Self Destructive Cycles

As if the Gulf Oil spill wasn't bad enough, now there may be a secondary disaster looming in the near future. Erosion of the low lying areas in the Gulf States is undermining the support for the oil pipeline infrastructure.

Currently, much of the oil distribution network for the oil platforms in the gulf is supported by pipelines that run through very unstable earth in the form of marshes and swamps. This land is held in place by a network of plants and weather conditions that keep small amounts of land from eroding into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The current influx of highly toxic oil residues is headed straight for these areas and has a high probability of wiping out much of the plant life therein. Without the network of roots and plants keeping the earth stable, the pipelines built upon this ground face a shaky future.



http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100525-gulf-oil-spill-pipelines-science-environment/