Introduction
The eve of April 20th, 2010 was just like any other in the Gulf of Mexico where the various oil rigs were busy in their extraction of oil from the sea bed. This, however, was not the case with Deepwater Horizon, one of the ultra-deepwater rigs located around 50 miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana, which was involved in a huge explosion that eventually resulted in the death of eleven workers and the sinking of the rig two days later. Despite the loss of precious lives, the damage did not stop here, and immediately after the sinking of the rig, reports of a major oil leak came in. The oil spill is majorly the result of a failed blow-out preventer which was installed at the mouth of the pipe in the sea bed, and as a result of its failure, this still continuing oil spill is now regarded as the worst oil spill in US history.
Oil Spills and their Environmental Effects
The Deepwater Horizon is being said to release up to 5,000 to 10,000 barrels of oil per day. Such a high rate is being feared by environmentalists and other scientists as an incident that is bound to damage the nearby environment permanently. This high rate of the oil spill has caused the spread up to the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama causing the closing down of many beaches, limiting the fishing industry to only a few areas, resulting in a serious impact on the economics of the region.
But the damage of the oil spill is not only in terms of economics. Economically thinking, the damage is far more beyond our imaginations. This oil spill has led to the limitation of the supply of fresh oxygen into the water, thus resulting in the deaths of marine life. Fishes and underwater plants are dying at an increasing rate due to the lack of oxygen and the toxicity of the region. Moreover, the vapors released by the spill are damaging the environment due to their toxic nature and are continuously spreading.
The Importance of Oil in Global Conflicts
Looking at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one simple question comes into our minds: is this the same oil being wasted that we’ve been fighting over for years? The answer to this question is “yes, it’s the same.” When asked, many people would see it as a blow to the sacrifices that our ancestors did in making sure that the land that we live on is abundant of all resources and we do not have to ask others for their help. In this modern era, oil has become a very important part of our life – the importance which can be signified by the fact that think tanks globally are thinking of effective alternatives to oil just so that it can be preserved.
Global history is filled with fights over the issue of natural resources. There have been numerous battles and wars won and lost just so that the other nation could get hold of more resources. Such resources are mainly water and food, but after the discovery of oil, the fights are now about oil, water, and food. Any country with all of these three resources has the potential to rule the world, a threat which was proved not very long ago when the oil-producing countries in the Middle East banned the export of oil to the west, resulting in high inflation throughout the countries that were dependent upon it.
Even in this modern era, where we have developed alternatives to energy, there is still an ongoing war between the countries for the availability of oil. Countries are still trying to negotiate their share in the control of the oil from the oil-producing countries. While some have succeeded in getting theirs, many have failed simply because they cannot afford such a venture. Global conflicts are occurring between countries as they have yet failed to settle their agreement with the oil-producing countries. Countries are also trying to gain the maximum possible advantage that they can attain in oil production in international waters.
Conclusion
The recent oil spill, which is being blamed on BP, has raised numerous questions, not only on environmentalists alone, but also on the minds of scientists, and historians. Those who have a brief knowledge about global history know that resources such as oil have always been the cause of conflicts in one way or the other. It is, therefore, better to say that such oil spills are a serious waste of a very precious resource as our daily lives depend heavily on oil. An error in the case of oil extraction should be heavily penalized as the company involved that although the venture is in the favor of the country’s economical stability, on the other hand, one slightest mistake would result in the loss of both the money involved along with the surrounding environment.
References
- Dupraz, Emily. “The Oils of War: Conflict in the Sudan.” Harvard International Review 24.I (2002).
- Robelius, Fredrik. Giant Oil Fields–The Highway to Oil: Giant Oil Fields and Their Importance for Future Oil Production (Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science & Technology). Uppsala Universitet, 2007.
- Thomson-Smith, Lydia D. Oil spills: Cases, causes and consequences. FastBook Publishing, 2010.