Bahamas Oil Spill
21st January 2013
Environment

Bahamas Oil Spill, Another 1,000 Gallons in the Atlantic

Gulf Oil Spill

Yet another oil spill has occurred in our world’s Atlantic Ocean, this time it’s a Bahamas oil spill. It is reported by the Associated Press that the spill occurred sometime yesterday morning off of the northernmost island in the Bahamas.  Crews are currently trying to clean up about 1000 gallons of oil that leaked from a source still not defined. Yes, it is still unclear as to what caused this oil spill; possibly a ship docked to refuel.  There is an oil and gas storage facility in Freeport Harbour on Grand Bahama island, could it be something to do with this facility? I’m sure we will all find out soon.

As it is, let’s hope the weather remains calm so the cleanup crews can do more than just contain this spill. If all goes well, the clean up of this oil spill should be fast and efficient compared to other larger oil spills.

You may be wondering what this oil spill means for the Bahamas?  Will it affect the local environment?  We will have to wait and see.

As a matter of fact, according to Independent.ie  , just this past month there was yet another oil spill off  Grand Bahama from a Cargo ship. Our oceans have seen enough oil spills, literally how the cost of societal growth plays out on mother nature.Bahamas Oil Spill

True, mistakes happen in all lines of work, just on oil rigs those mistakes can be fatal, and devastating.  Yes, it has been a little while since  BP’s massive oil spill where 11 workers on the large ocean rig died in 2010 from the blast that started the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.  Data is still being gathered from this massive oil spill, including information on currents and how Hurricane Isaac has effected the surface currents.

The problem, it takes time to clean these spills up, and the costs to sea life are extensive.  As it stands, BP will be shelling out a pretty penny, since just almost a month ago today BP’s settlement for the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill was approved by a Federal US Judge.  The guardian reports, this big corporation estimates a payout of $7.8bn to roughly 100,000 people and businesses who ended up losing money because of the April 2010 Deepwater well blowout.

Yes, the Bahamas spill that happened yesterday is not huge compared to the BP Oil spill, yet all oil spills come with grave consequences: death to marine life, seafood contamination, and high costs to the environment and corporations.

Trying to look at the bright side of things, at least we are becoming more efficient and knowledgeable about how to clean up these oil spills.  If you are curious about how crews go about cleaning up Oil Spills, click here.  After reading, you’ll see it’s clear, no two oil spills are the same…

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