On November 7, 2007 an oil freighter struck the Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge due to heavy fog, spilling 58,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. The spill was handled and most of the ares were cleaned and reopened by Friday, however the oil that has washed up on the beaches in little balls was neglected. It's predicted that the tides will peak in the bay shortly after Thanksgiving and the heightened water level will was the balls of oil back into the bay.
For the entire story, visit MSNBC.com
The question we should be asking ourselves is why weren't all of the beaches thoroughly cleaned after the oil spill? Why was there still oil left out in the environment? The smallest change to an ecosystem can completely bring down the entire community living withing that specified ecosystem. The pollution of the San Francisco Bay is will result in the loss of fish and other life in the bay, fresh water to surrounding communities, and diminishing of plant life that rely on the bay as a source of water. What people don't understand about the environment is that it is a carefully constructed web and everyting within that web relies on everyting else. Therefore, if one thing is disturbed, whether it be biotic or abiotic, the entire web is affected in some way. Something as simple as a little bit of oil slipping back into the bay could result in horrible health epidemics, or an increase in the price of fish or water bills. Sometimes, things that aren't even related are affected. Like when Hurrican Katrina hit New Orleans, the price of gas went up. People were so focused on the flooding of Louisiana, that they didn't notice the oil rigs that were damaged.
The point is, the environment needs to be more carfully managed. The analyzation needs to be meticulous and relentles because at the end of the day, whether we like to admit it or not, we're part of that web, and we'll pay just as much as every other part.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment