Oil Spill

_{(Warning: long description ahead. However, it’s worth the read.)}

As I’m sure you’re all aware, on April 20th, 2010, a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. It’ s still unsure how exactly it has happened, and it’s still unsure how much oil is dumping into the ocean. A cap has been put on leak. It is estimated that it captures about 630,000 gallons a day, but that’s not even half of what is predicted is leaking out. BP has predicted that they won’t be able to stop the oil from leaking into the gulf until August and cleaning up washed up oil could take months. Many animals, businesses, and lives are highly affected by this environmental disaster.

So what does this piece mean?

Well, first of all I was inspired to make a piece like this because *yuumei is holding a contest, and honestly, I just wanted to raise awareness and give out some information. The idea was pretty instant, and after days of work this is what I came up with (although the photo really did no justice to it).

The girl represents the human side of this. Families in the gulf have been really affected by this disaster. Many fishing companies are ruined, and that has ruined family traditions. Tourism is also affected which is very important to some states such as Florida. Her hair represents the oil spill itself. As the oil sits on top of water, it changes into an eerie red color. Being around it is a health hazard, and it has been said that it makes it hard to breath and causes people to become dizzy. This makes clean up hard because one can’t be exposed it to it for too long. Burning the oil as it first comes out has been helping, but when it mixes too much with water it becomes impossible to burn it.

The turtle tangled in her hair represents the animals harmed in the spill. It’s black because I wanted to represent death. I’m aware that many animals such as egrets, dolphins, pelicans, crabs, tuna and many more have been harmed and most of the animals mentioned will make the endangered species list. Sea turtles are also very affected, and that is what got to me more than anything. There are seven species of species of sea turtles in the world; five of them are in the gulf. Like numerous other animals that are affected, it’s mating season for sea turtles, and the spill will take a major toll. Sea turtles are also majorly affected because they are surface feeders, and so they directly ingest the oil. I recently found an article about a relief hospital for sea turtles, and you can read more about it here.

Going back to the girl, her green eyes represent BP. Green after all, is the color of greed. BP is a British owned company with holdings in America. After the spill, many corruptions were found in the company. The oil rig that was in the gulf was declared unsafe and was reported that it had many problems. Even when these reports were given out, the company did nothing about it. BP has taken action since the explosion to stop the leak and cleaning up the mess. However, it is still not enough. For more information on the company, please take a look at their website.

Her dress represents the cap that has been put on the leak. BP says it has been a “success,” however it is only catching half of what is dumping into the ocean as mentioned before. I’ve been watching the cap carefully since it’s been put on (and put on again after a robot knocked it off), and I’ve noticed it’s becoming very dirty. Originally it was white, but now it’s getting black and grimy. Hence, why the dress is so dirty and has that odd shape. You can actually watch the cap and the leak live here.

So now what? In all honesty, I’m not really sure. The relief wells are way ahead of schedule, but even so, I don’t think that will be enough. So much has been ruined from this, and now they’re watching for a possible hurricane forming the gulf. What will happen then? It can’t be good. But if it helps, there are some more articles I found that might give you a more realistic look at the spill.

A collection of Photos from the Huffington post.

[link] (CBS article that give information on how much in leaking.)

[link] (Another collection of photos of animals affected in the spill).

[link] (Yuumei’s journal article that holds great information and photos).

I hope you found this helpful, and I’d really like to see all of you take some action too. Thanks for reading.

Please note: If something in my information seems wrong please tell me! I don’t want to put out false information, and I will fix it. This is just what I gather from many sources. However that said, I will not debate with you about the spill. I’m no political figure. Don’t argue with me.
_{Sources: NBC news, CBSnews.com, ABCnews.com, The Huffington Post, BP’s home website}

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Painting (done in acrylic) belongs to me