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Written by Lindsay Crowder   
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Thursday, 06 May 2010

Oil Spills and the Environment

With the worlds’ current dependency on oil, our environment continues to pay the price for the demand. On April 20, 2010 a BP oil rig caught on fire, exploded, and then later sank about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Not only did this disaster leave at least 11 people presumably dead, but it will also continue to leave a lasting impact on the surrounding environment as the oil spill has yet to be contained, two weeks later. At a time when the United States is faced with the decision to extend offshore oil drilling, it is important to address the historical and potential environmental consequences of this decision.

Over 20 years ago, the Alaskan coastlines were faced with one of the largest oil spills in the history of U.S. waters—the Exxon Valdez oil spill. On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled over 10.8 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound. The spill covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean. Reports show that, “Thousands of animals died immediately; the best estimates include 100,000 to as many as 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, as well as the destruction of billions of salmon and herring eggs.”1

Valid efforts were made by Exxon and surrounding communities to clean up the spill, yet 20 years later, the oil remains visible in Prince William Sound. A ring of oil still lingers, swells of it can be found under rocks and on beaches, and just several years ago more than 26,000 gallons of oil were still found on the shoreline.2 Many species continue to ingest the oil in various ways while some species have yet to recover from the disaster. Despite the extensive cleanup efforts, the oil will impact the surrounding environment for many years to come as it is dispersed, diluted, or sinking deeper into the ocean.

While Alaska remains affected by the grandeur of the Exxon Valdez spill that occurred over 2 decades ago, the Gulf of Mexico is faced with a disaster of equal magnitude. The Deepwater Horizon spill that recently occurred off the coast of Louisiana is already 5 times larger than predicted--with oil spilling at over 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day.3 As noted by NPR, “At that rate, the spill could easily eclipse the worst oil spill in U.S. history — the 11 million gallons that leaked from the grounded tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 — in the three months it could take to drill a relief well and plug the gushing well 5,000 feet underwater on the seafloor. Ultimately, the spill could grow much larger than the Valdez spill because Gulf of Mexico wells typically hold many times more oil than a single tanker.”4

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of New Mexico has been declared a State of Emergency, affecting the fragile coastlines, estuaries, and wetlands of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and the Breton National Wildlife Refuge. The Gulf is home to hundreds of species of fish, birds, and other marine life, while also hosting several endangered and threatened species including four species of endangered sea turtle, in addition to dolphins, porpoises and whales.5 Moreover, the timing of the event adds to the environmental damage by taking place in the midst of spawning season for fish and nesting season for birds. Many of these species will ingest the oil directly, and some may die before they are even hatched, while others may ingest it indirectly through already affected prey or plants.

Although few causalities have been found at the coast, the effects are still a concern in deeper waters. According to the New York Times, “The gulf’s deeper water harbors 10 species of threatened sharks, 6 species of endangered turtles, manatees, whales and innumerable fish.”6 Already, “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that its planes had spotted numerous species of dolphins and turtles in areas now covered by the slick,” and there have been reports of dead manatees and whales at sea.7 The oil will continue to spread and affect hundreds of species at every level of the food chain—which unfortunately is inevitable—and the environment will continue to suffer for decades.

The BP spill has the potential to be considered one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters in history. So, is offshore drilling really worth it?

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1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill
2 http://environment.guardian.co.uk/waste/story/0,,2004154,00.html
3 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/29spill.html?pagewanted=1&hp
4 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126373753&ps=rs
5 Id.
6 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05ecology.html
7 Id.




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