(BV / 19-05-10)  The international environmental organization Greenpeace has published a document highlighting the consequences of mistaken policy on the use of offshore rigs that President Obama wants to start, just days before the beginning of the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

<< On April 20th, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, an explosion engulfed the Deepwater Horizon exploratory drilling rig, leased and operated by BP, leading to its collapse and sinking days later.

The wellhead, nearly a mile below the surface of the ocean, is spilling between 210,000 and many millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf everyday, where it is being mixed with highly toxic chemicals that keep the oil hidden from view.  11 people died in the initial accident. Hundreds of species and the economies of the Gulf States are under dire threat.

SOME FACTS:

• 11 workers died in the explosion of the rig.

• BP claims initially that were 1,000 barrels (160,000 litters) of oil the ones being pouring into the sea every day through the broken pipe. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, has estimated that the spill is 5,000 barrels (800,000 litters) per day, five times the amount the Coast Guard and industry say they can clean. No one knows exactly how much oil is being poured.

• BP at a hearing in U.S. Congress in Washington on Tuesday, May 4, recognizes that the discharge may be 40,000 barrels per day (5,660 tonnes) and that it even could rise up to 60,000 barrels per day (8490 tonnes).

• It is expected that the marsh areas along the coast of Louisiana will be very damaged by oil slick, and it is also probable that they will face up to long-term damages. These areas are an important shelter for wildlife: more than 600 species live there, including many endangered animals. 5 million migratory birds go there also. (The complete species list is available on the following link: http://media.nola.com/news_impact/other/wildlife-at-risk-oil-spill.pdf).

• The dumping is occurring at the peak of spawning and nesting of many species of fish, birds and mammals in the Gulf of Mexico, increasing the threat to these species and future populations.

• At least ten areas and wildlife refuges in Louisiana and Mississippi are in the area of the oil spill. In these areas they have been invested billions of dollars in a coastal restoration projects that are now at risk. Among the endangered species there are bluefin tuna, some species of whales, and many species of birds, sea turtles and otters.

• The technology that could have stopped this disaster is mandatory in other countries, and official sources have confirmed that the cost of it is about half a million dollars (386,000 euros). U.S. Minerals Management Service considers mandatory the use of remote control switches since 2000, but industry is against using them because they are “very expensive”. In contrast, BP earned six million dollars during the first quarter of 2010, and spent 3,500 million dollars with political lobbying during that same quarter.

• According to The Times-Picayune (the most sold in New Orleans), in the damaged area is where most of the seafood of USA is produced; it is a vital for more than 70% of migratory water birds, which rest and stay during the winter there; and it is used for 110 species of Neo-tropical migratory birds. Searchers say that 90% of all marine species in the Gulf of Mexico depend on coastal estuaries in any moment of their lives, and most of the estuaries are in Louisiana, now in danger by a oil slick that could last months.

• The state of Louisiana has reported that the arrival of significant amounts of oil to the coast would force the closure of oyster beds and cause serious damage to crops of prawns, which generate about 962 million dollars (743 million euros) in annual retail sales. Louisiana is the largest seafood producer in the USA, with annual sales of about 1,800 million dollars (1,400 million euros). Recreational fishing generates about one billion dollars (772 million euros) in sales annually. Sport fishing generates about 757 million dollars (585 million euros) annually in Louisiana, and also more than 7,700 jobs. (Source: http://www.businessweek.com)