A small leak can often become a big problem — at home and sea » Columns

BLUEFIELD — Last week I slept in and woke up to an empty house, a rarity. As I shuffled into the kitchen, my peaceful grogginess ended suddenly when I stepped in water and looked up to see more water dripping heavily from the ceiling onto the island cook top. I ran upstairs but found no obvious source of the leak in a second floor bathroom and bedroom.

A little leak can cause a big problem. A big, gushing leak can cause enormous problems.

The little leak was in an upstairs bathroom, under the sink. Apparently, the valve had been knocked a few times and items had been stacked too closely, putting long-term pressure on the loose valve and causing it to slowly drip water. That slow drip eventually seeped through the ceiling and into our kitchen below.

A little problem can become a big problem if we don’t notice the signs — in this case those signs were damp cosmetics, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. A little leak can become a big leak and a big problem, especially when it is coming from the ceiling.

Surprisingly, a little oil leak is not always a big problem.

Although BP, environmentalists, and all effected agencies and governments are watching for oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico near the exploded well, some seepage is normal and good for certain sea life — again, in normal conditions. You wouldn’t believe it looking at the coated pelicans and blackened crab that have been rescued along our coastline, but some marine life actually thrives on small amounts of oil bubbling up naturally from the seabed, according to experts. A host of microbes can eat oil and gas, especially light compounds such as gasoline.

Obviously, marine life — none of it — can cope with the gushing leak that poured for three months from a gaping wound in the sea floor. Too much of a good thing is a problem, a disastrous and deadly problem. But I was surprised to learn that small, natural oil leaks provide food for some deep sea creatures.

“A large concentrated spill is a totally different thing … nature cannot adapt,” said Arne Jernelov of the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm, who led a U.N. environmental study of a huge blowout on a Mexican rig in 1979.

However, small doses are manageable because, apart from being eaten by bacteria, oil can evaporate and be broken down by sunlight. Environmentalists warn that the existence of these natural seeps should not be a “backdoor justification” for dumping oil in the seas that can kill creatures from turtles to pelicans.

“While these seeps can release large amounts of oil, the rate is usually very slow, which allows the surrounding ecosystems to adapt,” an environmental group called Oceana said in a report. Other species can’t adapt — and die.

Jernelov says that 140,000 tons of oil leak naturally every year from seeps in the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico — a small amount compared to the estimated nearly four million barrels of oil that has spewed from BP’s leak since April.

“When you start finding oil floating around you think it’s from a tanker. But a significant amount comes below,” said Martin Hovland, an expert on seeps at the University of Bergen in Norway. Hovland said seeps might be a more critical link in the food chain than believed, perhaps drawing humpback whales to the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California where “thick mats of bacteria and other organisms carpet the seabed near seeps,” according to a recent article. Seeps might also explain why the North Sea, which is rich in oil and gas, has more fish than the nearby Irish Sea, Hovland said.

Reports say the seabed’s natural seeps are intermittent, hard to locate, and, most notably to me, seem to seal themselves. A few oil companies apparently look for signs of natural seeping to guide them to their next drilling spot.

In this case, a little leak may not be a problem. It is naturally manageable. I see it as another example from nature of Intelligent Design — a natural meal plan for micro sea life who then become a food source for bigger sea life. The cleanup is well planned, with the seepage leftovers evaporating or burning off by sunlight. The deep sea kitchen is closed when the leak seals itself, before becoming a problem. I’m not a scientist, but that sounds like an Intelligent Designer at work to me.

We are intelligently designed, as well, but sometimes we overestimate our own intelligence and design some enormous problems when we explore the mysteries of our earth, in deep sea or deep space. Not that we shouldn’t attempt exploration, but we could, obviously, do so with more careful preparation and less arrogant ambition.

We also need to learn from our mistakes. That’s why I’m taking measures in my home to protect the valves under the sink. Hopefully, that will prevent any future quiet mornings from being interrupted by the pitter patter of light rain inside the house.

Jaletta Albright Desmond is a self-syndicated columnist who writes about faith, family, and the fascinatingly mundane aspects of daily life. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two daughters. Contact her at jdesmond@bdtonline.com

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A small leak can often become a big problem — at home and sea

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