It’s been a year since the BP oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and wiped out the entire ecosystem there. Now it appears that it may also be responsible for an unusually high rate of baby dolphin deaths.
As the anniversary of the spill nears, questions that were asked then are now being asked again. Those questions involve how serious is this spill? How long will the impacts last, and how far will they reach? Can we trust BP or the government when they say everything is fine?
It appears that everything is not fine. Just this week there have already been four baby dolphin deaths. That brings total dolphin deaths in the area to a total of 28 this year with eighteen being baby dolphins.
The NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Association) have confirmed the unusually high death rate and are now working in conjunction with the institute of Marine Mammal Studies to investigate if the oil spill is responsible for this.
Samantha Joye, a scientist at the University of Georgia used the Alvin submersible to go back to the origin of the oil spill and explore the seafloor. What she found was a layer of thick oil at the bottom of the gulf. This oil from the spill has killed off all sea floor life. What Dr. Joye has discovered was that,
“Filter-feeding organisms, invertebrate worms, corals, sea fans—all of those were substantially impacted—and by impacted, I mean essentially killed,”
With clear and detrimental effects of offshore oil drilling becoming apparent what we need now is to eradicate all offshore drilling. The BP oil spill and ones before have all mostly ended in disaster for the ecosystem and the people. As evidence for the negative effects of drilling are piling up governments should take heed and prevent any further future disasters.
To read a previous post on the BP oil spill click here.
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