Egypt oil spill threatens marine life

[greenturtle]

Not another oil spill!

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http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-n...0621-ypjj.html

June 21, 2010 - 6:29AM

An oil spill off the Egyptian Red Sea coast of Hurghada, threatening to damage marine life in the area, has prompted environmental agencies to demand tighter regulation of offshore oil platforms.

Large quantities of oil have appeared in recent days around the resorts of Hurghada, which draw millions of tourists who come to dive or snorkel, according to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency (HEPCA).

"It started four or five days ago and the companies responsible didn't notify anyone. It is catastrophic," HEPCA managing director Amr Ali told AFP.

The spill was caused by leakage from an offshore oil platform north of Hurghada and has polluted protected areas and showed up on tourist beach resorts.

"The companies have said they will pay damages, but it is the environmental damage that we are concerned about," Ali said, declining to name the companies for legal reasons.

"We will take all measures, including legal, to make sure this does not happen again," he said.

HEPCA's warning comes amid ongoing efforts to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which has damaged fragile ecosystems along the US south coast and halted the region's multibillion-dollar fishing industry.

HEPCA, a non-governmental organisation based in Hurghada, has been working for the protection of natural resources in the Red Sea.

Egypt's environment and tourism ministries said the oil spill was contained and measures were being taken to "deal with the pollution caused by the spill", the official MENA news agency reported.

Authorities protective of the lucrative tourism industry were eager to resolve the matter quickly. Environment Minister Maged George and Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy visited the area of the spill on Saturday, but HEPCA said it was too little too late.

"Visits won't help. We would like to see a clearer plan of action on the ground," Ali said.

"We would also like to see more stringent standards imposed on these offshore platforms to ensure natural areas are protected," he said.

[The Publisher]

Oh that is just lovely....

[lottie]

Oh my goodness, another one?! What is happening in the world? all these oil-spills, sinkholes popping up (or should that be down?) in South America and China, earthquakes.....

[acelockco]

Maybe it is time to completely eliminate offshore drilling for oil. We have the technology to remove our huge demand for oil, but because the oil companies have so much invested in infrastructure our government protects them. Now that these companies are showing their true faces, now is the time to stop protecting them and start eliminating them.

Boycott BP

BP brands to boycott include Castrol, Arco, Aral, am/pm, Amoco, Wild Bean Cafe and, Safeway gas.Deutsche gegen ARAL Vereinigten

[lottie]

Well, that's easy enough for me, I don't have a car

[greenturtle]

Same for me too- car(less). Public transport is so convenient here in Singapore!

[The Publisher]

And I like how they whip graffiti vandals in Singapore. The Changi airport is one of the nicest airports I have ever been into, and the surrounding port is REALLY clean.

It is nice to see people take pride in their country.

[greenturtle]

And I like how they whip graffiti vandals in Singapore. The Changi airport is one of the nicest airports I have ever been into, and the surrounding port is REALLY clean.

It is nice to see people take pride in their country.

Thank you. We just caught another vandal spraying paint on our trains. Apparently, it went unnoticed until someone took a video and posted it on Youtube. But that's another topic altogether.




http://www.motochan.com/2010/06/07/v...-then-and-now/

[lottie]

I stopped off at Changi airport (albeit for only an hour) on my way to Oz a number of years ago, very nice indeed.
I've seen on numerous times graffitti on the tube trains in London, not sure whether that's still happening as I haven't been on the tube for a few years. But then see the graffitti from Banksy and that is just remarkable!

[jingjing]

The spill was caused by leakage from an offshore oil platform north of Hurghada and has polluted protected areas and showed up on tourist beach resorts.

"The companies have said they will pay damages, but it is the environmental damage that we are concerned about," Ali said, declining to name the companies for legal reasons.

"We will take all measures, including legal, to make sure this does not happen again," he said.??

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