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How Did The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico

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Has your community ever been put in jeopardy? The whole Gulf of Mexico has. In 2008 a oil rig combusted and hundreds of thousands of oil was dumped in the ocean. The rig was called the Deepwater Horizon, one night it was drilling and the oil hit a spark and caused a fire the only way to put out the fire was to cut the anchor which pumps the oil. The pump wasn’t shut down properly which caused the oil to leak in the ocean. Do to the spill it killed and forced the migration of hundred of birds. On top of the echo-system being put in jeopardy, the spill put some coastal businesses out of business, they pulled money out of their pockets to help clean up the spill. How did the oil spill effect the following: the ecosystem, tourorist, and the local businesses. …show more content…

An example of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affecting the ecosystem is do to the pollution of the water, the death of fish, and the plants that died from the oil. The reason of the the oil spill is do to the pipe that was cut that contained the oil. Statistics show that the oil spill harmed and or killed approximately 82,000 birds of 102 species, 6,165 sea turtles, and up to 25,900 marine mammals, including bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, melon-headed whales and sperm whales. An incident that lead to the ecosystem collapsing was do to the oil rig having to cut the pipe that pumped the oil, which caused the oil to seep into the sand and the roots of the plants. A fact that shows that the ecosystem was affected is the death of all the animals. The oil spill did some horrific things to the Gulf of Mexico but it killed hundreds of animals. A large majority of the wildlife was killed and a hundred anchors were

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While fish and shellfish may not be affected immediately following the spill, the oil spreads through the water column, over time, which affects many fish and shellfish over a period of time. When exposed to oil, fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart respiration, fin erosion, and it could prevent any reproduction. The oil affects plants when it covers the plant, preventing the intake of sunlight, which leads to the process of photosynthesis coming to a halt. With many affects on the wildlife in or near a body of water with oil that has been spilled inside, cleanup is very

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The birds were also affected greatly. The birds wings were coated with the oil. It made them less buoyant and almost impossible to fly. This is also made it hard to regulate their internal body temperature, or maintain homeostasis. The BP oil spill also covered the sea turtles.

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Many people would not eat seafood that came from the gulf for a very long time. Since seafood is such a huge part of the gulf coast, the economy was severely affected. Biologicaldiversity.org has reported that more than 82,000 birds, 6000 sea turtles, and 26,000 marine mammals have been harmed by the spill. Scientist believe that we will not know the extent of damage to the environment for years to

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The rate of oil spills has increased rapidly as humans become more reliant on oil as an energy source. In fact, there have been more than 50 mega-spills since 1970. One of the worst effects of oil spills is the immense impact on marine wildlife. Humans should reduce their oil usage because oil spills are harmful to marine mammals, dangerous to whales, destructive to aquatic birds, deadly to fish, and can be as disastrous as the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The effects of oil spills on mammals are catastrophic.

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Their primary source of nutrition comes from fish and marine species; however, the availability of food in the artic ocean has been greatly reduced due to predation. Although predation from other animals is a big threat for the seals, human predators are one of the biggest concerns. Litter and pollution caused by humans severely harms wildlife habitats. In fact, the Gulf oil spill of 2010 had a huge impact on the wildlife and their habitats in the area. Pelicans, dolphins and sea turtles not suffered immediately from the oil and sludge, these animals will have lingering effects on their population for many years.

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Almost 250,000 sea birds, 22 whales, 2800 otters, and 300 harbor seals died due to the oil spill. After three years, the death of sea birds increased from 250,000 to approximately 435,000 (Charles H. Peterson, 2003,P. 2082). Moreover, the long and short terms effects, contributed to impact the commercial fishing, tourism and recreation. In reference to the commercial fishing, the Alaskan economy dropped due to the oil spill, especially the Alaskans rely on fishing as it considered being the main economic activity. What is more, Salmon and Herring are the two types of fishes the Alaskans depend on.

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The oil spill had a loss of habitats and it had an impact of the development of large fish and wild animals. Some similarities they both had people working to fix the damages and bring the communities together. The issue when workers tried to

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Although there were measures that were put in place by Exxon to mitigate the impact of oil spill, the impact on ecosystem was evident. Proximity of the oil spill was a challenge to sea animals that struggled to survive. According researchers, some sea animals were trying to clean their bodies by licking themselves shortly after the spill. During the cleanup exercise, thousands of sea animals were soaked in the oil. The cleaning

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On April 20, 2010, the explosion of a deepwater oil-drilling rig changed millions of lives for years. The Gulf of Mexico would be ruined after the mistakes the Deepwater Horizon’s crew that day. Bp, the oil company who is responsible for tragic disaster, left the American citizens of the Gulf Coastal region helpless. Seventeen men were injured in the disaster and eleven died. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico (BP Oil).

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Because environmental, weather- related disasters and war have claimed the lives of many people, these events have had the greatest impact in history Some environmental disasters include oil spills and explosions. The Exxon Valdez was a cargo ship, carrying 1,264,155 barrels of oil, which ran ashore Bligh Reef, in March 1989. Over 200 miles of land was enveloped in oil and stretched about 1,300 miles across the shore line. Not only were thousands of fish, sea otters and bird remains found but billions of dollars were consumed in the cleaning up process.

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Also known as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the BP Oil Disaster, the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, or the Macondo Blowout. BP was mostly at fault, but Transocean, the rig operator, and Halliburton, the contractor, had some culpability as well. This oil spill was the worst in US history and could be seen from space. The United States Government estimated that it was approximately 4.9 million barrels (210 million gallons) that poured into the ocean. To this day, researchers and scientists are gathering data to try and understand the oil spill and the impact it’s had on the Gulf coast, it’s communities and marine life.

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Oil can literally smother some species because it hinders their ability to absorb from the water. Plants and kelp are particularly affected by oil spills, and as the base of most ocean life it causes ripples up the food change, much like sea star wasting caused ripples down the food chain. Some species are more affected than others such as kelp, sea otters and marine birds all of which play critical roles in the marine ecosystem. Oil spills are yet another threat for these already threatened ecosystems. Unfortunately, oil spills aren’t the only additional threat, as the ocean waters

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The region became one of the most important sources of oil in the world, with major companies investing billions of dollars in exploration and production. However, this growth was not without its risks. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in history, causing significant environmental damage and highlighting the dangers of deep water drilling. In response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the industry has taken steps to improve safety and environmental protection in the Gulf of Mexico. New regulations and safety standards have been introduced, and companies have invested in new technologies and training to prevent future disasters.

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