Seven Months After The Gulf Oil Spill
In April of 2010, a tragedy struck the world that we are still reeling from: the Deep Horizons oil spill inside the Gulf of Mexico. The event was brought on by a leak from a British Petroleum (BP) oil rig that experienced a malfunction that caused it to stream oil into the Gulf of mexico and even now, we are trying to clean up the mess. We’ll have a look at how things are proceeding 10 months after the leak began and 7 months after it was capped on July 15th, 2010. We will take a glimpse at the devastation this environmental catastrophe has wreaked on the environment, along with what individuals are doing to try and help not only to humans, but the other lifeforms which share Earth with us.
Possibly one of the most visually remarkable impacts from the Gulf Oil Spill continues to be the sights we glimpse on the news involving animals harmed by the toxic crude oil. Reported by Wikipedia, it is estimated that a full 53,000 barrels’ worth of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico throughout the 3 months the Deepwater Horizons oil rig was leaking. This implies nearly 5 million barrels of oil escaped into the water. During the ordeal, animals of every kind were poisoned and then died in record numbers, washing up along the beaches of the Gulf. Countless more were harmed by the toxic waste and they continue to be cared for in the hopes that they can be saved.
According to a recent editorial in the Tween Tribune (http://tweentribune.com/content/cleanup-continues-oil-damaged-animals), efforts are continuing for rehabilitating sea turtles, egrets and additional creatures that would be powerless to carry on in the wild without human intervention. The price of these rehab efforts have run over half a million dollars, paid for by BP, so far. Understand that this same oil is needed to make not only gas, but also plastics.
Some estimates place a large number of animals dead, as reported by LouisianaToday.com (http://www.todayslouisiana.com/gulf-oil-spill-cleanup.html) with no living animals within an 80 mile radius of the oil platform at present. Once you take the time to think about all of the birds, seafood and reptiles that exist in a typical mile of open ocean, you will get a sense of the death rate. This one incident genuinely needs to serve as a reminder to most of us as to the importance of selecting green bags and attempting even the tiniest things to try to help our natural environment.
Animals just like shrimp, crabs and marine seafood are a large part of the Gulf region diet plan and without being able to bring in these animals, numerous dining establishments must immediately close down. The lack of consumers within this vacationer heavy locale truly hurts the economy and, as blogger Alexander Higgins pointed out (http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/09/29/video-dangers-lurk-beneath-surface-gulf-mexico-6102/), the risks still lurk beneath the Gulf’s surface.
We consumers actually can do something to help our environment. Once we choose eco shopping bags, we aren’t just reducing garbage now, we are reducing dependency for the very oil which is needed to create these bags. This really is one little move forward towards a cleaner planet any of us could certainly do.
As it is easy to observe, the Gulf Oil Spill’s devastation is having lasting effects. We continue to battle the spoiling of our world, however on the constructive side, we are able to all perform something to help fight the catastrophe from ever taking place again.
Albert Jefferson is a greatly experienced journalist debating eco and sustainability issues plus extending the practices to businesses to make use of eco wine totes wholesale as well as promotional reusable grocery bags to market both their brand name and recognition for our planet.
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