Environmental disaster in Lebanon

Fuel oil from the Jiyyeh power plant that was hit by Israel has been pouring into the sea, spreading along the Lebanese coast all the way up to the north, As-Safir reported today. Lebanon has asked Kuwait for help and an official with the Lebanese environment ministry told As-Safir that it could take “tens of years” to get rid of the pollution.

The ministry reportedly asked the Lebanese army and two private companies to survey the damage and find solutions. Environmental organizations and the UNDP have also been contacted.

With thousands of tons of oil already invading larges areas of the coast and seeping into rocks and beaches, Lebanon’s tourism and fishing industries stand to suffer great losses.

Update. Zena from Beirut Update has pictures of the damage.

Comments

[Ghassan Karam]

This is an environmental disaster of huge proportions if the figures that are in the AsSafir are accurate. Lebanon experience with such major oil spliis is very limited and the available resources for ameliorating its effects are non existent.
In order to put the scope of this spill in the proper context it can be compared to the Exxon Valdez which occured in 1989 and that spilled 38800 tons. A simple arithmetic calculation shows that this spill in Lebanon is around 40% of the size of the Valdez disaster whose damages were estimated to be in the billions of dollars.!!!!

[Asiason]

True but God Lebanon needs so much help and assistance and my heart does weep that its a people torn between giants and struggling for its pride to stand yet without assistance it is doomed to fall.

I was of the opinion that the Lebanese need to stand up and show their strength and willingness to choose what is right and stand.

I am still looking and waiting for the first Christian factions to stand up and demand the HA to disarm and release the prisoners for the love of Lebanon.

I believe most in the West are waiting and hoping to see signs of Lebanese stepping up and finally turning on the HA.

Until then the nations of the West will be unwilling or less generous with any aid or assistance, even dealing with this environment disaster.

Perhaps not until it still affecting other nations will it mean a damn.

Cold, cruel.. and calculative.. the three sisters of war.

[Ghassan Karam]

Bad Vibel,
I am afraid that you have totally misunderstood the intention of my post last nite regarding the admission by HA that the Israeli response took them by surprise.
To me that was a crucially important admission because it is the best illustration yet of the amateurship that guides the HA decision making. To them the whole affair is akin to a game. Unfortunately this miscalculation on their part has turned into a real bloody war that has cost hundreds of civilian innocent lives and that might eventually deliver KO to the nascent Lebanese democracy. But to make matters worse what does our PM do in the Rome meeting? He gives an emotional speech about why it is painful for the killings to continue but he does not have either the courage or the understanding to demand, yes demand, that all illegal activities eminating from the Lebanese soil will not be tolerated. He couldn't get himself to admit his cabinets' failure to impose the rule of law and that his silence can only be interpreted as approval of such irresponsible and illegal acts. But , as we have stated many times before, we are just as much to blame as he is because we have chosen to to hold the pols to a high standard, hell we have chosen not to hold them responsible for any standard. If we cannot find it in ourselves to stand up and demand our rights then that can only mean that we do not hold anything to be valuable enough to demand a sacrifice. We will always wait for someone else to do our work for us.

[Asiason]

Ghassan,

I believe your point is well made and pretty much what alot of the nations are holding back now because... maybe just maybe they want the Lebanese to stand up now against the HA before they rally and help with the work.

You can't always expect others to do your dirty work.

Iraq is to be applauded, they are fighting the terrorists tooth and nail because they know what is at stake.

What can Lebanese be waiting for? More money? More foreign troops to intercede? Why is it that the world has to bail it out?

But you know the advantage now is the US and Israel and others are willing to assist Lebanon in clearing up the HA now... but still no one is rallying and standing up to the task.

I remember someone from Lebanon who posted here in the other threads.

It might be you don't deserve your own nation if the blood price for freedom is a price too many are not willing to risk.

Always and again... for evil to persevere it only takes good men to do nothing.

[Hassan]

The misery that is Lebanon

I just finished talking to an old friend of mine back in Lebanon. He is shia from Tyre and as long as I can remember, he has always been sympathetic with HA. I always related this sympathy to the fact that he was in a HA elementary school.
Our brief discussion quickly turned into him "lecturing" me about the importance of not being swayed by the propaganda and aligning my position with HA since, due to the lack of choice, I was born a shia, "a 220" Volt (yes, in lebanon, the shia run on 220 volt AC power, unlike the rest of the population who run on 110 volts). The fact that I don't believe in God (a precursor to I don't believe in Shia, Sunni, Islam, Christianity, Judaism) never registered in his brain.
Anyways, after our blame game and my "disappointing" stance, my friend reverted to reminding me of the pictures of death and destruction that have befallen Lebanon due to the Israeli aggression. But after I questioned how someone (HA) that was there to (allegedly) protect us, ended up bringing all this destruction from "the enemy", and questioning what we gained from the destruction, his answer was brief and swift:
"Honor"
So to my HA shiite friend, Honor is the vice that would make a community die, leave their homes, and starve.
It's sad to see an entire community live and die by a such definition of Honor. It's even sadder to see an entire country being dragged into serving such Honor.
I for one choose not to be Honorable.

[Hmmm]

wow, and I thought I was cynical. Lebanon waiting for a higher bid before acting? Interesting.

The economic devastation of this is almost unfathomable. This will take a decade or two just to recover these few weeks, and the reality is that Lebanon may never recover. The people have been impoverished.

Billions will flow in from the taxpayers of Europe and America (oh joy!), but it won't be enough. The rebuilding will take forever.

Is it worth it? Who knows. Two civil wars within 50 years; a person has to be a fool to invest there.

