Dispersants

[phantom power]

Are the dead animals washing up with 'no signs of oil related death' being killed by the oil dispersants?

The reporter,Brad Plumer, notes that some of this is because the pictures aren't there -- not enough dead birds and fish to make people understand how huge this is. I'm sure that's part of it. And it isn't an accident:

Now, part of the explanation here is that BP has been quite deft at managing appearances. For one, they're using hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical dispersants to break up the oil before it can reach the beaches, causing it to sink down to the sea floor. In some cases, these dispersants could be more harmful, ecologically speaking, then letting the oil wash ashore. We don't know what's in these chemicals and there's a very high potential that they could do a lot of damage to the food chain in the Gulf. Indeed, that's why Exxon was constrained from using dispersants in Prince William Sound back in 1989. But, from BP's perspective (and the Obama administration's), avoiding the sort of graphic imagery that Exxon had to deal with in Alaska seems appealing.

...

These dispersants are the environmental equivalent of tasers. They may be killers, but the don't leave marks and that's all that matters.

We are a nation of cover-up artists. And most people are good with that because the scope of the disasters we are confronting are overwhelming. But you can't hide from this level of failure anymore. It's building and building on itself, which is why there is a growing sense of social unrest. Leadership is required to help people understand what's happening and it isn't happening.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/if-you-cant-see-it-it-doesnt-exist-what.html

[foxfeet]

1. Washington State's entire supply of dispersants has been shipped to the Gulf.

They have never been used here due to concerns about long-term environmental effects.

[tekisui]

2. 444,000 gallons dumped in the Gulf so far:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/tekisui/1250

[mopinko]

3. does anyone have any idea what the heck these chemicals are?

i have yet to hear anyone name these chemicals in any way. i know it ain't just dawn they are spraying down there.

[ThomThom]

4. dispersing the oil is not the same as cleaning it up

Why are we letting them get away with this? They should find away to really clean it up. If the EPA won't let them dump water back into the Gulf because there is still some oil in it then they need to run it through an other filter ship until it is clean. This is just insane to let them do what they are doing.