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Thousands of gallons of crude oil spill into Louisiana wildlife refuge

Oil Sheen from an oil spill
Oil Sheen from an oil spill
Credits: 
Public Domain

The Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana is currently under threat from a recent pipe line disaster that has spilled at least 18,000 gallons of deadly crude oil into the waters of the wildlife refuge. The pipeline, which is owned by the Chevron Pipeline Company and BP in a joint venture, has been leaking since yesterday and while teams are in place to attempt to fix the problem, the full extent of the damage is yet unknown and more oil could be leaked into the refuge before it is stopped.

It is believed that the pipeline may have been damaged by a collision with a pipe known as “spuds” which were being used to anchor a barge owned by the Exxon Mobile Company but this has not yet been confirmed. The Delta National Wildlife Refuge lies southwest of New Orleans and is home to several species of birds, plants, reptiles, and other animals in the wildlife area which are now at risk. The situation has several conservation groups worried as they monitor the situation.

Workers from the Coast Guard and private contractors are on site with clean up crews and inspectors trying to contain the spill and repair the damage to determine what exactly caused the accident and while affected wildlife have not yet be found or recovered, it is too soon to know what he environmental impact will be.

Incidents such as this and the current stranded ship threatening the Great Barrier Reef, which is also leaking oil into an already fragile habitat, are the types of disasters that environmentalists have been warning President Obama about with his current plans to increase offshore drilling and many are hoping this will serve as a wake up call to stop offshore drilling, abandon oil, and pursue safe energy alternatives which we have readily available instead.

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Environmental News Examiner

A passionate and prolific writer, Niki Fears has been a word weaver since her adolescence. She refined her skills and grew her interest in the...

Comments

  • oldtimer1001 1 year ago
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    You people who love to see some enviormental cause to attempt to get America to stop drilling are the root cause of our economic ills. Show me and the rest of the world that you bicyle everywhere you need to go and you may have someone believe your anti America views but until then I wish the liberal media would report news instead of political garbage.

  • David 1 year ago
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    Yeah we should just give the oil mongers free reign and de-regulate everything so we can live in a world of real garbage and real polution. They will do what they are legally obligated to do and nothing more. They will continue to profit at everyone elses expense with externalities like this. Take their subsidies away, and give them to solar and wind.
    Florida doesn't want oil rigs, oil tankers, oil platforms, oil refineries. It's filthy and it leaches into everything.
    I make a good living analysing for this stuff and I have contaminated samples everyday from petroleum. And that's just what we have as gasoline under the ground.
    Since when is Chemistry and Science "anti-America???"

  • glassken 1 year ago
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    "pursue safe energy alternatives which we have readily available instead". There are not any other viable energy sources on the same scale as our energy needs demand. Even nuclear would not keep cars, or machines running. It will be that we live in the dark, and walk everywhere. Abandoning fossil fuels would put us back 100 years, and you would not be watching TV, or going online, unless you live near a nuclear power plant. I am all for alternative energy, but realistic we are stuck with oil, gas and coal, for a while now. I am all for Nuclear too, but these are very expensive, and have many environmental concerns too. Most of the things you take for granted, air travel, cars, all plastics come from crude oil. Look around your house and say: I can do away with all plastics, and unless you live near a Nuclear power plant, not electricity either.

  • Niki Fears 1 year ago
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    Actually, we DO have more than enough vialable alternatives to easily move us off of the fossile fuels without "setting us back a hundred years" as people claim. The oil and coal industry are just standing in the way and using a massive misinformtion campaign and fearmongering to keep us from moving forward.

    Besides, I seriously doubt that watching TV or getting online is going to be of much concern when you have no food, water, or air.

  • locachique@yahoo.com 1 year ago
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    does anyone know who to contact to volunteer to help save the wildlife affected by the iol spill in Lousianna? My Name is my email, if you know please advise.

  • Kevin 1 year ago
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    "Actually, we DO have more than enough vialable alternatives to easily move us off of the fossile fuels without "setting us back a hundred years" as people claim."

    Wrong, we do not have an alternative source of energy. You can't power a plane, a ship, a car or truck with wind or solar. There is NO alternative to oil for those things. If you don't like it that that is the way it is, set an example for the rest of us and use an alternative that just as viable as wind or solar and start walking or riding a bike everywhere because those are the ONLY alternatives to oil for cars, trucks, planes and ships. Besides, calling for the banning of fossil fuels because of this rare occurrence, is like banning all airline flights because of one plane crash. In fact, it is worse because there are many, many times the number of plane crashes than oil industry related accidents. But Obama isn't calling for all airline flights to cease is he?

  • Kevin 1 year ago
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    And the truth is, all of the damage in the wild life preserve could have been greatly reduced but instead was made worse by Obama because he refused to allow Bobby Jindal to build the berms to block the oil and he refused to let non-union ships, putting his political buddies above the environment (politics above the good of the country or the environment), from other countries to scoop up the oil. So, don't blame the oil industry for this. Put it squarely on the shoulders of Obama, who showed as much incompetence as the Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Clarence Ray "School Bus/Chocolate City" Nagin, Jr. during Katrina. Just like Rick Perry the Republican in Texas during Katrina took charge and got the people evacuated, Bobby Jindal the Republican Governor of Louisiana was trying to take charge and protect the shore and wild life preserves. But incompetent and indecisive Democrat Obama got in the way.

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