Countering the Impossible – Cleaning up the Oil Spill
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Countering the Impossible-Cleaning up the oil spill
Over the years, the world has seen many disasters that have shaken us from the very root. These range from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which left half the Europe covered in nuclear dust, to Katrina, which affected millions of people in the United States of America. Similarly, another such disaster took place this year which has left not only affected millions of people but is proving to be a lethal poison for the environment. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico under British Petroleums patronage has been the disaster of recent times. The British Petroleum mess started with the leakage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. No one is yet sure as to what led the damage of the pipelines which allowed billions of gallons of oil to seep into the sea. In the article “On the Edge,” the authors, Bryan, Padgett and Crowley, talk about how the oil has been leaking into the sea and the measures taken up by the company to stop the oil flow. The issue is significant as it can damage the environment and can also harm people around the world. Moreover, if the problem is not solved, it would have negative repercussion in the future. BP has tried many steps such as under water robots, pumping clays particles and by fixing a pump on the leak, but none of the solutions have been entirely successful. If not cleaned, the leaking oil would continue to contaminate the underwater sea life which would be disastrous for the environment and humans as well.
In the article “On the Edge,” the authors, Bryan, Padgett and Crowley, talk about how the oil has been leaking into the sea and the measures taken up by the company to stop the oil flow. However, most of the measures taken up by BP have failed to gain any control over the oil flow. The first step by the company to halt the flow was to send underwater robots to start the blowout preventer that would contain the oil which would later be pumped to the surface. This system, which was originally designed to activate automatically under such conditions, failed to work owing to the cold underwater temperatures, as stated by Bryan, Padgett and Crowley (2010). The next preventive effort by BP was to pump down dense clay which wouldnt allow the oil to rise up to the surface. However, this method failed since the force of the rising oil proved to be much greater than the force of the clay (On the Edge, 2010). The last and the most effective method was the place a containment cap on top of the well, which succeeded in containing most of the oil (On the Edge, 2010). The problem of this leakage cannot be solved at once as millions of barrels of oil have seeped into the sea and it is impossible to do the clean up act all at once. Therefore, gradual steps must be taken in order to get rid of the problem. It is important to apply a series of solutions in order to fix the problem. In another article, Davidson (2010) describes how such disasters must be countered with an effective series of solution and joint effort which must be done at global level. Since the oil will drift miles out into the sea, therefore, it is not one countrys job to do the clean up act. One of the solutions given is to install the underwater pumps which would suck the oil. However, this method is expensive since a lot of pumps are required as oil has drifted out into the ocean. Therefore, as Davidson (2010) states that, the first measure to counter the problem is to make sure that no more oil is seeping into the sea. BP must come up with a solution that would refrain the flowing of the oil into the sea. Otto (2008) has also declared in his article that collective actions must be taken to find a solution for the problem. Moreover, the author has also stated that it is important to stop the leakage of oil first. Then a collective solution must be used, such as pumping of the clay particles and then using suction pumps controlled by underwater robots or submarines to suck out the clay oil mixture. By combining a series of solution, one can counter the disaster and save the wildlife and environment.
According to me, the best solution is obviously the use of collective solutions to counter the problems. However, as described by Bryan, Padgett and Crowley (2010) that a containment cap must be put on the leakage to stop the flowing of oil. This would ensure that no more is leaking into the sea. Secondly, as BP had suggested the second solution, we can pump the clay particles once the oil drifts out into the sea so that the oil would merge with the clay and would settle down on the sea bed due to sedimentation. This method would decrease the risk of oil following out into the sea furthermore and contaminate the other areas as well. Once the oil has settled down with the clay particles, submarine pumps or robot controlled pumps can be used to suck the clay particles, and hence the oil with it. This seems to me as the most convenient solution since the oil would be sucked out and also the leaking oil would be contained.
These collective solutions have yet to be tried out by the company. So far, by applying these solutions in a single condition, it has failed due to the oil rushing out of the pump. Therefore, it is important to first stop the oil leakage for the other solutions to be successful. The solutions have yet to be tried and so far, it seems as the best option to rid the problem. Moreover, the solution is cheap compared to the cost the environment will pay if the problem is not countered. The major amount of money will be demanded by the suction pumps. The use of clay will be cheap since clay comes cheap. Therefore, the solution is not a very expensive one. People would benefit from the solution as well since it would clean the ocean of the oil leak and would make the environment safer. If the presence of oil in the sea continues, sooner or later, it would seep into the food chain and would contaminate the food items. Humans eating the sea food may well be affected by it and would show signs of the contamination in the form of diseases. Moreover, since the major area that is affected