Unnatural Disasters: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Unnatural Disasters: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill — page 3
In the 3 months that followed the world watched in horror as the company that operated the platform British Petroleum BP failed to cap the oil gushing from the ocean’s floor This oil spread It sank to the bottom of the sea It crept toward coastal beaches wetlands and estuaries It slicked the surface of the water in one area measuring three times the size of Rhode Island It wreaked havoc on plant and animal life And it threatened the very existence of our oceans which United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called the lungs of our planet Why did this happen How was it stopped What were its impacts And can we guarantee that an accident like this never happens again Imagine 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools filled with slippery midnight-black oil That’s the amount of crude oil that oozed out of the Deepwater Horizon drill site between April and July 2010 Scientists are still studying the impacts of this massive spill on ocean and coastline ecosystems today 6 21st century skills library