Oil spills can destroy marine biomes across the globe, yet they are still extremely common, and there’s no truly effective way to handle them. Two of the largest oil spills that ever occurred are the Gulf Oil Spill and the Arabian Gulf Spill. Both spills wreaked havoc on the environment surrounding them, endangering birds, destroying coral reefs, washing up on beaches, and so much more. Surprisingly, both ecosystems have recovered more quickly than was originally expected. Within 5 years, they returned to almost normal conditions. This is likely in part because of the incredible amounts of money spent and the charities that organized community clean-ups. The Arabian Gulf Spill leaked as many as 336 million gallons of oil into the ocean, and …show more content…
Booms were deployed to contain the oil, while skimmers cleaned it off of the surface. Then, chemical dispersants were released to break down the oil, into smaller, more dissolvable pieces. Although much of the oil was contained and cleaned up, a significant amount was still left, which endangered migratory birds and sea turtles who lived in that water. Much of it also washed up on the coast, which contaminated water supplies and caused many people to develop related diseases. As well as contaminating water supplies, the oil soaked into the soil, ruining it and making it unusable for agricultural purposes. The Gulf Spill was far less harmful towards humans, however, volunteers who worked directly with the oil have suffered health effects linked back to the spill. Volunteers worked to clean off the animals that had been covered in oil while swimming, the oil caused liver failures, respiratory problems, and so much more. Many animals, especially turtles and birds, became extremely endangered because of this. It also destroyed habitats, coral reefs discovered around the oil rig were shown to be dead and dying from exposure to these toxic chemicals. In contrast, the reefs around the Arabian Gulf were shown to have little to no damage despite it being a much larger …show more content…
Not many charities were involved in the Arabian Spill, however, many people volunteered their time and donated their money for the Gulf Spill. The Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and the New England Aquarium (NEA) were two of the major non-profits involved in organizing community clean-ups and collecting donations. Rehabilitating the affected environment in the Arabian Gulf proved to be quite difficult, the area was surrounded by a war zone, making it nearly impossible to bring the necessary equipment. To lower chances of oil spills, after the Gulf Spill, the Obama administration passed regulations to make drilling safer. Rather than using oil as a main energy source and risking the chance of harming the environment, renewable energy sources could be used, such as solar, wind, or water energy. Installing wind turbines offshore could replace oil drilling as a main source of energy. Unlike solar power, wind turbines also could work during the nighttime, capturing more energy than solar panels. Maintenance and risk levels for wind turbines would be significantly lower than those for oil rigs. Wind power creates more jobs at a lower risk level, ensuring the safety of the environment and of the humans and animals that live and work near