Oil spills in Hurghada threaten marine life, tourism
Ali ElTairy Mohamed el-Sayed Solayman
Massive oil spills appeared yesterday in the Red Sea, covering a distance of approximately 20km from el-Gouna in the north down to Sahl Hashish in the south. The source of the spill has yet to be identified.
Environmental authorities had received several reports yesterday from tourist resorts saying that large oil spills have appeared around their beaches.
Several hoteliers have decided to submit a report against the ministries of petroleum and environment, as they say the spills have caused serious damage to their beaches and forced tourists to abandon their hotels.
Mahmoud Abdel Rahim, a professor of science, warned of a possible environmental catastrophe, saying the oil spill may lead to the death of large numbers of fish and other marine creatures.
Meanwhile, Red Sea Governor Magdi Qobayessi said that a committee has been assembled to determine the source of the spill and begin cleaning it up. The committee is composed of members from the regional branch of the Egyptian Environment Affairs Agency, the Center for the Combat of Petroleum Pollution, and the Red Sea Protectorates Authority.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
An interesting, yet difficult article to read. An interesting, yet difficult article to read. Perhaps this spill is related to the events in the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps this spill is related to the events in the Gulf of Mexico.
Notice the Hay method being utilized here.
Good for them. We could only wish Stateside.
What happened though? Just so they do not spray Corexit and similiar poisons, Mother Nature and safe vacuuming, etc methods will provide the help to naturally bring everything back to a healthier and prettier area.
The EPA Head needs to be prosecuted for allowing Corexit in the Gulf of Mexico. Their reason for being in the first and last place Environmental Protection. And this is at least the SECOND time Carol Browner’s EPA has covered truth to promote falsity.
I heard rumors about the good Red Sea governor starting with cleaning up around his own private beach. Yesterday the oil arrived to the protected Giftun Island outside Hurghada.
The way the tourist area is built – with hotels, walls and private marinas directely on the beach is already a disaster. It seems like no one in Egypt know about global warming. If the water level rises with a meter, 90% of the hotels are going to stand in the water! I am not joking. I suppose that most of the ones that have the money to build hotels (and they are normally the ones with political connections) hope they have doubled their money and can move to Europe or America the day Hurghada is drowning or so dirty there is no tourists left.
It is such a shame that Egypt is destroying the beautiful beaches. I find it somehow as funny as I find it sad, that now the hotel chains complain when what is left of the raped beaches are full of oil.
Pleas, please, please. All Egyptians, go out and clean. Learn from this and take better care about your beautiful environment. Everything can not be counted in money – when the rest of the beaches are raped, the reefs drown in oil and the fish floats dead on the surface, will you eat cement? That is what you will have left in the Red Sea if you do not wake up; abandoned hotels in the water.
Wake up now and save the Red Sea! Clean up this mess, modernize the oil production in the country and treat environment crimes as what they are: crimes. Those who suffer is not the hoteliers that already raped and destroyed the beaches, it is the fish, the dolphins and the reefs. Those, who where there thousands of years ago and – hopefully – will be there when the hoteliers, oil companies and tourists are long gone.
Environment crimes can not be compensated in money.