GULF OIL SPILL REMEDY ATTACKING MORE THAN JUST OIL
LOS ANGELES— Dec 9, 2010. A soon-to-be released independent television documentary interviews marine scientists who argue that the chemical dispersant used to treat the largest ocean oil spill in American history is a case of the cure being far more deadly to this highly productive marine ecosystem than the disease (oil) was.
The film argues that instead of this harsh chemical, the environmentally friendly technology known as bio-remediation should have been used. Bioremediation is scientifically proven to speed up natural processes such as oil-eating microbes to clean up oil spills.
Despite strong scientific documentation that bioremediation technology could have restored the Gulf to health in a relatively short time, interview subjects say government agencies are actively preventing the clean-up efforts through the implementation of extensive bureaucratic red tape rather than working to rehabilitate the nation’s most productive biological and commercial ecosystems.
The 30 minute documentary “The Hidden Crisis in the Gulf” produced by The Earth Organization (TEO) is being released this week in Louisiana cities with subsequent airings across the other Gulf States during December and January. Its nationwide release is scheduled beginning Monday, Dec 10th.
The film’s producer-director acknowledges that the documentary was undertaken expressly as an advocacy vehicle that hopes to produce a profound effect in educating and energizing the public. “We produced this film to generate action so that a real solution—bioremediation—is adopted urgently and promptly in the stricken Gulf,” said Barbara Wiseman, President of The Earth Organization (TEO), an international nonprofit which she said funded the documentary with accumulated small contributions from their US membership base.
Wiseman continued: “The central issue for TEO isn’t who is to blame but how quickly we can break down the bureaucratic barriers so that bio-remediation can protect the health of the public and save what’s left of the Gulf’s biological diversity which supports commercial and recreational fishing and tourism industries and the region’s economy. Lingering poisons are being ignored by those who should be protecting us. Anyone who says Gulf seafood is safe in an effort to reduce damages or deflect attention is putting human lives in danger.”
