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Dear Editor,
 My
letter to the editor, published
in the Aug. 27 issue, warned that British Petroleum has repeatedly
lied about stopping the “oil and gas” volcano in
the Gulf of Mexico. Stephen Lendman’s Nov 18 online article
“America's
Gulf: An Ongoing Catastrophic Disaster” on Rense.com
provides a good summary of my current concerns. A worst-case
scenario may still threaten Norway’s coasts and fisheries.
The
big question remains how we can scientifically determine the
extent of continuing leakage, and then model with reasonable
accuracy the extent, flow, and toxic impact of existing pollution
in the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Stream. We also need better ways
to not only contain or stop seabed leakage, but also roll back
the damage.
I
have spoken with many scientists in the vanguard of BP oil spill
research. Their comments have confirmed my suspicion that their
research has been overly compartmentalized, politicized, and
under-funded. They also reinforce reports by former intelligence
officer Wayne Madsen, journalist Dahr Jamail, and other sources
who describe media blackouts and other cover-ups by “The
second British invasion of the Gulf since the Battle of New
Orleans.”
The
good news is that Norway can help play “U.S. cavalry to
the rescue” by exerting political independence while aggressively
pursuing exciting new areas of technological development. Four
examples are as follows:
- Deep sea and glider robots: These robots can traverse and
analyze vast expanses and depths of ocean for extended periods,
while reporting data via satellite. On my intelligence summary
page (http://tinyurl.com/39lrrb8)
I provide numerous examples of these and other promising advanced
technology approaches.
- Mass spectrometry sensing: The TETHYS colloidal mass spectrometer
is unique. It can determine the composition of dissolved oil
and gas in sea water while moving as far down as 5,000 meters.
- Clean-up robots. M.I.T.’s “seaswarm”
concept utilizes nanofiber material that can soak up over
20 times its own weight in hydrocarbons out of sea water.
Oil can be transferred from nanofiber materials to collection
points, making them endlessly reusable by the robots that
deploy them.
- Underwater robot drillers: Statoil’s Seabed Rig AS
concept involves a remote-controlled robotic drilling platform
which can save valuable time in drilling offshore relief wells
that often play a key role in stopping runaway wells.
If
Norwegians can help create fleets of sensing, clean-up, and
drilling robots, this could create an important margin of safety
to protect the North Atlantic as well as other oceans around
the world.
We
also need more politically independent oceanographic institutions
every where, especially ones equipped with sensing robots that
can be dispatched to trouble spots to upload data to the Internet
without political interference. This would not only help deter
high level criminality and media suppression, but also provide
continuing support for scientific study and general protection
of the natural environment.
Sincerely,
William
B. Fox
President,
America First Institute
Sarver,
PA
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at
the Battle of Cowpens, S. Carolina, 1781