Oil is a very important fossil fuel that is used for various sources of energy. Oil supplies power to industries, fuel for transportation, heat for buildings, and provides raw material for plastics, paints, textiles, and other materials (hybrid cars). To access this fossil fuel, oil drilling is used. Land-based oil drilling became less productive and as the global stipulation for energy increased, technology, law, and geology impacts stepped in and pushed the exploration of oil away from shores (CITE). With its historical background, offshore oil drilling is one of the most important aspects of today’s economy although we are faced with its risks and consequences, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion of the Gulf of Mexico.
Offshore oil drilling is known as a power-driven process where a wellbore is penetrated through the seabed to extract petroleum oil hydrocarbons that “lie in rock formations beneath the seabed” (CITE). This process of offshore drilling began in 1896 off the shore of Summerfield, California and continued to gradually flourish for the next several centuries. The offshore drilling in 1896 included steel pipes that extended into the seabed 455 feet below, and only produced an inadequate amount of oil. However, this new process of offshore drilling resulted in a beach covered in oil and disfigured the beach by rotting the piers and derricks. America quickly turned to oil as a primary resource by the year 1910. At this time, “the invention of the internal combustion engine boosted the consumption of gasoline” (CITE). Soon, oil producers found new and faster techniques to recover oil. For example, “the steel cable was used in place of rope for cable tool drilling and by 1919, the first diamond drill was used” (...
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... be more responsible and make the environmental effects less destructive and not as long-lived.
Works Cited
1. http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/materials/bp.pdf
2.http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/index.html
3. http://www.noia.org/website/article.asp?id=123
4. http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Oil-Spills-Impact-on-the-Ocean.html#b
5. http://www.dnbgov.com/pdf/DNB_Gulf_Coast_Oil_Spill_Impact_Analysis.pdf
6. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/05/30/us-oil-rig-impact-factbox-idUSTRE64T23R20100530
7. http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_15272017
8. http://www.eoearth.org/article/A_Brief_History_of_Offshore_Oil_Drilling?topic=64403
9. http://www.gomr.boemre.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/louisiana_coast.html
10. http://www.hybridcars.com/importance-of-oil.html
One of these factors was the logistical nightmare of redeveloping the infrastructure needed to transport oil to the refinery. As early as 1881, Standard oil operated approximately 3,000 miles of pipelines, eventually owning ninety percent of the nation’s pipelines. Although transcontinental railroads were an available alternative, pipelines were cheaper, reduced handling and storage fees, and were more efficient. The fact that modern oil companies invest hundreds of millions of dollars into speculating for sustainable natural oil deposits implies that such deposits are rare and hard to identify with a passing glance. If the spurts of oil proved to be isolated incidents, the capital invested in building pipelines and reestablishing a monopoly would have been squandered.
The British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the worst ecological catastrophes in human history, causing vast damage to a fragile and beautiful ecosystem while at the same time calling attention to the deficits in current approaches to energy prospecting, risk management, and cleanup. This analysis of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill will devote attention to the following questions: (a) What kind of technology is in use for deep-sea oil extraction, what are the factors that accounted for the BP catastrophe, what were the statistical components of the spill in terms of volume and concentration, and what was the spatio-temporal scale of the oil spill? (b) What were the environmental (physical, biological, hydrological, and atmospheric) impacts of the oil spill, in addition to the economic and social impacts? (c) What were the scientific, technological, and policy solutions implemented by various actors to pursue the cleanup of coastal areas, wildlife, and wetlands damaged by the oil spill? (d) What is the feasibility of long-term biodiversity conservation measures and the limits of such solutions?
The Ocean Ranger The Ocean Ranger was an offshore exploration oil drilling platform that sank in Canadian waters 315 kilometres southeast from St. John's Newfoundland, on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on February 15, 1982, with 84 crewmembers onboard. The Ocean Ranger was the largest semi-submersible, offshore exploration, oil drilling platform of the day. Built in 1976 by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, it operated off the coasts of Alaska, New Jersey, Ireland, and in November 1980 moved to the Grand Banks. Since it was so big, it was considered to have the ability to drill in areas too dangerous for other rigs.
Many businesses that sell seafood had to cut back on it for the past few months. It has been since April that businesses are now selling shellfish back on the menu for a somewhat reasonable price. A major incident occurred just two days before Earth Day. The incident is well known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, or as many others call it, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig along the Gulf of Mexico is an oil-spill that resulted from an explosion that is under contract with BP, leading up to over million barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. This incident has led to many controversies. Arguments in discussion are whether or not we should continue to drill offshore, what exactly went wrong, and why none of the safeties were unable to activate.
