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=Ryan Martin = =Period 3 = =March 1, 2012 = = Damaged oil barge is drained, relocated = =The article, __Damaged Oil Barge is Drained, Relocated,__ is about an oil spill from a barge dumping into the water. There was an oil barge in the Mississippi River that crashed into another barge. As a result of the crash, the barge had a hole five feet by ten feet above the water line that allowed oil to spew out of the 214,000 gallon tank. The U.S. Coast Guard estimated that only 10,000 gallons were spilled. A section of the river was closed one day for clean up; however, it reopened later that same day. There was about 4,700 feet of hard boom deployed to contain the oil and damage was minimal. The barge was later taken away and repaired so that it could be used again. = =Relevance = = Oil is a necessary resource today in the United States and is a huge topic of debate. The spilling of oil has also been in the news a lot because the environment is affected. The environment in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by British Petroleum (BP) in 2010 was an enormous effect to the environment. After one year, researchers still say that they cannot tell the total damage. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest in world history and spilled around five million barrels of oil. The next largest in US history is the Exxon Valdez in 1989 that spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels (Exxon Valdez oil spill). The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf affected a lot more people as well because the people in the Gulf rely on their environment for a living (Kinver). The fishermen in the Gulf will be out of jobs because the shrimp and lobster that was 98% of their business have been wiped out (White). The Exxon Valdez oil spill was in Alaska and had less oil spilled from a tanker. This was just like the oil barge in the article __Damaged Oil Barge is Drained, Relocated__. The Exxon tanker hit a reef and was in a remote location making it harder for people and cleanup crews to access it. The oil spill in the Mississippi River was in a location that was easy to access and could be cleaned quickly with little damage to the environment. = = Another reason that oil can spill is the environment itself. As a result of natural disasters pipelines, storage tanks, and industrial plants can be harmed. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, there were a large number of containers housing oil that were destroyed. Also, there was around seven million barrels of oil spilled during the storm. This was very hard to clean up because of all the confusion from the storm itself in the cities (Oil Spills and Disasters). = =Evaluation = =The environmental impact of oil spills is enormous. The environment must fight back against the oil remains. The oil, however, is not a normal feature that animals instinctively know how to fight against, so they die. When animals start dying, the local people sometimes will not have as good margin of profits on their jobs that depend on the clean water. Also, the area and shore surrounding the oil spill will be covered with oil, therefore, humans need to wear protective materials to safeguard themselves and other creatures have no protection against this tragedy. The oil then sits on the ground and is wasted because it cannot be recovered and turned into anything of use. = =Over the years, the safety procedures have gotten better and currently, there are fast recovery teams that contain the oil. In the article __Damaged Oil Barge is Drained, Relocated__ there was a fast recovery, and a boom was deployed quickly to contain the oil. The oil tankers are sucked dry of the oil. By doing this, no more oil can spill out. The tanker can then be safely moved. = =Questions = =1. How can oil be better transported so the spills will not happen? = =2. How can deep oil sites better protect their sites against spills? = =3. How could the government hold oil companies accountable to the spills? = =4. Why aren’t there better ways to recover the oil after it is spilled? = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. How can we protect against natural disasters? = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Can we find safer forms of energy that will totally diminish the need for oil? = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Can we find safe ways to get our oil form home and not depend on foreign oil? = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. What about the animals? When this happens, how can we better protect our ecosystem quickly to save a lot useless loss? = = = = = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">CNN Wire Staff. "Damaged oil barge is drained, relocated - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/20/us/louisiana-oil-spill/index.html?iref=allsearch>. = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Exxon Valdez oil spill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill>. = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Kinver, Mark. "BBC News - BP oil spill: The environmental impact one year on." //BBC - Homepage//. 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13123036>. = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Oil Spills and Disasters — Infoplease.com." //Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001451.html>. = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">White, Jaquetta. " BP oil spill may cost Louisiana fishing industry $172 million | NOLA.com." //New Orleans, LA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - NOLA.com//. 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2010/10/bp_oil_spill_may_cost_louisian.html>. =
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