Environment

BP Oil Spill 2010: Effects Could Be Felt in Europe and Arctic

by Amy Judd | May 21, 2010 at 03:56 pm

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A Congressional Panel Was Held Friday May 21

In a Congressional Panel on Friday experts testified that the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be felt as far as Europe and the Arctic and could be an 'ecological disaster of unknown proportions' according to CNN.

The briefing was held with the House Energy and Commerce Committee and spoke about the frustration from people regarding the oil still gushing in to the Gulf of Mexico and the lack of BP to stop the thousands of barrels being released every day. A live feed of the oil spill now posted online shows just how much oil the Deepwater Horizon rig is still losing.

"This is not just a regional issue for the wildlife," said Carl Safina, the president of the Blue Ocean Institute. Noting common migratory patterns, he warned that multiple forms of marine life from across the Atlantic Ocean "come into the Gulf to breed."

Mr. Safina said that looking to BP for any answers is the wrong direction to go.

"They seem to have cut corners on some critical junctures. We keep asking their permission to go down and measure the oil that's coming out. ... This mystifies me, because they are on our property now."

National Geographic's Sylvia Earle described asking BP to look after the spill like 'asking the fox to look after the chickens'.

Some of the methods BP is proposing to stop the oil spill have not been tested in a laboratory and this alarms experts even more. Any chemicals injected in to the ocean may affect the marine life as well and could have long-term effects that are not known yet.

Mr. Safina said that using these chemicals is more for the benefit of the people and the media so that it just looks like the oil slick is less.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

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Bronwyn (not verified)

at 17:13 on June 1st, 2010

Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen!

Tammy Harrison (not verified)

at 20:46 on June 11th, 2010

There is no need for more toxic chemicals to be poured into the ocean. www.wimp.com/solutionoil/ apparently this has made local and national news.BP scoffs at the idea.