The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

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.”

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has had an extremely negative effect on the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem. The oil spread across the gulf contaminating any living organism that came into direct or indirect contact with it. The oil cuts off the ability of oxygen from the air to move into the water which directly harms fish and other marine wildlife that require that oxygen. The dispersant that the BP is using to try and break up the oil moves the slick into the entire water column which contaminates the ocean floor which would most likely not have seen any damage if it wasn’t for the use of these dispersants. More than 400 species that live in the Gulf Islands and marshlands are at risk and as of November 2 s...

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...life was before the oil rig exploded.

The oil spill that took place in spring 2010 was a tragedy, but we can’t dwell on the past. As a nation we have the responsibility of moving on and finding a solution to the problem. Even though at this point in time the government is not allowing the people to participate in the clean up of the oil we can still contribute via small actions such as volunteering to clean up oiled wildlife or clean up your local beach and hopefully in time they will allow us to provide larger contributions. You must also understand the this was caused because we as humans in the technological age require the use of oil for our daily needs. If people found a safer less toxic approach perhaps we can avoid such disasters in the future. At the end of the day it is our Earth and we must take good care of it if we want to continue to inhabitant it.