Shoot: Arctic Under Pressure Expedition - Seabed (GP023EM)

http://images.google.com/imgres?q=arctic+Gersemia+rubiformis&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSND_enUS411US412&biw=1331&bih=671&tbm=isch&tbnid=sq6ZKY2dMOWX_M:&imgrefurl=http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx%3FVP3%3DViewBox_VPage%26RAQF%3D1%26IT%3DZoomImageTemplate01_VForm%26STID%3D27MZIFI61WSL%26PN%3D32%26CT%3DStory&docid=qMCggqfPpc8LQM&itg=1&imgurl=&w=520&h=292&ei=CG0ZUIqqKqiM0QHXjoGgDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=167&vpy=327&dur=7268&hovh=168&hovw=300&tx=177&ty=136&sig=113086876668889589391&page=1&tbnh=111&tbnw=197&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i 2

By the way, you might consider also posting this material in Science or Environment and Energy or Good reads, as well.

This is news I never expected to see. Thank you.

These pics really help drive home the message. Just beautiful !

The corals mentioned in the article are not rare nor endangered. They are found form the Arctic to California in the Pacific and from the Arctic to North Carolina in the Atlantic.

Of course they're protected. They form huge reefs with a huge diversity of sea life. They're subject to bleaching from high T and being weakened through increased ocean acidification. We like snorkeling through them before admiring the blue water while sitting on the white, sandy beach drinking our pina coladas (or knocking back those tequila shots with lime) as we go red from sunburn.

By definition. They're corals.

I expect to see a resort built on the Sea of Chukchi, the brochure featuring pictures of the nice, blue snorkelers washed up on a beach white with polar bears knocking back chunks of snorkeler red with blood spatter.

Deepwater Horizon, BP extermination of life in the Gulf, indicates that all that has to happen is to have the Shell Oil Company actually damage the coral, and then claim it is merely an accident, and now that the coral is gone, they can proceed.


If we had a stronger suit in the WH, who had actually punished BP, then we would see much different responses from Oil Companies. But one of the President's main punishments for BP was to stop the other Oil Drillers from drilling in the Gulf for a set period of time. Since that action was extremely costly to the other oil firms, many of them pulled out of the Gulf for good, leaving BP the victor.

And the 20 billions of dollars to help those truly distressed and destroyed by the accident is a mere pittance to a Big Oil concern like BP.

Thanks for the thread, yesphan.