The media has been constantly reporting about the Gulf Coast situation since the April 20th explosion of the BP oil rig. But, could all this coverage result in myths that are hurting the situation rather than helping? Possibly so.
One of the biggest myths is that this is a spill. It isn’t a spill and it isn’t a leak. If you’ve seen the live cam on PBS, you know this is nothing less than a geyser. And, we still don’t know exactly how much has “leaked” out.
Some people think offshore drilling has been halted. I mean, after all, President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced on May 6th that they were issuing a moratorium on new oil deepwater drilling permits. But, what you may not know is that there are still 3,600 existing offshore oil wells in the Gulf Coast and 17 new projects have started up since the spill.
There are people on Facebook saying you should boycott BP gas stations to teach BP a lesson. But, as I blogged before, many of these stations are locally owned, so you are hurting the small businessman rather than BP itself.
Another myth I blogged about is that people think the Gulf seafood is contaminated. Actually, two-thirds of the Gulf remains open for fishing and the seafood caught there is safe. Still, restaurants are suffering from oil contamination rumors.
Another myth is that people believe the area affected by the oil spill will heal itself. While this is true to a point, scientists point out environmental damage that is still present decades after previous oil spills.
Some think that the oil spill will end by August. After all, that is what BP officials have said – that they would have their relief well completed by August and it would stop the oil spill. But, some fear that the leak may rupture the sea floor, which would mean even if BP could shut off the well, it may not stop the leak.