Gulf Oil Spill May be Killing Cures for Cancer and Malaria!

So do the Sara Palins of the world still think that global warming and pollutants aren't ruining our planet and  jeopardizing our life?  Today it was revealed by researchers that the Gulf spill could wipe out a potential cure for malaria and treatments for cancer and other diseases by killing off marine organisms that are the basis of experimental drugs.

Evidently, the Gulf of Mexico and Florida are two main resources for sponges, sea worms, and other invertebrates that live in the oil slicks path.  This is the core ocean area that researchers use for specimens in research and development for cures.

A number of modern drug treatments are based on compounds produced by marine organisms. Many of these organisms live in small, unique locales. Once killed off by something like the oil spill, their potential research contributions could be lost to medical science forever! 
One of the most promising treatments threatened by the spill is a possible cure for malaria. Molecular biologists and drug discovery experts are testing compounds taken from sponges collected off the coast of Florida and other waters in the path of the spill, and the testing and research performed thus far has been successful.

The tragedy here is that the basis for these cures is only found in the Gulf or the waters around the Florida peninsula—exactly where the crude is spewing, and spreading, in the millions of gallons. 

Hey "Drill baby, drill" people, how is BP going to pay for that?    

Eulogy for the Gulf Ocean

Not surprisingly, the Federal Judge that overturned Obama’s offshore drilling moratorium owns stock in the offshore oil industry including TransOcean! TransOcean is the owner of the oil well in the gulf that is spewing oil and presently on fire again!

When I first read that Judge Feldman overturned the moratorium, my first thoughts were that he must have investments in TransOcean, and therefore, he didn’t want to lose any more money. Why else would an intelligent and rational man want to start drilling immediately again, as oil spewed into the sea?  Now, a few days later after his overturn, I read that that Judge Feldman owns stock in TransOcean and five other major oil companies that are directly or indirectly involved in the offshore drilling business.

Further reading revealed that 58% of federal trial judges in oil-affected states have a stake in the oil industry. The entire situation is a catch-22. The billion dollar oil companies rule and write their own ticket in these areas, and the entire world for that matter, because they have free reign and full support of federal judges and politicians that have a vested interest in oil.

One of the comments that I recently read stated, “This kind of justice and climate must have led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The difference today is that we face a global cancerous epidemic of greed and we’re out of touch with Mother Nature”!

How much proof do these large corporations and opposing politicians need before they agree that we are killing our planet? The oil slick that is now present on Florida’s shores will continue to travel to other coastal communities, killing hundreds, perhaps thousands of fish, mammal, birds and entire ecosystems. Scientist state that there may be irreversible damage, and if we don’t do something immediately there will be no turning back.

I consider myself to be an optimist, but I’m having a hard-time visualizing a multi-billion dollar industry, halting to save the planet. Many of the environmental organizations such as Greenpeace, The Climate Project, and International Network for Sustainable Energy (INFORSE), feel that this is the right time for us to layout our plan on alternative safe energy. All of the images on television of oil coated beaches and wildlife, should help to forge forward with our case already proven: pollutants are killing our oceans and skies.

It is ludicrous to continue relying on fossil fuel, and turn our backs and let these companies continue to drill like nothing has ever happened. Presently, BP is scouting out Alaska for a deep-well drilling project, that will drill down two miles vertically, and then 8 miles horizontally. Evidently, this area is an oil goldmine. This drilling is supposed to start in September.

I understand that the situation with the oil-spill is complicated in that many of the jobs in the gulf rely on this business for income. This industry is all that these people know. This is there livelihood. However, it is clear that some alternative income and jobs along these areas are needed to help in the transition to a clean energy solution.

Even if our president steps up to the plate, and mandates that we are no longer allowing deep-water drilling, and that we are moving forward with a plan for alternative energy; he would have to have global support, and at this point I find it difficult to visualize this type of a miracle.

GreenPeace:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
Climate Project:
http://www.theclimateproject.org/
INFORSE:
http://www.inforse.org/