It is hard to put into words the environmental devastation taking place in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Thousands upon thousands of sea creatures have died from the oil already, and the ultimate death toll could be in the millions. In addition, as BP uses “burn boxes” to burn off some of the oil floating on the surface of the Gulf, thousands more sea creatures are literally being burned alive. The tragedy is unspeakable. Not only that, but scientists are now warning that the massive amounts of methane escaping into the Gulf could potentially create massive underwater dead zones in which nothing can live. Meanwhile, massive amounts of oil are coating American coastlines and beaches. And unfortunately, all of this is just going to get even worse as more oil continues to gush violently into the Gulf of Mexico each day. It is like a really bad dream that we just can’t wake up from.
So just how bad are things already?
Just consider a few of the reports of environmental devastation in the Gulf which have come out in recent days….
Dolphins Coated With Oil
The dolphin population in the Gulf of Mexico has been absolutely devastated by this oil spill. One particularly heartbreaking report described how one dolphin was actually crying as people scraped oil off of it with their bare hands. The dolphin ended up dying a brutal death.
And thousands more dolphins will be dying in the days ahead.
“We’re going to lose a lot of them,” Dr. Denise Herzing, research director for the Wild Dolphin Research Project recently said. “It is unconscionable and it is criminal. It is akin to a nuclear power plant explosion underwater.”
Sea Turtles Burned Alive
A boat captain who has been working to rescue sea turtles in the Gulf claims that he has actually seen BP ships burning sea turtles and other wildlife alive as they burn off some of the oil spill. According to Captain Mike Ellis, this is what is happening to them….
“They drag a boom between two shrimp boats and whatever gets caught between the two boats, they circle it up and catch it on fire. Once the turtles are in there, they can’t get out.”
An article in the Los Angeles Times says that BP uses “burn boxes” as large as 500 square miles in which up to 16 controlled burns will take place in a given day.
Can you imagine how many sea creatures are being burned alive in these massive “burn fields”?
Dead Zones
One new study suggests that the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico may devastate the endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna population so badly that it could possibly go extinct.
But it isn’t just endangered populations that are threatened.
Scientists announced on Tuesday that as much as 1 million times the normal level of methane gas has been discovered in some areas near the oil spill, which would be more than enough to potentially deplete oxygen and create massive underwater dead zones.
Meanwhile, unprecedented numbers of sharks, dolphins, turtles and fish are showing up just off the Gulf coast as they seek to escape the advancing oil. Right now millions of sea creatures are caught between the certain death of the rapidly spreading oil and the certain death of being trapped on shore. Once the oil reaches the shore there will be no place else to go and the loss of life will be unimaginable.
Oil-Coated Beaches
What all of this oil is doing to American beaches is another great tragedy. The following videos will absolutely have your jaw on the floor. This first video contains footage of oil sticking to kids on a beach in Destin, Florida…
This next video contains aerial footage of Pensacola beach. Keep in mind that the beaches of the area were once considered to be the whitest beaches in America…
This third video is incredibly alarming. It actually shows the surf on Pensacola beach bubbling like acid. What in the world could be causing this?…
This final video was done by someone who claims that it is raining oil in Louisiana. In fact, there have already been a number of reports of “black rain” in various areas along the Gulf. Let’s hope that this type of thing does not start to become widespread…
So are things about to get even worse?
Well, there is at least one oil industry insider that is now saying that we may actually have to evacuate the gulf states. Just check out the following excerpt from a recent Washington Post article…
“We’re going to have to evacuate the gulf states,” said Matt Simmons, founder of Simmons and Co., an oil investment firm and, since the April 20 blowout, the unflagging source of end-of-the-world predictions. “Can you imagine evacuating 20 million people? . . . This story is 80 times worse than I thought.”
Now, let us hope that such a scenario does not ever come to pass. Such a thing would be unimaginable and could very well collapse the U.S. economy.
But already the CDC is warning “everyone, including pregnant women” to avoid areas affected by the oil spill.
The truth is that the oil spill in the Gulf is already making a lot of people sick, and there are some legitimate questions as to whether the air in areas affected by this oil spill is still safe to breathe.
If you live along the Gulf and you know of health problems in your area, please leave a comment and let us know what is going on. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is rapidly turning into one of the greatest disasters in U.S. history, and the mainstream media is not telling us the whole story. Hopefully by working together we can get the truth about what is really going on out to the public.
