Cleaning a Single Pelican Costs $750. Is It Money Well Spent?

1 year ago

Print Text Size

As powerful as those photos of oil-soaked pelicans are, as much as they've ramped up anguish -- and anger -- over the Gulf oil spill, some experts have been arguing that trying to save any crude-covered bird is a well-meaning exercise in futility. They say the majority of oiled birds are doomed no matter what, and that time spent cleaning them would be better spent protecting the ones not yet hit by the black wall. Now The Associated Press has rounded up the grim numbers, to which Surge Desk adds a few more:

442: Living, oiled birds found in the Gulf so far.

633: Oiled birds found already dead.

150: Oiled birds treated at one Gulf rehabilitation center.

59,121 – YouTube views of the AP's raw footage of oiled birds.

300: Gallons of water to clean a single pelican.

$600-750: Estimated cost to clean a single bird.

Seven days: The median lifespan of a cleaned bird after a 2002 oil spill off the coast of Spain, according to Der Spiegel.

Filed Under: Surge Desk

Tagged: bp oil spill, Gulf oil cleanup, gulf oil disaster, gulf oil spill, gulf oil spill update, pelican

Our New Approach to Comments

In an effort to encourage the same level of civil dialogue among Politics Daily’s readers that we expect of our writers – a “civilogue,” to use the term coined by PD’s Jeffrey Weiss – we are requiring commenters to use their AOL or AIM screen names to submit a comment, and we are reading all comments before publishing them. Personal attacks (on writers, other readers, Nancy Pelosi, George W. Bush, or anyone at all) and comments that are not productive additions to the conversation will not be published, period, to make room for a discussion among those with ideas to kick around. Please read our Help and Feedback section for more info.

Add a Comment

Sign in »

9 Comments

Filter by:

Sharelle

It is our moral responsibility to save as many animals as possible that have been affected by this. I cannot believe these people are even considering the alternative. It's not like anyone is taking money away from anything else to save birds, what is the problem?

Anyone who could feel good about just leaving them there in agony to die is not a person I would want to deal with, but I used to do animal rescue, so I have met many a heartless jerk who will do it.

June 14 2010 at 12:04 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

BUTCHBALL

We took their lives. They didn't ask to be there when it happened. Now we're not responsible? When will the human race ever learn from its mistakes? It is our gas guzzling frugal lifestyle that is environmentally polluting our planet. Most people don't really care until it hits their own habitat and/or wallet. We had long gas lines in the early 1970s. We've had over 50 years to come up with other plans. Where are the inventors? It's all a matter of greed!

June 13 2010 at 9:40 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

energymatt

OH please people we are a part of the eco diaster that is happening, it affects us, its not just about Pelicans, can't you get your minds around that fact ? WE ARE ALL PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM, what ever happens to pollute that, pollutes us, and that can't be cleaned out, ....

June 10 2010 at 4:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

bemahuron

I'm no tree hugging environmentalist by any stretch and I do understand how this might be perceived as a wasteful use of money. But I do live in the area and for many years have enjoyed, in this case, the uniqueness and the curiosity of the Pelican. I'm all for saving them as best we can.

Money well spent? Probably not.
Money necessarily spent? Yeah, I think so.

June 10 2010 at 4:31 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

PD TOPIC PAGES

Middle East - Congress
Budget - War / Military
Economy - 2012 President