On April 20, 2010, the Macondo wellhead BP pipe leaked crude oil and gas on the ocean floor into the Gulf of Mexico 42 miles off the Louisiana coast (Gulf Oil Spill). This oil spill is known as the largest spill in U.S. history. The pipe was located 5,000 feet underwater where there are temperatures just above freezing and extremely high pressures (Gulf Oil Spill). Oil spewed from this pipe non-stop for 87 days (Gulf Oil Spill). About twenty percent of it ended up on the ocean floor or on the surface (Gulf Oil Spill). Since it’s hydrophobic, the oil on the surface spreads out and forms slicks. These slicks greatly affect ecosystems and animals. The oil that didn’t end up on the floor or surface hovered in the middle of the ocean, forming layers of oil (Gulf Oil Spill). All 200 million gallons of crude oil mixed throughout the ocean and affected coastal and deep-sea sediments (Gulf Oil Spill). Although the pipe was capped on July 15, 2010 (Gulf Oil Spill), much of the oil still remains on the Gulf floor today.
...anet and take action to create change. We may not be able to control the laws of nature, but we can control how we affect the land in which reside. The health and quality of living for you and those around you will only continue to degrade and be affected by your choices and how you decide to treat the environment of this planet that we call home. Don’t let the planet fall apart; don’t let your home come crashing down.
Today, we take many of our natural resources for granted without think about the consequences. For example, cutting down trees, burning fossil fuel, and the consumption of meat. Our ozone layer is becoming weaker and weaker to due factories burning too much fossil fuel. This causes too much carbon dioxide, which affects our ozone layer. If we can limit the amount of natural resources we use on a daily basis, we will be able to see a big change in society.
...such as recycling and reducing waste has significantly helped our environment and will continue to if future generations practice these same habits. For deforestation, many organizations have strived to plant more trees and add more oxygen to the atmosphere as well as nutrients for the soil. Seeing that although humans create many negative impacts in our global environment, there are many positive arrangements in correcting these issues.
" Oil is the life blood of our modern industrial society. It fuels the machines and lubricates the wheels of the world’s production. But when that vital resource is out of control, it can destroy marine life and devastate the environment and economy of an entire region…. The plain facts are that the technology of oil-- its extraction, its transport, its refinery and use-- has outpaced laws to control that technology and prevent oil from polluting the environment…" (Max, 1969). Oil in its many forms has become one of the necessities of modern industrial life. Under control, and serving its intended purpose, oil is efficient, versatile, and productive. On the other hand, when oil becomes out of control, it can be one of the most devastating substances in the environment. When spilled in water, it spreads for miles around leaving a black memory behind (Stanley, 1969).
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located in the Gulf of Mexico exploded killing 11 workers and injuring 17. The oil rig sank a day-and-a-half later. The spill was referred to as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP oil spill, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and BP oil disaster. It was first said that little oil had actually leaked into the ocean but a little over a month later the estimate was 12,000-19,000 barrels of crude oil being leaked per day. Many attempts were made to stop the leak but all failed until they capped the leak on July 15, 2010, and on September 19 the federal government declared the well “effectively dead.” In the three months that it took to finally put a stop the leak, 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the ocean. The spill caused considerable damage to marine and wildlife habitats and the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. The White House energy advisor, Carol Browner, goes as far to say that the Deepwater oil spill is the “worst environmental disaster the US has faced.”
... reduce natural gas consumption. Long-term I am committed to installing new energy efficient windows to truly reduce energy consumption. To help reduce the family’s water consumption we recently installed an energy efficient washing machine that uses over 60% less water than the previous model that was installed. As an additional means in which to help conserve water I will be installing a rain barrel in the summer to water our outdoor plants. While these actions might not seem significant, they can make a significant difference. According to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, in just one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.
There are many things we need to change in society to become sustainable for future generations. One thing is for certain, we all need to do our part to contribute to this effort, and there is no time like the present to change our ways.
The April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will forever change the way Americans view deepwater oil drilling. No one could have foreseen that BP’s well would spew into the Gulf waters for over 80 days before it was successfully capped. Over the years, many articles have been written about the disaster, and many different viewpoints given in the articles. This essay discusses the oil spill’s effect on Gulf coast animal and plant life, plus whether the government is implementing effective legislation regarding the spill.
...and consume. The earth isn’t getting any bigger or more abundant- so it’s up to us to take care of it.
Prevent dangerous climate change by phasing out fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) and replacing them with clean renewable energy such as solar.