Ecological Problems Facing United States Today

Massive cleanup efforts were initiated within a few weeks of the spill and they continued at reduced levels for the next three years. Approximately 14% of the spilled oil was recovered by cleanup crews (Newsweek, p.50). As a result of these efforts and natural weathering, little oil from the spill remained in the affected area by 1992. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration some oil residues are still found under the ocean surface in areas sheltered from wind and waves. Yet, these residues are highly weathered and the toxicity is reduced to levels tolerable by organisms in the water (7). Nonetheless, the magnitude and timing of the Exxon Valdez oil spill raised immediate concerns about possible effects on marine fish and wildlife and prospects that these effects might be long lasting.

“Oil destroys the insulating ability of fur-bearing mammals, such as sea otters, and the water repellency of a bird's feather, thus exposing these creatures to the harsh elements. Without the ability to repel water and insulate from the cold water, birds and mammals will die from hypothermia”, the NOAA states. Birds and other animals also ingest the oil trying to clean themselves in the water, which can poison them causing harm to their health. Humans eat those animals that ingest the oil sometimes causing sickness to humans, because you know, people shouldn’t eat oil. Every year, approximately 1.3 million gallons of oil are dumped or spilled into the U.S. waters from pipelines and vessels, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Noise pollution in the oceans is a serious problem too. Sound waves travel farther and faster in the sea’s darkest depths than they do in the air. Many marine mammals rely

One of the most recognized disasters regarding hazardous chemicals is the wreck of the infamous Exxon Valdez. After the oil tanker ran aground on Bligh reef in the spring of 1989, millions of liters of crude oil leaked into the Prince William Sound, off the coast of Northern Alaska causing millions of the native wildlife to die. Thankfully, it didn’t seep into the open ocean but the oil harmed not only the local Alaskan wildlife it also harmed the reputation and honesty of big oil corporations such as the Exxon shipping company, the livelihoods of thousands of the local fishermen and the water quality of the Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez

To begin, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill was a man-made environmental disaster that occurred in 1989. On March 24, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 barrels of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound in Alaska (Piatt, Lensick, Butler, Kendziorek & Nysewander, 1990). Eventually, this oil spread across 30,000 km² of water, damaging ecosystems and marine life along the way (Piatt, 1990). Evidently, this oil spill is considered to be one of the most destructive man-made environmental disasters in history (Dimdam, 2013).

Oil is marked as the most used non-renewable natural resource throughout the planet. Innovations in the automobile technology has increased the demand for hydrocarbons as its used for the source of heat and light. Development in the petrochemical industry boosted the oil supply throughout the world. Today we have miles and miles of wired petroleum pipelines and tons of crude oil on the go. The quantity of oil transported over the sea has enormously increased in volume with tankers from a capacity of 100,000 to 500,000 tons resulting in increased possibilities of spillage by accident. In the event of an accident, oil pollution will be encountered in the marine environment or in inland water.

Offshore oil drilling is a controversial topic because when oil spills, it does extensive amounts of damage to the environment. Countries capable of mining oil in the ocean reap the economic benefits in addition to reducing their dependency on external oil. While it is uncontroversial that offshore drilling is a massive boon for those countries, the environmental consequences of a spill also affect the economic welfare of nearby residents. Oil contaminates animals through a process called biomagnification, where chemicals progressively become more detrimental to the animals the higher they are on the food chain. When oil spills into the ocean, it impairs the growth of native species and deteriorates the ecosystem. As a result, the livelihood of people in the tourist industry, fisherman, and shrimpers is crippled and may take decades to recover.

In 2010, an oil spill, now called the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred at the Gulf of Mexico. An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil was dumped into the ocean. The oil exposed to the marine life’s environment caused many of the marine life to become sick. Many of the birds would ingest oil while they tried to clean the oil off of their feathers and would cause them to have lung disorders. According to scientist, up to 800,000 thousand birds and 300,000 turtles died as a result. I am here to today to raise awareness on this issue and inspire others to help protect our oceans. I hope that one day, we can restore our oceans to the clean and pure ocean it once was.

