 sea turtles have been found washed up or dying along the Gulf Coast. All scientists are concerned about the safety of all sea turtles as they are heading into their nesting season.
Other animals at risk in the open water, along the coast and wetlands are sharks, whales, dolphins, brown pelicans, oysters, shrimp and blue crab, menhaden and marsh-dwelling fish, beach-nesting and migratory shorebirds and migratory songbirds, warblers, orioles, buntings, flycatchers, swallows and others.
Fishermen are also endangered as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has extended the boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf. The closed area now represents 45,728 square miles, which is approximately 19 percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters. The newly closed area is more than 150 miles from the nearest port and primarily in deep water used by pelagic longline fisheries that target highly migratory species.
Will a call be made to hospice, like in many bedside vigils? Time will tell.
email: gaiasvigil@gmail.com
Special thanks to James Cervino