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    Oil Spills

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    Oil Spills

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    oil spills

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    50 views7 pages

    Oil Spills

    Uploaded by

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    By: Genesis Velis

    per.4
    12/17/13
    Essential questions
    How do humans affect the condition of the
    environment?
    What can be done to improve global environmental
    conditions?
    An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the
    environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of
    pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released
    into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills
    may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling
    rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline,
    diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker
    fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil.

    One of the factors that cause oil spills are tanker accidents.
    Only a small percentage of global oil spills are related to tanker
    accidents due to explosions, hull failure, or running aground, however.
    These spills tend to be very harmful because of the sheer volume of
    oil released at once, and they pose a serious threat to marine animals
    and seabirds. Such disasters frequently bring attention to issues with
    safe oil handling, which can lead to reforms in petroleum regulation.
    Oil spills in the water can also be caused by natural seepage. As
    tectonic plates shift, oil can be released from reserves trapped deep
    beneath the ocean floor. Natural seepage is sometimes accelerated
    through human activity such as drilling.
    Oil spills often result in both immediate and long-term environmental damage. Some of the
    environmental damage caused by an oil spill can last for decades after the spill occurs. Some of
    the most notable environmental damages typically caused by oil spills are; oil spills damage
    beaches, Marshlands and fragile marine ecosystems.
    When an oil slick from a large oil spill reaches the beach, the oil coats and clings to every
    rock and grain of sand. If the oil washes into coastal marshes, mangrove forests or other
    wetlands, fibrous plants and grasses absorb the oil, which can damage the plants and make the
    whole area unsuitable as wildlife habitat.
    When some of the oil eventually stops floating on the surface of the water and begins to sink
    into the marine environment, it can have the same kind of damaging effects on fragile underwater
    ecosystems, killing or contaminating many fish and smaller organisms that are essential links in the
    global food chain.

    The U.S. Coast Guard has set up a base in St. Petersburg, Florida to track and coordinate
    cleanup efforts for any spilled oil that touches the states west coast. This base is the first installed in
    the state to address the Gulf spill; the Florida panhandle response is being handled by a command post
    in Mobile, Alabama. As the base commander said in a St. Petersburg Times article yesterday, Were
    reviewing strategies, were tracking spill trajectories. Were planning how were going to respond to the
    impact on the west coast of Florida. In the same article, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Tim Close said they
    expect to have around 72 hours warning before the oil would hit the area, probably in a dispersed
    fashion and in the form of tar balls and blobs.
    In Mississippi, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) which is currently offering
    volunteer training and the Department of Environmental Quality are continuing to prepare for the oil to
    make landfall. Coastal states such as Mississippi and Louisiana are distributing protective booms around
    marshes and estuaries in an attempt to limit the amount of toxins entering shellfish and fish habitats.
    These ar some things being done to prevent oil spills.
    Heres what we can do to help:
    1.There are MANY volunteers opportunities ongoing in Louisiana, Mississippi,Florida and Alabama.
    BP has just announced its training location for volunteer oil spill cleanup at the Mobile Civic
    Center in Alabama. You do require some specialized training. Call 1-866-647-2338 to register for
    classes.
    2. Report oiled, injured or deceased wildlife. To report injured or oiled wildlife, call 1-866-557-
    1401 and leave a message.
    Remember there are still way more things you can do to help! Take action to help prevent Oil
    Spills! :)
    "Oil Spill." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.
    "What Causes Oil Spills?" WiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.
    "How Do Oil Spills Damage the Environment?" About.com Environmental Issues. N.p., n.d. Web.
    30 Jan. 2014.
    "EcoTone: News and Views on Ecological Science." EcoTone News and Views on Ecological
    Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.

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