Essay on The Environmental Effects of The Oil Industry

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).

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.

According to Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council rules and response time were implemented to avoid any more oil spills in Prince William Sound. The new rules include, “the U.S. Coast Guard now monitors fully laden tankers via satellite, Two escort vessels accompany each tanker while passing through [and] trained marine pilots [will] board tankers,” (“Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council”, n.d.). As for planning, drills are held annually, there is a new format to remove oil quicker and “Dispersants are now stockpiled for use and systems are in place to apply them” through any form of transportation (“Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council”,

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

On March 24th 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound Alaska, spilling roughly 10.8 gallons of crude oil polluting over a thousand miles of Alaska’s coast (Gerken, 2014). At its time, it was the worst oil spill in history, lasting for several days. It was caused by the negligence of the captain who was reportedly intoxicated at the time. The oil was very quickly dispersed over a wide area of land because of extreme tidal fluctuations and a storm several days after the spill (http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152720).

On April 20, 2010, one of the most horrific accidents occurred in regards to the oil and gas industry. An oil rig exploded not far off the coast of Louisiana. People were injured and even killed. Thick, brown oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying beaches and wildlife. Researchers and scientists were forced to find new ways to clean up the oil, in a quick and efficient manner. The immediate and lasting effects of the BP oil spill having caused numerous issues both physically and emotionally. BP has faced consequences for their mistakes and they have since made multiple changes to better the safety and quality of their company to prevent problems like these to happen again. Society should take a look at what happened during and after the oil spill and learn from the experience. I learned a lot about the topic after writing this research paper, and I have a new respect for the people that work in the oil and gas industry. I had no idea how much they risk every time they step foot on an oil rig.

The oil and refined products are a mixture of various hydrocarbons and other compounds whose physical and chemical properties vary; during an oil spill, the composite determines the behavior and impact on the environmental elements such as physical, biological, ecosystem, and the economical impact. During this Case Study I will continue to discuss the characteristics of each affected ecosystem including organisms commonly found in the Deepwater Horizon Spill affected area, potential threats based on their relative location to the spill, and the economic impact of damages in these communities.

Besides that, these tiny oil particles can be degraded more quickly by bacteria presence in the ocean and wash away from spill site by ocean waves3. It was about 2 million galons1 of dispersants was used to prevent the oil slicks to clear up the surface water contaminated. The dispersant chemical helped to clear the slicks out of vision however it somewhat distributed negative impact to the ecosystem from potential harm wildlife to food chain. The tiny oil droplets either suspended in the water or fall down to the bottom of the ocean floor. Therefore, bottom sediment samples were collected to analyze for the remaining of crude oil and the main active compound of dispersant which are the anionic sufactant dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate

Oil spills are a worldwide issue- widely known for polluting the oceans, infecting plant life, and killing many different species of animals. In fact, during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, approximately 205.8 million gallons of oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico (“A Deadly…” 2011). Over 82,000 birds, 6,165 sea turtles, and around 25,900 different species of marine mammals were either harmed or killed because of The Deepwater Horizon spill (“A Deadly…” 2011). Not only are oil spills a huge biological issue, the mere production of oil has a negative effect on many ecosystems: contaminating oceans, air, soil, and killing many species of flora and fauna.

Oil spills are no uncommon occurrence with nearly 14,000 oil spill’s yearly causing water pollution as a consequence of many companies not knowing how to properly dispose of oil along with citizens not knowing proper procedures,one of the largest happened in 1989 when an Exxon Valdez oil tanker tipped over into the ocean.

The focus of this paper was to research the federal, state, and local rules, regulations, laws, policies, and procedures pertaining to an oil spill. Oil spills can happen and asserting a plan of action and response will help minimize the impact and effects that can cause severe damage to property, businesses and the environment. One of the main agencies that react when an oil spill occurs is the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEPA). Questions were asked and evidence from several sources was accessed to formulate answers. The research discovered fortified the thesis which confirms that there is various federal, state, and local policies and procedures in place in the instance an oil spill does occur.

2005). It’s a sticky substance, when it gets on something it acts like a glue. With such a massive concentration of oil, which was about 11 million gallons of oil, it had a huge effect on marine life and plants. Oil has herbicides, which are chemicals that kill plants and when they’re exposed to such a huge amount of it, it can affect a big area of plants on the shoreline and underwater. Oil has lower density than water, it will float when it’s mixed with it. It blocks sunlight and air from reaching the underwater pants. It does not allow plants to photosynthesize. Without photosynthesis, plants aren’t able grow or get oxygen so they will end up dying (Effect of oil spills on aquatic plants 2014). Oil affects the way most marine animals breathe and grow and can leave a sub lethal effect on them without killing them (How does oil impact marine life? 2014). Such a chemical like oil affects the way on how birds and marine life do in cold water like keeping a certain temperature. The study of chemical risks, or toxicology shows that without this ability to maintain a certain temperature they will die from hyperthermia. Oil is like a poison to marine life, and if it doesn’t kill the animal it leaves long lasting effects on them. With the huge dose most of these animals took of the oil, it led to a lot of deaths. This oil spill showed a lot of persistence because even after 30 years, the water was still contaminated with

In this essay the advantages and limitations of bioremediation, biostimulation, and biofermentation with regard to environmental factors will be discussed and evaluated. Ship pollution is a huge source of ocean pollution, the most devastating effect of which is oil spills ("Causes and Effects of Ocean Pollution”). Ship contamination is a gigantic wellspring of sea contamination, the most crushing impact of which is oil Spills. Unrefined petroleum goes on for a considerable length of time in the ocean and is amazingly lethal to marine life, regularly choking out marine creatures to death once it ensnares them. Raw Petroleum spills are extremely hard to clean up, when it is separated it is there to remain. What 's more, numerous boats lose a huge number of boxes every year because of tempests, crises, and mischances. This results in noise pollution, algae, and ballast water.

Literature suggest that the essential management practices to follow when responding to an Oil Spill is to dispose of oil spill debris with the aim of

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.