Bp Oil Spills
Oil is a product used by everyone, but sometimes oil is a problem. An oil spill is a leakage from an oceangoing tanker, pipelines, or other oil sources. Oil spills occur very frequently, and cause enormous ecological harm. About eight million barrels of oil are spilled each year. Tankers usually carry about five hundred million barrels of oil. Many oil spills, large in land or ocean coverage, have had major impacts on the earth and it’s inhabitants. Many animals die and some are injured in some way. Many plants and animals are endangered, or are now extinct.
One of the most recent oil spills to occur was when the spill followed a blowout that caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, which then sank off the coast of Louisiana. Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a massive ongoing oil spill and oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico that started on April 20, 2010.
The oil spill covers a surface area of at least 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2) according to estimates reported on May 3, 2010 by Reuters. And upwards of 5,000 barrels of oil a day (NOAA's estimate) continue to flow into the ocean.On May 13 BP reported that the cost of the oil spill alone had reached $450 million, and the price tag for the spill was rising by at least $10 million a day.
Due to this massive oil spill, one can fear problems, such as petroleum toxicity and oxygen depletion, that will result in an environmental disaster whether it reaches Gulf coast or not, damaging the Gulf of Mexico fishing industry, tourism industry, and habitat of hundreds of animal and bird species.
The effects of offshore drilling can be disastrous. My first concern is whether it is ethically right to drill off shore knowing that the effects are harmful to the marine ecosystem. Just from drilling alone (without spillage) we are polluting the water with different toxins that kills marine life. This can also affect human lives who may rely on seafood as a source of food or livelihood. My next
One of the most recent oil spills to occur was when the spill followed a blowout that caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, which then sank off the coast of Louisiana. Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a massive ongoing oil spill and oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico that started on April 20, 2010.
The oil spill covers a surface area of at least 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2) according to estimates reported on May 3, 2010 by Reuters. And upwards of 5,000 barrels of oil a day (NOAA's estimate) continue to flow into the ocean.On May 13 BP reported that the cost of the oil spill alone had reached $450 million, and the price tag for the spill was rising by at least $10 million a day.
Due to this massive oil spill, one can fear problems, such as petroleum toxicity and oxygen depletion, that will result in an environmental disaster whether it reaches Gulf coast or not, damaging the Gulf of Mexico fishing industry, tourism industry, and habitat of hundreds of animal and bird species.
The effects of offshore drilling can be disastrous. My first concern is whether it is ethically right to drill off shore knowing that the effects are harmful to the marine ecosystem. Just from drilling alone (without spillage) we are polluting the water with different toxins that kills marine life. This can also affect human lives who may rely on seafood as a source of food or livelihood. My next