Arctic Oil Spill

Humans have been interacting with the Arctic tundra for centuries now. They have used the land to explore and race, for example, the infamous race between Admunsen and Scott to the South pole. However, the human civilisation on the Arctic tundra have had their implications, both severe and light. Humans have slaughtered whales and seals since very early days, for food as well as commercial and self-profiting purposes. The most recent and paramount problem is global warming and pollution, which is harming the Arctic Tundra far more than the sealing and whaling ever did.

Still people make the argument that oil is just too important to stop drilling and that if anything we should drill more. Again author Margaret Haerens talks about how “According to the nation academy of Sciences, current cleanup methods can only remove a small fraction of the oil spilled into the ocean, leaving the remaining oil to continue affecting ocean ecosystems over time” (126). The long term impacts of offshore spills continue to corrupt the oceans and who knows when they will completely be gone. The effects of the oil directly on sea life such as sea birds, fish, shellfish, and other sea life are extremely dangers. “Studies have shown that tiny amounts of oil – as little as one part per billion – can harm pink salmon and cause their eggs to fail” (Haerens Margaret). Imagine swimming in the ocean when a large pool of toxic oils comes floating along right into you when you are trying to enjoy a day at the beach. Not only is offshore drilling have one of the longest lasting ecological impacts on society and living things on and off shore, it effects our economy as well.

Imagine 2,500 to 68,000 square miles covered in 4.9 million barrels of oil. No, imagine being covered in 4.9 million barrels of oil. Picture yourself gasping for air in an ocean filled with oil. That is exactly what birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and other animals had to do after the most catastrophic oil spill of all time occurred on April 20, 2010.

As seen in different parts of the Earth, especially the sea, oil spills has caused a great deal of distress and complications. The risk of oil spills in the Arctic would be alarmingly high as technology has not caught up with the specific needs that the cold, below zero temperatures would bring. If an oil spill did in fact happen, the cleanup would likely be impossible. To this day, researchers at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) stated that there is no fast, effective method to clean and contain an oil spill in icy water (Panda.org “Arctic Oil and Gas”). Response in this remote area would likely be a reaction far too slow for the damage it causes. Distance on the firsthand to this area is the biggest key player, the Arctic areas that are undeveloped will likely pose for sites far away from civilized area. Being this far away takes supplies much longer times to get there. Ice acts as a barrier to get to areas in the Arctic, needing special icebreaker ships to break through the thick ice to get to the certain regions during the winter. This distance coupled with ice means it would take more than days or weeks. By an oil spill happening, more than humans would be damaged as animals would greatly be devastated as well. In the past, events like BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has caused over eighty-two thousand birds being harmed. A spill in the

This presentation features the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which significantly affected the environment in and around Valdez, Alaska. In this connection, Group D will explore: the background information of Prince William Sound, the oil business in Valdez and the event of the oil spill. Next, the team defines the problems – that is, the effects of the spill – what damage did it cause. After, we will diagnose the issues – meaning that the group intends to pinpoint the root causes of the problems. The next step is to substantiate that the stated causes are linked to the issues; to accomplish the aforesaid, the response time and level of preparedness will be analysed. In order to mitigate similar incidents, the team explores action plans that have

number of species damaged. They estimate that about 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and up to 22 killer whales are killed by this oil spill, not to mention billions of salmon and herring eggs.

Oil and gas business is moving towards the north because the wells in the southern areas are drying up. When the polar bears fur comes in contact with oil spills it can reduce the insulating effect of the bears’ fur” (WWF Global, 2016). This causes the polar bear to use more energy when trying to stay warm without the usual insulation that it usually has. Poisoning is also a cause because if polar bears ingest oil it can be detrimental to their health. They can “ingest oil through grooming and through eating contaminated prey” (WWF Global, 2016). Disturbances such as “seismic blasting, construction, transportation and operation of oil facilities can negatively affect polar bears” (WWF Global, 2016). Lastly, creating drilling sites in the northern parts of the world are destroying the polar bears habitat. For example, when if an oil spill occurs near a large amount of polar bears then it can have an effect on the environment by possibly contaminating the area. People may suggest to drill offshore instead of inland but that also poses a greater threat “since routine emissions, spills or leaks will be discharged directly into the sea or on sea ice” (WWF Global,

