Oil spill causes alarm in the Gulf
Miranda Bruner, Ads Manager
May 24, 2010
Filed under Student Life
Many people are aware of the rising concern that scientists have about global warming, but some people just think it’s a fluke. As a result of this epidemic, many families have chosen to begin recycling instead of throwing away all of their trash because the increasing amount of non-biodegradable things that fill up the Earth’s landfills and it remains a constant threat to future generations. Scientists have also brought up illnesses that brings up concern among people, changing the way they live life. Cancer and the Swine Flu Epidemic created a scare that was a huge deal at first, but gradually died down. These issues have been overlooked by many people, but a “new” concern is now affecting the United States as well as the surrounding areas.
Oil spills have happened before, and while it doesn’t seem like such a big deal to the people who watch the broadcast that is shown on the news that night, but these oil spills can be causing more damage than people think. The recent spill that happened in the Gulf of Mexico is exerting 210 thousand gallons of oil per day, the equivalent of about 5,000 barrels. Efforts have been made to burn the oil that has accumulated on the surface; although these efforts have worked to some degree, this form of getting rid of the oil isn’t entirely successful in that it will take multiple burns to get rid of the waste. The expenses for this oil spill will be on BP under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act. This oil spill may not be on everyone’s high-priority list, but this simple spill cannot be fixed easily.
In fact, Florida’s Governor, Charlie Crist, announced a state of emergency in six counties on Friday. The amount of oil that was spilled will affect the population of marine life that exists in the Gulf area. This may decrease the amount of available seafood during the summer season, which is a hot commodity in both the US as well as other countries that buy seafood from the US. Another major setback that this has caused for the environment is that this spill is now leaking from three different points, creating more of an access for the oil to get out. The spill can take up to a month to clean. Although environmental issues may not be so pressing to all of the individuals in the United States, or in other countries, they should be heavily considered. The ways that we impact the Earth today will affect future generations. It is imperative that people consider the welfare of the planet before it becomes too monumental to fix.
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