The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called the BP Oil Spill, or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is a massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. The spill stems from a sea floor oil gusher that followed the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. The gusher, estimated to be flowing at 12,000 to 100,000 barrels (500,000 to 4,200,000 US gallons; 1,900,000 to 16,000,000 litres) per day.
As of May 30, dead animals collected from the oil spill zone included 491 dead birds, 227 sea turtles, and 27 mammals including dolphins, although according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service these animals have not been determined to have been killed by the oil. Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia indicated that the oil could harm fish directly, and microbes used to consume the oil would also add to the reduction of oxygen in the water, with effects being felt higher up the food chain. According to Joye, it could take the ecosystem years and possibly decades to recover from such an infusion of oil and gas.
This disaster is a reminder for humans to understand how our actions can affect the environment.
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