Oil Spill

I have been somewhat avoiding the current oil spill in the Gulf since it happened over a month ago because I feared that it was going to be more disastrous than the media is letting on. I finally broke down today and did a few google searches. I guess I just don't understand how these things work because I don't understand WHY they can't stop it from gushing! I learned that there were recent efforts to pump mud into the pipe and that cement is another option. I don't see the sense in either because when you add water to them, they are diluted. One website stated that the permanent solution won't be ready until August.

As we discussed in class, this oil spill will likely ruin much of what Florida is know for. Our beaches, fishing, and land development will suffer.

I don't care if gas prices, etc. rise because of this, but what is happening to the animals is so sad. I had seen pictures of the Alaska oil spill from years ago and the pictures taken currently are eerily similar.

The first picture I found is an air view of the Gulf. From far away, it looks like some kind of science experiment. Then I snapped back to reality; it is oil in the ocean, killing animals and washing up on the beaches. The second picture is of a few dolphins swimming through the oil. The caption said that five days after the picture was taken, 6 dead dolphins were found on the Gulf Coast and that "Officials were investigating the oil's role in the deaths." DUH. This is so terrible because even when the oil leak is plugged and the oil is cleaned off the surface, these animals will have to live with the defects acquired from not only the oil, but the chemicals that are being dumped into the water to break up the oil. I wish I could say I see an end in sight...

(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100529/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill)