This is what I was wondering today, after watching CNBC highlight that the oil disaster in the Gulf was being partially contained (I don't believe it) and that the majority of the oil was subsurface and beginning to be sucked into the loop current which will eventually move the flow of oil towards the southern tip of Florida and then upward along the gulf stream (remember when that symbolized something magical and special?) towards the east coast. Super.I know Alaska still deals with the tragedy of the Valdez. Check out this conclusion from a study conducted no earlier than 2003:
"The amount of Exxon Valdez oil remaining substantially exceeds the sum total of all previous oil pollution on beaches in Prince William Sound, including oil spilled during the 1964 earthquake. This Exxon Valdez oil is
decreasing at a rate of 0-4% per year, with only a 5% chance that the rate is as high as 4%. At this rate, the remaining oil will take decades and possibly centuries to disappear entirely." You can find the above noted commentary along with a shitload of other terrifying information from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council at http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/. You should also check out the wildlife case studies they have performed. One of the more interesting ones is of killer whales as they are easily identifiable. You can read that report here, http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/recovery/longTerm.cfm
Currently, depending on who you speak or listen to, there is anywhere from 1 to 5mm barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf on a daily basis. That means anywhere from every 2 days to once a week (depending on your source and who you want to trust), the Gulf has an Exxon Valdez experience.
The longer term ramifications in our food supply, our habitat and other areas we cannot even imagine will be staggering. We are clearly hell bent on destroying our world.
--The Angry Trader
