In addition to widespread eyewitness accounts and internet rumours, HistoryTours’s Youtube channel features several videos documenting oily residue after a rain on the streets of River Ridge, Louisiana (screen capture above). There is some speculation that Corexit, the solvent being used to disperse the Gulf Oil Spill by BP in massive-never-before-seen amounts, is allowing crude oil to evaporate and rain oil onto the land.
There is also the possibility that these scenes are staged and it seems unlikely that oil would evaporate. We really aren’t able to verify the authenticity of the source of the oil in these videos.
However, there is one indisputable fact: Corexit is a very dangerous solvent that could put all life on the planet at risk. There is shocking evidence that Corexit is four times more dangerous to aquatic life than crude oil and that it can in fact evaporate in high temperatures and may have already entered the atmosphere and rained down on land and sea. The effects of this rain are devastating and Corexit is suspected in widespread crop damage as well as a host of adverse health effects in humans and animals.
The EPA has posted information on Corexit and approved its use in the Gulf Spill, but they have also ordered BP to use less of it and find a safer alternative.
So why is BP continuing to add massive quantities of an incredibly harmful solvent that could compound a somewhat isolated disaster into worldwide catastrophe? Quite simply, it hides the scale of the spill and prevents photo opportunities of oiled birds and animals, as illustrated in this "helpful" video provided by Nalco, the manufacturer of Corexit. Which reinforces the opinion that BP has taken a callous attitude toward the spill and the environment in general in favor of spin and profits.
Ultimately, we do not claim to be experts on this and both sides of the equation do seem to be loaded with misleading rumors and internet speculation. But the fact does remain, Corexit has never been used on this scale and something seems to be causing horrifying and unusual damage inland near the spill.
Can we really afford to take further risks by "testing" a highly unstable product on our oceans, lands, and living creatures during one of the biggest environmental disasters in human history?
© 2010 Apartment Therapy
jesus christ
view clampers's profile
v_v
view plumeria's profile
Makes me want to have kids even less!
view plumeria's profile
Remind me again why the president thought this was better than accepting help from foreign nations?
view pseudonym's profile
I thought this was an eco friendly design blog, not a vehicle for environmentalist, anti-corporate propaganda.
view joshfrink's profile
@joshfrink: Define "anti-corporate". Plenty of corporations are stepping up and offering products which are less harmful to the environment. These corporations are showing a respect for the environment and an openness to change their business practices for the good of the planet. Many of these corporations are lauded on this site, and deserve our support.
BP is not one of these corporations. BP is spending more money and effort in containing "Public Relations" damage than in containing environmental and economic damage to the gulf communities.
re-nest is a community, and many of us who read it are deeply concerned with the damage occurring in the gulf. This spill, and the unnecessary use of corexit, threatens the entire food chain. I'm surprised that anybody reading this post would write it off as "environmentalist, anti-corporate propaganda". (And why are you okay with this site being "eco friendly" while simultaneously opposed to it being a "vehicle for environmentalism"?)
joshfrink, are you by any chance a BP employee?
P.S. Here's a great article on wired.com which gives details about a much better alternative to corexit:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/05/gulf-dispersants/
view ingow's profile
More likely that someone's car is leaking oil and it's alarming people there. No matter, though. Isn't it enough that countless marine animals are in hell? Why didn't we do something after the Valdez spill?
Thanks, Ap, for offering cool eco-friendly ideas. I do it for the planet and for the non-human species, I hope more people will think about that now.
view Emmi's profile