Environment has a vast impact on this nation 2

In California, for both birds and sea otters, the immediate threat created by a spill is the insidious effect of oil on their natural waterproofing. Normally, inner feathers or hair form an intricate interlocking structure that traps air next to the skin, keeping creatures dry and warm. Oil breaks up that structure. Suddenly, the animals can’t stay warm. They must eat more to rev up their metabolism. Unfortunately, the coating of oil makes it harder to float, fly, swim—or catch food. Then, as the creatures frantically preen and groom, they swallow and inhale oil. That ingestion can lead to pneumonia and organ damage. Death is usually swift and far from help. “The vast majority of animals that come in contact with oil are never even seen,” Estes says. Of the 584 affected birds found in the gulf by the end of May, 506 were already dead.
Overall, the toll to gulf birds, turtles, sperm whales and other wildlife, along with the region’s $4-billion-per-year seafood industry and a whole way of life, is expected to be enormous. “It’s taken 20 years to figure out the effects of oil in Alaska,” Jessup says. “It could take longer with this spill.” One crucial question: How much of the coastal marshes can be protected from the oil?

 “Once the oil is in the water, you are never going to recover even 10 percent of it.”




LINK: http://www.oilspillwildlife.org/?gclid=CLD5nO-A9a8CFWQDQAodUCGOFA

SOURCE: Carey, John. "Can We Rescue Oiled Wildlife?" National Wildlife Federation. Web. 10 May 2012. http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2010/Can-We-Rescue-Oiled-Wildlife.aspx.