Effects of Oil Spills

Effects of Oil Spills

Environmental catastrophes, for example, oil spills will bring unprecedented challenges, especially on water systems. Oil spills have been a significant issue for our environment, and something must be done to prevent these from happening since every day the oil is in the water the more effective it will have on the habitat of all sea life and even human life as it creeps closer to the coasts. The effects of oil spills and leaks like the one that is happening in the Gulf of Mexico pollute hundreds of thousands of gallons of water by the hour (Lavrova, & Kostianoy, 2011). Now the slick is creeping dangerously toward the shore while researchers and cleaning crews are frantically trying to keep the oil out of the sand and surrounding beaches. There must be something that we can do to be more proactive with situations like this in the future. The government should have been assured that BP and other companies had a better alternative, to begin with rather than allowing them to drill or explore without a backup plan of some kind in case of a catastrophe like this occurred. The fact that they have not found a solution to the problem at this point is ludicrous. We need to find a solution that works the first time whether than trying multiple things that do not work and also set precautionary measures that will help to expose the causes, cures, and long-lasting effects it can cause.

Our beautiful planet is already at risk daily from many different environmental issues that cause creatures and resources to in danger; this spill is causing even more problems. Why allow something completely preventable to ruin the balance that we are trying so hard to restore on our Earth? I hope we can find the answer to this question and find out how the people who are involved can be held accountable to help eradicate the issue for the future preservation of our planet. A few questions we must ask ourselves are, how did this happen? What can we do to begin to repair the damage that has already occurred? When looking at things like this we ask, how did the large oil companies that are responsible for this oil spills already have a back-up plan to go to in the event of a leak? These are all questions that we may not have the correct answers for quite a long time. On the other hand, I do believe that drilling offshore is a wonderful way to find the supply of gas to relieve ourselves from the dependency from different countries and relying upon outside gas to keep our economy going. But, I believe that the companies that are doing all of the offshore drilling should be held entirely responsible and should prove that there are contingency plans in case something like this ever happens again.

The animals that are now affected by spills and leaks usually will never have a chance to make it free from the oil before they die a horrible death while the ones that are capable of making it free are still affected even if they only come into contact with a small amount of oil. Unlike other spills in history, this is a leak that will affect more and more of the ocean each day which makes this much worse than spills like that of the Exxon Valdez (Bozeman, 2011). This issues clean-up will be ongoing and last for many years to come once they finally get the spewing oil to stop.

One great question I have is how can there be technology to have a live feed of the leak, yet, there is nothing that can cap the leak to this day? It is a sad fact that the people with all the answers when it comes to taking the initiative for exploring and development but, no answers when problems occur. This leak will affect the economy of the coast. Fishing is one of the largest money makers for people who live on the beach, and with this leak and the significant contamination of the water, it will affect everyone’s pockets. Unfortunately, even if the leak will have stopped there will be lasting contaminants in the water for more years to come. The animals who have been affected most are the ones who are swimming into the danger zone and fly down to catch fish. We have all gone over pictures, and recordings of wildlife secured clingy oil after an oil spill. They are generally oiled flying creatures’ photos. Birds and marine life, for example, marine mammals will be powerless against impacts of oil slicks since most oils drift on the outside of water. Little spills antagonistically influence marine wildlife.  Aquatic life will be affected since the oil layer covers their bodies. Tragically, birds and warm-blooded marine animals will not maintain a strategic distance oil since some marine well-evolved creatures, for example, dolphins and seals, have been seen swimming and taking care of in or approach oil spills. Some fish are lured into oil since it would seem that skimming nourishment. This imperils ocean birds and may plunge through oil spills to find a good pace. The oil that sticks to hide or quills, typically rough and dugout energizes, can cause numerous issues. These creatures are bound to die since they cannot get the oil off of them, and they are a long way from help.

At present, the issue is disposing of the surface oils to protect the future of aquatic life. There is such a vast amount of oil superficially that it appears that it could never be cleared, be that as it may, there are numerous approaches to dispose of the oil. Different ways will stop the spread of oil in the sea which incorporate specialists setting a boom blast around the tanker that is spilling oil. These blasts will gather the oil off the water (Tewari, & Sirvaiya,2015). A blast will be put some place before an oil spill, or it tends to be put around a passageway to the sea, similar to a stream. They can likewise be set around a living space with numerous creatures living there. These blasts will retain or consume naturally spilled oil with flame-resistant blasts to contain the oil. Be that as it may, consuming will cause air contamination and can be risky when the breezes are blowing. Tides are moving in even though it has all the earmarks of being the best strategy to consume off the surface oil and conceivable the fastest technique also. EPA a government agency that reacts to oil spills that happen in inland waters while U.S. Coast Guard is dealing with spills in seaside waters and profound water ports in the United States.

In conclusion, possible solutions to this tragedy are still very far away, but once the answer is finally found this issue will be one of the last of its kind. We must save our planet and be active for what the government is doing in regards to laws and other regulations that allow things of this nature to happen. We must listen to the bills that are being passed and make sure they are what is best for the world we are living in and the future world. We may not immediately or directly be affected by things like this, but eventually, some part of this will cause issues in current or future lives.

References

Lavrova, O. Y., & Kostianoy, A. G. (2011). Catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April–May 2010. Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, 47(9), 1114-1118.

Bozeman, B. (2011). The 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill: Implications for theory of organizational disaster. Technology in Society, 33(3-4), 244-252.

Tewari, S., & Sirvaiya, A. (2015). Oil spill remediation and its regulation. International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, 1(6), 1-7.