Although the SF Bay spill is no where near the size of what has happened in the Black Sea, 58,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil that is currently floating around the Bay Area is causing unconscionable damage to the sea life of the region. Six days after the fact, we are finding troubling reports that the Coast Guard was slow to act and the Federal authorities were also dragging their feet to open a criminal investigation.
From Democracy Now:
AMY GOODMAN: We are broadcasting from San Francisco, where a criminal investigation has been opened into the 58,000-gallon spill of heavy bunker fuel into the San Francisco Bay. The spill took place when a container ship slammed into the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Wednesday -- the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Coast Guard officials acknowledged on Friday that they had waited over four hours before notifying the public of the magnitude of the spill. They previously reported a leak of just 140 gallons.
The oil spill has shut down over a dozen beaches and killed at least sixty birds. Ecologists warn it could take months to clean up and that it threatens the Bay's diverse ecosystem, including several endangered species.
Environmental organizations like Friends of the Earth and San Francisco Baykeeper have condemned the ecological impact of the spill and the slowness of the official response. They're also calling for a ban on the shipping industry’s use of the heavily polluting bunker fuel, which they say is a thousand times worse for the environment than highway diesel.
Amy's interview with Sejal Choksi who runs the SF Baykeeper organization provides a wealth of information on what the damage to the environment is and how important it is to keep these types of fuels away from our ecosystem. Choksi is petitioning Congress to ban bunker fuel from being used in ships that dock in our ports. Help him out and call your member of Congress today.
|