Gulf Oil Spill Psychological Impact

New York Times:

Beyond the environmental and economic damage, the toll of the mammoth spill in the Gulf of Mexico is being measured in hopelessness, anxiety, stress, anger, depression and even suicidal thoughts among those most affected, social workers say.

Mindful of the surge in psychological ailments after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, community groups are trying to tend to the collective psyche of fishermen like Mr. Le even as they address more immediate needs like financial aid.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[lboucher]

02:39 AM on 06/18/2010

http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/environmental-engineer-dispersants-have-to-stop-now/897155/Jun-17-2010_6-43-pm/

BP’s use of Corexit dispersant will kill the Gulf with sulfuric acid: Environmental engineer

Joe Taylor, an environmental engineer in Daphne, says BP’s use of the dispersant Corexit is wrong, and they will kill the Gulf of Mexico. And Taylor has the scientific knowledge to back up his claim. He’s been cleaning up petroleum contamination for many years.

He says the sulfur and sulfuric acid based dispersant makes the oil spewing into the gulf sink, where its impossible to clean up–and where it depletes oxygen levels under the water, killing plankton and everything above plankton in the food chain. “Corexit is toxic, petroleum is toxic, and its depleting the oxygen levels,” he says.

[Youhearditherefirst]

07:11 PM on 06/17/2010

Greetings, there is a viable and economical way to plug the leak in the gulf. It is similar to balloon angioplasty, but on an industrial scale with a bit of tweeking but it will work IF THEY DO IT!!!! don't hold your breath though folks, I've been emailing news organizations, congress the senate and the white house along with bp telling them about this solution. It's like screaming into a hurricane though, no one can hear me and everyone is so busy with talking points and trying to gain some political ground, no one seemingly wants the leak plugged.
Anyway, to plug the leak, as I stated earlier it is similar to balloon angioplasty, if you are unfamiliar with what that is, search youtube, they have video.. The tweeking is the balloon will have to be inside the thread feeder, when in place deep inside the leak, deploy the balloon and fill with some proprietary concrete/cement mixture, let it setup and LEAK FIXED.
So simple even an elected official could comprehend it.. tell your friends, loved one's and anyone else that you know about this fix and lets get the leak plugged and move on with our lives. Have a nice day,... OH and for the people who will inevitably scoff that such an easy idea will work, could it really hurt to try? because to date, they've not done a whole lot with the leak so why not try balloon angioplasty on the leak.

[wm1066]

04:48 PM on 06/17/2010

This is like a 911 Groundhog Day! everyday!... It wont stop!... I am so angry. You have BP and the Republicans both obstructing on this.

[intothefrey]

09:56 AM on 06/17/2010

Everyone who is suffering emotional pain, depression and problems concentrating -- fear, worry and anxiety -- no matter where they live have a right, and I would say, obligation to sue BP. I'm seriously considering it. I live in Texas about two hours from Corpus Christi -- I hear they are burning oil in the Gulf Of Mexico -- today there are a lot of clouds coming in here from the Gulf. It's supposed to rain -- was not in the forecast yesterday -- I wonder what's in those clouds. What in the h*** is the US government allowing this company to do to the environment? Where is the protection of my government?????

[lynettema]

01:10 PM on 06/17/2010

What solution do you have? I am willing to bet you voted for these 4000 oil rigs to go up in our Gulf.

[intothefrey]

01:57 PM on 06/17/2010

Wrong.
What solution do you have.

[Mark Mayhew]

05:46 PM on 06/17/2010

Sue, Baby, Sue!

[fcsakes]

08:23 AM on 06/17/2010

I don't live anywhere near the Gulf Coast, yet this horrible event has caused most of the above for me as I suspect it has for people all across this country. Certainly the damage done to the environment will have long-term effects that will be felt in other countries as well, just as the horrendous impact to the fishing industry the Exxon Valdez caused (and still escapes having to pay for with the help of their many lawyers).

All wells, both offshore and on land need to have strict government regulation and control. There is no legitimate reason why that should not occur at the earliest possible moment, not only for any future oil exploration, but also for all wells operating on U.S. soil or waters right now. To do any less would be a direct slap in the face to every citizen living here. To allow continued drilling by wells that we KNOW are unsafe is beyond foolhardy. Let's have frequent thorough inspections, at oil company cost, and SHUT THEM DOWN the instant they do not incorporate all recommended safety measures. No loopholes, no backroom deals, no fraudulent test reports.

This is our country - let's not allow the backroom boys to make decisions for it any longer.

[C65]

09:47 AM on 06/17/2010

The PSYCHE is effected by GREED and there will be more of it,when
REPS and SENATORS are STILL SCREAMING;"DRILL BABY DRILL".
Jobs are necessary for LIVELIHOOD,but LIFE and SAFETY is as well.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST-LIFE OR MONEY?

