Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/497821
BySethBorensteinand Cain Burdeau The Associated Press From above, five years after the BP well explosion, the Gulf of Mexico looks clean, green and whole again, teeming with life — a testament to the resilience of nature. But there's more than surface shimmering blue and emerald to the after- math of the Deepwater Ho- rizon spill. And it's not as pretty a picture — nor is it as clear. Federal data and nu- merous scientific studies show lingering problems. Splotches of oil still dot the seafloor and wads of tarry petroleum-smelling mate- rial hide in pockets in the marshes of Barataria Bay. Dolphin deaths have more than tripled. Nests of en- dangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles suddenly plum- meted after the spill. Some fish have developed skin le- sions along with oil in inter- nal organs. Deep sea coral are hurting. In some cases the connec- tion to the BP spill is solid, in other cases it is harder to prove a direct causal link to the spill of millions of gal- lons of oil over 87 days. "Look, we put nature on a treadmill and I think it did very very well. We should consider ourselves lucky," said Chris Reddy of the Woods Hole Oceano- graphic Institute. But then he said, "It's the things that we don't see that have been a concern." To assess the health of the Gulf of Mexico, The Associated Press surveyed 26 marine scientists about two dozen aspects of the fragile ecosystem to see how this vital waterway has changed since before the April 2010 spill. On average, the researchers graded an 11 percent drop in the overall health of the Gulf of Mexico. The surveyed scientists on average said that before the spill, the Gulf was a 73 on a 0 to 100 scale. Now it's a 65. In the survey, sci- entists report the biggest drops in rating the current health of oysters, dolphins, sea turtles, marshes, and the seafloor. The AP also interviewed more than two dozen other scientists. "The spill was — and continues to be — a disas- ter," said Oregon State ma- rine sciences professor Jane Lubchenco, who was the head of the National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration during the spill. "The bottom line is that oil is nasty stuff. Yes, the Gulf is resilient, but it was hit pretty darn hard." Lubchenco said some of her worst fears about dead zones or oil spreading far- ther didn't materialize. But she added: "That's not to say there is no impact." BP put out a 40-page re- port in March, pronouncing the Gulf mostly recovered, noting that less than 2 per- cent of the water and sea- floor sediment samples ex- ceeded federal toxicity lev- els. "Data collected thus far shows that the environ- mental catastrophe that so many feared, perhaps un- derstandably at the time, did not come to pass, and the Gulf is recovering faster than expected," BP's senior vice president and spokes- man Geoff Morrell said in an email. "This is in large part due to the Gulf's re- silience, natural processes and the effectiveness of re- sponse and clean-up ef- forts mounted by BP under the direction of the federal government." And in fact, there are ex- perts who are surprised by how the Gulf has bounced back. Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia, who often paints a bleak pic- ture of oil on the seafloor, recalled that in 2010 she dove in an area where the seafloor "was really ham- mered," with no animals of any sort around. Then in 2014, she dove to the same place and it was quite dif- ferent. "The fact that we saw living things on the bot- tom made me do a happy dance," Joye said. "The sys- tem is absolutely resilient. Thank God for that. The biggest question is: Is it go- ing back to the same point before the spill and that's what we don't know." The federal government doesn't think the Gulf is back. At least not yet. "Obviously the Gulf is not as healthy as it was," NOAA chief scientist Richard Spin- rad said. He ticks off how everything about the spill and its effects were large: the "massive kill-off" of coral, the dolphin deaths, the diseased fish, and prob- lems with oil on the sea- floor. OIL WELL EXPLOSION Gulfhealth5yearsa erBPspill:Resilientyetscarred ERICGAY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A plume of oil is seen Wednesday as a shrimp boat uses booms to collect the spilled crude in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La. By Cain Burdeau The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS Federal appeals judges on Friday peppered lawyers on both sides with questions in a fight over President Barack Obama's move to shield mil- lions of immigrants from deportation. A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel held a spe- cial hearing in a closely watched case that is hold- ing up Obama's immigra- tion action. A coalition of 26 states, led by Texas sued to block the plan. The hearing was on an appeal of a Texas judge's injunction. The Justice Department argued that Texas has no legal standing in the mat- ter. Texas' solicitor general countered that granting le- gal status to immigrants will be costly for Texas. The judges did not rule and took the case under ad- visement. Throughout the hearing chantsanddrummingbypro- immigrant protesters outside the courthouse filtered into the packed courtroom. U.S. District Judge An- drew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, granted a prelimi- nary injunction on Feb. 16 at the request of the states that oppose Obama's action. Hanen's rulings have tem- porarily blocked the Obama administration from imple- menting the policies that would allow as many as 5 million people in the U.S. il- legally to remain. The Justice Department appealed his ruling and Friday's special hearing — which took more than two hours — was lively as two of the judges had plenty of questions. They centered mostly on whether an in- dividual state can seek to undo a federal immigra- tion policy. Benjamin Mizer, the Jus- tice Department's princi- pal deputy assistant attor- ney general, called Texas' suit unprecedented and ar- gued that immigration pol- icy is a domain of the fed- eral government. "If Texas is right, it could challenge an individual's right to seek asylum," Mizer said. "The states do not have standing in the down- stream effects of a federal immigration policy." Scott Keller, Texas' so- licitor general, argued that Obama's immigration move has direct consequences be- cause Texas will incur the costs of providing driv- ers' licenses, schooling and health care to immigrants granted permission to stay in the United States. Judges Jennifer Elrod, a George W. Bush appoin- tee, and Stephen Higgin- son, an Obama appointee, often interrupted the legal arguments with queries. Judge Jerry Smith, a Ronald Reagan appointee, was the third judge on the panel. Elrod seemed skeptical of the Justice Department's arguments while Higginson of those brought by Texas. ThefirstofObama'sorders — to expand a program pro- tecting young immigrants fromdeportationiftheywere brought to the U.S. illegally as children — had been set to take effect Feb. 18. The other major part would extend deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for several years. That provision was slated to begin on May 19. LAWSUIT Ap pe al s co ur t he ar s ar gu me nt s ov er O ba ma i mm ig ra ti on a ct io n Thiscouldbeyourluckyday by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... Ad Sponsorship $ 25 Call Suzy 737-5056 RedBluffDailyNews ELI Paws & Claws TEHAMACOUNTYANIMAL SHELTER 1830 Walnut Street P.O. 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