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Effects of pollution on marine ecosystems
Oil spill issues
Essay on oil spills on their introduction demerits and their prevention
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Recommended: Effects of pollution on marine ecosystems
Offshore oil drilling has always been a notorious subject of debate due to the positive growth it can bring to a country’s economy and simultaneously bring detrimental effects in a marine environment. The largest issue regarding crude oil pumping offshore is the high risk of tremendous damage to marine ecosystems and depleting resource, additionally many modern economies count on crude oil as an effective power source and its growth in the financial market. Historically offshore drilling has had its share of enormous oil spills into many bodies of water such at the Lakewood Gusher spill, the Gulf War Oil Spill, Odyssey Oil Spill and unfortunately many more(Cooper,1992). These date as far back 1967 when Scilly Islands was documented as the first As a result many marine animals are at an increased risk of health issues from fatal compounds once they are absorbed a plethora of health issues arise such as ulcers, liver failure, kidney failure, increased infertility among species, and brain damage (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraion,2010).Another essential point is that oil rig accidents which occur on open water are much harder to clean up that oil spills on land since the material is spread along coastlines and coral reefs much farther by traveling atop the water thus taking longer for cleanup(Cooper,1992). Subsequently marine wildlife continues to ingest and absorb the crude oil which ultimately take a toll on their bodily functions (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010). Moreover, countries with a diverse marine ecosystem such as the country of Belize rely on tourism and fishing to generate much of their economy, an oil spill would mean that locals would have to find different sources of food since the fish will be contaminated and the tourist industry will take a huge hit which will take many years for it return to normal statistic and still not return to its original state (Cisneros-Montemayer, Kirkwood, Harper, Zeller, and Sumalia, 2013). It can be seen that oil extraction initially has a high amount of economical outcome, but it’s value decreases exponentially, yet tourism continues to boast a steady number of US$183 Million every year due to a wide range of environment tourism (Cisneros-Montemajor et al,
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?
Because of BP oil spill all business around coastal beaches suffers a lot which are only depend on tourism and fishing. This destruction not only cause health problem, but also be responsible for millions of dollars in lost revenue.
There is an abundance of oil underneath earth’s crust on land and in the water but getting to that oil can be proven as a challenge and a negative impact on the earth. Many of these oil reservoirs lie in federally protected land or water to minimize the negative impact on the earth. But should those restrictions be removed? Removing the restrictions can allow the US to tap into domestic reserves rather than rely on imported oil from the Middle East and Asia but tapping these reservoirs can also leave behind an impact that is harmful to this planet. “Critics oppose this move for fear that it will cause irreparable harm environmental harm. They point to the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as evidence of the risks associated with offshore drilling” (SIRS).
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
The U.S federal government should significantly increase fracking because oil and gas fracking is big business in America, with more than two million hydraulically fractured wells across the country producing 43 and 67 percent of our national oil and gas outputs, respectively. But in my opinion these wells also nearly played a secondary role as nuclear waste storage sites and had the Atomic Energy Commission had its way with Project Plowshare. And fracking is the process of pumping water deep into the Earth, specifically into underground oil and gas reserves, at tremendous pressures in order to break apart the surrounding rock and free the energy product, which can then be pumped out and used. However in the mid 1950s, scientists from the Atomic Energy Commission and officials from the U.S. Bureau of Mines did begin experimenting with an alternative method of fracking, one that employed nuclear bombs more powerful than anything we dropped on the Japanese.
In 2010, there was a huge oil spill near the Gulf of Mexico that we now know as the BP Oil Spill today. The Spill sent about 170 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill killed 11 men aboard the deep-water Horizon. The BP Oil Spill impacted the environment very negatively. There were different types of environmental impact as a result of the Oil Spill, but the two that grabbed my attention the most are the Polluted Air and the Contaminated Food Chain. The first impact that grabbed my attention was the Polluted Air. Because of the Oil Spill, the air around the surroundings neighborhoods was polluted. All the lightest chemicals in the oil that had spill evaporated within hours of the incidence forming air pollution particles. These particles that are in the air poses significant threats to the human health from being inhaled. The chemical found in the particles that was formed is known as Volatile, which has been known to cause respiratory irritation and central nervous system depression (Solomon & Janssen, 2010). The second impact that grabbed my attention was the contamination of the food chain, specifically the food chain of sea animals that lives near the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists found traces of oil in zooplanktons; this could only mean that the sea creature has had contact with the spilled oil. According to the Staff at Houston Business Journal (2012), “Baby fish and shrimp feed on the tiny, drifting zooplankton, and then introduce contamination and pollution to the larger sea creatures in the food web.” With these findings, it isn’t going to take long before the baby fishes become grown and caught by fishermen and before we know it, it’s on our dinner plate. And here we are eating fishes w...
