On April 20th a massive blast on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig began a raging fire and caused 11 workers to go missing. On April 22nd the rig sunk and has since caused a major oil spill that continues to grow and spread with each passing day. It is estimated that the ruptured well is spewing 200,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. On Friday oil began washing up on Louisiana shores threatening pristine habitats, fisheries, and the livelihoods of the local residents. Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi have declared a State of Emergency and have dispatched clean-up crews. Strong winds and waves are making the 'cleanup' difficult with some environmental groups claiming that if BP manages to cleanup 20% of the leaked oil it would be miracle. What is truly frightening is that because the US does not require the oil companies to install pricey fail safe systems, their blowout preventer failed and now they do not know how to stop the spill of oil. BP sent robotic submarines 1,5000 meters down to try to cap the leaks; however, it did not work and now they have warned that it may take several months to stop the flow of oil. At this rate BP could overtake Exxon Valdez which is the worst recorded oil spill in US history.
Perhaps this is the environmental disaster that the US needs to help it steer away from fossil fuels and begin focusing on environmentally safe forms of energy.
Click here to view a collection of news reports about the BP oil spill.
0 comments:
Post a Comment