Gulf oil spill causes problems with wildlife
Concern is rising among Gulf of Mexico residents, fishermen and tourists who rely on the southern U.S. region for vacationing, due to oil from the recent Deepwater Horizon spill which is creeping into valuable coastal properties.
“The whole situation makes me sick. My family has expressed concern about the oil washing up on the beach and soiling the paradise that they live in,” said Kristen Crouse, a UCC student, whose family lives in Florida.
The Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, experienced an explosion last month and is spilling oil into the Gulf. The accident was caused by a blowout 5,000 feet below sea level from a deepwater oil well. Estimates on the amount of oil released varied from 210,000 to 336,000 to 1,100,000 gallons a day, and the Coast Guard is no longer giving estimates. The amount is enormous when considering that the total pumped in U.S. gas stations is 400 million gallons a day. The spill may already be double the amount of the Exxon Valdez disaster.
“This situation makes me furious. My family and I frequently vacation in this area and it’s one of my favorite parts of the United States,” said Melinda Benton, a UCC instructor. “What right does one company have to create so much devastation in this ecosystem?”
The oil spill was caused by a bubble of methane gas getting into the oil well and going through the drill column and expanding as it went through seals and barriers before it exploded. Methane, a naturally occurring gas, solidifies at the bottom of the ocean and is released when the temperature increases enough. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, owned by BP PLC, injured 17 people and 11 are either missing or killed.
The current spill is damaging the fishing industry and tourism. Crews are trying to block and protect bays and estuaries using sand-filled barricades, floating booms and anchored barriers. The fishing industries are facing a potential $2.5 to $3 billion expense due to the spill. More than 34,000 birds will likely be affected as the oil makes its way into the wetlands. Four dolphins have already been found washed ashore. The shrimping industry was allowed an emergency season before the oil slick progressed too far. The oyster industry also has concerns about pollution and their profits.
BP’s best idea to try to limit the amount of oil spilling into the water is a funnel shaped device that is going to be placed a mile down into the water to cap the leak. The cap would then vacuum the leaked oil onto a tanker. Having to place a cap on the oil spill at this depth would prove to be difficult, and scientific leaders are still unclear whether the method will work or not.
BP will potentially be looking at a higher penalty due to a legislative attempt to lift the caps on liability for natural resource and economic damages. The lift in the cap would bring the liability in natural resource damages from $500 million up to $750 million and there are talks about raising the economic damages from $75 million up to $10 billion to cover unemployment benefits and cancelled hotel reservations.
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