William K. Wolfrum Chronicles

For the last couple of years, many prominent conservatives - led by John McCain - have used the talking point of “Not a drop of oil was spilled due to Hurricane Katrina.”

It’s a complete lie, of course. Katrina caused more than 100 oil spills.

These days, as conservatives have decided that giving oil companies the right to drill wherever they like will be the nation’s salvation, you can pretty much guarantee that they’ll start lying about the oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Ike. But again, it will be a flat-out lie.

At Least 500,000 Gallons of Crude Oil Spilled Into Gulf Due to Hurricane Ike

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurricane Ike’s winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas, according to an analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.

In the days before and after the deadly storm, companies and residents reported at least 448 releases of oil, gasoline and dozens of other substances into the air and water and onto the ground in Louisiana and Texas. The hardest hit places were industrial centers near Houston and Port Arthur, Texas, as well as oil production facilities off Louisiana’s coast, according to the AP’s analysis.

“We are dealing with a multitude of different types of pollution here … everything from diesel in the water to gasoline to things like household chemicals,” said Larry Chambers, a petty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard Command Center in Pasadena, Texas.

The Coast Guard, with the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies, has responded to more than 3,000 pollution reports associated with the storm and its surge along the upper Texas coast. Most callers complain about abandoned propane tanks, paint cans and other hazardous materials containers turning up in marshes, backyards and other places.

Now, conservatives could always just be honest and say that they could care less about the environment. But they won’t. You watch, before the month is over, they’ll be gloating how Hurricane Ike didn’t cause a drop of oil to be spilled. And they’ll be right. It caused a half-million gallons of oil to be spilled.

–WKW

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Politics, global warming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.