The massive crude oil spill from BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion could reach to almost every shore in the world. The impact of millions of gallons of crude oil spilled into the waters of the Gulf has negatively affected the United States ecologically, in fisheries, tourism and the overall U.S. economy. Because of its magnitude and the environmental destruction, it has been named as the “Black Storm” making it the second largest oil spill in U.S. History surpassing the 11 million-gallon 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the shores of Alaska.
In simple terms, offshore drilling is the process of extracting oil that lie beneath the ocean floor anywhere from a few hundred feet to 200 miles off a given coast. Although no one can predict the actual impact of the oil spill disaster, researchers are not optimistic. Until today, the situation remains unclear as most of the oil is still below the surface.
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) detected huge deepwater plumes of dispersed oil up to 30 miles long, seven miles wide and hundreds of feet thick. Scientists view this as a direct threat to marine wildlife, such as fish, sharks, shrimps, corals and other organism. The surface oil and this new threat “deepwater plumes” will continue to wreck havoc on the marine food chain supply in the Gulf ecosystem.
In addition, marine animals such as whales and dolphins need the surface of the ocean to breathe the fresh air. The toxins from the oil will also have an impact on the breathing air inhaled by these animals. Economically, the shrimp and oyster industry has been almost destroyed by the spill. This area before the spill supplied more shrimp and oysters than any other place in the world.
The question is: should offshore drilling be allowed to continue? Or should it be completely banned? It is clear that our addiction to oil is not going to go away anytime soon. Most of our dependency on energy is supplied by oil with an overwhelming 21 million barrels in consumption per day. In fact, 37% of the US energy comes from offshore drilling. What started back in 1887 from a single wooden wharf off the coast of California has lead to some 4,000 platforms operating in the US today producing 15 million barrels a day.
From the wake of the BP disaster, the US has placed a six months temporary ban on any new deepwater oil and gas exploration projects. The main purpose of this ban is to re-examine the safety standards on offshore drilling. Public opinion is mixed on this subject. In addition, the transition effort to switch to a green way of living is a long-way- off and it is likely to be further delayed because of the political climate in Washington. Until then, it is our individual responsibility to be aware of the impact of our actions in relation to the environment.
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