Environmental Disasters : The Oil Spill

On June 3rd, 1979, 50 miles offshore of Ciudad del Carmen in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche, the semi-submersible rig SEDCO 135 experienced a blowout while drilling the Ixtoc 1 exploratory well (New York Times, September 23, 1979). Initially, crude oil was flowing into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 30,000 barrels per day; however, Petroleous Mexicanos (Pemex) was able to slow the rate of discharge to between 10,000 and 20,000 barrels per day (U.S. House of Representatives, 96th Congress, September 8-9, 1979, p. 2). Following the spill, numerous legal issue came about due to the fact that there was no legal precedent on how to deal with such man-made disaster involving two different nations and different oil companies. Furthermore, without any

Oil covered everything: beaches, animals, plants, bottoms of boats. Approximately 205.8 million gallons of oil leaked into the ocean and toward the Louisiana shoreline. To put the amount in perspective, that oil could be used to drive a Toyota Prius around the earth 184,181 times (Repanich). All of this pollution and destruction because of one singular company: British Petroleum. Needless to say, the image of BP was tarnished because of this. What can a company do to come back from such a serious setback? This was the question that was faced by the company in 2010 (when the spill occurred), and is still being wrestled with today. By analyzing BP’s “Commitment to the Gulf” ad campaign, the brand’s desired identity is made very apparent. When it comes to oil, nearly all consumers are involved. However, BP does take specific steps in order to narrow down a target audience when it comes to advertising its product. Despite the hardships faced by BP stemming from the spill, consumers still have an addiction to oil. BP, the fourth largest oil company in the world (“Biggest Oil”), has such a firm hold on consumer society that it is a necessity in today’s consumer landscape. By pushing the brand’s identity to its target audience, BP used branding to overcome a severe controversy and rebuild the image it hoped to convey to consumers.

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.

The oil spill created long term problems for the living organisms that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico. The oil covered the feathers of birds, making them unable to float at the surface. The oil killed some of the deep sea coral as far as seven miles away from the site. Mammals ingested the oil, which resulted in some of the mammals having internal bleeding and ulcers. This has also lead to an increase in sea turtles stranding, sick dolphins, and a decrease in population of many marine animals. This disaster stuck during the breeding season for many species of wildlife. “The oil’s toxicity may have hit egg and larval organisms immediately”, which could have wiping out those age classes. Population dips and cascading food web has occurred due to

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.

Mans continued reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and oil has driven the expansion and exploration for oil reserves in many of the worlds oceans including the coast of Western Australia. Whilst there is a strong push toward greener cleaner energy sources, the fossil fuel industry continues to draw on the support of the Australian Government and others, principally, due to the economic benefits and financial rewards for all. Australia has become extremely reliant on both imported and local sources of oil to fuel both commercial and private sectors. Local sources can be found in the ocean off the north coast of Western Australia, including the Montara Oil reserve in the Australia Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) operated by the Thai-based

On March 24, 1989 there was an Exxon Valdez oil tanker accident off of Alaska. The oil tanker carried around 50 million gallons. Of those 50 million gallons, about 11 million were spilled. It was a devastating spill that covered more than 1200 miles of shoreline with oil. Due to the size of the spill, a lot of time and effort was used to clean up the oil. About 10,000 workers, 1000 boats, and 100airplanes/helicopters were involved in the cleanup.

It is well known that in 2010 a oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by BP, exploded and sank and caused a continued oil leak that released amlost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in U.S. history (Biello). In an address delivered inJune of 2010, President Obama called the oil spill “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced” (Obama). Given the magnitude of the spill, and the media attention surrounding the issue, the entire topic became an emotional subject and strong opinions were formed regarding the nature of the spill and the correct way to proceed with containment and restoration. Of the many debates surrounding the issue, one which falls prey

Due to high costs of oil, many countries have taken the act of turning to renewable energy sources. Burning fossil fuels also has a downside to the environment, polluting the air and water, and damaging the health of plants and animals. The BP Oil spill of 2010 is one example of how dangerous fossil fuels are when they are exposed to the environment. There is much controversy in the United States for renewable energy sources being funded, but the facts are on the rise. Having a cleaner and more efficient source of energy is important for both environmental, political, and financial reasons.

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 BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill was one of the worst spills occurred in the history of the oil industry because the way it was carried out and the way it occurred. The had affected the people worldwide it’s didn’t just affect the people who were onboard or the company because had effects on the environment, share prices were dropping, the company had to pay huge amount into the fines to the governments and also, they had to pay huge amount to clean the gulf water and the affected shore area. The total amount BP spend in fines was about the $56.4 billion. This spill was worse than the spill occurred in Exxon Valdez because it damaged the shoreline of four states threatening more than 65000 acres of land to be damaged. Over 8000 animals

After two months Macondo well began gushing crude oil, President Barack Obama addressed to the nation from the Oval Office, he said: “Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it is not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.” Through January 25, 2011, there were collected 8,209 birds, 1,143 sea turtles, and 109 marine mammals affected by the spill—alive or dead, visibly oiled or not (Unified Area Command). It is quite apparent that the Deepwater Horizon blowout is both terrible environmental and human catastrophe and it will probably demand not months but decades of nationwide effort to address and recover (Deep water).The specific goal of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for identifying and understanding the economic and environmental consequences of Deepwater Horizon oil spill and to determine appropriate approaches to avoid future disasters.

A major example of our failure to learn from the past was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which happened on 20 April 2010. The whole explosion which devastated the oil platform caused 11 deaths. These deaths could have been prevented if BP Oil, the operators of the platform, had only heeded the lessons of the past.

Oil is a value of a lot of people in this world, it can take many years for it to be formed, not to mention that it's very expensive resource to remove from the ground and the ocean floor. Next when oil spills it covers the surface getting thinner and thinner until it looks like a rainbow, this rainbow is called the Sheene. The oil spills are very dangerous for marine life, either making it so the fur of the animal is no longer able to repel liquids or making it so they can't float or keep warm. Similarly Other animals (such as birds) may ingest the oil in the water and get very sick. The first step is to contain the oil and make it stop spreading, once we do that the damage the oil can do is more minor. The next step is to scare off the unharmed