Try to forget politics for a moment.
Let me assert this right up front again that I am NOT taking political sides here, which is why this is in the Sci/Tech section — not the Politics section.
Point 1: Bickering over who started the current Israeli/Lebanese mess won’t solve the incredible disaster that has befallen the eastern Mediterranean waters and coastline. An entire ecosystem is in eminent danger of dying unless something is done very soon.
Point 2: Heated debate over whether Hezbollah started the war with Israel can only serve to divert attention from this major but nearly unnoticed crisis.
Point 3: Assertions whether or not Israel purposely targeted oil tanks nearest the sea and the earthen dikes used to contain a spill won’t serve any purpose other than to politically delay urgently needed ecological repair action.
Having gotten that out of the way, let’s look at the facts, and not the inevitable rhetoric that's sure to follow.
The Jiyveh Power plant on the Lebanese coast 18 miles south of Beirut was nearly destroyed during bombing raids July 14 and 15. In the process, two tanks (irresponsibly) a mere 80 feet from the Mediterranean Sea were hit. One of those 25,000-ton tanks of volatile and explosive fuel oil is still burning, spreading choking black acrid smoke with the prevailing winds; the other leaked its contents into the sea.
Estimates are that only about 20 percent of the resulting accumulated sludge has evaporated. It’s also been estimated that it would take in excess of $60 million just to clean the coastal areas and, even if the work began tomorrow, the job would not be completed until next summer — if then. The spill also threatens Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, and marine life in general in the entire Eastern Mediterranean.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Jet in Columbus
Thank you Lisa...
2 - Jet in Columbus
I'm still not sure what a "Ping" is, but I appreciate the link and the compliment.
Jet
3 - troll
creative vision and execution Jet
keep it up - it's a pleasure to see new headlines from you
troll
4 - Jet in Columbus
Chris, when you get a minute to spare, please explain what a "ping" is and why authors aren't told or e-mailed when we get one?
Thanks
Jet
5 - Jet in Columbus
Thank you Troll-I just hope it spurs someone to take action... and VERY soon.
Carus deus, quis have ego commissio?
Jet
6 - chantal
There's no mention of this on the front page of the NY Times today.....what a tragedy.
Great article, Jet
7 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Jet, without getting into the politics of the issues, I can tell you that environmental concerns are a lot lower on the list of most Middle Easterners than they are for Middle Westerners.
A more successful campaign of bombing Haifa with Katyshas would create an environmental disaster there, and that goes double or triple for the Gush Dan region, near where Tel Aviv is located.
The environment is already a mess here, a big mess. That is one of the real concerns involved in bringing a real peace to the region - developing a sustainable economy while cleaning up the mess.
8 - Jet in Columbus
For heaven's sake Ruvy!!!! Don't give them any ideas! Regardless of politics, this is a disaster that needs immediate attention, not to lessen what your going through by any means.
blessings
Jet
9 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Jet, everything I'm saying has been public knowledge for a long time. If you want some ideas...
10 - Jet in Columbus
Ruvy, I'm trying to keep nations out of this, it's nature I'm concerned about. From space you look down and you can't see borders, and right now that area is ecologically devastated.
I'll write my opinions on the war elsewhere, and you know my heart is with you, of that you better not doubt.
It's the irepparable damage that's been done to the fragile sea ecoloby by that oil.
I DON'T CARE HOW IT HAPPENED OR WHO IS TO BLAME-I want something to be done about it NOW before it's too late...
Worry about blame and who said what and who did what later.
Blessings
Jet
11 - Jet in Columbus
Ruvy #8, do they have Katysha missiles capable of hitting the Gush Dam?
12 - Jet in Columbus
Uh Ruby-You okay? Just how big is the Gush Dam and how close to it are you?
13 - Jet in Columbus
Okay, obviously serious didn't work, what else can I write a satire about?
14 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Gush Dan (not Dam) is about the size of Delaware or smaller and has a huge concentration of people and industries. It is toward the coast and I moved away from it, not towards it.
There are terrible pollution problems here. One out of ten Israelis is an astmatic. Asthma comes from allergic reactions to pollution of various kinds (including cigarette smoke), and from allergic reactions to cockroaches.
And HizbAllah (and Syria) has missiles capable of hitting Gush Dan.
15 - Jet in Columbus
Ruvy 14-Sorry about that, I'm reading with one eye tied behind my back. Glad you're still with us. Do their missiles have the range to reach you?
16 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
If HizbAllah can hit Tel Aviv, they can hit here. But that is unlikely, considering how many Arab villages are around me...
That wasn't my intent in moving here, but an unintented benefit I'll not turn down.
I've got to emphasize to you that folks here do not have the same environment concerns that Americans or Europeans might. This is the Middle East, not the Middle West.
17 - nugget
hey jet why don't you pick up some trash on your street or something, and spare us the "turtles are dying a million miles away" sentiment.
18 - Jet in Columbus
Okay Ruvy, I was just concerned for your safety.
I do consider you a friend you know?
19 - Jet in Columbus
Nugget, I'm talking about the ecosystem of the eastern third of the Med Sea and the coastlines of Syria, Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, not just a couple of stupid turtles.
Fishermen depend on that water for their livelihoods and the tourist industries is a big part of the economy in that part of the world.
What's your problem?
20 - Jet in Columbus
Look at the photo again Nugget, that's not just a couple cans of oil! We're talking barrels.
21 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Jet, you are one of the very few to notice the environmental damage this war is causing. All wars cause environmental damage. I suspect that the damage caused here is purposeful, and even though it is not the intent of the commanders of the IDF, I see the Hand of G-d behind a lot of what is going on here.
It is not an issue of saving whales or turtles - there will have to be a HUGE envrionmental cleanup here in the not too distant future.
22 - Jet in Columbus
From the few comments I've gotten here Ruvy, I doubt many people care, but I'll keep pluggin' away.
Be safe my friend
Jet
23 - Jet in Columbus
The ABC Evening news finally got around to doing a story on this tonight! About time...
24 - Jet in Columbus
Why is it that the fewer comments I get on an article, the more it's copied word for word somewhere else?
What's the old saying about being loved everywhere but in your own homeland?
25 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
If folks are copying your work elsewhere, consider it a compliment, Jet. You have uncovered an angle that no one else was looking at - the eye of the artist, eh?
Also consider what Blog Critics concentrates on - American culture. News come in later, a far second.