How to efficiently clean up an oil spill!

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/cleaning-oil-spill.htm

The past four weeks, we have been learning about oil spills and how they effect us and our environment. Therefore, I found it necessary to find out how cleanup crews find ways to clean up oil spills. How fast a cleanup crew can reach a spill ,along with other factors, like waves, currents and weather, determines what method a team uses to clean a spill. For example, if the cleanup crew can get there in one to two hours then they use the containment and skimming method. Cleanup crews may set the oil on fire in a process called in situ burning, but this produces toxic smoke, and probably wouldn't be used in a spill near coastal settlements.An oil spill reached relatively quickly and located away from towns is the easiest to clean up by one of these methods.

How specific animals being harmed still today by the oil spills

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2010/Oil-spill-species.aspx

Twenty-one years after one of the biggest oil spills- the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the wildlife effected is still struggling to recover. Animals such as marine animals, fish and shellfish, birds, and seaturtles are all being effected. Five of the world’s seven species of sea turtles are found in the Gulf of Mexico, and all of these five are listed as either endangered or threatened, including the loggerhead turtle. This article was very interesting however sad. At the end of the article it gives you links to places where we can help. Check them out!

the 13 largest oil spills in history

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/the-13-largest-oil-spills-in-history

^This picture shows you a visualization of all of the worst oil spills

As we learned in week two, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was an environmental disastor. In this article we find out how bad that disaster was compared to other ones. Here is a list of the 13 largest oil spills in history! I found this fact in the article especially interesting:The worst oil spill in history wasn't an accident — it was deliberate. During the Gulf War, Iraqi forces attempted to prevent American soldiers from landing by opening valves at an offshore oil terminal and dumping oil from tankers. The oil resulted in a 4-inch thick oil slick that spread across 4,000 square miles in the Persian Gulf. In this article we learn about the 13 largest oil spills in history and how much land they effected and how it damaged the environment. This just goes to show how disrupting oil spills really are.

The massive oil spill in April 2010: what happened? What are we doing to help clean it up today?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36800673/ns/us_news-environment

^ Bird covered in oil due to BP oil spill in April, 2010
The oil spill in April 2010 was threatened to be one of the biggest environmental diasasters in decades, threatening various species including fish and birds.The leak from the ocean floor proved to be far bigger than initially reported, contributing to a growing sense among m.any in Louisiana that the government failed them again, just as it did during Hurricane Katrina. People starting complaining that the goverment lied to them and they only said about 1,000 barrels were leaked when in reality, as much as 5,000- 200,000 were leaked everyday. After all of this discussion, and people becoming disappointed, Obama  directed officials to aggressively confront the spill, but the cost of the cleanup will be on BP.

Human injuries due to cleaning up the oil spill

http://eponline.com/articles/2010/10/25/more-injuries-reported-for-bp-oil-spill-wildlife-cleanup-workers.aspx
Not only did the  BP oil spill in May of 2010 in the Gulf Coast effect animals and wildlife, it effected humans that are trying to help clean it up as well. In June and July of 2010, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health evaluated the health exposures for workers. Scrapes and cuts and itchy red skin were reported by more than two-thirds of the workers. However, many other conditions were reported such as skin contact with oil on the wildlife and in cleaning water; skin exposure to detergents and cleaners; persistent wet skin; and frequent handling and awkward lifting and moving of wildlife and cages. The NIOS recommened to continue to use equipment for their protection.