On April 20, 2010, an oil spill occurred on the Gulf of Mexico, about 40 miles from the Louisiana shore, oiling thousands of animals and killing many as well.
A month from the date of the oil spill, the world is still looking for a solution and students at AHS are voicing their own opinions about the oil spill.
“I feel like this oil spill has changed millions of people’s lives in the worst ways and I just hope we as a planet can recover from this global catastrophe,” said freshman Carli Loeb.
The disaster occurred when an oil rig exploded and caught fire on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform that took place about 40 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast.
11 workers were found dead or presumed to be missing, and 17 were injured. Loeb reacted to the oil spill saying “I just couldn’t believe it really happened and I had no idea something like this would get so out of hand like it still is”.
BP, a British global energy company, is the principal developer of the Macondo Prospect oil field and leased the drilling platform from Transocean Ltd. The U.S. Government has named BP as the responsible party in the incident under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act, which was made after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and will hold the company accountable for all cleanup costs resulting from the oil spill.
BP has accepted responsibility for the oil spill and the cleanup costs but indicated that the accident was not their fault as the rig was run by Transocean personnel.
About 25,000 barrels (1,050,000 gallons) of oil are leaking into the ocean per day.
Some scientists believe that the oil spill will cause more environmental damage than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Fire, dispersant, skimmers, booms, and sandbags have all been used to try to stop the oil from spreading, however, an even more interesting method has been considered: hair.
“It’s like putting hair in someone’s food, only like 9,000,000 times to that, and the poor fish, they have to swim around in it and that’s just nasty,” said freshman Jenny Jessen when asked about the new method.
Scientists however argue that hair can be stuffed into stockings to make booms that can absorb the petroleum from the oil.
Experts say that the oil spill will not only pollute the oceans, but it will also damage the fishing industry, tourism, and hundreds of bird species’ habitats.
“If the oil spill isn’t stopped soon, it’s going to cause problems for many people who want to vacation in Florida and other beaches”, said freshman Betsy Kruse.
“It’s horrible that it happened, but it’s even worse that companies are blaming each other instead of cooperating with each other to find a solution. Its gross negligence on BP, Halliburton, and every company involved,” said sophomore Daniel Park.
Despite the conflicts between companies, people have shown support by donating hair to help absorb the oil, and thousands of people have traveled to help clean up the oil.
