"Crabs, Sting Rays, and Sharks ... Oh My!"

Where modern oil drilling rigs and multitudes of sea creatures along with numerous people once co-existed in the Gulf of Mexico -- now there is immeasurable pain and suffering.
by Pat Darnell

Seems just yesterday, ... what was I doing ... April 20, 2010? Oh yeah, I was piddling around on faceBook, when suddenly appeared a big story of a 'British Petroleum off-shore rig' gone haywire.

The story was captured and reported by some of my wily faceBook friends. At first it was reported as a back-flow preventer not doing its job ... causing an explosion and the fire.

Our faceBook discussion centered on the 'good and bad selling points' of certain oil rig back-flow preventer's. The fact of lost lives had not yet surfaced in discussions. First thought I had was, 'Liability;' ... looking back that was probably not the most humane thought to have at that time.

Later, after the full scale of the disaster reared its fury, came mornings after mornings, waking up to read that the damaged oil well was spewing crude into our Gulf of Mexico. The spewage seemed unstoppable; the disaster story unfolded with so much uncertainty that no one could get a handle on where the gargantuan sea killer crude oil might find a resting place. It was dark days for months after the explosion.

Here we are today, no less frustrated, nor less confused, about the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Disaster, facing a date -- April 20, 2011 -- One Year Anniversary.

Like I began this paragraph, seems just like yesterday -- why do the years go whizzing past so fast?

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“... "The BP oil disaster was the latest assault in a long series of injuries to the environment and economy of the five Gulf states. Fines paid by BP and other parties responsible for this disaster belong in the Gulf, to help restore the environments and economies that were directly harmed,” said the joint statement by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Environmental Defense Fund, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Ocean Conservancy, Oxfam America, and The Nature Conservancy.(AFS. grassam. April 15, 2011. retrieved here: LINK)..."

LIABILITY

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• EXCERPT  |  " ... The Gulf currently supports a $34 billion per year tourism industry, and its fisheries support an estimated $22.6 billion dollars in seafood and commercial and recreational fishing-related activity. (Center for American Progress)
• The Gulf produces roughly 40 percent of all the seafood in the lower 48 states. (American Association of Port Authorities)
• The region is home to 10 of our nation’s 15 largest ports by tonnage. More than 25 percent of the nation’s waterborne exports pass through Louisiana ports alone. (National Marine Fisheries Service)
• Nearly nine out of 10 poll respondents (87%) across the five Gulf states agree that the environmental health of the Gulf Coast region affects their state’s economy very much or somewhat. (Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and Consulting)
• Environmental degradation has caused tremendous damage to the Gulf ecosystems in recent decades. The region has lost nearly 50 percent of its wetlands, 60 percent of its sea grass beds, 50 percent of its oyster reefs, and more than 32 percent of its mangrove forests. (The Nature Conservancy) ... (AFS. grassam. April 15, 2011. retrieved here: LINK)"