Today’s the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill, and here’s my question: so, if scientists couldn’t even foresee the effects of the oil spill on the Gulf, how are they going to figure out what’s going on with climate change?
Actually, although the above-linked Time article ignores it, there were a few lonely voices saying fairly early on that the spill would naturally repair itself. One of them, interestingly enough, was that of none other than Rush Limbaugh (not a scientist, nor does he play one on radio). Another was British geologist Michael Welland, who even managed to specifically mention the oil-eating bacteria in a post that bears full reading, entitled “Alcanivorax borkumensis – oil-eating bacteria, where are you?”
Welland is careful to differentiate himself from the hated Limbaugh, lest he be tarred with the same brush. He writes in a disclaimer [emphasis mine]:
Given that there are hundreds of natural oil seeps in the northern Gulf, spewing out an estimated 70,000 tonnes (roughly equivalent to 20 million US gallons) of oil every year, why do we not see a more oil-polluted Gulf in normal circumstances? One big reason is the natural activity of bacteria like Alcanivorax borkumensis. No, I’m not supporting Rush Limbaugh and his demented and twisted interpretation of facts, but one fact is that natural processes can help in the kind of catastrophe we are facing. But those natural processes don’t have the critical mass to deal with events on this scale – they need help.
Apparently, although Welland was one of the few who was correct about the oil-eating bacteria, he was wrong about that last point—it turns out they didn’t need help.
The thing about qualifiers is that everything that is mentioned before the “but” is the hedge and everything afterwards is what is true. So, Mr. Welland could’ve saved face simply by saying, “Although I don’t agree with Rush Limbaugh on everything, he is right in this aspect.” Unfortunately, today’s culture values circumspection and vagueness, not clarity and straightforwardness.
i sure someone could put together a 5min clip of all the prognosticators suggesting the oil spill was the end of the world
and then show contrasting clips of the reality in the gulf today
(you could have crickets to fill the silence)
rush also coined “drive by media” and this is a perfect example of the drive by’s
How many ecological disastors have not happened. I remeber the first Earth Day in 1970. They said the oil would run out, air would be unbreathable without a filtermask etc. None of thier predictions ever came true. I was just 18 in 1970 but even then I could see it was all a bunch of BS.
What people have to understand is oil is natural it is also organic. I refer to the proper definition and not the BS common usage.
It was amazing to me that people who should have known better just steamrolled as though they could not hear the facts. I a href=http://pecancorner.blogspot.com/2010/05/on-gulf-oil-spill-occurring-oil-seeps.html rel=nofollow wrote about the natural slicks /a at the time, with a NASA photo of a naturally occurring slick that covered the Gulf. All this science is at our fingertips and our leadership failed to avail itself of it.
Even more terrible is that they continue to use the event as an excuse to prevent drilling. And now with Japans reactor issues, nuclear will be harder to get approved. We a href=http://pecancorner.blogspot.com/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-lex-talionis-and-rent_29.html rel=nofollowcannot continue living in fear /a, as though man can anticipate and prevent every possible difficulty.
Richb313, you are so on point about petroleum being natural and organic. Ive taken to adding that as a little comment each time I have some excuse to mention oil to the grandkids…