Unmasking The Oil Spill
As the world already knows, we are dealing with the worst oil spill the world has yet to see. On the eve of Earth Day 2010, a B.P. oil rig exploded. The results were terrifying. Many people were injured and the fire was so intense that there was nothing left of five employees' bodies. Now we are left to try to cap this leaking well. At first, the estimates were that it would take about 55 days to reach the impact of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, but B.P. wasn't being clear about it. They were trying to cover it all up and make it seem like it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but that was not the truth. About 25 or so days into the spill, B.P. estemated that about every ten days that passed the oil spill reached the catastrophic level of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Unfortunatrly, this was not the full truth.
Now, as most of you know, B.P. stands for British Petroleum. So why would a British oil company be drilling 52 miles southeast of Louisiana, U.S.A.? The answer is actually quite simple and is practiced all over the world. The high demand for oil in countries is so immense that if oil could be found and drilled, it was. Many people are still debating whether the spill is all B.P.'s fault or not. This is a tough question to answer, and one that is being debated to a great length. B.P. could have put more measures in place to stop this sort of thing from happening in the first place, although all of the oil rigs in the world are using the same technology. There were in fact measures in place to prevent something like this, but the button was never pushed to stop the flow of oil when the rig exploded.
Our government can also be held responsible. They would not allow B.P. to start digging relief wells when the oil spill started. They said that it would take too long to work and B.P. was forced to find other means of stopping the flow of oil.
So, since they needed an idea, and fast, B.P. started thinking. They tried to cap the broken well, but the cap became full of ice crystals since the well was so deep in the Gulf. So they proceeded to try many different ways of capping this well. After numerous failures, they now have some a cap on it and are siphoning the oil at a controllable rate. But the effects on the environment will take at least two decades to heal. After of 80 days of constantly gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the oil suddenly disappeared! But where did it go? Scientists are still trying to unravel this mystery. Maybe it got swept away with the currents, and is on its way to England. It’s also possible that the oil sunk to the bottom of the ocean! Even though the oil has stopped gushing into our waters, there are still many answers to be found.
-Story by Kerry Amber
Now, as most of you know, B.P. stands for British Petroleum. So why would a British oil company be drilling 52 miles southeast of Louisiana, U.S.A.? The answer is actually quite simple and is practiced all over the world. The high demand for oil in countries is so immense that if oil could be found and drilled, it was. Many people are still debating whether the spill is all B.P.'s fault or not. This is a tough question to answer, and one that is being debated to a great length. B.P. could have put more measures in place to stop this sort of thing from happening in the first place, although all of the oil rigs in the world are using the same technology. There were in fact measures in place to prevent something like this, but the button was never pushed to stop the flow of oil when the rig exploded.
Our government can also be held responsible. They would not allow B.P. to start digging relief wells when the oil spill started. They said that it would take too long to work and B.P. was forced to find other means of stopping the flow of oil.
So, since they needed an idea, and fast, B.P. started thinking. They tried to cap the broken well, but the cap became full of ice crystals since the well was so deep in the Gulf. So they proceeded to try many different ways of capping this well. After numerous failures, they now have some a cap on it and are siphoning the oil at a controllable rate. But the effects on the environment will take at least two decades to heal. After of 80 days of constantly gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the oil suddenly disappeared! But where did it go? Scientists are still trying to unravel this mystery. Maybe it got swept away with the currents, and is on its way to England. It’s also possible that the oil sunk to the bottom of the ocean! Even though the oil has stopped gushing into our waters, there are still many answers to be found.
-Story by Kerry Amber
