Hurricane Ike created significant damage ashore, disrupted oil production and refining, caused gasoline shortages in areas of the southeast, and there are still many missing people. A not much reported, amid the financial meltdown, are the quite significant Hurricane Ike’s environmental impact, sadly, damage that will be around for years to come.
Remember how those supporting drillusion have consistently lied in false claims that there were not oil spills during Hurricane Katrina. Have to wonder what they will say in coming months about Ike?
Hurricane Ike’s winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas,
Amid over 400 events and 1000s of pollution reports.
“We are dealing with a multitude of different types of pollution here … everything from diesel in the water to gasoline to things like household chemicals,” said Larry Chambers, a petty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard Command Center in Pasadena, Texas.
Amid all this, “No major oil spills or hazardous materials releases have been identified, but nearly 1,500 sites still need to be cleaned up.”
When it comes to oil leaks, amid over 50 destroyed and 32 damaged oil platforms (of 3800 in the Gulf of Mexico), there is a confirmation of a small spill: 8,400 gallons. A shore facility lost over 260,000 gallons of oil. The ‘good news’? The roughness of the storm dispersed the pollution.
Oh, that is right, about the Katrina spills, clearly worse than Ike with oil spills of over 9 million gallons.
Even without a major oil spill, Ike caused widespread environmental damage to Southeast Texas, ripping through the region’s barrier islands, washing debris into Galveston Bay and the Gulf, and imperiling animals, fish and plants by pouring excessive amounts of saltwater into marshes.
Ike’s storm damage will have other tools on wildlife, through, for example, wiping out food supplies and disruptive (destroying) habitat.
“This will have a huge impact on the birds,” said Gina Donovan, executive director of the Houston Audubon Society. “The warblers eat so many berries that the juice gets all over their feathers. It’s like watching a child eat ice cream. Without the food to fatten them for a 600-mile journey, the birds will starve and perish.”
Ike’s impact will be around for years to come.