The environmental danger taken by offshore drilling is very straight forward, made clear by oil spills such as the recent BP oil spill and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 off the shore of Alaska. In the circumstances of the Exxon Valdez spill up to 250,000 sea birds died, over 2,800 sea otters and thousands of other animals], (figures from the BP oil spill are not yet concluded), having had a heavy strike on the regional wildlife and directing to a ban on all offshore drilling in America, until George Bush overturned it in 2008 to this repeal was a misjudgment because two years later there was the Deepwater Horizon spill. In this way, offshore drilling ruins ecosystems and fish supplies which creates a wasteland of a shoreline among southern USA.
Because it is the most highly publicized of the different forms of ocean pollution, oil spills, oil leakages, and general oil contamination are something that we all seem to be aware of. Since the Exxon Valdez incident, the American public in particular has been more and more critical of oil companies.Each year, over 700 million gallons of oil end up in the ocean. Contrary to what you may have thought, most oil pollution doesn't come from tanker accidents. In fact, tanker accidents account for less than 90 million of the g...
On April 20, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico experienced a disaster unprecedented in scale and environmental impact. Fifty miles off the coast of Louisiana in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a BP drilling rig suffered an explosion that claimed eleven lives and caused the rig to sink over 5000 ft. to the sea bed floor. This was the beginning of the BP oil spill which spanned over eighty seven days, releasing an approximate 2.3 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Although the flow of oil into the Gulf was contained July 15, 2010, the lasting effects of the oil spill on the environment continue to be devastating and widespread. (Kirkwood 1)
" 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.”
Petroleum seepages, in some form or another have been around since ancient times for boat caulking, road mending, and as medicine, however, the modern petroleum industry was truly born with the first drilled oil well in August 1859 by Edwin L. Drake at Titusville, PA. (Laudon, 347) At first, in the United States, oil production was controlled by small operators but by the late 1870's John D. Rockfeller had purchased most of the nation's refineries-controlling the United States industry. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1911 split Rockfeller's Standard Oil Trust into three smaller companies; today they are known as Mobil, Chevron, and Exxon. (Lynch, 214) Since that time, oil has become a major part of everyone's way of life. Oil is used to provide fuel for automobiles, tractors, trucks, aircraft and ships. Petroleum products are the basic materials used for the manufacture of synthetic fibers for clothing and in plastics, paints, fertilizers, insecticides, soaps, and synthetic rubber etc... (Lynch, 207) Due to this demand, companies are constantly searching for more oil deposits.
Winston A, 2010, Five Lessons from the BP Oil Spill, Harvard Business Review, accessed 1 April 2014,
“ Effects of Oil Spills on Marine and Coastal Wildlife” Holly K. Ober. WEB. 19 May 2014
Although bioremediation can be used for many sources of contamination such as pesticides, gas sites, landfills and more, oil spills are a large source of pollution for our oceans. The environment is constantly being polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons due to tanker accidents, offshore drilling, pipeline leaks, and from cars whose oil gets washed down ocean drains when it rains (Margesin et al., 2007). In 1979 there was an offshore drilling spill in the Mexican coast releasing 400 thousand tons of oil. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill leaked over 14 thousand tons of oil into Alaskan waters (Swannell et al., 1996). In 1991, Iraq intentionally “spilled” over 14 million tons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf. In 2000, there was an oil spill from pipelines in Guanabara Bay releasing more than one thousand tons of oil. In November 2002, the Prestige sank to the bottom of the ocean after bre...