Oil Spill

The most important thing on planet earth is our environment. Without a good physical shape environment this planet earth would not be how it is today. We humans would never exist and our planet earth would be like the other planets in the solar system. So you would think that our environment would be our number one thing to take care of, to make sure it’s in the best condition. There are several problems that are slowly killing our environment. One of the biggest issues that have affected our environment since the 1900’s and still occurs today is oil spills. The first major oil spill happened during World War II on the East Coast of the United States and spilled about 590,000 tons of oil. The most recent oil spill happened last year in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico and about 190,120,055 gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf. Oil spills have affected our marine life, seafood industry, houses, health, and fossil fuels. Our world will never be the same after these horrifying spills that are destroying our environment.

Oil is a source of energy in the United States. Its use is widespread, providing fuel for the transportation, industrial, and residential sectors. Oil is a product used by everyone, but sometimes oil is a problem. An oil spill is a leakage from an oceangoing tanker, pipelines, or other oil sources. Oil spills occur very frequently, and cause enormous ecological harm. About eight million barrels of oil are spilled each year. Tankers usually carry about five hundred million barrels of oil. Many oil spills have had major impacts on the earth and its inhabitants. Many animals die and some are injured in from oil. Many plants and animals are endangered, or are now extinct. Coral reefs, fish, shellfish, plankton, sea and shore birds, sea mammals, shorelines, air, fresh water system, mangroves, and soil may be exposed and dramatically affected by oil pollution.

The top story in the year 2010 was an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill began in April when an explosion caused a collapse of the drilling rig, breaking the piping that connected the drill to the well. After the explosion, 2,604,000 gallons of oil a day spilt in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil slowly spread into different areas across the United States. Every hour a piece of land the size of a football field dies due to oil. There are several things that are having problems in our country because of the spill.

The biggest thing that is getting affected by oil spills is the marine life. The marine life gets slowly choked by oil. The water actually turns black and green from all the oil that is spilling in the ocean. Millions of sea creatures are dying every day from oil, which makes a huge decrease in the animals in our environment. The decrease in the animal population is hurting the food web. If the primary consumers cannot get food because the oil is killing their prey, then that means the primary consumer will die and the secondary consumer will not