[Louisiana Belle]

02:46 PM on 06/17/2010

Louisianans do not want the moratorium by an overwhelming majority. There are three legs of the Louisiana economy:

1. Commercial fishing, which contributes $2.6 billion a year to my state's economy annually.

2. The O&G industry, including service and boat companies, which contributes $78 billion annually.

3. The tourism industry, which contributes $8.3 billion annually.

The first has been destroyed for the next couple of years, at least. The second has been severely hampered because of the moratorium. The last will suffer greatly, as well.

[Louisiana Belle]

02:33 PM on 06/17/2010

Since the Obama administration came into office, it has taken a path with MMS that would not suggest that safety was its primary concerns where offshore drilling was concerned. For instance, the budget for safety remained relatively flat, growing by about $3mn from FY2009 to FY2010, the transition from the Bush to the Obama administration, and then seeing an the budget rise about $119,000 more for this coming year.

At the same time, MMS established some new principles for safety inspection concerned more with risk assessment than covering every facility, which has been the policy in the past. The DOI and MMS have been focused on the facilities with the greatest risk. And to that end, MMS explained in its budget request that while it completed around 24,895 inspections in FY2009 (the last year of the Bush administration) in the Gulf, it anticipated completing fewer inspections in both ‘10 and ‘11 – 22,000 and 23,000 respectively.

Meanwhile, paired with MMS’s new slimmed down approach to inspections was a brand new set of responsibilities for the agency – renewable energy development under the Obama administration’s commitment of to developing green energy.

cont.

[topkatnc]

08:03 AM on 06/17/2010

And this is just the tip of the ice berg ... it is going to get so much worse for all the people in the gulf ... it is one thing to see pictures in newspapers and tv ... but to have to live in it and see your way of life gone is different ... The scar that BP will be leaving will never heal .... I wonder if BP has even an idea of what they have done to this planet and it's people ...

[conscioushope]

08:30 AM on 06/17/2010

topkat~

I do not think BP has a clue to their abusive corporate culture and how their selfishness has ravaged the Gulf and people's lives and thus the planet.

They're sorry for what's happened....but, probably sorrier that they got caught.

[topkatnc]

08:56 AM on 06/17/2010

I think you hit the nail on the head .... and I agree ....

[Laura McBride]

07:58 AM on 06/17/2010

A local woman interviewed said her husband had become a zombie obsessed with the oil spill. A Vietnamese working to bring his family to the US is in despair. The BP spill has cut across all socio-economic strata except one: the very wealthy, including BP CEO Hayward. As an American living in Britain, I am--for the first time since Dubya left the White House--subject to various denigrating comments. They think Americans are going overboard with demands, and a good many of them, including a very good friend of mine, are worried about their pensions if BP folds. I don't want my friends to lose their pensions; I also abhor the slipshod behavior of BP up to and including this very moment. I think Hayward should be the one cleaning up the spill and having his coddled psyche damaged by repetitive sights of beautiful, innocent animals dead and dying. In a world where ethics mattered, he'd have resigned and volunteered to do just that. I think he should be forced, like the VIetnamese worker, to exist far from his loved ones for years on end, his hopes dashed.

There is no way for the superwealthy to understand the needs and lives of the ordinary, and certainly not of poor immigrants, unless they join their ranks. In cases like this, the very least the leaders can do is deeply apologize, turn the reins over to others, and join those they have damaged so profoundly.

[topkatnc]

08:10 AM on 06/17/2010

It is sad that the British people think that we are going overboard with demands .... I must say ... that alone tells alot about the British people .....

[pirx]

08:43 AM on 06/17/2010

Yes the British shareholders in BP are in denial, and should realize that as shareholders, they are responsible for the damages. But in all fairness, almost the entire US population is in greater denial. There is only a small segment of the population that is not dependent on gasoline for their daily existence, and without the US obsessive consumption of gasoline, offshore drilling would not be required.

[Laura McBride]

08:52 AM on 06/17/2010

Yes, it is sad. I'm not sorry I moved here--living is SO much more pleasant than where I lived in the states--but I have noted that, at some level, they don't fully understand that the US is not a colony anymore. Apparently, the wheels of realization grind slowly. The people are quite pleasant, actually, but they do retain a bit of the attitude that must have been apparent when the sun never set upon the British Empire. I think in this case, though, they are truly terrified that BP will fold, nor do many of them fully understand the magnitude of the horror. (Recall, theirs is a small country, and many when first coming to the states think they might just drive from NYC to Chicago for dinner--as they would drive from Plymouth to Exeter here.) There have been some, those who experienced a much smaller spill on the Devon coast some time back, who do totally understand and are as dismayed as the US is. Mixed bag, but your comment is more on target than many would like to believe.