Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Analysis

People were frantic trying to stop barrels oil that were gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, covering wildlife, and poisoning water in thick, unescapable oil. It took over 80 days to just stop the leak caused by an oil pipe explosion in 2010. Michael Klare, (2010) states the leak is “something that would not have occurred with proper corporate oversight” (p.1). Four years later, the government, organizations, and volunteers are still trying to clean up the millions of barrels that were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil is a source of energy that goes up in demand every day as the supply depletes. As diggers take higher risks to find oil in more dangerous places, the more serious the consequences will become unless a new way of obtaining energy …show more content…
According to Michael T. Klare, (2010) who is a professor that teaches peace and world security studies, “The disaster in the Gulf is no anomaly. It’s an arrow pointing toward future disasters.”(p.32). In 2010, Klare suggests different scenarios that could happen if a new way to obtain energy is not found. Off the coast of Newfoundland, also known as Iceberg Alley, there is a Gravity Base Structure (GBS) that sits on the ocean floor. This facility collects thousands of barrels of oil daily for Exxon Mobil Oil. This facility is also called the Hibernia oil platform. It is reinforced so if an iceberg were to collide with the oil center all of the barrels of oil would not pour into the ocean. According to Michael Klare (2010),”This mammoth facility, normally manned by 185 crew members produces 135,000 barrels of oil per day”(p.10). In his article he creates the scenario of a terrible winter storm, destroying the underwater oil structure, killing all 185 of the workers there, dumping millions of gallons of oil into the water, and poisoning the world’s highest supplying fishing grounds. This situation “is not an uncommon situation in the North Atlantic at that time of the year” Klare states (2010, p.13) There are very similar situations like the Hibernia facility across the …show more content…
At just one facility, Hibernia Oil Platform in Newfoundland, our fish supply could be tainted. Michael T. Klare also lists that other countries such as Nigeria, China, Japan, and Brazil are all trying to get their oil from out of the ocean. Energy is such a high demand, and so is money, countries are risking our ocean water, and their people for oil, which is a natural resource that makes money for their country. These countries make their money from exporting this oil to countries such as America that no longer have oil on their land. Oil is hard to clean and it sometimes takes months just to stop the leak. In Klare’s opinion we need to stop depending on fossil fuels, which are irreplaceable natural material, and start focusing on wind, or solar powered resources. This way no country will have to go digging into the ocean to get oil and risk ruining their water, food supply, or people’s