Grease and oil in waterways rises to the top, forming a film that blocks sunlight, impairs photosynthesis, and prevents oxygen replenishment, which disrupts the oxygen cycle and enhances growth and reproduction of microorganisms that use oil as a food source. This process leads to eutrophication, whereby available oxygen required for fish, shellfish, and other living organisms which comprise the aquatic food chain is depleted. Furthermore, larval stages of aquatic organisms are particularly vulnerable to toxic substances contained in waste oil or lubricants in general. Toxins can accumulate in plankton and other tiny organisms at the base of the food chain and ultimately reach human beings as contaminants move up the food
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
An oil spill incident or accident, broadly affects nature and crushes the environment around us as well as living beings and life form in the sea. Amid oil slicks, smooth, thick liquid is shaped and advances on the ocean. The Deepwater Horizon spill will undoubtable keep on changing earth for quite a while, more than already suspected. This essay will be broken up into three parts, were it will attempt to explain the influence of Crude oil on the environment, more specifically prokaryotes and eukarryotes Thunnus thynnus.
Imagine living in a third world country with overcrowded houses and no job. That is how, “about 22% of our country’s 5.2 million Native Americans live” (A Program of Partnership With Native Americans). Right now Native American people take up about 2% of all land in North America, most of it being around the area of North and South Dakota. Over the past week there have been protests over the insertion of an oil pipeline through the Native American people, mainly the Standing Rock tribe’s, sacred land. This new pipeline would, “threaten water supplies for the Standing Rock Sioux and millions of others downstream, and its route would destroy tribal burial grounds and sacred cultural land” (Healy). Many of the Native American people, along
With all of the disasters mankind has caused to this earth, one might wonder if things like earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. are nothing more than a response to our actions. The BP oil spill, which took place in the Gulf of Mexico, is easily recognizable as the worst oil spill disaster in American history. More than 200 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days total. The entire 16,000 miles of the Gulf coastline were affected. This included Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. The oil may have stopped gushing in 2010, but it has yet to stop washing up on the shore.
Our Earth is something very sacred. It’s a home for every living thing that has obtained this planet. There is only one, and sometimes that escapes our dear minds. How long will it last? How long shall it be before humans cut the last tree, shoot the last deer, or pollute the last bit of water? Humans have used the Earth in various ways for their own selfish reasons because it is so resourceful. It is very easy to manipulate what is given to us, especially when it is given in an abundance. The Earth has to treat itself as its own doctor due to the constant damage it is dealing with. It also has to constantly restock up on all essential resources, because since the Earth has been created, it’s one job was to be a supplement of needs for the
A major problem in the world, especially the U.S. is oil spills, they have been spilled into the oceans are being very harmful to water life plants and animals. In addition birds and other air breathing mammals also get poisoned, as they go to bathe themselves sit in the oil and that poison them. Oil is one of the most used natural resource that people use, and oil is used by a lot of the population of the world. Oil is a fossilization made up from plants and animals very many years ago, it takes many years for oil to be formed, oil can be located both in the ground or under the ocean floor, after the oil is removed giant ships called oil tankers, ship the oil to the other countries. In addition birds and other air breathing mammals also get
The objective of this study is to know what is the effect of oil released in lake to the organisms that live there. There are eight experiments done, by the use of the organism Daphna magna. In sample container there is oxygenated, dechlorinated water and 0.2% motor oil. The daphna magna was also added. Every 24 and 48 hours will record how many organisms are alive. For the results, 50% of the organisms die.
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
In the United States oil consumption is an everyday occurrence, for every citizen. Our country without oil would not be able to function properly within all aspects of life. Our political, transportation and economics systems would all encounter drastic affects if there were no oil to transform into petroleum. Due to our huge dependency on petroleum products, oil companies like British Petroleum (BP), Exxon Mobil, and Saudi Aramco hold extreme power over many countries and make billions off our need to live our daily lives. The extraction of oil from these companies are causing life altering effects for future generations, by causing major environmental complications. Each of the three main oil companies have experienced oil spills that were damaging to the environments around them and gain the global attention, because of the size of the oils spills and the lack of effort to accurately clean the spills.
Only five years ago thousands of birds, dolphins, and sea turtles were washing up on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico slicked and smothered by oil. The explosion of British Petroleum's Macondo oil rig off the coast on Louisiana was the largest environmental disaster to have occurred in the United States. This well leaked over 130 million gallons of light crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying habitats and killing massive amounts of wildlife. Over eighty-seven days the oil spread through the water in a 21 mile plume, creating oil slicks on the surface of the water. Oil within the Gulf caused alarming short-term effects to wildlife in the initial days of the spill, but as these short term effects begin to disappear, BP was quick to claim
Eleven people died and seventeen were injured (Friedman 13). The people died and got hurt when it exploded (Friedman 13). An examination of primary and secondary sources will reveal the historical significance of this event.
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.
The causes of ocean oil spills originate from hurricanes, people’s mistakes, equipment malfunctioning, and terrorist reactions. When an oil spill occurs, it often occurs in tankers, refineries, or pipelines that are being shipped to another facility (Background on Oil Spills). After the oil is spilled onto the salt water, it disperses at a fast rate, which makes oil slick. The oil continues to spread, causing it to weaken and it resembles a rainbow (Background on Oil Spills). When an oil spill occurs on the uppermost layer of water, it “evaporates, is degraded by sunlight, gets consumed by microbes, or washes up on beaches (Begley).
Pollution is a dangerous thing. It can really hurt or even kill animals. Why is there so much pollution and how can we stop it? Why there was so much pollution and is there a way to stop it. We are going to be taking hydrogel and pouring a spoonful of oil into it and seeing how long it takes to contaminate. We think that the used oil we become thickest with the hydrogen. Our three pronged thesis is oil effect, contamination, and pollution solution.
In Oil on Water, Helon Habila, the author, uses his characters’ backgrounds and experiences to illustrate how corruption affects individuals and communities. The novel is set in the Niger delta. The two main characters are journalists who have personalities which strongly contrast with each other. Rufus is an idealist and Zaq is a jaded veteran reporter. Rufus, unlike Zaq, grew up in the delta and is personally connected to the communities. The story follows Rufus and Zaq on an assignment to find “the White Woman,” but ultimately, Habila uses his characters to tell a much more complex tale of environmental devastation and destruction of communities as a result of oil company corruption and greed.