it’s ok Ben, don’t let any facts get in the way of your diatribe…..such as that oil is always seeping naturally into the Gulf of Mexico and that the impact of this well, many miles out, is not significant in view of the natural seepages that occur and that your journo cannot actually prove that the oil she saw came from the BP well…Other than that, it is a fine article

Ben,

Apart from the idiot fringes, I think most people were happy to hear the oil was dispersing (not disappearing) quicker than expected (we’ve discovered quite a lot about some interesting microbes in all of this it appears). Of course there is a lot of oil still there – hence the ongoing clean up. But it is less than was generally predicted because of the unusually quick rate of dispersal. That is what most normal people (not right wing, but normal) are happy about. Aren’t you?

All of which proves that to presume we know how this world works is nonsense – we only know parts of it. And to play politics with ecological disasters is the realm of the fanatic and the fool. What makes your counter-gloating any better than Messrs Delingpole or Limbaugh?

diogenes,

It is amazing that anyone noticed the oil spill at all according to your ‘reasoning’.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/7914377/BP-Macondo-well-just-one-of-400000-abandoned-sites.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7918000/BP-oil-spill-Was-Tony-Hayward-right-after-all.html

let’s not be as alarmist as Obama!

Sometimes I worry if all right-wingers are genuinely this stupid and ill-informed or it’s just the ones hanging around on left-wing blogs.

I’ve updated the blog with the latest story going big in the US.

…your journo cannot actually prove that the oil she saw came from the BP well…

Indeed not, diogenes, but these guys might be better placed…

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia say that up to 79 percent of the oil from BP’s busted well remains in the Gulf, and is likely to stay there for years to come.

“One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless,” UGA marine scientist Charles Hopkinson told the Wall Street Journal. “The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade.”

Watchman –

Not sure how I’m “playing politics“: I’ve advanced no agenda nor attacked somebody elses. As so much oil remains, however, I dislike the speed at which the issue slipped from view; letting people – well, some people – think normality’s returned. Like the end of Simpsons episode.

Did you read the article sunny or just look at the pictures. These things are not uncoomon, often caused by agricultural runoff (chemicals), and, in this case, “caused by low tides and high temperatures.”

sl – I wouldn’t accuse me of not reading the article. It says:

The area is rife with dead zones — stretches where sudden oxygen depletion can cause widespread death. But those kills tend to be limited to a single species of fish, rather than the broad sort of die-off involved in this kill.

I’ll stick to my point made in #5

The dead fish story you link to says this:

UPDATE: The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries investigated the fish kill and determined that it was the result of low oxygen levels caused by low tides and high temperatures.
—-

Is it worth updating your own post – else you lay yourself open to headlines of: “Left-wing prayers that the BP oil spill will not just ‘vanish’”

Re: the “Massive fish kill reported in Louisiana” – important to note that:

“NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says low tide and high temperatures caused low oxygen levels that suffocated huge numbers of fish in Plaquemines Parish.

“Spokeswoman Olivia Watkins said Wednesday that department biologists found the fish kill had nothing to do with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“The fish were found Friday in Bayou Chaland. Watkins says low tide trapped fish in less than two feet of water. Hot water holds less oxygen than cold water, and heat speeds metabolisms so plants and animals need more oxygen.

“Watkins says the water held too little oxygen to keep the fish alive.

“Such fish kills are common in Louisiana’s shallow waters in late summer and early fall.”

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13161373

This is an Associated Press story reported locally (in Louisiana) – make up your own mind…

Dead Parrot of an Article?

BenSix would like to make it known that he knows nowt about these fish.

I really wish you hadn’t used Mad Mel’s term ‘secular religionist’ here Ben, with or without speechmarks.

Even though you are turning the term back on those who invented it I suspect you’ll have wackjobs punching the air shouting ‘Yes – told you secularism is a religion!’ This isn’t Butterflies and Wheels where there’s a general assumption you are a rational human being using the term figuratively.

And there’s enough cross-over with the Christian right to suggest there’s nothing secular about who simply think things will sort themselves out eventually.

Dead Parrot of an Article?

And the BP oil spill killed the parrot.

OK prove it didn’t…………

@8 – “I’ll stick to my point made in #5…”

Perhaps you could at least acknowledge the faint possibility that there may be more to this than meets the eye? Else you do rather open yourself up to allegations of blindness and bias…

sl – “Did you read the article sunny or just look at the pictures?”

Sunny – “I wouldn’t accuse me of not reading the article… I’ll stick to my point made in #5. (Sometimes I worry if all right-wingers are genuinely this stupid and ill-informed…)”

Sunny – “Update – the story is not about the oil spill.”

Many of the microrganisms that biodegrade the spilled oil need oxygen to metabolise, causing anoxic areas. I’m surprised the report cited by Sunny ignores this. many involved scientists are concerned about what has happened to the oil, we are in unknown territory.

One thing is for certain, a lot of oil leaked and its gone somewhere. We just don’t know where yet. Its too early to make anything of it.

Notably the shrimp fishers are still struggling. They can go out and bring in a catch, but nobody wants to eat it in case its poisonous. Darn those market forces!

Its great when you can write what you like with no supporting documentation to verify such rubbish as this. No wonder the US people do not know who to believe.

Mere hopes and rumours will not at all help us rectify what BP oil spill had done to the marine environment. To control all these mishaps there should be strict governing policies ensuring that offshore drilling is only permitted if all the necessary precautions are taken with regards to Environment and Human life, as neglecting the same has already caused serious damage to marine environment and human life.

I think it is high time we started taking nature and our planet earth seriously and do our bit about environment, sustainability, climate change, biodiversity, clean energy, green living and so on. One great place to start would be http://www.elpis.com. Elpis is an online community focused on responsible living and sustainable growth. You can measure, reduce and offset your carbon footprint; set up petitions, volunteering and fundraising projects for your favourite causes; help create action plans for sustainable communities; buy a range of eco friendly products and services; and network with other people who share a common interest in a low carbon, responsible lifestyle.