Agent Orange, The Oil Spill And Us
Spraying Agent Orange It has been many years now since the war in Vietnam ended. Some Pentagon genius decided that the jungles of that country were the reasons we were having such a hard time fighting the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese regulars. They decided to use powerful chemicals to defoliate the jungle, which really didn't, except for small patches, but it did expose the soldiers to untested chemicals. What I mean by untested is that never had humans been exposed on such a level of toxicity to these chemicals before. Sure we were told that there was nothing to worry about and that the chemicals were harmless to humans. As the war plowed on, it became apparent that it was more than the jungle that was preventing us from winning many fights, it was the fact that there were miles of tunnels under the jungle that were used as ambush and escape routes, so in the long run Agent Orange was probably unnecessary even if it was safe, which it was not. When the soldiers returned from the war, many of them had different disabilities that were caused by Agent Orange and there were many birth defects caused to children born to these soldiers. For years the government denied that Agent Orange was the cause, before they finally admitted it. Agent Orange is a herbicide and defoliant and contained TCDD. TCDD was so potent that it eventually became known as a contaminant. It is estimated that Agent Orange resulted in the deaths and disabilities numbering over 400,000 and birth defects in over 500,000. This figure also includes Vietnamese people who were also exposed. Why would I bring all this up again after so many years? The reason that I am mentioning it is that it is happening again and on an even larger scale than before. We all know about the oil leaks that are spilling huge amount of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and probably killing and contaminating ocean life for many years to come, but do we all know that huge amounts of chemicals have been pumped into the gulf to try and break up the oil? The government has allowed this pumping of chemicals into the gulf and when they were questioned that said not to worry about it, they would monitor it. Does this sound familiar to all you Vietnam veterans? It should, it is the old Agent Orange talk again. While this is not Agent Orange that is being pumped into the water, it could turn out to be just as deadly or even deadlier.
Position Of Oil Spill A Few Days Ago It is being admitted that the use of the chemical dispersants is unprecedented. The amounts being used are huge. It is even being admitted by some scientists that the effects of such factors as this chemical use and the depth of the leaks are really unknown. Right now, after the fact, scientists are trying to figure out what the effects will be. You have to ask yourself what would cause more damage, the oil or the chemicals? You also have to ask what pea brained bureaucrat authorized the use of these chemicals when they were untested in such amounts? Sometimes even chemicals that have been tested and cleared, when used in such large amounts can have unknown consequences. The Environmental Protection Agency (this seems to be an oxymoron) was the agency that approved the chemical dump. Maybe it is time that we dump them. Fisherman were fit to be tied by the approval and stated that the agency and BP completely ignored their concerns about the effect this would have on the fish and the environment. One organization stated, "The EPA is conducting a giant experiment with our most productive fisheries by approving the use of these powerful chemicals on a massive, unprecedented scale". Here is the old Agent Orange talk again, this time by Rear Admiral Mary Landry of the Coast Guard who stated, "We didn't cross this threshold lightly...” "This is a tool that will be analyzed and monitored." Yeah sure, I wouldn't want to bet my life on that and neither should you. There is a lot of talk about BP, the company that ran the oil rig that exploded causing death and destruction and the huge oil contamination of our waters, agreeing to pay all claims, even if they were above the 75 million dollar cap that was set during the Bush administration so that no oil company would really have to worry about destroying this country's environment. It is even being said that they agreed to this, but this is not really true. They said that they would pay all legitimate claims. That means they are the one that will decide what is a legitimate claim or not. It is sort of like your health insurance. There are people who have cancer and would at least have a chance at living if they could get a bone marrow transfer, but many times the insurance company does not allow this, because of the expense. This will be something like that and we will not be able to do anything about it because of the 75 million dollar limit.
8Oil I have to say that the politicians did a good job protecting their buddies from harm at our expense. If it were up to me I would call for the dismantling of BP and the selling of all its assets to pay for what happened. Unfortunately not only is it not up to me, but this company isn't even American. I don't know what the laws governing this stuff is in Britain, but here is our chance to see what kind of ally they really are. We should sue BP there if we can and go for the juggler. Better yet, the British government in an act of friendship should seize all the assets of that company. That probably will never happen however, because these companies are entrenched in the governments of both countries. In the long run this will probably benefit BP because the oil companies will now use the excuse that there is an oil shortage, because of the spill and they have to raise prices and there we will be paying more to a company that has destroyed our fishing industry along with our environment. Is there any justice in this world? Apparently not when it comes to these huge companies that are in bed with the agencies that regulate them and have even presidents protecting them. By the way, BP actually had the nerve to call its program to hire fishing boats to help stem the oil, Vessel of Opportunities Program, like it was some opportunity to make money that the fishing boats would not have had. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reports that nearly four decades after a fuel oil spill polluted the beaches of Cape Cod, Mass., researchers have found the first compelling evidence for lingering, chronic biological effects on a marsh that otherwise appears to have recovered. |
