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Assignment 3

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minh21
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33 views

Assignment 3

Uploaded by

minh21
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Read the Deepwater Horizon primer reading on Sakai.

Then, watch the Documentary "Profit,


Pollution and Deception" about the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. Answer the following
questions. For full marks make sure to engage fully with the open ended questions.

1. Which company owned the Deepwater Horizon oil platform? ______________________


Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon oil platform

2. Which company operated it? ________________________


BP operated the Deepwater Horizon oil platform

3. John Hoffmeister was the former boss of which oil company _________________
John Hoffmeister was the former boss of Shell.

4. BP estimated that _______ million barrels of oil leaked into the gulf as a result of the spill
BP estimated that 4.9 million barrels of oil leaked into the gulf as a result of the spill.

5.People who violate the safety zone around the booms are liable for a fine of $___________
People who violate the safety zone around the booms are liable for a fine of $40,000.

6.Describe the chemicals used to treat the oil spill, and some of the limitations of using them.
Dispersants are used to treat the oil spill. Dispersants break down the oil which speeds
up the natural biodegradation process. Some limitations of using these chemicals to treat the oil
spill are that they could harm organisms such as plankton and as a result negatively affect the
ecosystem.

7. Do you think it is acceptable to only remove pollutants visible to the naked eye? Why?
I do not think it is acceptable to only remove pollutants visible to the naked eye. This is
because then we will miss harmful pollutants that have sunk to the sea bed as well as harmful
microscopic pollutants. It is necessary for these pollutants to be removed as well.

8. The former chairman of BP, who was forced to resign after the disaster, is Tony ________. Do
you think this disaster would have been reacted to differently in any other way if the oil company
and its boss were American, rather than foreign (British)? Why?
The former chairman of BP, who was forced to resign after the disaster, is Tony
Hayward. I don’t think this disaster would have been reacted to differently if the oil company and
its boss were American rather than foreign. This is because this was largely an environmental
issue rather than a ethnic issue. Environmentalists as well as those directly and indirectly hurt
by the oil spill would have reacted in a negative way to oil spill, simply because the
consequences of the spill were so disastrous.

9. The 33 deep water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico are subsidized by the American taxpayer to the
amount of $_____________. Does this seem like a good use of public funds? Give reasons for
your answer.
The 33 deep water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico are subsidized by the American taxpayer to

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the amount of $7 billion annually. Although we are currently a society that depends on fossil
fuels such as oil to survive, the entirety of this subsidy does not seem like a good use of public
funds. A portion of the taxpayers’ money should go towards alternate forms of energy that
wouldn’t result in harmful oil spills.

10. Give some examples of how The Gulf Coast has recovered from the effects of the
Deepwater Horizon leak, and some of how it hasn't.
Much of the oil has been removed and much of the coastline has been cleaned.
However, there is this a large part of the oil and coastline that hasn’t received and will take a
long time for it to fully recover. In addition maybe businesses were affected by the oil spill, it will
still take a while for them to fully recover from the effects.

11. The former chairman of a major oil company compares the risks of wind power with that of
drilling in the deep sea for oil. Do you think this is a fair comparison between two equally risky
activities?
I do not think this is a fair comparison between two equally risky activities. Although, the
initial risks associated with setting up a station for deep sea drilling and setting up a wind farm
may be equal, the future potential risks that may occur are not equal. As evident by the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the potential for future risks that may result from deep sea drilling
are far greater than any future potential risks of generating wind power.

12. Do you think the benefits of deep sea oil exploration outweigh the environmental and social
risks? Give some reasons for your answer.
I do not think the benefits of deep sea oil exploration outweigh the environmental and
social risks. First, deep sea oil exploration disturbs aquatic life and the nearby ecosystem can
be permanently damaged.

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