“If coal was king in the 19th century, oil was the undisputed emperor of the 20th.” And today with the world using more than 3 billion metric tons of petroleum each year, there has to be leakage somewhere.
Oil Spill Wordle
DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
SEE PHOTOS AT:
http://www.katu.com/news/photos/95866799.htmlSince the beginning of the spill in April of 2010, the
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has leaked about 92 million
Crabs Covered in Oil Due to the BP Spill
gallons of oil into the gulf. Due to poor thinking and shortcuts, the well had a blowout which cost
BP (British Colombia) even more money than what it would had have to pay if it had built the well correctly. It will also hurt the environment. Many animals are being harmed. It does not just affect their company, but it affects other companies too. The oil spreads fast; so it is effecting lots of things.
BIGGEST OIL SPILL
The biggest oil spill in history, also known as the
Kuwait Spill, leaked around 520 million gallons of oil. In 1991, from Jan. 23-27, Iraq deliberately released crude oil into the Persian Gulf from tankers 10 mi off Kuwait. The spill had little military significance. On Jan. 27, U.S. warplanes bombed pipe systems to stop the flow of oil.
TOP 10
Bigest Oil Spills Map:
http://chartsbin.com/view/mgz
- Kuwait - 1991 - 520 million gallons
Iraqi forces opened the valves of several oil tankers in order to slow the invasion of American troops. The oil slick was four inches thick and covered 4000 square miles of ocean.
Oil Well Hockneyizer
- Ixtoc 1 - 1980 - 100 million gallons
An accident in an oil well caused an explosion which then caused the well to collapse. The well remained open, spilling 30,000 gallons a day into the ocean for a full year.
- Deepwater Horizon - 2010 - 92 million gallons
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster, or the Macondo blowout) is a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Some estimates placed it by late May or early June 2010, as among the largest oil spills in history with 90 million gallons spilled to date.
- Trinidad and Tobago - 1979 - 90 million gallons
During a tropical storm off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, a Greek oil tanker collided with another ship, and lost nearly its entire cargo.
- Usinsk - 1994 - 84 million gallons
A broken pipeline in Russia leaked for eight months before it was noticed and repaired.
- Nowruz Oil Flied - 1983 - 80 million gallons
A tanker collided with a drilling platform which, eventually, collapsed into the sea. The well continued to spill oil into the ocean for seven months before it was repaired.
- Castillo de Bellver - 1983 - 79 million gallons
A tanker caught fire and was abandoned before sinking 25 miles off the coast of Saldanha Bay.
Oil World Motivator
- Amoco Cadiz - 1978 - 69 million gallons
A tanker's rudder was broken in a severe storm, despite several ships responding to its distress call, the ship ran aground and broke in two. It's entire payload was dumped into the English Channel.
- Angola - 1991 - more than 51 million gallons
The tanker exploded, exact quantity of spill unknown.
- Italy - 1991 - 45 million gallons
The tanker exploded and sank off the coast of Italy and continued leaking it's oil into the ocean for 12 years.
Oil Skimmer
Cleaning Up
With all these oil spills people have to be able to clean them up. The main tools used to contain oil spills in waterways are: Containment Booms (to keep the oil from spreading), Skimmers (to vacuum oil off the surface), Chemical Dispersants (to keep the oil and make it dissolve or shrink), and Absorbent Towels (to mop the oil off the rocks and shoreline). On land, oil-eating microorganisms are released at the site of the spill and they simply eat the oil, dying off when the oil is gone.
Ending Statement
Oil Well Motivator
“But as long as we're dependent on the stuff, there will be accidents, as there were three in 2007 alone, one of over 3 million gallons of oil.”
External Links
Fun Links
Oil Game BP Oil Spill Interactive Progress Energy KidsAdventures in Energy Time for Kids: BP Oil Spill Article