The oil you can't see could be as bad as the oil you can.

NEW ORLEANS — The oil you can't see could be as bad as the oil you can.

While people anxiously wait for the slick in the Gulf of Mexico to wash up along the coast, globules of oil are already falling to the bottom of the sea, where they threaten virtually every link in the ocean food chain, from plankton to fish that are on dinner tables everywhere.

"The threat to the deep-sea habitat is already a done deal – it is happening now," said Paul Montagna, a marine scientist at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Hail-size gobs of oil the consistency of tar or asphalt will roll around the bottom, while other bits will get trapped hundreds of feet below the surface and move with the current, said Robert S. Carney, a Louisiana State University oceanographer.

Oil has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of at least 200,000 gallons a day since an offshore drilling rig exploded last month and killed 11 people. On Wednesday, workers loaded a 100-ton, concrete-and-steel box the size of a four-story building onto a boat and hope to lower it to the bottom of the sea by week's end to capture some of the oil. Crews also set fires at the worst spots on the surface Wednesday to burn off oil.

Scientists say bacteria, plankton and other tiny, bottom-feeding creatures will consume oil, and will then be eaten by small fish, crabs and shrimp. They, in turn, will be eaten by bigger fish, such as red snapper, and marine mammals like dolphins.

The petroleum substances that concentrate in the sea creatures could kill them or render them unsafe for eating, scientists say.
There's more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/05/giant-dome-for-gulf-oil-l_n_564041.html

If the bottom of the food chain is destroyed, the entire group of links built will come down. In addition, add the noxious dispersants to the oil they will eat. That crap drops to the bottom with the oil.

Exxon spill in Alaska from 1989? The place is STILL a mess!

Exxon has made how many billions in profit over the last few years, and they can't clean up the stinkin' mess that's still a problem?

Exxon should be taxed at 90 percent or fined or whatever with all of it going toward cleaning up and restoring the area until there's no sign of damage.

I was surprised it's still as bad as it is. Shameful. I haven't purchased gas from Exxon since the facts of the accident became known, and I never will again. People should boycott Exxon because of their horrendous attitude toward public safety and environmental concerns.

We need to give our scientists front-and-center attention on the news, regularly, to give us the facts of how this all affects our food system and the environment.