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GasBuddy News Article

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Gulf of Mexico Has Long Been a Sink of Pollution

New York Times -- HOUMA, La. — Loulan Pitre Sr. was born on the Gulf Coast in 1921, the son of an oysterman. Nearly all his life, he worked on the water, abiding by the widely shared faith that the resources of the Gulf of Mexico were limitless.
As a young Marine staff sergeant, back home after fighting in the South Pacific, he stood on barges in the gulf and watched as surplus mines, bombs and ammunition were pushed over the side.
He helped build the gulf’s very first offshore oil drilling platforms in the late 1940s, installing bolts on perilously high perches over the water. He worked on a shrimp boat, and later as the captain of a service boat for drilling platforms.

The gulf has changed, Mr. Pitre said: “I think it’s too far gone to salvage.


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Submitted Jul 29, 2010 By: Road-Runner
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CruisinLinda
Champion Author Tallahassee

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Message Posted: Jul 30, 2010 3:51:47 AM

“The environmental movement was either so far removed from it that it was unaware, or it was aware and afraid to challenge it because of local politics,” Mr. Suckling said. “Or it was unwilling to challenge because it has written off the gulf as America’s dumping ground.”

Now can we do something about this shameful legacy. We need to make Congress strengthen the Clean Water Act, removing the exemption for runoff.

[Edited by: CruisinLinda at 7/30/2010 5:57:27 AM EST]
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JimTee
All-Star Author Tampa

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Message Posted: Jul 30, 2010 3:15:24 AM

If you think the gulf oil spill was bad, just think how many unreported problems there are throughout the world. We are kill this planet and everything on it.
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runout9
All-Star Author New Jersey

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Message Posted: Jul 30, 2010 1:51:02 AM

I remember GE's polluting of the Hudson river.
So why would the Gulf of Mexico be any different?
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dacofa
All-Star Author Nevada

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Message Posted: Jul 30, 2010 1:47:40 AM

And they're now worrying about it?
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nedthenanite
Champion Author Mississippi

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Message Posted: Jul 30, 2010 12:01:17 AM

If people only knew how polluted the planet's waters are, they'd be so shocked they might not ever drink anything ever again.

People floating in their own waste in Cambodia. Chemicals in the drinking water in China. A plastic island of refuse the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean. Mine runoff in the streams in West Virginia.

It's scary stuff.
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CruisinLinda
Champion Author Tallahassee

Posts:6,448
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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 10:49:41 PM

I'd people don't care for their own land and water, who will? They vote for public officials who neglect schools and keep voters uneducated while their officials sell themselves to special interests for enough
money to win in the next election. It's sad.
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mynt
Veteran Author Ottawa

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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 10:12:15 PM

Most of our waterways have been abused by man ... it's unfortunate.
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Huskersed
All-Star Author Atlanta

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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 10:05:37 PM

Not just Gulf of Mexico, pretty much a lot of beaches has been polluted
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alterman156
Champion Author New York

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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 9:11:03 PM

The Gulf doesn't have to be a "sink" of pollution. Just take care when drilling for oil.
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coughlin
Champion Author San Jose

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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 9:08:32 PM

It's the heat down there. Everything is alive and eating something else.
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Jeeputtputt
All-Star Author Cincinnati

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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 8:43:37 PM

Rape the Earth -Get RICH-- Then leave it to the tax payers to clean it up, this is creating jobs????????????????
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Road-Runner
Champion Author Denver

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Message Posted: Jul 29, 2010 7:57:03 PM

This article is something of an eye opener for those of us who live nowhere near the Gulf. On the other hand, Denver's South Platte River, with headwaters in the Rocky Mountains, drains into the Missouri, thence into the Mississippi and into the Gulf; thus even we affect the condition of the Gulf of Mexico.
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