Oil constantly surrounds consumers throughout the world, whether it be in transportation, electricity, and heating. Since consumers use, transportation, electricity, and heating every day, the demand for oil has surged and thus, multiple companies race to provide this dark elixir promptly. As all thoughts concentrate on the speed in which oil becomes transported, reckless mistakes happen, which swiftly unleashes the toxic elixir into the ocean. The oil then resides in the water with death looming over its shoulder; countless birds, mammals, and fish become poisoned by the oil, which proves lethal. However, an antidote, colonies of microscopic bacteria that consume oil can be used to clean the oil pollution. Although oil satisfies humans with

What are the problems with America currently today? One problem we have faced in America is environmental pollutions. Environmental pollutions are the harmful filth in the air, we breathe everyday. Perhaps we do not notice them as we breathe. Some filth is seen from a far distance. Factory filth is the main pollution producer in the USA now.

Oil spills are notorious environmental hazards. Spills are costly to clean up, and they impact hundreds of

Throughout history, humans have had many adverse effects on the ocean. However, in the past century, a new threat to the ocean has arisen. Oils spills are one of the most dangerous human effects on the ocean, partly because they’re so difficult to reverse after they’ve happened, and because many of the chemicals that get released into the water are extremely toxic to a lot of creatures. Oil spills are usually caused by two ships colliding with each other, a ship colliding with another object, or as in the case of the BP oil spill, an explosion.

On April 20, 2010, one of the most horrific accidents occurred in regards to the oil and gas industry. An oil rig exploded not far off the coast of Louisiana. People were injured and even killed. Thick, brown oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying beaches and wildlife. Researchers and scientists were forced to find new ways to clean up the oil, in a quick and efficient manner. The immediate and lasting effects of the BP oil spill having caused numerous issues both physically and emotionally. BP has faced consequences for their mistakes and they have since made multiple changes to better the safety and quality of their company to prevent problems like these to happen again. Society should take a look at what happened during and after the oil spill and learn from the experience. I learned a lot about the topic after writing this research paper, and I have a new respect for the people that work in the oil and gas industry. I had no idea how much they risk every time they step foot on an oil rig.

The oil and refined products are a mixture of various hydrocarbons and other compounds whose physical and chemical properties vary; during an oil spill, the composite determines the behavior and impact on the environmental elements such as physical, biological, ecosystem, and the economical impact. During this Case Study I will continue to discuss the characteristics of each affected ecosystem including organisms commonly found in the Deepwater Horizon Spill affected area, potential threats based on their relative location to the spill, and the economic impact of damages in these communities.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been recognized as the one of the worst environmental disasters, if not the worst, in U.S. history. On April 20, 2010, an offshore oil rig leased by British Petroleum’s (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in a ball of flames on, killing 11 employees. While much of the nation was riveted by the attempts to cap the mile-deep well, the hidden tragedy was the cloud of tens of millions of barrels oil that was slowly creeping toward land. BP and others would work for over a year to clean up the beaches and wetlands affected by the spilled oil. The impact of this was felt by costal wildlife and those who made their business working in the Gulf and along the shore.

The oil also has a physical and physiological effect including irritation, inflammation, or necrosis of the skin, chemical burns, ingestion of oil/dispersants can lead to inflammation, ulcers, bleeding, as well as possible damage to liver, kidneys, and brain tissue. It can also cause disfunction of the immune and reproductive system. The wildlife can become physiologically stressed, their physical condition will ultimately decline, and some may even die. The oil spill has additionally had an extensive effect on the ecosystem as a whole. An ecosystem can be defined as a biological environment consisting of all the organism living in a particular area, as well as the non-living physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact. Experts predict that the ecosystem could require years or even decades to fully recover since there is a chance of biomagnification. Biomagnification occurs once a PBT(Persistent Bioaccumalative substances) have piled up in one part of the ecosystem the substance becomes concentrated from one link in the food web to the next. It can affect entire populations and threaten biodiversity in “insidious, sub-lethal” ways. In addition to the possibility of biomagnification the oil causes