Gulf of Mexico Pollution is Nothing New

Long before the BP oil disaster, pollution in the Gulf of Mexico was a chronic and serious problem.  The July 29, 2010 New York Times’ article Gulf of Mexico Has Long Been Dumping Site describes decades of oil leaks, garbage dumping, and oxygen-sucking bacterial blooms that have become routine in the Gulf over previous decades.  While subject to much of the same regulatory oversight as other major U.S. bodies of water, the Gulf suffers from underfunded environmental protection programs and a lax political culture that prioritizes business interests over ecosystem health.  Despite deeply ingrained misconceptions about the infinite bounty of the Gulf, many local residents are increasingly aware of the direct relationship between environmental health and the safety and prosperity of all things – include humans – that live within it.

Image via The New York Times.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 at 3:12 pm. It is filed under Blog and tagged with Coastal Restoration, Gulf of Mexico. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.