On April 20 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon
oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The
tragic accident killed 11 workers. Over 205
million gallons of oil were released into
the Gulf of Mexico. Efforts were made to
manage the spill with: controlled burning,
chemicals and plugging the leak.
Unfortunately all of these acts were
unsuccessful, until mid-July. Then BP put a
cap on the well, temporarily stopping the
flow of the oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The
well was then fully plugged and said to be
a threat no more, on September 19 2010.
This oil spill was the worst oil spill in US
history.
Lots of people helped stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Whether it was a money donation or by physical labour. The
people/organizations that helped in the relief efforts were: the US
Coast Guard, BP, eco-friendly organizations, and the local services all
pitched in, in their own way.
The name "BP“ is short for British Petroleum. BP is an international gas and oil company.
They explore every area of the gas and oil industry. From exploration and refining to
marketing and trading. BP also has reusable energy sources such as biofuels, hydrogen,
and solar and wind power. It is the third largest gas and oil company and the fourth largest
company in the entire world. BP has operations in over 80 countries. They produce
around 3.8 million barrels of oil per day. BP is also the biggest gas and oil distributer in the
United States. BP America is the largest division of the company.
The BP oil rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spread to
the shores of Santa Rosa Island and New Orleans. The oil also
covered over a fraction of the Chandeleur Valley.
Lots of people were deeply affected by
this accident. 11 workers died and their
bodies were never found. Surfers and
swimmers weren’t allowed to do any
water activities at some beaches because
they would get covered in oil. I think that
most of all the fishermen and the people
they sold the fish to were most affected.
A lot of the fish died from the oil, which
meant that the fishermen couldn’t catch
any fish.
Many of the water creature were also affected.
These animals were: dolphins, manatees,
walruses, sea turtles, many types of sharks,
crabs, so many types of fish, underwater plants
and lots of other animals.
So many innocent birds were affected by the 2010
oil spill. The birds affected include: cranes, herons,
snow plovers, pelicans, and least terns. These
birds’ wings were scrubbed clean by the people
who were kind enough to help.
I think that the BP oil spill is related to our Area of Interaction, environments,
because the oil from the rig covered so many different animals with oil. And
we all know how much animals are a part of the environment. We use them
as a source of food, for pets, to make clothes out of and many more things.
So by the oil covering and killing so many animals, humans were also deeply
affected by the spill. Possibly even more than the animals were, because we
have to rely on the animals for all those things.