It may be a funny title but it’s definitely a serious issue because it’s the turtles and other marine life that have been most affected by last year’s oil disaster of the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The scientific evidence is just beginning to be released as to the effects the spill had on the marine environment.  However many experts are saying that the data will have to be collected for years to come before we see the true results of that disaster.

The fact that the well rupture and spill happened 50 miles offshore means that there will be things happening that are out of sight and that we may not have the facilities to ever discover. Also, the unprecedented amount of dispersants used will have impacts we can’t even guess at.

Long term effects like the reproductive capability of the animals, the impact of so much spilled oil on the food chain and the sinking of the oil onto the seabed will take time to show.  Equally, the area affected is so large that we may yet see surprises we haven’t anticipated, according to a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. (NOAA).  Finding dead baby dolphins, sea turtles – Loggerheads, Leatherbacks and the most critically endangered species, the Kemp’s Ridley, plus many other animals are among those “unanticipated surprises”.

The Chief Science Officer for the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Dr Gascon, says the information they have had to-date is sketchy since they aren’t getting all of the data the various researchers and agencies are collecting.

One reason for this is, of course, the amount of litigation likely to result from the spill.  Settlement of the court cases will also have to wait until the scale of the long term damage is better known.

When compared to other oil disasters over the last 50 years, the Deepwater Horizon tops out at nearly 5 million barrels of oil released into the environment.  The Amoco Cadiz in 1978 spilled 1.75 million barrels and the other major spill that comes to mind, the Torrey Canyon in 1967, spilled only 0.33 million barrels.

To understand exactly what happened and how long it takes for recovery, the scientific research and evaluation must continue regardless of how the litigation progresses.  One major reason we much continue the research is that the impact of future oil activity must somehow be gauged before another disaster occurs.  In particular, how will the currently untapped oil, gas and mineral wealth of the Arctic be dealt?  Many nations are keen to begin exploration despite how much little is known about where in the Arctic the proposed development will take place. And, since the Arctic slope of Alaska doesn’t even have a harbor, how would a major spill be addressed?

We need many more answers to all the outstanding questions for the sake of the turtles and other marine life as well as the life of the planet at large.

To see some of the heartbreaking images of animals, even a dragonfly, affected by the oil, go to http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1992275_2143355,00.html

Seabirds Rescue – Turtle Rescue – Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

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