Deepwater Horizon spill: Five years later, endless problems
The oil slick as seen from space by NASA’s Terra satellite on 24 May 2010
Five years have passed since BP’s Macondo well exploded leading to the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. The story of the Deepwater Horizon spill no longer draws much media attention, but the problems have not gone away.
What’s killing the dolphins?
An injured dolphin as it appeared when rescued in Alabama last week. Photo: Institute for Marine Mammal Studies
I read an interesting post in the New York Times Green blog about the dolphin die-off in the Gulf of Mexico. Since early 2010 dead dolphins have been washing ashore at an alarming rate and among the many possible explanations for the 600 dead dolphins is — of course — the BP oil spill. According to the article, which I’m pasting below, scientists are not yet able to determine the cause of the die-off.
This made me think of the recent rash of beached dead whales in Ghana, which, according to the Ghana EPA, is unrelated to the country’s oil activities. I wonder how the Ghana EPA was able to make such a determination so quickly. The New York Times piece gives the impression that determining the exact cause of death of these beached mammals is quite complicated.
Sea Change
Vietnamese oyster po-boy. Photo by Lisa Cates
I recently came across this fascinating article about the efforts of Gulf Coast Vietnamese Americans to rebuild their lives and livelihoods after the BP oil spill. Like all those who worked in the Gulf seafood industry, the Vietnamese fishing community has been hard hit. Facing compensation battles, diminished fish stocks and an uncertain future, many are turning from the sea to the land in search of new opportunities.
The article, Sea Change, by Nina Kahori Fallenbaum, with photos by Lisa Cates, is in the current issue of Hyphen magazine.
You can read the entire article online. Check it out. The BP spill is already ancient history as far as the oil industry is concerned. But for those whose livelihoods depended on fish and seafood, there’s no more normal.
