Big Oil’s disregard for the environment and the quality of life of Gulf coast residents has caused untold hardship to countless numbers of people. Below are some of the victims of this tragic ecological disaster:
With fish stocks and the marine environment on which they depend on the verge of collapse, charter boat captains have seen their businesses destroyed. The oil spill has happened at the beginning of the busy summer season during which captains generally make most of their money.
Charter Boat Operators Effected by the Gulf Oil Spill >
The huge cost of cleaning up the oil slick as it makes landfall has fallen firmly at the feet of many waterfront property owners, whose property values and rental incomes have plummeted. Property owners along the Gulf coast must also endure the many health risks associated with breathing in the foul smelling air that is laced with volatile fumes and toxic chemicals.
Waterfront Property Owners Effected by the Gulf Oil Spill >
The white sandy beaches of the Gulf coast are being destroyed by vast quantities of oil and toxic chemical dispersants, resulting in mass cancellations for hotels and tour companies. The entire local economy was relying on the coming summer season and this oil slick will spell financial disaster for many tourism related businesses.
Vast amounts of oil and toxic chemical dispersants have forced NOAA to shut down most of the Gulf of Mexico to all fishing while they determine the extent of the environmental damage. Fish stocks may never recover and those fish that are left may be found to be unfit for human consumption, resulting in the complete collapse of the commercial fishing industry along the Gulf coast.
Gulf Oil Spill & Commercial Fishing >
The chemical dispersants being poured into the sea can be more harmful to the marine environment than the oil spill, causing massive destruction of fish and shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico. Concentrations of toxicity caused by the dispersants get into the food chain through the bottom feeders and this poison is passed all the way up to the top of the food chain.