Page 4 - 201006 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - June 2010

June 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 30/06/2010 11:46 PM Page 4 4 Gulf Wildlife Death & Injury Report BP Oil Spill Damage Assessment Wildlife Death and Injury Report WorldNews Vine www.worldnewsvine.com Gulf of Mexico (Jul 3) – Field-level staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration have been documenting dead and injured wildlife and marine life as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. BP will never be able to recover the loss of this life. Part of the responsibilities of the collection and rescue efforts are to determine the exact cause of death or injury. Some of the wildlife and fish recovered may have died from natural causes. The increased numbers of BP Gulf oil spill: Turtles public anger against BP, which has taken recovered wildlife is due to the numbers of well responsibility for the April 20 Deepwater trained members of the rescue team. to be protected from 'burn Horizon accident that caused the largest Gulf of Once team members locate, collect, or boxes' Mexico spill ever. In an online petition, more capture fish and wildlife the injured and dead than 150,000 people demanded that the are labeled with indentifying numbers to aid in company stop the burns in order to save the the evaluation process. The rescued are given an BP has agreed to allow wildlife turtles. At least 275 burns over a 500 square initial examination to determine the extent of mile area have taken place since the spill began, their injuries. The collected are checked for rescuers to pluck rare sea turtles removing some 238,000 barrels (10 million broken bones, external oil, or other injuries. – including endangered Kemp's gallons) of oil from the surface. Once returned to the shelters, the collected are Ridley turtles – out of Gulf oil Shrimp boat captain Michael Ellis first given a thorough examination to determine reported the turtle incinerations in a video. whether they have ingested any of the oil from spill 'burn boxes.' "They drag a boom between two shrimp boats the Deepwater Horizon gusher. The eyes, throat, and whatever gets caught between the two and mouth are checked for oil damage as well. By Patrik Jonsson boats, they circle it up and catch it on fire. Once In case of the deceased, a full or partial Christian Science Monitor the turtles are in there, they can’t get out," Mr. necropsy is ordered to help determine the exact Ellis said. cause of death. A necropsy is an autopsy Texas A&M Gulf researcher Thomas performed on animals. BP and the US Coast Guard have agreed to Shirley confirmed the "burn box" deaths in an To date a total of 2,239 birds have been allow wildlife rescuers to pluck sea turtles out interview with the Monitor, adding that collected, 922 oiled and 1317 found dead. Of of corralled oil patches to keep them from being hundreds of dead turtles and other sea life those found dead 392 were found covered with incinerated alive, thus ending one of the most already found in and around the spill represent oil. Those that have been collected alive, 408 dramatic – and tragic – consequences of the but "a tiny fraction of what the actual damage have been released back into the wild in the Gulf oil spill. is." marshes around Titusville, Florida. In return, wildlife organizations that "One tragedy is that juvenile turtles and Five hundred ninety-four sea turtles brought a lawsuit last week in New Orleans other animals head toward the oil instead of have been located, 441 of those found dead. Of federal court agreed to remove a request for an away from it," says Mr. Shirley. "To them it the remaining sea turtles, only three have been injunction to completely ban the burns, which looks like habitat. They have no pre-adaptations released back into safe sanctuary. have become a critical method for BP and the to know what it is." Of the total mammals collected, 52 Coast Guard to neutralize the oil slick and keep Juvenile turtles especially follow found dead, five found alive and only one has more oil from washing ashore on the Gulf, floating masses of seaweed called sargassum been released back to safe sanctuary. where it threatens hundreds of other species across the open Gulf. Those sargassum, when Other reptiles located, only one captured from crabs to pelicans. oil-soaked, are corralled by fire-proof booms as alive and remains at the rescue facility for “Finally, I can sleep again knowing the part of the burn process. further evaluation and treatment. sea turtles are not being burned alive,'' said The burns have been controversial from Although, rehabilitation centers have Carole Allen, Gulf Director of Turtle Island the beginning. Despite air quality concerns, been established in and around the Gulf States, Restoration Network in Houston, Texas, in a officials say they're one of the most effective BP will never be able to compensate for those statement. ways available to rid the Gulf of the growing that have lost their lives due to the carelessness It's not known how many turtles have slick of oil, and a key part of an unprecedented and unsafe practices of deepwater oil drilling died in hundreds of controlled oil burns far out effort to contain the spill and stop broader and exploration. at sea. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen has said ecological damage. The environmental impact of this there's no evidence of such incinerations. But a No controlled burns will take place until disaster is here to stay for decades. It is time to shrimp boat captain reported he had been at least Tuesday because of bad weather in the put an end to this type of oil drilling and begin ordered away from areas where he had seen Gulf. As part of the agreement, BP said it will a serious effort to turn to alternative energy snared turtles. In deep water, animal and fish allow wildlife biologists onboard clean-up resources for the sake of this planets future. carcasses quickly sink, researchers say. vessels to spot and remove ensnared turtles.[] Currently, congressional committees The wildlife toll so far pales in have been examining the cause and effect of this comparison with that of the Exxon Valdez, The ‘X’ Zone Radio & TV Show disaster and the future of offshore oil where at least 35,000 sea birds died. In the Gulf exploration to which, for the sake of those that oil spill, that number is only about 1,000 – with live in harmony with nature, an end to this primarily because the spill is 50 miles from Rob McConnell dangerous method of energy collection will be shore and a mile deep. halted, at least here in the United States.[] Nevertheless, the turtle story added to www.xzoneradiotv.com