Oil Spill Essay

Did BP Really Harm Animals?

A year ago, an estimated, one hundred seventy million gallons of oil flooded into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion of the BP’s Deep water Horizon Oil Rig according to the National Wildlife Federation. The oil is not the only thing that everyone is worried about. They are also worried about the approximate two million gallons of chemical dispersants that could cause long term effects that may not be known for years. (Gulf Oil Disaster)

They believe that The BP oil Rig Explosion was a blowout. A blowout is were natural gas or oil unexpectedly flows up the pipe almost always causing a catastrophic fire. Blowouts happen four or five times a year. Although this was the first deep water blowout.

In the six months following the spill 100 marine animals were found dead in the spill area. The actual number of marine animals will never be known. The oil from the spill can cause burns and irritation, ulcers and internal bleeding, and the oil and dispersants can impair reproduction in mammals and their prey. It could cause an unbalanced food chain!

Seven thousand birds were found in the spill area. Of those seven thousand birds found three thousand had visible signs of oil on them. Rescue crews and volunteers found that dawn dish soap gently removed oil from the feathers of the birds. Dawn has donated thousands of bottles to wildlife conservation for the past thirty years. This has saved more than seventy-five thousand animals! (Gulf Oil Disaster) (Dawn Dishwashing Liquid Used to Clean Animals Effected By The oil Spill)

In the oil spill there were some immediate impacts such as: oil coated bird feathers, mammals could have ingested oil, and dead and dying sea coral. Some of the long term impacts are: an unbalanced food web, decreased fish and wildlife populations and a decline in recreation. Although, this oil spill has definitely effected the environment it has also hurt the United States financially.

The BP Oil Spill ended up...