Costa Concordia Threatens Disaster for Ocean Life
By B. McPherson The Costa Concordia holed and resting precariously on a submerged shelf in shallow water may slip off and sink. The fuel tanks of the doomed vessel are full of bunker fuel, a thick form of petroleum that needs to be heated to make it flow. 2 300 metric tonnes(2 530 US tons) will leak into the Mediterranean Sea if measures to pump the oil out fail. Unidentified liquid has been seen leaking from the ship and booms are being placed around it. Floating booms and skimmers are less effective in rough waters which hit the area today forcing a suspension of the search for those still missing from the disaster. The area where the ship rests is featured in tourist literature exhorting people to “travel Tuscany”. The island of Giglio is surrounded by healthy, clean water. The following is from a tourist blurb about the island. “The Isola del Giglio is one of the most "beautiful children in Tuscany", as they are called in the popular language. Giglio...