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BP must Consider Holding Hands Otter Death After Exxon Oil Spill

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by copythis

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Happened: 
In The News

Oil gushing from the BP Oil Spill disaster is now 89 million gallons--more than twice the 42 million estimated--"Holding Hands Otter", Nyac's, death from petroleum-related cancer 20 years after the Exxon-Valdez oil spill.
 
Considering the "Holding Hands Otter's" death 20 years after the Exxon spill is crucial to understand the devastation the BP spill will cause the environment, even health of people, in the Gulf's oil-saturated areas. The BP Oil Spill is now estimated at Eight times the size of Exxon-Valdez, with numbers and estimates to rise further as scientists analyze video footage of gusher.
 
The BP Oil Spill--Deepwater Horizon--is now eight times worse than originally thought, more than two times as severe as most recent estimates that were 42 million gallons--now announced at 89 million gallons spewed into the ocean.
 
A federal panel probing the rate of the oil flow in the Gulf BP Oil Spill has revealed that the size of the disaster is far bigger than previously known or estimated--at least as known by those outside of BP. Earlier worst-case scenario estimates of the Gulf spill had pegged the oil spewing at 42 million gallons.
 
Now, new estimates have upped that number of spewed BP oil to 89 million gallons from 42, that have spewed into the ocean already--more than double the original estimate--and eight times the size of the Exxon-Valdez oil disaster.
 
Admiral Thad Allen of the U.S., and the man in charge of federal response to the BP Oil Spill, acknowledges that estimates of the oil flowing into the ocean could grow bigger yet, as scientists continue to analyze HD video of the leaking oil. "I'm not prepared to say anything is the right estimate until we get empirical evidence about flow through a pipe or pressure readings so we know exactly what it [the oil spill reading of gallons into the ocean] is. Everything before that is conjecture," Allen said.
 
Is there a reason the U.S. has waited nearly two months to verify whether BP was telling the truth or correctly estimating the rate of oil being released from the spill for which it is responsible--but from which the U.S. suffers?
 
National Guard and other workers are fighting the Oil Spill on land to the best of ability, with sandbags to absorb the oil and rolling out boom. Those efforts in battling the BP Gulf disaster--Deepwater Horizon--may be too little, too late. "You're going to see the effects from the Deepwater Horizon spill for at least a decade, probably more," says Rick Steiner, a scientist who tracked the Exxon-Valdez oil spill and its environmental effects.
 
Despite oil containment and clean-up efforts, oil is now literally sloshing onto shore and into inland waterways as far as Florida state.
 
Apparently everyone's forgotten about the "Holding Hands Otter", Nyac, who survived the Exxon-Valdez spill, dying of cancer 20 years later. Nyac one of the two famous otter-holding-hands YouTube video stars, long-time resident of Vancouver Aquarium. Nyac died September 23, 2008--as one of the last surviving sea otters from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
 
Nyac had arrived to the Vancouver Aquarium in 1989---one of Exxon-Valdez's only survivors. The famous "Holding Hands Otter: was also the only known Exxon-Valdez otter survivor to have successfully had a pup, named Kipnuk--Nyac giving birth November 9, 1993.
 
Nyac's ability to give birth was considered nothing short of miraculous, given the fact that the otter has sustained severe internal damage from effects of the oil in the Exxon-Valdez spill . The "Holding Hands Otter", Nyac, diagnosed with chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia--cancer, for short--a few days before the otter died.
 
Lymphocytic Leukemia is a cancer that has not been previously reported in sea otters--a cancer associated with contact with petroleum (oil) in other species of animals.
 
It was believed that, in her death, Nyac would continue to provide vital information on the long-term effects of oil exposure. The "Holding Hands Otter's" death, and cause of death, apparently hasn't been enough to cause deep concern for BP's handling of environment or probable effects on humans.
 
If the Gulf's BP Oil Spill is at least eight times larger than Exxon-Valdez, the possibly permanent effects on both the environment, animals and humans could be indescribable--but not unforeseen.

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Comments

Where is our government?

June 13, 2010 by Zoltar, 13 years 41 weeks ago

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There is no doubt that the BP spill is a disaster. Our government has hundreds of engineers and biologist on the payroll. Why aren't they working on this issue? Instead they point their fingers at BP and scold them like a child that spills a glass of milk.
This is a global disaster!!! We have plenty of time to point fingers after the leak is stopped. We need to give all the resources available from stopping this before it does even more damage.
World wide relief efforts for victims of earthquakes and hurricanes. This oil spill is having a more globally devastating effect on the environment than an earthquake. Where is the relief effort for our environment?
This is the time for action! Pointing fingers at BP helps nothing!
We can worry about the blame, after we save the environment for our children.

Dumbfounded by US & BP Response

June 15, 2010 by venusrising, 13 years 41 weeks ago

venusrising's picture
member

The citizens at the moment have been the ones stepping in doing all they can while bureaucracy slows what needs to get done and it makes me sick. To think that we almost opened up MORE offshore drilling under Obama even when environmena6lists have been warning us of such an event for ages. Kevin Costner offers up machines to help separate oil, and it takes a week to get a damn answer if we will accept what he has to offer? Where is our nation that is poised to respond for the world but seems to think of its own circumstances as second fiddle at times. Can we for once be our own heroes I ask. Can we get back to buying and supporting US businesses and the gorgeous animal population we are so blessed to live with on land and sea. Can we get back to a solid America that can do what we do best and step in when a foreign owned company slows and watched animals die, livelihoods wrecked and nature maimed. When are we going to attack this with military & geological precision and intelligence before we continue to do what many not be easily undone.. We have it in us. and sending all this collected oil to landfills should be banned, do we want out kids drinking this later? buck up USA, we are WAY BETTER THAN THIS.poor response for relief.

Totally agree about where are

July 14, 2010 by venusrising, 13 years 37 weeks ago

venusrising's picture
member

Totally agree about where are government is on this BP Oil disaster. We send relief efforts swiftly all over the world in times of need but we fail our own country time and time again, seems like a Katrina redux.