MNN - Mother Nature Network

When President Obama pledged to bring innovation to the White House, few could have imagined just how far he would take it. This morning, Obama's Energy czar, Carol Browner, sent out a letter from the White House with some surprising statements ... about food safety. 

 

 

Browner stuck with the controversial White House statement that 75 percent of the oil had been collected, eradicated or dispersed ... as if dispersal (i.e.: using some of most toxic chemicals known to man to break down oil into particles small enough to be eaten by all marine life forms) was somehow akin to removal. Scientific reports are now proving that bottom feeders such as crab larvae are ingesting the "dispersed" oil along with Corexit, a terrifying turn of events that could mean the contamination of the entire Gulf food chain.

 

But that statement is not nearly as bizarre as the the one that follows (again, this is the energy czar talking) encouraging the consumption of seafood from coastal regions within a stone's throw of contaminated waters: "Seafood from these open areas is safe for you and your family to eat."

 

If you look at a recent NOAA map of fishery closures (above) you may notice something odd. While a massive region in the Gulf about the size of Mississippi is closed to commercial fishing, the coastal areas adjacent to this contaminated area — where all the contaminants wash up — are open! You don't have to be a marine scientist to think something is fishy here.

 

The letter is an Orwellian masterpiece, capped with a White House seafood cook-off. I present it here in all its glory (dated Aug. 16, 2010) a day that surely Browner will one day regret:

 

 

Fortunately a host of independent researchers are taking to the waters to do their own testing, so we shall see how they compare to the results of researchers from the Food and Drug Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.