A headline in the February 2, 2015 issue of Processor Magazine made me wonder how many more things we have done due to lack of thought, planning or absolute greed will come back to impact this generation and future generations. When is enough, enough?
The headline, “Oil from Deepwater Horizon spill found in Gulf of Mexico sediment,” brought back memories of almost six months of continuous news coverage from April 20, 2010 into December 2010. People around the globe were glued to their television screens during this drama, and it’s not over yet.
This article described the results form a new study led by Professor of Oceanography Jeff Chanton of Florida State University. According to the study:
“Some of the oil released in the Deepwater Horizon disaster was not cleaned up, but settled on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.”
In addition:
“Some 6 million to 10 million gallons are buried in the sediment on the floor of the Gulf, about 62 miles southeast of the Mississippi Delta.
In total, more than 200 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. The accident killed 11 people and caused exte4nsive damage to marine and wildlife habitats in the region.
The U.S. government and BP cleanup crews were unable to locate all of the spilled oil. But now, almost five years later, natural abundance radiocarbon measurements on surface sediment organic matter have shown where oil is distributed on the ocean floor.
Chanton noted that in the short term, the oil sinking to the sea floor might have seemed like a good thing because the water was clarified, and the oil was removed from the water. But it’s a problem in the longer term.
Less oxygen exists on the sea floor relative to the water column, so the oiled particles are more likely to become hypoxic [hypoxic is oxygen deficient - dead zones low-in oxygen, Sea water that is both deep and still, such as at the bottoms of some fjords, tends to be hypoxic or anoxic.]. That means it’s more difficult for bacteria to attack the oil and cause it to decompose.
If the sediment is stirred up in the future, the oil could enter the water again. And the contaminatio9n will also enter the food chain, because the worms ingest the sediment and fish eat the worms.”
The Chanton study and its findings have been published in the latest edition of the Journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Events such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill, Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, and the Fukushima Reactor meltdown all will have long term impacts on our world. What these environmental impacts will be we are not sure. However, it seems logical that we should work to prevent these impacts before they happen rather than after.
But, you say, in the case of Fukushima, no one could have predicted the earthquake and Tsunami. While that is true, the nuclear plants could have been designed, engineered and built with the maximum event in mind. Yes, it would have cost a bit more in both time and money initially, but Japan and the world might not be faced with a very uncertain future due to this crisis today. It seems that these reactors and others have been rushed into operation based on immediate profit rather than long term efficiency and safety. Where was the long term energy policy looking at all forms of energy, not just the forms which would produce the most profit for the few?
It seems clear that these and many other events/disasters throughout our industrial development could have been avoided or at least mitigated by a bit more thought, study and long term planning.
For example, I noted that a prediction in The Bible Code, Michael Drosnin, April 1998 stated:
“The Bible Code predicts a Mt. Rainier eruption in 2010-2011.”
While this has not happened, the USGS notes:
“U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research shows that Mount Rainier is one of our nation’s most dangerous volcanos. It has been the source of countless eruptions and volcanic mudflows (lahars) that have surged down valleys on its flanks and buried broad areas now densely populated.”
Some mitigation effort and emergency plans have been developed with the aid of the USGS and other state and local agencies but will they be enough?
Another prediction which could have significant impact on our global society was noted in September 2006 by Jeff Hecht on New Scientist Tech News Service.
“Navigation, power and communications systems rely on GPS satellite navigation will be disrupted by violent solar activity in 2011, research shows.”
However, again, it seems that we “dodged a bullet” based on 2015 comments:
“The sun’s current space-weather cycle is the most anemic in 100 years, scientists say.”
The fix to shield many of our electrical equipment, computers, satellites and electrical grid is apparently not extremely difficult or even costly. It just takes the will to study, plan and implement the solution. So how have we spent the last 8 years with regard to this challenge? Because of “cost” and “lack of resources” very little has apparently been done to mitigate this major threat to our way of life. Private and public utilities are seemingly unwilling to cut into “profits” and do what is best long term for the country and global community.
This challenge from space really goes to the core of the problem as it’s not like we have not had time to work on the solution. A major solar flare happened in 1859, which burned out telegraph wires. We have been studying the problem since the early 20th century.
The solar flare challenge is similar to the Chernobyl Reactor meltdown (April 1986), the Deepwater Horizon spill (April 2010), the Fukushima Reactor meltdown (March 2011) and numerous other threats we face. These threats which happened in the past, as well as, on-going and future threats to our physical infrastructure are not our only long term challenges. Other major threats include such financial system concerns as credit default swaps, unlimited credit creation and bond/currency manipulation.
As I noted previously, numerous predictions detailed in my EPub entitled World Collapse or New Eden, Your World in 2011, 2015 Edition, from the period 2008 to 2011 are still important and looming in today’s world. For example, It was thought that OPEC would have more than 30 percent of the market share of the global oil market by 2011. However, my 2015 comment notes “OPEC’s oil market share is set to be 5 percent or smaller by 2018 as supply of U.S. shale oil grows faster than previously thought.” This is one of the primary reasons for the drop in oil prices today, which is a way to eliminate the competition and restore market share.
Our “leaders,” heads of governments, CEOs of international corporations and many of the top 1% (elites) are too busy amassing wealth and gobbling up resources to really be concerned with such challenges. It was recently noted in several article on the internet that in 2015 it is estimated the top 1% own approximately 50% of global resources/wealth.
The “general public,” on the other hand, is too busy making a living and being entertained to really study and understand the issues. They settle for candidates, elected officials and rulers selected, approved and financed by the top 1%. As we are finding out in the United States, whether there is an “R” or “D” behind the name makes very little if any difference in the long term. This makes for the perfect storm.
In the unrelenting quest for money and profit, how many more of these “disasters” will we allow? How many more can we allow? How will these and future disasters impact us, and future generations? What will the long term impacts be? Why are so few asking for answers to these questions of those in control, be they corporate CEOs, presidents or legislators?
We, as humans, seem to continue to pursue the “latest and most urgent profit making tasks” without regard to (or just plain ignoring/disregarding) the long term impacts. We refuse to create long term discernable goals whether in the usage of water, energy, minerals or in the production of millions of products which make up our modern life.
As noted previously, many of the above challenges can and could have been mitigated. It starts with a committed educated “general public” to select and put into positions of power individuals who will take a longer term view-point. This will only be effective if these individuals put aside their own short term welfare for a longer term “what is best” for the planet and its inhabitant’s point of view. For example, it is no coincidence that the 535 members of the United States Congress are among the wealthiest Americans and as a body can get very little done on these or any other issues.
Having both an enlightened general public and leadership that puts the global interest above their own self-interest may be the only way we, as a global community, will be able to confront and answer the question “how many more things will come back to impact us and future generations.”
H. Court Young
Author, publisher, speaker and geologist
Promoting awareness through the written word
Research, freelance writing & self-publishing services
Twitter: waterauthor
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