Should The BP Oil Spill

On April 20th 2010 an explosion on an oil ridge of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, was the cause of the greatest environmental disaster in history of the United States. This explosion took the lives of eleven men who were working on the ridge, and also ruptured an oil line, which dumped more than 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill significantly affected the wildlife of the gulf coast, killing hundreds of fishes, birds, and reptile that call the gulf coast home. The spill also affected global supply chain for major industries.

Yes, losing human life was bad enough already, but we also lost a lot of oil and most importantly the spill effected the marine life. The fish, turtles and birds that were in the area, were all drenched in the oil, majority of it didn’t survive. The fish that have survived, where infected/affected by the chemicals. As we all know oil does not stay in one area, it spreads like butter on the hot skillet, effecting even larger marine life area than expected. Obviously BP and people responsible for the spill have faced numerous fine and conducted numerous operations to clean up the mess, but it is almost impossible. As time progressed, some oil eventually sunk to the bottom, which effected coral and food that fish eat. According to CNN, “Scientists continue to study environmental impacts, but five years after the spill, the long-term negative effects remain unclear and are, in many cases, highly disputed.”(Griffin et al., 2015, para.

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.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill was the largest spill in history in front of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. This oil spill released about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. This spill not only wreck havoc on the marine life but also the economic players that depended on ocean such as fisherman, tourism, and offshore drilling located along the gulf coast. Along will the spill the oil rig which was named Deepwater Horizon also went up in flames. This proved that the issue went far beyond just an oil rig that blew a line. Since this oil spill had drastic impacts all along the coast, BP which was the most liable for this incident faced criminal charges based on what happened. BP which knew the risks of deep ocean drilling failed to take the necessary safety procedures to reduce the risks of such incident occurring, thus was the reasoning behind placing most of the fault on them and not the other companies. The lack of regulatory oversight led to the issues and cost-cutting procedures opened the rig up to possible malfunctions like the one that occurred. During the spill into the gulf, BP sealed the well with cement which seemed to stop a majority of the oil from escaping the well. BP also recognized that the well was “dead” which was proven wrong when scientists still could conclude was leaking minor amounts of oil into the ocean. This spill not only proved to be harmful to the environment but also

In April of 2010, the Gulf of Mexico ground to a halt. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit resulted in one of the worst environmental and economic catastrophes in history. Eleven members of the crew were killed, many others sustained serious and permanent injuries. A moratorium on drilling lasted long into the following year. Massive layoffs ensued across multiple business sectors. Many commercial fishing vessels could not leave port, and those that did caught far fewer fish. Oyster beds were destroyed and miles of wetlands were marred by oil. At the time, we could only imagine how pervasive the effects would be. Shortly after the explosion, Arnold & Itkin LLP, a Houston-based litigation boutique, which represented

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

The catastrophe with the Deepwater Horizon was horrible. Eleven people lost their lives that day, and marine wildlife was affected along with other economic issues for anglers and tourism industries. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill had devastating effects on the local environment and on the public perception of offshore oil drilling. Five million barrels of oil over a three-month period flooded the Gulf of Mexico. The Macondo oil spill, which is what it became called, had an overwhelming impact on the environment. Moreover, oil was scattered over 1300 miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida. In an attempt to clean up the spill, there was incalculable damage was done to fish and other wildlife, marshes, and estuaries. As bad as the Macondo

On April 28th, 2010 cleanup crews were rushing to clean up a huge oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico. This spill occurred because of an oil rig explosion that took place on April 20th. The oil spill was threatening miles of coast line in four different states, and not to mention marine wild life that live in those waters. This oil spill soon became the worst oil spill the United States had ever seen. There were 126 workers on board the oil rig when it exploded, most of the workers escaped, but eleven were missing but then confirmed dead. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. Since the explosion, experts estimated a total of 210,000 gallons of oil were spilling into the gulf. Experts are also worried about the sea life and how

“The impacts of previous oil disasters show that wildlife in the gulf will continue to be affected by subsurface oil” The past oil spills are still contributing to the death of mammals in the area of the disaster. The NOAA says, “In total, we found the oil spill has likely harmed or killed approximately 82,000 birds of 102 species, approximately 6,185 sea turtles, and up to 25,900 marine animals including bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins melon-headed whales and sperm whales.” Plenty of animals die every day already from natural causes and overfishing, but oil is causing even more to die at an extreme rate. “The national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had found 32 dolphins in the bay under weight, anemic and showing signs of liver disease. nearly half had low levels of stress hormones that help with stress response, metabolism and immune functions” The disasters are harming the mammals that live in the area of the spill, not only poisoning them but affecting them in the long-term and eventually adding to the already high number of deaths “... NOAA says 714 dolphins and whales have been found stranded from the Florida panhandle to the Texas state like, with 95 percent of those mammals found dead” Dolphins and whales are being hit hard by oil disaster and they turn up dead even after the oil has been cleaned up. From oil

The National Wildlife Federation posted an article referring to the April 2010 oil known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in which the author discusses the major impact that the spill had on the Gulf environment. This oil spill had detrimental effects on environment and the cleanup efforts caused an even more harsh impact on the numerous aquatic animals that are native to the Gulf. In the article, ‘The Deepwater Horizon’s Impact on Gulf Wildlife and Habitats’, the author tried to articulate the gravity of the damage caused by the spill and the long-term effect that the spill would have on the Gulf and its population of aquatic animals. The author of the article refers specifically to the whale, sea turtle, and dolphin population, as well

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

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010. The spill had detrimental physical, chemical, and biological effects throughout ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill being the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the United States, makes it a very important event in US history. During the event many coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico were coated with oil, including the plants, animals, beaches, etc. This directly affected coastal ecosystems in the Gulf, and as a result, impacted many coastal economies: fishing industries, restaurants/food industries, tourism, and real estate. Many coastal species were also affected (e.g. dolphins, shorebirds, and phytoplankton). These issues that are associated with the spill, along with technology and the media, helped to support the anti-BP movement. Much research is still being done, and many long-term effects of the oil spill are still uncertain.

The BP Oil Spill An Introductory Background - One of the most controversial ecological disasters in recent history focused on multinational British Petroleum and their Gulf of Mexico Operations. The Deepwater Oil Disaster began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Oil platform, killing 11, injuring 17. It was not until July 15th, however, that the leak was stopped by capping the wellhead, after releasing almost 5 million barrels (206 million gallons) of crude oil, or 53,000 barrels per day into the Gulf of Mexico. It was not until September 19th that the relief well process was complete and the U.S. Government, EPA, and Coast Guard agencies declared the well breach effectively stopped (Cavnar, 2010).

Deepwater Horizon oil Spill: BP’s drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico had an explosion in April 2010, causing the “largest oil spill catastrophe in the petroleum industry history”. It caused the death of 11 men and injury to several others. “More than 150,000 barrels of crude oil gushed into the sea, every day, for almost 5 months and up to 68,000 square miles of the Gulf 's surface were covered” (1).