Written by Ash Mathew. The BP oil spill, or also referred to as the BP oil disaster, is a historical oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th 2010. An oilrig, Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean and leased out to BP had burst into flames because of a gas. The explosion killed 11 men on the rig and severely injured several more. Month of April Deepwater Horizon was a 9-year old drilling unit that was owned by Transocean, a drilling contractor.
The ships captain had a drinking problem and on the night of the incident he was unfit to be in charge of the tanker and so left an unqualified crewmember in control. This inexperienced crewmember wouldn’t have collided with Bligh Reef if the ships RAYCAS radar had not been broken and disabled for more than a year before the disaster. The incorrect crewmember being in charge of the tanker (the third mate instead of Captain Joseph Hazelwood) and broken equipment played a huge role in the collision. Environmental Impacts Marine creatures were affected greatly by the spill as the toxic oil disrupted the food chain; the oil massively destroyed plankton numbers as it prevented sunlight from getting through the water (Plankton need to sunlight to grow, reproduce and ultimately end up as food for fish). Recent scientific studies have found that the fish developed gross deformities such as extra fins, or suffered from retarded development.
DEVASTATING WALKER RIVER FLOOD! In the last couple of days California and Nevada have suffered the worst floods in living memory! Normally the river flows at 650 cubic feet per second, however in the past week the river flowed more than twice that and at a devastating rate that destroyed everything in its path, including lives of two people. The flood also inundated 63,000 acres of land and cost millions in damage and additional costs due to disruptions in travel and business. The Walker River begins at a confluence where the tributaries of the West and the East Walker Rivers meet.
The tremendous eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815 was the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 19th century. The eruption and the tsunamis it triggered killed tens of thousands of people. And the magnitude of the explosion is difficult to fathom. It has been estimated that Mount Tambora stood approximately 12,000 feet tall before the 1815 eruption, and the top 4,000 feet of the mountain was completely obliterated. Adding to the disaster's massive scale, the huge amount of dust blasted into the upper atmosphere by the Tambora eruption contributed to a bizarre and highly destructive weather event the following year.
But on August 25, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, everything changed. The levees failed, over 75% of the city was submerged in water and over 1,800 lives were lost. By the time the storm passed, over $81 billion in physical damages had been done. It is estimated that Katrina has resulted in the loss of over 230,000 jobs in Louisiana alone. When the storm struck New Orleans and the levees failed, the low-lying lands flooded at record levels.
Hurricane Sandy destroyed millions of homes, brought a bunch of sand onto the roads, and killed 209 people. Sandy caused $52.4 billion in damages. Another hurricane that has hit the US is Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina caused subsequent floods and caused $81 billion in damaged. Katrina also killed at least 1,833 people in the time that it took to cross most of eastern North America.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to hit the United States. The hurricane became the costliest and one of the five most deadliest ever (Brunner). The hurricane whipped its way through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana where it caused the most damage. Hurricane Katrina began as a tropical depression on August 23, but quickly became a mega hurricane that hit the gulf coast on August 29th 2005. The mega hurricane displaced millions and killed over 1,800 people.
Shrimp eaters must have gone through a phase where they are reluctant to buy shrimp “after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the spill that eventually spewed 206 million gallons (780 million liters) of oil from BP’s blown-out well” (Bureau and Mcgill 2010 Pg: 3). Even though only “7% of all shrimp consumed in the U.S. is caught in the Gulf of Mexico.” People still questioned the safety of eating Gulf coast Shrimp (Boyle 2010: 1). The oil spill brought a lot of fear in what is going to happened to the environment , to wildlife, to seafood industry, and to the very livelihood of those people in Louisiana’s and Mississippi’s coasts. The domestic shrimp, in particular, “has been subject to a seemingly continuous stream of bad luck with the 2005 and 2008
Last December, however, the Brazilian government filed an $11 billion lawsuit against Chevron over an oil-spill that took place off its coast in November. The spill was comparable, by some, to one that took place in 2010, which flowed into the Gulf of Mexico continuously for three months. Although, another article that I found mentions that it was only 0.1 percent (3,000 barrels) of what was spilt into the Gulf of Mexico (PR Newswire). Regardless of the amount of the spill, the Brazilian government is taking action because they are not happy with how Chevron has handled the situation. In addition to the negative impact the spill has had, Chevron has also been said to “have downplayed” the spill.
MGT30004 Sustainable Organization Change Project Marcus Richardson 100011109 Executive summary On the evening of April 20, 2010, a well control event allowed hydrocarbons to escape from the Macondo well onto Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon, resulting in explosions and fire on the rig (BP, Sep 8, 2010) On this day eleven people lost their lives while an addional 17 were injured. The oilrig continued to burn for 36 hours when eventually the rig sank to the bottom of the ocean. Oil continued to flow from the well for 87 days after the explosion, causing a enormous amount of damage. BP Exploration & Production Inc. was the lease operator of Mississippi Canyon Block 252, which contains the Macondo well. BP formed an investigation team that was charged with gathering the facts surrounding the accident, analyzing available information to identify possible causes and making recommendations to enable prevention of similar accidents in the future (BP, Sep 8, 2010).