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Page added on April 6, 2015
The BP Oil Spill 5 Years After: How Has It Affected You?
On April 20, 2010, a blowout at the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico sank the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by BP. Eleven people died. And the wellhead, protruding from the seafloor, spewed millions of gallons of crude into the ocean. That oil spread far and wide, killing microorganisms and larger animals, marring coastlines and damaging the economies of communities along the shore. Debate arose over whether the large volume of chemicals dispersed to break down the oil was doing its own harm or good.
Some effects from the spill continue to linger. Just last week the National Wildlife Federation released a report indicating that in 2014 many more dead dolphins than usual were still being found along the Louisiana coast. Another sign that things aren’t back to normal is the decline in ridley sea turtle nests.
After the spill BP responded with thousands of cleanup people, thousands of boats and thousands of kilometers of oil-containment booms. Yet a federal judge is only now preparing to rule whether BP and other companies involved with the Gulf operation violated the Clean Water Act. Amidst the wait, people who live, work and play along the Gulf have tried to recover and move on: About 160 kilometers of oyster reefs are being built along the Alabama coast to protect the adjacent habitat and improve water quality. Florida is restoring dunes and planting sea grass. Government, corporate and community groups are diligently pursuing other projects, dubbed “random acts of restoration” by participants at a recent summit.
On this fifth anniversary of the accident, Scientific American is inviting readers to document the successes and failures of recovery. Send us your photos and videos of animals, shorelines or communities that are indeed coming back—as well as those that are not. And tell us how the spill continues to affect your lives and livelihoods. We will post your contributions as part of the anniversary coverage.
6 Comments on "The BP Oil Spill 5 Years After: How Has It Affected You?"
Plantagenet on Mon, 6th Apr 2015 8:12 pm
The ability of nature to recover from oil spills and other disasters is truly amazing.
rockman on Tue, 7th Apr 2015 6:46 am
Long ago I detailed the procedure that BP followed that was the real source of the catastrophe IMHO. And it wasn’t cement failure…that’s a common occurrence that rarely leads to the type of incident at Macondo. It was a procedure that I had never seen an operator do onshore or off in my 40 years because it violated a basis common sense safety protocol. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to find if the feds have banned that procedure or not. Digging thru the fed regs is not very user friendly to say the least.
As I just pointed out elsewhere drilling is dangerous, always has been and always will be. And thanks primarily to human error there will always be the possibility of a blowout. Few in the public realize that pre-blowout conditions are routinely encountered and dealt with safely…usually. But as I’ve said before the only way to absolutely prevent the possibility of another Macondo is to ban all offshore drilling. The one factor that can never be overcome is human error. Otherwise we accept the risk as necessary to develop the fossil fuel reserves the economy requires.
It’s a simple binary choice: 0 for no drilling and 1 for drilling.
Bandits on Tue, 7th Apr 2015 7:53 am
There would not need to be a choice if oil had not been forced down the throats of consumers by big oil since the 1920’s.
The promotion and advertising by oil companies to buy their products, dominated every type of media known to society. Demand was created and it was exploited irreverently and relentlessly right throughout the world.
The addiction was created and it was fed without regard to consequences of any description, all in the name of progress.
The beauty of it was, that the masses never knew they were conned, they fell into line, embraced the addiction and now they have nary a clue as to what the problem is or was. Now, what the oil giveth, so the lack of oil will take away…….without there being even the slightest showing of remorse from any oil promoter or apologist.
Davy on Tue, 7th Apr 2015 9:13 am
Bandit, the general sheeples were sold on oil and electricity because it seems the vast majority has always been bought into BAUtopianism and its corresponding growth, increased complexity, and technological progress. We are indoctrinated from our mothers milk to believe in the exceptionalism of humans and human progress.
Now that we are in a likely descent and pre-bottleneck it may be possible for a new and more humble belief in nature’s complexity and man’s simplicity. That won’t be until human exceptionalism is dead. That day is drawing near.
lawfish1964 on Tue, 7th Apr 2015 11:26 am
I have property on the gulf of Mexico in the panhandle of Florida. Been in the family for six decades and we go down frequently. After the blowout, we encountered large booms floating freely and waiting to be deployed for the oil we thought was coming. The booms sat for a few months and then they went away. We’ve never seen the slightest impact from that event. Not so much as a drop of oil. No dent in the fish stocks either. If I didn’t know that event happened, I would say it didn’t.
Bandits on Tue, 7th Apr 2015 6:40 pm
Yes lawfish, that about sums it up…….out of sight out of mind. Famine, pollution, wars, disease outbreaks, deforestation, species extinction, sea rise, glacial melt, over population………….if it ain’t affecting you then it ain’t happening.
Your statement just about sums up the human condition, like a herd of grazing sheep their world is the paddock. Over the hill is the abattoir, they have no idea.