A bit of cautious good news

Our View

Published on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 12:24 AM CDT

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With the doom and gloom surrounding the BP oil spill, it is refreshing to get some pretty good news on our marshlands. According to the scientists at the LSU AgCenter, marsh plants that had been killed off by the oil are sprouting again in our wetlands. The botanists at the AgCenter say that the marshes could recover from the oil spill.

That is really good news, especially for all the commercial and sports fishermen in the area. The marshes are the nurseries for most of our sea life that we harvest. Shrimp, fish, and crabs all mate and spawn in the wetlands, and the progeny feed off the rich bounty of the marshes to grow big and delicious. The recovery of the wetlands also means more hurricane protection from storm surges.

There are some caveats to the good news. Scientists said that because the oil spill was made up of mostly light oil, it might have seeped farther back into the marshlands than first suspected. If so, then it might take much longer for the wetlands to spring back and recover. Scientists don’t know what will happen in the long term. They are also concerned over the effects of a hurricane’s storm surge in the wetlands that would bring in the oil that remains out in the Gulf.

BP has promised they will continue to pay for the cleanup for as long as it takes. According to some scientists, that may take years. Let us hope that BP lives up to its promise.

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Comments

1 comment(s)

Jason wrote on Aug 21, 2010 7:05 AM:

" The Truth Council. The article stated "Scientists don’t know what will happen in the long term." They had 30 years to study the Mexican oil spill and how it destroyed the coast. The Valdez oil spill 10 years? The problem here is that the TRUTH is covered up. We as Americans are too afraid to speak up. Look in the mirror folks, as we are all guilty of the TRUTH. Truth should start at home. Sincerly, Jason "

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