1. The Oily Seeds of Catastrophe

According to "official accounts" the worst "oil spill" in the history of America began on April 20, 2010, following an oil well blowout, and the collapse of a drilling rig platform (the Deepwater Horizon) 40 miles off the Louisiana coast and 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below the surface on the ocean floor. It would quickly become an environmental catastrophe. However, in truth, the seeds of this catastrophe had been sewn months, even years before.

Figure 1. Oil and gas bubble to the surface.

The problems that led to the April 20, 2010, blow out actually began a year before when BP decided to ignore its own design and safety guidelines. To save money BP officials ordered the use of well casings which were likely to fail under the intense pressures of ocean water at 5,000 feet. And they did. Beginning around March 15, 2010, the casings showed signs of failure, a pipe got stuck in the well, the "blowout preventer" was leaking, and the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was buffeted by pulsations of gas called "kicks".

In early April they began pouring cement to stop the leaks, even though it was known that cement increased the probability of a massive gas flow blowout; a likelihood compounded by the inappropriate casings. However, time is money and BP was losing money. The choice was simple: Profits vs safety. As government regulators looked on impassive, BP chose a casing with an even greater chance of failure. In fact, although completely aware of the stuck pipe, gas leaks, inappropriate casing, the "kicks" and the risk of the cement, Federal regulators gave BP permission to proceed and to ignore mandated safety tests.

2. Failure by the Feds: Downplaying the Catastrophe

Figure 2. Oil Slick, April 25, 2010. Credit: NASA.

Figure 3. Oil Slick, April 25, 2010. Distant and close up views. Credit: NASA.

As of June 6, 2010, efforts to stop the flow of oil had consistently failed. How much has poured into the Gulf is unknown. Estimates range from 12,000 to 100,000 barrels a day. On May 27, the "Flow Rate Technical Group" estimated that up 19,000 barrels a day were flowing into the Gulf. Subsequently estimates have been raised to 40,000 barrels. As of June 16, 2010, estimates are that 114 million gallons of oil have gushed from the breached well. How much gas had gushed from this hole, is completely unknown.

How much oil has risen to the surface, versus how much has formed deep sea rivers and plumes, is also unknown. On June 1, the largest oil slick was estimated to cover a surface area of over 2,500 square miles.

Figure 4. Oil slick. April 29, 2010. Credit: NASA.

However, compounding the problem are the nearly two million gallons of toxic chemicals which were dumped into the ocean in a failed attempt to "break up" the oil. Beginning on May 1, at the request of BP, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of a highly toxic oil spray dispersant, Corexit EC9527A and EC9500A, which are known to pose a direct threat to wild life, fish, other aquatic life, and to human health. Corexit is manufactured by a subsidiary of B.P. According to the manufacturer's own safety data sheet Corexit is highly toxic to humans. These toxins were sprayed on the ocean surface and 5,000 feet below at the site of the blow out on the bottom of the sea floor.

Corexit was used as a dispersant during the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska on March 24, 1989. Subsequently it was claimed that Corexit caused severe human health problems. According to the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the use of Corexit caused "respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders" in humans. Corexit has also been associated with the killing of fish eggs, embryos, and damages the heart. In fact, the chemical toxicity could be considered worse than the oil.

On May 7, 2010 the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary, publicly complained and warned of the catastrophic consequences of dumping these toxic substances in coastal waters. On May 19, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency reversed itself and demanded that BP use a less toxic form of Corexit, over 850,000 gallons of which had already been dumped into the ocean. B.P. eventually switched to Corexit 9500A and Corexit 9527A.

4. Rivers of Death: Oil Plumes Below the Depths

Figure 5. Oil slick. May 25, 2010. Credit: NASA.

Figure 6. Oil covered bird.

Inexplicably, the Federal government (as well as BP) disputed these discoveries, calling them "misleading, premature and inaccurate." NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco, who had been handpicked by President Obama dismissed these discoveries out-of-hand, calling them "anomalies." Thus, instead of reacting with concern, Federal agencies and BP simply repeated the mantra "oil floats." However, this oil is a mixture of toxic chemicals and these plumes have been documented by two independent teams of scientists aboard the research vessels, WeatherBird II and the Pelican.

These rivers of oil and toxins, so long as they remain below the surface, will not dissolve, but will instead cause death. It can be predicted that algae and microscopic creatures which produce oxygen are being killed. Bacteria also appear to be consuming the oil-related compounds, and multiplying at an incredible pace, thereby depleting the water of oxygen. Thus widespread oxygen depletion can be predicted. Inhabitants of the deep ocean will die, including shrimp, crab, squid, octopi, deep-sea corals, jellyfish, sand perch, mussels, tube worms, and those who dive deep beneath the surface, such as turtles, whales and sharks. Then there are the plankton which dive from the surface to the middle water columns and other primary producers and those at the bottom of the food chain. One cubic yard of sea water contains over 4,000 zooplankters; and then there are the billions of microscopic plants, phytoplankton. When they die, the effects cascade to other larger creatures who depend on them.

In addition to the food chain and oxygen depletion, the carbon cycle may be impacted. Normally the bottom dwellers consume dead animals who fall from the surface layers. If there is widespread death among these recyclers, then the dead will begin to accumulate on the ocean floor. Normally, as this organic matter is consumed nutrients and gasses are liberated and returned to the carbon cycle.

5. The Gulf Stream and Toxic Rivers of Death

The threats are not limited to the Gulf but to the Atlantic ocean, thanks to what is known as the Gulf Stream and the "North Atlantic Drift" which is a powerful warm water current that originates in the Gulf, hugs the Florida and Eastern U.S. coastlines, and then splits in separate streams, with one stream heading for northern Europe and the other West Africa. Initially, the Gulf steam current travels at 30 million cubic metres per second but speeds up to 150 million cubic metres per second as it crosses the Atlantic. Although its velocity is faster near the surface, it also extends nearly 4,000 feet deep, meaning it can act like a giant undersea broom, sweeping these toxic plumes of oil all along the Eastern coast, leaving a wide path of death in its wake.

Figures 7 and 8: The Gulf Stream.

6. Coming Soon: The Next Catastrophe...

Currently there are over 17,000 oil drilling platforms pumping oil from the bottoms of the oceans, and BP and Shell have several planned which are 6,000 to 7,000 feet below the ocean surface. They and other oil conglomerates are proposing thousands more. For the oil industry and Federal regulators, the choice is simple: Profits over safety and the environment be damned.