Oil Spills Is An Insoluble And Non Renewable Sources Of Energy

Coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Most people probably do not think about how much of their lives depend on oil. This profitable commodity is constantly being used around the world, twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. From the scented creams people use on their bodies, to the airline jets soaring above, oils are being used. Oil is one of three major forms of fossil fuels, coal and natural gas being the rest. Fossil fuels began forming millions of years ago in the Carboniferous Period when trees, plants, and small organisms died (DOE, 2015). Eventually the fossils sank to the bottom of many swamps and oceans forming layers of peat (a brown, soil-like, and spongy material). Over thousands of years, peat was covered by clay, sand, and other minerals which turned into a type of rock called sedimentary. Over thousands of years rocks piled on top of the peat creating more pressure. Eventually the pressure managed to squeeze water out of the peat and over millions of years, this mineral rich water turned into the three major fossil fuels that people know and use today (DOE, 2015). Regardless of its proficiency and success, the oil industry has become one of the most unethical businesses in the world. Their blatant disregard for the environment and its inhabitants have continuously put them in the crosshairs of many conservatives and concerned citizens. This paper primarily focuses on the ethical dilemmas that surround the oil industry.

Americans have been drilling for oil for more than half of their existence. Before the 1850’s oil was of little use and had no market for commerce as there was not one overwhelming use for it. Until around the 1850’s, when technology advanced, with it sparking search for one of the most sought after natural resources that countries would later go to war over, petroleum oil. Early inventions like the kerosene lamp provided a new stable home necessity to live by, increasing the demand for crude oil. This would be met in part by Colonel Edwin Drake, who drilled the first successful oil well in 1858. While Drake’s invention for extracting crude oil from the ground would bring about a new era for industrialization, his “black gold” would bring about an even larger effect, the environmental disasters caused by man. For over one hundred and fifty years of drilling for oil, both on shore and offshore, has led to some of the worst catastrophes to both nature and mankind. While many of these catastrophes have led to the deaths of hundreds of crew members, they have also led to long lasting effects on the environment, local and national economies, legislation, regulations, and human morale. These following effects can be seen in the most recent and most contaminated marine oil spill in history. To the media and public it’s known as the British Petroleum offshore drilling oil spill in 2010.

Repercussions of burning oil have arisen more progressively. The debatable topic of global warming holds burning fossil fuels responsible for higher temperatures in colder climates. An article by World Book explains why oil is so harmful towards the environment. As more cars are produced more pollutants are released into the atmosphere, those pollutants cause smog in larger manufacturing oriented cities as well as, acid rain. Factories, burning oil, dispose of the remaining chemicals into bodies of water rendering them unsafe to drink for both humans and animals alike (Hunt par. 1). Another article produced through World Book describes the

There are many renewable and nonrenewable resources that are being harmed in this world. One resource is oil. In 2010, there happened to be an explosion of oil in the Gulf Of Mexico which killed 11 people. 87 days after that happened, there was an estimate of 3.19 million barrels of oil leaked into the gulf. There were many problems about the Gulf Of Mexico oil spill but solutions are being made to help.

In fact, of the tens of millions of gallons of oil that enter North American oceans each year due to human activities, only 8 percent comes from tanker or oil pipeline spills, according to the 2003 book Oil in the Sea III (Transportation Research Board and National Research Council) by the U.S. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, which is still considered the authority on oil-spill data (Geographic).” Oil ends up in oceans very frequently, and is extremely bad for both marine wildlife and the environment as a

A little over seven years ago, on April 20, 2010, the BP oil company’s actions created the greatest manmade disaster to the environment in the United States history. In the aftermath of this disaster, thousands of marine organisms were injured and placed in life threatening scenarios. Thanks to the spill, the Gulf of Mexico and other parts of the ocean surrounding the gulf was flooded with an estimated amount of 205.8 million gallons of oil (Sakashita). The damages to the ecosystem and other organisms in the environment was detrimental, but the quantity loss of such a finite resource was devastating to the world. Society over uses and wastes non-renewable resources, therefore, should convert to a more infinite source of energy.

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).

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.

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

Any oil business bears the risk of an oil spill. It is critical to know how to avoid and react to this kind of catastrophes, to minimalize the effect on humanity and the environment. There are several agencies that work together to guarantee that these oil spills do not happen and to resourcefully react in the event a spill occurs. Oil spills have occurred in the past and with federal, state and local agencies working together, they can plan, respond and cleanup the contamination from the oil. In this research paper, I will explore the regulations, environmental and humanity safeguards, the cost of cleanup, loss of revenues, lawsuits, internal city policies and execution, and

For instance, Rufe, who is a scientist, states that we have not developed an approach that can clean more than 3 to 5 percent of the spilled oil” (Mufson, 2012). Furthermore, In the Gulf of Mexico, although 205.8 million gallons of oil have been spilled, just 51.8 million gallons have been collected, which equals approximately 25 percent. Moreover, in order to clean the Gulf from the oil spills almost 2 million gallons of toxic dispersants were used. Unfortunately, the toxic dispersants did not truly purify the spilled oil, but fractured them into tinier particles. As a consequence, that may make the oil more harmful for some ocean animals and plants ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report, 2008). However, with the increasing of offshore oil drilling accidents, and with no solution to solve the problem efficiently. The hazardous impact is not going to affect only on animals and plants. It might affect people who depend on the polluted area for food, ecological enrichment, and entertainment ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report,

An oil spill is not just a splatter of grease, it’s an accident in which oil has come out of a ship and caused pollution, according to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. In the film, How to Let Go of the World and Love All Things Climate Can’t Change it focus’ on this issue where the oil company came in and spilling tons of oil throughout the Amazonian Rainforest, spreading two km. The indigenous people who lived there go out there every day to help cleanup all this oil that has been spilled. Knowing the crude oil is highly dangerous when it comes in contact with the skin, the helpers are lacking proper safety equipment which can cause poisoning and burns. The community members should not be the ones cleaning up the mess this oil company has caused.

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.

Dangers caused by oil spill on human beings as well as flora and fauna has been discussed in detail in this paper. Also throwing some light on how to use protective gears to avoid contact with oil slick has been dealt in detail.