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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Oil Contaminating the Gulf

To find this information, we researched online at the library and read articles in the newspaper. We split up into four groups and wrote articles about what we learned. Then our leader highlighted the best parts of each one and put them together. This is a collaboration of our work.

In this picture you see two birds covered in oil.
http://static.technorati.com/10/05/25/13209/oil-spill.jpg

On April 20, 2010, there was an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company BP is responsible for this disaster. BP was drilling for oil in a deep part of the water and they drilled too deep and a boat exploded causing the start of the oil spill. It has spread to the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states near the gulf.

This oil spill also hurt the fishing industry because fish are dying. The prices for oil are increasing and a lot of people are losing jobs. The animals have been largely affected because oil is getting into the feathers of the birds so that they can no longer fly, the fish are breathing in the oil, and some whales are starting to die.

Right now, it is spreading towards Florida, but it won't reach California anytime soon. The efforts to clean up the spill are being delayed due to tropical storm Alex.

There is currently 42,000 gallons of oil spilling into the ocean every day. Because of all this oil, BP owes $20 billion to fisherman and small businesses.

The beaches in the Gulf of Mexico are being affected because the oil is washing up, and people can't go. Hopefully all the oil gets cleaned up, people get their jobs back, sea life gets cleaned up, and hopefully BP pays all the money so it can get cleaned up. At this time, we can help the environment by keeping the ocean clean and doing our part to help with the disaster in the Gulf.


http://www.phongpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill1.jpg

4 comments:

  1. Great article! This oil spill is probably the worst man made disaster the ocean has ever seen. Did you guys find out how people can help the animals being affected?

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  2. Wow Orange Group! You did a lot of wonderful research on the Oil Spill! Good job! I'm interested to know if while you were researching you found any companies in the United States that are helping to clean up the oil, the ocean, and help the animals and people? For example, I think that I heard that Dawn dish soap has a campaign going to help clean some of the animals (especially birds) that have oil all over them. Have you heard of any others? Also, what is the latest on the oil spill? Has the leak been plugged up yet?

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  3. What a great report about a terrible event. Your article does a very nice job explaining the oil disaster in the Gulf. Thank you for reminding everyone about the damage the oil spill is having on our world.

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  4. Very interesting article.
    Well done.
    Did you know that people lived happily for MILLIONS of years, *without* oil?!?
    It's only in the last 130 years or so that people decided they wanted to use it to power machines.
    And did you know that the sun, wind, and waves actually have enough energy to replace oil?
    They just give a little bit over a longer time, not a bunch of energy all at once.
    Can you imagine, in the future, when we have solar power plants, a news broadcast coming out that said "Solar spill kills wildlife"? ... I don't think so!
    Your Blogger Buddy Kim M.

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