the spill that went down in Environmental history
The incident
The Deepwater Horizon was an offshore drilling rig that was located in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the rig, causing it to catch fire and sink two days later. The incident resulted in the deaths of 11 workers and one of the largest oil spills in history. I chose to write about this tragic incident after learning about how damaging oil is to our world. Deepwater Horizon was a very serious incident in environmental history. The incident began with a blowout, which occurs when drilling mud. The mud is used to keep the pressure under control and is displaced by the oil and gas being drilled. The pressure tests the staff ran was okay at first. All of a sudden, a burst of oil and mud escaped from the well. The gas also started overheating, and the deepwater horizon rose in flames. The fire burned for two days before the rig sank. During that time, efforts were made to control the flow of oil and gas from the well. However, these efforts were unsuccessful, and the well continued to spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
The clean-up
The oil spill caused significant damage to the environment and the wildlife. It is said that over 4 million barrels of oil were released into the ocean, making it the largest oil spill in history. The spill also affected the fishing and tourist industries. The Deepwater Horizon incident highlighted the dangers of offshore drilling and the potential consequences of an oil spill. It also raised questions about the oil industry's safety practices and regulatory oversight. The spill cleanup took months and years to restore the environment back to the way it was before. $14 billion dollars was spent on working to clean up the spill.
In my global environmental class, we have gone over oil spills and how they affect the environment. We also looked at an image showing the depths of the ocean/lakes. The image also showed us where Deepwater Horizon was and how deep the well went into the ocean. The production of oil causes destruction to habitats on land, water contamination, and greenhouse gases are released. The use of oil and natural gas causes air pollution. We have also learned about something called tar sands, a major new oil source. Tar sands are insanely damaging to the environment. My professor also showed us a movie about the incident of Deepwater Horizon. The movie demonstrates what happened and at the end, shows us real footage of the men and women who were aboard the rig. In conclusion, the Deepwater Horizon incident was a tragic historical event. many ecosystems and marine life were harmed, and their home became submerged in oil.
Feel free to check out the movie.
Deepwater Horizon oil spill | Summary, Effects, Cause, Clean Up, & Facts | Britannica
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