It’s Time for the World To
Have an Oil Change

Prepared by: Nathan Banasek Submitted to: Betty-Anne Schlender Date: November 15, 2013 COMM 1101 Section 107

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………...1
Environmental Impact…………………………………………….…….…2
Major Spills Occurring in Water………………………….………………4
Major Spills Occurring on Land………………………………………..…6
Cleaning up a Large Oil Spill…………………………………………...…7
What Can Be Changed…………………………………………………….9
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………10
References……………………………………………………...………….12

List of Illustrations
Figure 1: An Oiled Pelican in Costal Louisiana………………………….3
Figure 2: The Exxon Valdez aground on Blight Reef……………………5
Figure 3: One of the many oil wells set afire outside Kuwait City……...6
Figure 4: A Boom on the Louisiana Coast………………………………..7
Figure 4: Shoreline Modification in Coastal Louisiana………………….8
Figure 6: Ships and Drilling Rigs Surrounding the Discover Enterprise9
Introduction

The world’s dependence on oil is no secret. Feeding this addiction puts immense demand on oil companies to produce oil as quickly as possible. Finding large reserves of oil is a never ending quest for oil companies. Transporting oil is a major risk of the oil production process. This crucial step has the potential for the most catastrophic damage. Oil spills can impact ecosystems in devastating ways and decimate animal life in the area affected. The damage can last decades and sometimes the effects can be irreversible. Obviously the larger oil spills cause the most damage, as they are often difficult to contain and clean up. There will always be oil spills; making the effort to eliminate the large ones should be the primary goal of today’s oil companies. Current practices of oil companies may not be enough to eliminate the larger spills. History has shown us time, and time again, that we cannot