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The Economic Impact of the BP Oil Spill

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The Economic Impact of the BP Oil Spill
The Economic Impact of the BP Oil Spill In April of 2010, a British Petroleum operated oil drilling rig off the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded suddenly after high pressure methane gas from the oil well rose to the drilling rig, causing it to ignite and then sink to the bottom of the ocean floor. The explosion caused a sea-floor level oil blowout, and crude oil was leaked into the surrounding water for three months before a solution was found. After eighty-seven long days, the wellhead was finally capped, and the oil from the well was contained. In the three month span it took BP to figure out a solution to this catastrophic problem, approximately 4.9 million barrels of gasoline were dumped into the water. This oil spill is considered to be one of the largest human caused disasters of our time, and is the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. The spill caused extensive damage to surrounding water and beaches, which is an area that many industries depend on to operate their businesses. States on the coast ranging from Florida to Texas immediately felt the impact of this spill on their economies through their fishing, real estate, offshore drilling, and tourism industries. While the Deepwater Horizon oil spill negatively impacted some industries, some industries were actually able to benefit from it. Environmental Service firms have thrived since the spill, causing their industry to grow. While it may seem that only those states on the coast would be affected, the spill actually impacted the United States as a whole, as Congress is having to reevaluate certain laws dealing with how offshore oil drillers are liable for their economic damages relating to an oil spill. The BP oil spill in 2010 economically affected many industries throughout the country, both regional and national, in both positive and negative ways.
1. Negative Economic Impacts of the Oil Spill Almost immediately after news of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill broke,
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