Oil in AmericaAmerica has many problems with it’s environment. The facts areclear that most corporations won’t take the blame for them. These companies tryto find ways out by stating that they are not the ones responsible for theseproblems. They try to protect themselves from the mistakes they made in the oilindustry and the country.
The facts are clear that there have been disasters inthe oil field industry in the past ten years and they stand out in history. The article “Myths We Wouldn’t Miss”, by the Mobil Corporation,states that there hasn’t been a major off shore oil disaster in past years. That may be true and it tries to get Mobil out of a jam but the underlying factis that there have been oil spills and pollutants put into the environment andthat cannot be excused. There have been facts which prove that there have beendecreases in the fish population and in the aquatic life in the regions wherethe oil companies have been.
The negligence of these companies can be shown indifferent fields. There have been many incidents in the oil field industry datingback to January 28 1969, in Santa Barbara. This may have been a long time agobut this was a disaster this country has never seen. On the 28 a well burst onthe Santa Barbara Channel. It “raged for ten days and killed 3crewmen”.
(Easton,10) There were major problems stopping this rig and no matterwhat happened there was already enough damage done. On February 23, the wellerupted again. The environmental consequences were evident. As the oil spilleddown towards the south the numbers were staggering of how much oil actually waspouring out into the ocean. By the month of march 3,000,000 gallons of oilescaped into the ocean. (Easton,251) Here is where the story is corrupted by theoil companies.
Union Oil, the company responsible for this stated that theirfacts “only showed 250,000 gallons”. (Easton,256) There were presidential testsand discovered the oil company was wrong. The most damaging evidence to thesesoil companies was the discovery that was made when the government sent a diverunder the spill to investigate the well. The source showed that more oil leakedthan the oil company reported.
The environmental damage was horrible and it was a massacre ofmuch of the marine life in the area. The sea lion and seal population decreasedby 881 new sea lion pups. (Easton,256) The bird species in the area suffered themost. 3,686 birds were found dead.
The diving birds had the hardest time. Going to the water was a hazard and they starved or was covered in the oiledwater. This problem will always be in the minds of the oil companies and thosewho worked for them. Another development which hurts the Mobil Companies statement isthe Argo Merchant spill in March of 1977. This accident took place on NantucketIsland, Mass. The tanker went aground on a fishing rip and submerged part ofthe rig.
(Grose. iii) According to Grose “the tanker tried to correct itself butit cracked in half and spilled 7,700,000 gallons into the water. This spill isthe largest spill in the history of the United States. “(Grose,vii) This set offscientific activity which went on for a full year. There were some redeemingfactors about this spill.
The wind prevented the oil from surfacing on thebeaches. The oil that was being transported was low density and did notcontaminate the bottom of the ocean. (Grose,356) As well as the spill happenedin the winter and the ecological damage was not as big as Santa Barbara or manyothers. This spill did however, cover more area than most.
The oil spread outover large areas and did not cut off anywhere, it just spread and covered theicy and watery surfaces. There was again deaths found in the birds of the areabut the mammals survived here. There was also a lower level of blood serum inthe shellfish and plankton, this makes for a bad crop and development in thebottom feeders. (Grose,v) There is way out here for the oil companies becausethere was not as much damage done to the environment. The oil companies canbreathe a little easier but the truth here is that there are too many disasters. There was an Alaskan disaster which the Exxon company choosesnow to forget.
On a morning in May,1989 the ship The Exxon Valdez was in PrinceWilliam Sound and during the transport of the fuel there was a leak along thepipeline. This gigantic strip of water and home to thousands of marine animalswas contaminated. (Wheelwright,11) This showed much of the world that the oilindustry was just accident prone. The damage caused here was irreversible. There was an incredible cleanup effort it took months and up until now therestill has not been a total cleanup.
This spill called for extreme cleanupmeasures using vacuums to try to suck up the spill. But there happened to betoo much oil. The marine life in this case like in every case suffered greatlyin this situation. The Sound houses thousand of lower marine life forms whichwere destroyed because the environment could not give the proper nutrition tothese animals.
(Wheelwright,23) The biggest loss is the crustacean population. There was a decrease in the larvae that these creatures produce and it lowerstheir reproduction. This stops our own food chain. These problems areexperienced by all of us. The underlying fact is that there is plenty of evidence that notonly do these problems exist but they do cause major ecological disasters. Thefuel that was in the Argo which was No.
2 fuel is low density. According tosources it causes great amounts of toxicity. (Vaughan,2. 1) The gases mix in thewater and make it hard for fish to breathe and reproduce. This also is a rapideffect on the environment, it happens right away and doesn’t give us a chance toclear it out of the water.
It is said to even start a dilution period you need96 hours after the spill before you can start to clean up the mess. (Vaughan2)Butbesides the technical terms this problem affects our lives in a practical way. The beaches are unsatisfactory to go on and our kids can’t appreciate the beautyof this fine planet. The Mobil Corporation stated that there wasn’t a major off shoredrilling incident. That is true.
Most people don’t look more into the realproblem. The problem is not just in the offshore drilling. It is in the entireoil and fuel industry. These companies realize the impact they have on thepublic and realize they all need the business of the American public. Thecompanies act irresponsibly and do not use the appropriate machinery which isnot up to standard. In my own opinion these companies know the consequences ofusing what they have.
There is no excuse for the problems that they have. Human error is not calculated right and there is a disaster. We know the kindof damage that is done in the marine life. Why do we insist on doing this then?Is there any other way to get the oil here and back? Why do the oil companiesalso try to cover up for the damage that they have done?The Mobil Corporation states it’s facts well. Every companyshows that their facts make sense and gets them out of any trouble that theymight be in.
They have cited sources in research books and in the articlementioned in the beginning. These sources are all well and good and they dug upthese facts to protect themselves from the truth. It is not something we canpull out of by excuses, but by facing it head on and making it easier on ourplanet and those who will be there for years to come.
