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Read the rest of this articleCleaning animals coated from the BP oil spill may be pointless
As crude oil continues spewing from BP’s deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico a debate is flickering between two camps in the scientific community. Those who see value in trying to clean oil off of coated wild animals, and those who consider it a waste of time that mostly just helps humans feel better by granting a false sense of accomplishment.
It’s a tangled web, but any way you look at it the numbers are gruesome. 1,282 seabirds have been rescued so far, and only 40 of those have successfully been returned to the wild. Sea turtles have even a worse ratio with 387 rescued and only 3 returned to the wild. All of the dolphins stranded in the oil spill died (statistics via Guardian). It’s no wonder humans want to help, the level of destruction creates an immense sense of guilt and every bit we can do helps, right?
Maybe. Critics have some valid points. Some studies in the past indicate that animals returned to the wild after a cleaning have very low chances of survival. Compound that with the fact that the BP oil spill is ongoing and those chances lower even further. Some animals die in the rescue and cleaning process because they’re so alarmed at the human contact. Other animals die because of diseases transmitted from humans.
On the flip side some other studies in the past have shown a slightly better rate of survival after cleaning, and even with the dismal success rate at least we’re saving some of the animals. With a generous group of volunteers ready to help it’s hard not to keep doing something like this even if the impact is so minimal. The only time it would make sense to stop is if it pulled resources away from stopped the BP oil spill outright. But those resources are already full speed ahead trying to solve the problem.
What do you think?
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Comments
Catch-22 it seems.
While I understand both sides of the conflict, because this is a human-caused disaster as opposed to a natural one, we should keep in mind that the animals are dying out there because of our mistake. Simply turning a blind eye to them and saying, "tough luck" is irresponsible and downright disrespectful. We are much better than that. If we abandon these causes now, we only set ourselves up as bad examples for future events.
We absolutely need to do something about this oil spill. Animals are dyeing and we aren't helping at all!
I agree with the above opinions. The only thing that makes me hesitate a little is the fact that the human contact has potential to kill the birds as well. Yes we may be cleaning them but in that process they may suffer from a heart attack from too much anxiety and die. But if we are helping more than we are hurting the situation, i see it as a positive all around.
I actually have had pet fish and I worked at an aquarium
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."
Seeing the birds perishing is really so sad a sight and which ever side of the conflict benefits the sea creatures should be undertaken. I heard that human or pet hairs from salons are being parceled to be used in oil spill, now if this step is helpful I believe people around the world will only be more happier to help us. Wish the explosion which led to this terrible situation was averted, wish it never happened, wish we didn't do things which triggered the explosion and may all these regrets we feel inside our hearts now, be a very big lesson for all of us.
Austin Refinance
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