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Oil Slick

Happy Summer everyone! It has been a long while since the last post but I'm BACK for GOOD.

So lets right into it! By now we all know that the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, sank, resulted in 11 deaths and has caused the largest environmental disaster in US history. With the influx of shitty mainstream media coverage that's probably all most of us know, let me break it down!

When: The night of April 20, 2010 the explosion occurred killing 11 men working on the rig and injuring 17. On April 22, after more than a day of burning the rig sank.

Where: 40 miles southeast of the Louisiana Coast

What happened: Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded into flames destroying the rig and killing 11 men working on the platform. Two days later damage caused the collapse of a steel riser connecting the rig to the oil well and the well has continuously gushed millions of gallons of crude oil and gas in the ocean.

How it happen: The Coast Guard had issued pollution citations 18 times and investigated 16 incidents and fires at the drill rig between 2000 and 2010. In 2008, 77 employees of the rig were evacuated because of an engineering error. Early in 2010 the rig experienced a number of serious problems including escape of gas and damage to the blow out preventer. The gas build up,negligence by those in charge, along with other issues resulted in the explosion and horrific disaster.

Who is responsible: Ultimately British Petroleum (BP) is responsible for all damages. At the time of the disaster BP was leasing the rig from Transocean offshore drilling contractor. BP initially tried to cover up the extent of the oil spill, however they couldn't cover it up for long!

What are the damages: Unfortunately the extent of the damage to the Gulf ecosystem and to the lives of thousands of people in the Gulf can not be calculated. Marine animals and birds are covered in oil and dying, micro-organisms are dying, shrimping and fishing industries are destroyed, and marshes are being covered in oil, and toxic chemical dispersants are being dumped into the ocean. Words just can not describe the damage, check out` the pics below.

What is being done: Volunteers, government agencies, and contractors employed by BP are working feverishly to clean up and stop the damage. Obama put some real pressure on BP by essentially forcing them to set up a $20 billion escrow account to adequately compensate victims of the oil spill, hopefully it will work. Despite the effort not enough is being done! Keep on the look out for details on the clean up and how you can get involved.

All of you who live in the regions affected by the spill get involved, stay strong, and pressure the government to push green energy so we won't be so dependent on oil! Urbansteez has your back!

Any questions, thoughts, or personal accounts and pics of the spill, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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