The 2010 BP Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico

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.

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.

The flyer continues by depicting the situation in which many animal species native to Malaysia and Indonesia are forced out of their habitats due to the deforestation efforts to make way for palm oil trees. This deforestation drives species to the edge of extinction. Palm oil is used in many edible goods such as candies and personal care products. In order to diminish this exhaustive deforestation, the reader, identified as a "consumer conservationist" is encouraged to only purchase products that use 100% certified sustainable palm oil by purchasing their sweets from a list of brands listed in the

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.

How did the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect our economy and environment, and what does the future hold, with regard to the environment, oil drilling, and sustainability?

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

BP has experienced several disaster events in their history that has damaged their reputation with the community. Most of these disasters have ended up costing the communities and the environments within them the most. BP is taking a stand against global warming to find alternate means of energy that will not be hurtful to the environment as well as maintaining a role in the clean-up of the spill areas (Thorne, 2010). With the fluidity of the Gulf of Mexico environment, we may never know the scope of the devastation caused by the spill. However, BP is doing what they can to clean up the environment affected by the spill in the Alaskan waters. During the winter months, BP sends a team to Alaska to continue the clean-up efforts and return

A corporation has a moral duty to ensure that their products and operations do not cause harm to society and the environment. There are significant factors that must be taken into consideration to ensure the proper response is put forth if disaster rears its ugly head. Many times, when disaster strikes, companies do not always make the appropriate response, or they do not remediate the problem efficiently enough to maximize their efforts. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 is a prime example of this. The Exxon Valdez oil spill pales in comparison only to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (NOAA)

Rainforests are a forest of tall trees in a region of year round warmth. There is an average of 125 to 660 centimetres of rain that falls yearly. Rainforests belong to the tropical wet climate group. Rainforests cover less than 6% of the Earths land surface but they produce 40% of the world’s oxygen. Rainforests are found in Central America, Africa, Indo-Malaysia and New Guinea. In the 19th century there were 6 million square miles of tropical rainforests worldwide but now as a result of deforestation only 2.4 million square miles remain. Orangutans are a large arboreal ape that is affected by the deforestation of rainforests. The Orangutans are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. Palm oil is the edible oil

Oil spills have been a major environmental problem that can be hard to detect and expensive to clean up. Since 1969 there have been at least 44 major oil spills of over 420,00 gallons that have had an affect on waters in the United States (Response.restoration.noaa.gov, 2015) The most recent devastating major oil spill was the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig. Nearly 125 million gallons of oil was released into the Gulf of Mexico that wreaked havoc on local economies and wild life with effects that are still lingering to this day (Elliott, 2015). One part of dealing with a major oil spill, such as the Deepwater Horizon, is figuring out how much oil is involved and researches at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS) have developed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that is capable of gauging the volume of oil spilled by measuring the thickness of an oil slick (Malmquist, 2015).

Palm oil is a highly productive crop which yields more oil from less land than any other vegetable oil. From one hectare of land, 4 to 5 tonnes of palm oil can be harvested. (Anon., n.d.) (Anon., 2013) This is why palm oil is inexpensive and easy to obtain. As a result of palm oils affordability and availability, many companies choose to use it in their products.

Establishing a palm oil plantation often involves planting on peatland; encompassing carbon-rich, partly decomposed organic matter. In order for agriculture to be successful, peatlands must be drained or burned, to dry the land. Consequences of burning or draining, means large amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere. Analysing carbon emissions, the World Resources Institute (WRI), state that draining a single hectare is equivalent to burning more than 6,000 gallons of gasoline. Subsequently, Indonesia, in 2015 exceeded the average daily emissions by the U.S. economy.

The economy today runs on an antiquated ritual of exploiting, plundering, devastation, and manipulation of land for material wealth, profiting the wealthy and condemning the poor. This mindset is no more sophisticated than feudalism, a system so bad it had to be outlawed along with witchcraft. The idea that exploitation of land is justified has brought plastics to the ocean and leveled rainforests. Large corporations have grown larger by manufacturing and production, depleting the planet’s resources in the process. Now, companies must make a combined effort to put the environment first, before profit. Because of their harmful practices, consumers have the right to know where products come from, how they’re made, and the impact on the environment. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the large corporations to change their harmful practices, to make strides towards ending climate change and use clean, sustainable methods.

BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, is the third largest oil and gas producer in the world, producing almost 3.8 million barrels per day. BP was founded in 1908 by William Knox D’Arcy in London, United Kingdom. The company operates worldwide in several sectors of the oil and gas industry such as generating low carbon energy, moving oil and gas, and off and onshore oil and gas extraction (BP, 2014). However, the offshore Deepwater Horizon oil spill that happened on April 20th, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the greatest oil spills that took place in history. The disaster caused the loss of the lives of 11 workers, severely injuring 17 workers, and the aftermath had a great impact on the environment in the Gulf of Mexico.

Palm oil is in high demand due to the substance being used in almost everything. In Malaysia alone, the price of Palm Oil, as of 2013 to 2017, has ranged from around 960 to 500 USD. In total, tens of millions of tons of palm oil is made yearly, accounting for over 30% of the world’s vegetable oil production. This single vegetable oil is found in approximately 40-50% of household products in many developing countries like Australia. Palm oil can be present in a wide variety of products, including baked