2012 may not just be a movie

I must admit to initially dismissing end-of-the-world theories associated with the year 2012. People are convinced there is a significance to the Mayan calendar ending in that year. I've always wondered, what makes the Mayan calendar any more or less relevant than other calendar? Another doomsday group theorizes that in the year 2012 there will be a rare alignment of the universe that will allow untold shifts in our world as we know it. All sorts of celestial alignments occur all of that time so why does this one bode more impact than others? I'm still uncertain as to the impact of either of the previous events but what does seem to be a potential for the end of the world may have already been set in motion by the Deep Water Horizon catastrophe.

Benzene levels in the Gulf are already rising at alarming rates. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the major effect of benzene from long-term exposure is on the blood. (Long-term exposure means exposure of a year or more.) Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene causes cancer in humans. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, cancer of the blood-forming organs.

Now there is the potential for large amounts of methane to be vented into the water and atmosphere. Exposure to high levels of methane gas depletes the oxygen level in the body, causing difficulty in breathing and suffocation. If the oxygen level in the body depletes to anything less than 12%, it can cause unconsciousness and also prove to be lethal in some cases. Since the levels of oxygen in the body depletes, the body tries to make it up by using the oxygen contained in the bodily fluids. This basically leads to dehydration.

Another symptom of methane gas exposure is heart palpitations. It causes an uncomfortable sensation of the heart beating rapidly, abnormally and out of sequence. Due to the depletion of oxygen in the body, methane gas exposure gives rise to cognitive problems. The person is inattentive, has memory loss and also poor judgment. These symptoms aggravate, when the exposure to this gas is more.

2012 may not just be a movie anymore.

Doomsday: How BP Gulf disaster may have triggered a world-killing event - by Terrence Aym - Helium