Enviromental impact of Drumbeat - Page 2

Wulfmann · 05-31-10, 08:21 AM

By the time I turned 5 years old in May 1954 my family had been living in Boca Raton Florida for 4 months (Population 1,200 people then).

We went to the beach often and always brought a can of gasoline to rub off the oils we got on our feet as it was everywhere in small balls.

We all knew it was from tankers sunk more than a decade earlier, just accepted it.
Most tankers sunk off the coast would have had the larger part of their cargo taken out to see in the gulf stream so the impact would have been small compared to the Exxon Valdez or the BP accident in the gulf.

Wulfmann

captainprid · 05-31-10, 10:43 AM

Actually there was a very interesting article in the paper recently about this very subject. The sinking of tankers during WW2 did far less damage than the sinking of U-Boats and war ships. The reason being is during WW2 tankers carried refined products like Petrol rather than crude, therefore when they were torpedoed they tended to go bang in a big way, the result was that the product was Burnt off and very easily dispersed whereas crude oil can not be so easily burnt off, certain elements can but it tends to leave behind the heavier product.
This changed after the war mainly due to instability within oil producing countries, that is why during WW2 there were hardly any refineries in Britain but after the war, refineries sprung up everywhere

msalama · 05-31-10, 02:06 PM

For anyone interested in these things there's an excellent Internet-released scientific article / paper about the general ecological damage of WW2 somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can find it just now

Oh well, maybe someone with a better Google-phrase brain will dig it up for ya...

Yours,

A lefty eco-warrior

05-31-10, 08:21 AM	#16
Wulfmann Ace of the Deep Join Date: May 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 1,010 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	By the time I turned 5 years old in May 1954 my family had been living in Boca Raton Florida for 4 months (Population 1,200 people then). We went to the beach often and always brought a can of gasoline to rub off the oils we got on our feet as it was everywhere in small balls. We all knew it was from tankers sunk more than a decade earlier, just accepted it. Most tankers sunk off the coast would have had the larger part of their cargo taken out to see in the gulf stream so the impact would have been small compared to the Exxon Valdez or the BP accident in the gulf. Wulfmann __________________ "The right to keep and bear arms should not be infringed upon, if only to prevent tyranny in government" Thomas Jefferson,; Constitutional debates

05-31-10, 10:43 AM	#17
captainprid Watch Officer Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Blackpool, England Posts: 347 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 0	Actually there was a very interesting article in the paper recently about this very subject. The sinking of tankers during WW2 did far less damage than the sinking of U-Boats and war ships. The reason being is during WW2 tankers carried refined products like Petrol rather than crude, therefore when they were torpedoed they tended to go bang in a big way, the result was that the product was Burnt off and very easily dispersed whereas crude oil can not be so easily burnt off, certain elements can but it tends to leave behind the heavier product. This changed after the war mainly due to instability within oil producing countries, that is why during WW2 there were hardly any refineries in Britain but after the war, refineries sprung up everywhere __________________ Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;

05-31-10, 02:06 PM	#18
msalama Samurai Navy Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: In an octopus's garden Posts: 565 Downloads: 99 Uploads: 0	For anyone interested in these things there's an excellent Internet-released scientific article / paper about the general ecological damage of WW2 somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can find it just now Oh well, maybe someone with a better Google-phrase brain will dig it up for ya... Yours, A lefty eco-warrior