After reading, watching, following and responding, here's what I've got.
The Gulf Oil Spill was caused by the Deepwater Horizon Rig. There was an explosion, and the safety features on the rig seemed to have failed for some unknown reason. The rig is now spilling thousands upon thousands of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico (the rig was 50 miles south of the Mississippi river delta). Many articles I read accused BP and regulatory agencies of not monitoring this rig closely enough, not setting strict enough safety rules, or not properly building/maintaining the safety features, but at the moment, I couldn't find a credible enough source that didn't contradict what else I have read in order to make an overall statement on what exactly led up to this event. But I can tell you the overarching issue that had led to this: America's complete dependence on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and crude oil are cheap, have been used for over a century, and we have built our entire economic infrastructure around them. This need for non-renewable, often difficult to extract energy has put us in many compromising positions. America uses more oil than we can produce, putting much pressure on oil companies to 'drill here, drill now' in order to relieve us of our dependence on foreign oil. Instead of switching over to cleaner energy solutions, America wants to exploit our own earth-depths for the black, polluting sludge we call energy. Part of the problem is, that black sludge really isn't supposed to be up here on the surface. So when it goes somewhere it's not supposed to, things get messy. Although the mechanics and specific situation of the Deepwater spill are important, I think the focus should be the attitude that led to this. Depending on oil, and forcing almost everyone into that trap (the government rejecting wind farms, the lack of electric car charging stations) has pushed us more towards the toxic fuel we can't seem to get enough of. But when what runs a car runs into the ocean, it doesn't help pistons fire, it kills things. Downright -- it kills organisms. Because of our dependence on the cheap and forcing of things to be easier (when they should be more difficult for safety reasons), we've caused an ecological disaster.
At this moment, May the 6th, not very much has been done about the oil spill. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, most of the efforts are booming, or containing the spill, and burning. Over 1,000 gallons of oil have been burned away. What's really being done now is observation, research, and deciding. Domes are being built, wells may be drilled. But right now, only days after the spill, not much has been done. A ban on commercial fishing has gone into affect to protect fisherman and ensure no tainted seafood makes it into the market. Trajectory maps are being drawn and re-drawn every day as national, regional and local organizations combine forces to combat the spill.
Oil poisons most organisms. It doesn't instantly kill them, but will cause death if ingested. It clogs up skin and feathers and hurts their ability to breathe.
This oil spill will have a negative affect on the ecosystems around it. Although it hasn't reached the shore, by the time it does it will have covered miles of ocean, hurting everything from plankton to sea mammals in the process. Once it reaches the shore it will start to damage populations of oysters and mussels, taint sea grasses, and line the sand and driftwood. Fishing will become very difficult and tourism will plummet if the oil gets onto beaches. Estuaries could be infested with the oil and rocky coasts where migratory birds breed could be affected. Any ecosystem the oil comes in contact with, it will hurt. It will kill off animals and plants, or at least harm them. It can weigh down birds, can be ingested, can affect photosynthesis. We can't know yet how much oil will spill or how much, if any, will reach the shores and estuaries. But if it does, it will be a catastrophe that will take any ecosystem, coastal or otherwise, a very long time to recover from.
This ecological disaster covers a spectrum of issues. First and most important of course, the environment. But there's also the problems of how this will be dealt with, and how the government, the independent corporation, and the public band together. How will everything be paid for? Who will be responsible? We have caught this disaster at its inception, and the answers to it are still far from our reach. But we know this will hurt all of the aforementioned areas of the social and environment. This is a negative thing, and will take a lot of effort, money, and responsibility to aid it. It can never be positive, but it may be less negative if all parties involved put forth appropriate effort.
