Negative Effects On Oil Spills

Every day individuals take the true beauty of our nation by visiting recreational areas along with beaches. Oil spills create nothing, but negative effects on the areas that it happens in. Many plants and animals are affected by this negative disaster which sickness the animals or some even die from it. Maybe if more time and money was spent working on having more efficient renewable energy sources than digging up a source of fuel that will eventually run out we would not have as much of a problem.

Oil spills suffocate marine life to death, and is extremely bad for the environment. “Wherever oil is consumed, such as in manufacturing or when loading a ship with fuel, there are opportunities for oil spills (Noaa).” Oil spills are extremely harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. Oil spills also contribute to habitat loss as it also can ruin and eventually destroy ocean habitats, causing wildlife to lose their homes. “But such publicized events account for only a small part of the total amount of oil pollution in the oceans—and many of the other sources, such as automobile oil, go largely unnoticed, scientists say.

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).

This disaster of the BP oil spill has caused many deaths: 64 mammals, 2,919 birds, and 489 sea turtles according to National Wildlife Federation and these numbers are going to continue to rise year after year till all the oil is cleaned up. Also, the Gulf is home to endangered species. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are currently listed as endangered, and could go to threatened in the next couple years. Another example is the Bluefin Tuna which is labeled as endangered and could send them to extinction due to the massive oil spill. This is one dire effect that is hurting our ecosystem, and this same instance happened in Alaska with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A great example of how gruesome the oil has taken on wildlife, look at Fig. B where a there is an oil-soaked pelican. I believe the world should change its main source of oil to a different less destructing fuel.

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.

Back in the spring of 2010, the Gulf of Mexico experienced the worst oil spill in U.S history as a result of an explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig. On April 10th the hazardous accident had already killed 11 people, deformed and killed countless numbers of marine wildlife, and leaked 3.19 million barrels of oil that spread about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Even though the well was located within the deep sea (the lowest part of the ocean that accounts for most of the water on Earth) the ecosystem suffered heavily from it. For instance, it has been reported that over 335 dolphins died, hundreds of sea turtles washed up on the shore soaked in oil, and hundreds of seabirds drowned or starved from not being able to fly,

Loss of market confidence in the fishing industry can lead to price reductions or rebuff of seafood products by commercial buyers and consumers. When it goes viral and acquires media coverage and attention it looks down poorly on the marketability of seafood. Oil contamination will forcibly close some fishing grounds. Tourism in these areas will also lessen as a consequence, out of all threaten states Florida has the most to lose. 80 million visitors a year and generating $60 billion in spending, tourism is its most prevalent industry based on studies. According to the article Factbox: Gulf oil spill impacts fisheries, wildlife, tourism, officials say, “even the mere threat of oil pollution from the spill is enough to make a significant "dent" in the tourism industries of Florida and other Gulf states”. Expanding the industry will only surge the process and rate at which these businesses lose

oil spill happened five years ago and nearly 5 barrels of oil was spilt into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill was caused from an explosion through the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The main effect from this oil spill was the losses of the animals. Causing many to almost go extinct. As a result from the oil spill the earth has had—losses from pollution, the cost, and the damage of people.

There are multiple procedures to help prevent the devastations. The Specific Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) is provided with specific procedures by the EPA. They require checking their equipment and doing testings regularly this can ensure a smaller risk of an oil spill. Also, having backup equipment can do wonders. Even simpler, consumers can help by taking caution by handling oil with care and disposing of it properly. With preparation, preventing an oil spill can benefit our oceans and gulfs

IMPACT OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

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

Oil spills can happen anywhere and anytime. You don’t really hear about them when they happen, because some people don’t think they’re a big deal. They can be prevented if oil companies didn’t use old pipes that’s been there for years. The state of Peru has brought in this oil company called Petroperu. When they were brought in they told the Indigenous people “with oil, you and Peru will grow.” Since then the Oil company has spilled tons of crude oil in the Amazon river contaminating communities water and food supply.

The effect of oil spill is usually calculated in terms of damage on the environment, aftermath on marine species, and effect on the tourism and fishery industries. The impact on human health is less known relatively. The financial costs associated with oil spills are also a factor. Arguably, it is a less serious consequence of an Oil Spill, however the financial costs have the potential to bankrupt an organization. BP suffered major financial loss as a result of the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They have paid up to $1.5 billion in an effort to settle various claims and compensation. (BP, n.d)

With the huge impact of the oil spill on marine life and coastal regions, fishing and tourism industries of the places affected in the Gulf Coast severely declined. In the fishing industry, the incident led to an approximate $2.5 billion loss, while tourist industries experienced a loss of a predicted $23 billion (Jarvis, 2010). In addition, the moratorium placed on deep water drilling left 58,000 workers unemployed (ibid).

Over 8000 animals were reported dead 6 months after the spill, including many that were on the endangered species list (7). Subsequently, seafood prices increased affecting restaurants and supermarkets. People abstained from going to beaches covered in oil, water sports and other aquatic attractions which meant that all organisations involved in tourism such as hotels, tour operators, restaurants and boat rental companies were affected (1). Furthermore, the method of cleaning up the oil by “in-situ burning” (burning oil in a contained area on the surface of the water), had adverse effects on the environment as the burning off of the oil led to mutations and increased mortality due to pollution.