[Ghassan Karam]

The above post by HASSAN has encouraged me to share with the readers a rather similar anicdote that occured to me around 11 days ago.

sometime during the early days of this conflict, when the posts were still more reasoned, I had stated my position that it is not sufficient to blame the Israeli invasion and its unjust devastation but we should also acknowledge the failure of the Lebanese government....
On three different occasions my posts engendered responses ; answered each time by a different person and on different blogs by Lebanese who are living abroad; that never questioned anything in my position and did not offer a counter explanation for rejecting it except to say: your argument is too logical". I pointed out that there is no such thing as too logical and that a position that violates the laws of logic does not desreve to be taken seriously. I was told in each case: "This is not the time for logic, it is the time for emotions". I tried to point out that we often value the most the "ability to think straight under fire" and that tif there ever was a time for logic then a time of war is it. But I was told each time that my arguments are grand if we were not at war. Go figure.

[dispassionate]

i think the israelis are in it for honor, too.

[Geo]

The Hezbollah leaders do not care about environmental issues. Kill the Jews is of primary importance. So what if there is no more fishing or beaches for tourists. Kill the Jews. Allah and Iran has willed it so. Lebanon allowed Hezbollah to thrive in their midst and are now being rewarded for their either foolishness or terrorist complicity. Sleep with vipers and you may get bit.

[fubar]

Very interesting comments on this blog today.

Ghassan Karam says, “But to make matters worse what does our PM do in the Rome meeting? He gives an emotional speech about why it is painful for the killings to continue but he does not have either the courage or the understanding to demand, yes demand, that all illegal activities emanating from the Lebanese soil will not be tolerated. He couldn't get himself to admit his cabinets' failure to impose the rule of law and that his silence can only be interpreted as approval of such irresponsible and illegal acts.”

Yes, very frustrating. Could it be that the time for such public (as opposed to internal) statements as you demand, while in Italy, not Lebanon, is not right? Could it be more important at this time just that the government survive and that such statements are more appropriate made within Lebanon as part of a multi-party, one Lebanon type movement? And to make matters even worse, clearly the parties are not even close to a cease fire agreement today. It just makes me wonder if it could be that the time for a cease fire is not yet right? Could it be that it is in Lebanon’s long-term interest that Israel have more time to deal with HA?

Asiason says, “But you know the advantage now is the US and Israel and others are willing to assist Lebanon in clearing up the HA now... but still no one is rallying and standing up to the task.”

Yes, disappointing. It would truly be a shame if the people of Lebanon missed an opportunity handed to them by HA (and Israel) to actually become a sovereign nation with one army, not subject to the future “misadventures” of HA (or Syria or Iran).

Asiason also says, “I believe most in the West are waiting and hoping to see signs of Lebanese stepping up and finally turning on the HA.”

Very interesting. I think you are right, the West is looking for such signs from within Lebanon. It will be interesting to see if such signs appear. I might add that it is wise to remember that old saying -- actions speak louder than words.

Hasson says, “my [HA] friend reverted to reminding me of the pictures of death and destruction that have befallen Lebanon due to the Israeli aggression.”

Very unfortunate, but HA controls almost all of the images coming out of the war torn areas of Lebanon. And HA controls much of the images seen inside the country. War and destruction make for good TV ratings. I wonder if images of a people taking control of their own destiny might not also make the news? Such as people bravely coping with a war they did not start, or people who see past the current misery to a future where the country’s only army is in the control of the Lebanese government, or an Army that steps into the humanitarian breach and serves all the people of Lebanon.

Seems these comments leave me with more questions than answers. ;-) But ones worth thinking about, IMHO.

The enviromental damage along the coast is visible . What about depleted uranium contamination from radioactive warheads and bombs courtesy of Uncle sam.

See

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m25045&hd=0&size=1&l=e

[Asiason]

The thing about war journalism and reporting... its all about visuals and statistics.

The reporters are so hard on to run to a burning wreck the investigation or fact finding needed to truly cover a report or an attack or a bombing is forsaken and sacrificed so that the reporter can jog up to the site reap in the few seconds of fame he is given and spout some words to rouse your emotions.

This kinda of journalism is bullcrap and the media is being used by both sides to generate the crap both sides wants to sell to the world.

Remember war reporting or journalism has no investigative value... its all about shattered limbs, artillery firing and women crying. Because misery sells and the truth is less important then the material that is immediately available.

The stage now is Lebanon and Israel.

Fubar says "Very unfortunate, but HA controls almost all of the images coming out of the war torn areas of Lebanon. And HA controls much of the images seen inside the country. War and destruction make for good TV ratings."

I advise everyone to realize this and to take everything seen and told with a dose of caution that what you see and hear may not be what is real and true.

If I were to let the news guide my thoughts and emotions, I would be swimming for Teheran right now with a nuke on my back and would love to take the mullahs with me. For if and should they love death so much its time for these men who sit safe in their thrones to feel and face the fire of their games played most foul on the rest of the world.

I grew up with muslims, a gentler breed then those I have seen but always there were elements of fanatics willing to cross the line. As a kid I thought their religion was beautiful and so devoted.. now with all these jihadists... I wonder what kind of religion this really is.

Is this a war for ground, wealth , resources or religion?

If this is truly a religious war... I fear the worse.

[Hmmm]

Why is Lebanon so concerned about the pollution of their water when for years they have turned a blind eye towards the pollution of their State? Do they value their beaches higher than the future of their children? Is it worse to morn the loss of sea birds or friends?

I have never been to Lebanon. It must be a very strange place, indeed.