These pictures show the greatest recent ecological disaster caused by man, starting on 20 April 2010 with the blow-out on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon operated by the oil company BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The rush to move the rig to a new location and grave errors by the crews of BP and Halliburton cementing a recently drilled well on the sea bottom, caused oil and gas to escape with great force up the one mile long steel pipe to the drilling platform. The rig set fire and sank causing the death of 11 oil workers.
Since that date, some 50,000 to 60,000 barrels of crude oil together with 40% methane gas have been gushing out of the well every day (BP maintained for a long time it was 5,000 barrels per day). On May 16, reports revealed the discovery of enormous oil plumes deep in the Gulf. One of these plumes measured 22 miles long, 6 miles wide, and 3,300 feet thick. Starting June 4, after more than 6 weeks, BP finally managed to reduce but not stop the flow. On July 16, BP stopped the flow of oil by placing a new containment cap over the broken blow-out preventer. It is estimated that approx. 700,000 tons of oil have escaped into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20. The Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989 involved 40,000 tons. It remains to be seen when the so-called relief wells will definitely stop the flow of oil.
Thousands of miles of coastline of Louisiana (7,721 miles of tidal shorelines), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and possibly Cuba and even Mexico have been contaminated and thousands of hectares of marshlands and mangroves along these coasts have been destroyed by the toxic oil (containing toluene, benzene, xylene, arsenic, naphtalene) and the even more toxic dispersants used by BP. Thousands of birds, notably brown pelicans, gannets, herons, etc. and different species of sea turtles, dolphins, fish, crab and shrimp have died in agony drowning or poisened by the oil and the methane gas. Just in November 2009, the US government removed the brown pelican from its list of endangered species. An estimated 40,000 brown pelicans live in the northern reaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Various species of plants, fish and crustaceans are at risk due to the disaster, an example is the bluefin tuna which come to the Gulf to spawn. The fragile wetlands and estuaries of Louisiana serve as spawning and nursery grounds for many fish species and crustaceans. The oil which has entered into the marshlands is likely to slowly ooze out during many years, poisoning wildlife in the marshes.
The oil spill has resulted in the formation of crude oil aerosols in the air which caused headaches, nausea, and respiratory impacts to people living along the coastal areas. Oceanists fear the oil plumes could have serious effects on the marine environment. New research of early August confirms the existence of a huge plume of dispersed oil deep in the Gulf of Mexico and suggests that it has not broken down rapidly, raising the possibility that it might pose a threat to wildlife for months or even years.
On June 16, BP has agreed to put $ 20 billion in a compensation fund for economic losses by the fishing, tourism and other businesses. In May, EALA has filed a claim against BP for $ 800 million, later reduced to $ 80 million for damages, injury and death of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. The claim number is 6866124156254. On 18 June, 2010 the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Arizona (www.biologicaldiversity.org), sued BP in a federal court New Orleans for fines for $ 19 billion ($ 19,000,000,000).
The oil spill has resulted in the formation of crude oil aerosols in the air which caused headaches, nausea, and respiratory impacts to people living along the coastal areas. Oceanists fear the oil plumes could have serious effects on the marine environment. New research of early August confirms the existence of a huge plume of dispersed oil deep in the Gulf of Mexico and suggests that it has not broken down rapidly, raising the possibility that it might pose a threat to wildlife for months or even years.
On June 16, BP has agreed to put $ 20 billion in a compensation fund for economic losses by the fishing, tourism and other businesses. In May, EALA has filed a claim against BP for $ 800 million, later reduced to $ 80 million for damages, injury and death of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. The claim number is 6866124156254. On 18 June, 2010 the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Arizona (www.biologicaldiversity.org), sued BP in a federal court New Orleans for fines for $ 19 billion ($ 19,000,000,000).
