Tar Balls at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge [View All]

[ensho]

http://blog.buzzflash.com/contributors/3228


This is just a quick heads-up about tar balls possibly from the BP spill discovered at the Aransas NWR on the central coast of Texas. (Among many other things this is the winter home to the Whooping Cranes.) I drove down to the central coast for a couple of days to specifically check for incoming oil, and a wildlife officer at the Aransas NWR told me the tar balls are presently being tested for links to BP. I fear it is only wishful thinking to mention these tar balls may turn out to be related to other, older sources. The officer I spoke with is clearly expecting the worst, if not now then in the near-term. Despite claims to the contrary by NOAA and others, oil could easily spread into the Western Gulf. I was living in Galveston in the summer of 1984 when a 2.8 million gallon spill from a tanker south of Cameron, La., moved west into Galveston. It's not unusual for Red Tide to spread west even when the Loop Current is at its strongest.

The Aransas refuge has miraculously survived despite being next door to some of the world's worst polluters for decades. It is a breathtaking place and an ecological cornerstone for the Western Gulf of Mexico. One can only hope the news from Aransas is good, but...
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the death count will go up and up