The worst environmental disaster America ever faced is the Gulf oil spill which released an approximately of 171 million gallons of oil. Scientists estimate that approximately half of all the oil and nearly 100 percent of the methane gas released from the well stayed within the deep ocean. Estimates of the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf climbed steadily between April and June. The first estimate was 1,000 barrels a day. As of mid-June, that estimate had reached between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day. The resulting oil slick covered more than 2,500 square miles, but had largely dissolute by August. It’s estimated that a total of 4.9 million barrels of oil, or 205.8 gallons, leaked from the well of which only 800,000 barrels have been

The oil industry, though it harnesses over hundreds of billions of dollars’ revenue worldwide, it provides many consequences to ecosystems. They have the potential to kill marine mammals and birds by Direct Toxicty, and weakens the organism’s immune systems. Offshore drilling affects the geological structure of the oceans as the process of it includes drilling into the sedimentary rocks and into the oil reserves. The Exxon Valdez spill is an example of oil contamination that has killed an estimate of 250,00 sea birds, 3000 sea otters, 3000 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, more than 70 killer whales, and billions of salmon and herring eggs.

Alaska is one of American biggest geographical region where oil could be found; Alaska also holds one of the biggest wildlife populations as well. The drilling in Alaska has many environmental aspects to it, which include impact on marine life, on the land itself, and lastly I’ll like to go over the environmental impact of oil spills. Let’s go over the first aspect marine life; the process to find potential oil reserves is very complex. “To find potential oil reserves, researchers send seismic waves into the ground. The waves bounce backs to reveal the buried topography and can hint at a possible reserve. But seismic noise disorientates whales and leads to mass beaching” (Nixon 2008.) Nixon here explains the extensive process of finding an oil reserve,; if you look at Alaska on the map, it is surrounded by the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea, where many oil reserves could be found. The seismic not only disorientates whale with mass bleaching but also affects also Alaskan Fish species such as the walleye Pollock, white sturgeon, whitefish, and other along the Alaska Gulf and Bering Sea. The wildlife located in Alaskan vast geographically parts has had many

The biggest marine oil spill in history was the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill also known as the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In the interview video Mike Williams describes what happened on the oil rig he was working on. He said that the electricity on the rig got so powerful that the lights got brighter and brighter until they exploded along with his computer. When he tried to leave his station to go and help the engineer and figure out what was going on, he hears a high-pitched sound and the door exploded and launched him across the room. Then he started to crawl his way out even though he could not see and one of his arms was injured, and when he reached another door it also exploded and launched him back against a wall. And when he

Oil spills are a worldwide issue- widely known for polluting the oceans, infecting plant life, and killing many different species of animals. In fact, during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, approximately 205.8 million gallons of oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico (“A Deadly…” 2011). Over 82,000 birds, 6,165 sea turtles, and around 25,900 different species of marine mammals were either harmed or killed because of The Deepwater Horizon spill (“A Deadly…” 2011). Not only are oil spills a huge biological issue, the mere production of oil has a negative effect on many ecosystems: contaminating oceans, air, soil, and killing many species of flora and fauna.

250000 birds died following the spill due to physical contact with the oil, and also pods of whales lost about 40% of their population, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). Physical contact with oil regarding birds and mammals destroys the insulation value of fur and feathers, causing these animals to die from hyperthermia. This explains why so many birds and sea otters died from the spill, the spill occurred in a cold climate which worsens the effect of oil on animals, causing hypothermia to worsen as climate gets colder. In cold climates, an inch diameter of oil drop can be enough to kill a bird, and heavy coated birds in oil can cause drowning, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). In addition, if these birds and mammals did not die from the variables stated above, these animals tried to clean themselves, which resulted in the ingestion and inhaling of oil which results in immediate death, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). Not only does oil have immediate impacts on animals due to instant killing, but also long term effects include reproduction complications that can cause a drop in populations, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). Although oil is still present in the environments where weathering occurs such as in sediments and coastal areas, marine and

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest oil spill in history, where approximately 5 million barrels were leaked over a span of 87 days. This spill can be considered one of the most detrimental environmental disasters in American history. Only about 25% of the oil was accounted for, leaving somewhere around 3.75 million barrels of oil in surrounding ecosystems.

Resulting in what is referred to as an ocean slick a thin layer of oil over the water it has contaminated,when animals swallow the contaminated water it can poison them mainly bottom dwellers and fish who, can develop diseases and reproductive problems. After the spill there are many steps in containing the oil spill is getting animals out of the area using traps designed to scare them so they flee into where the people running