Oil Spills, so many Spills, the Huge Toll of Spills on the Climate Crisis

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spills happened off the coast of Louisiana, leading to the discharge of one hundred and thirty-four million gallons of oil into the Gulf, contaminating an estimated seven hundred and seventy square miles, including deep-sea coral communities.

In 1979, the Ixtoc 1 oil rig in the Bay of Campeche exploded, when drilling reached a depth of 3,615 meters and the rig began to lose circulation, the event leading to the release of around 475,000 tonnes of oil to the offshore region of the Gulf of Mexico, coastal beaches, and the Texas coast.

In 1991, the Gulf War Oil Spills happened in the Persian Gulf, leading to the release of oil from eight oil tankers, a refinery, two terminals, and a tank farm, the entire episode leading to the leakage of 11 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, affecting the fragile ecosystem of the area.

According to a recent report, though these oil spills took place decades ago, they still helped to worsen the current climate change crisis, with the environment finding it difficult to recover from the  cumulative effects of oil spills on coral communities, birds, turtles, and plants.

For instance, 15 years after the BP Deep water spill, scientists still strive to save the different coral communities along the Gulf coast, some located at ocean habitats below 164 feet, by studying deep-sea reproduction.

Forty-five years after the Ixtoc 1 oil spills disaster, experts still debate the extent of environmental damage from the occurrence, especially with a shrimp harvesting ground of 15,000 square kilometers poisoned, sandy beaches destroyed, and shallow lagoons polluted.

Thirty-three years after the Gulf War oil spills, experts battle to estimate the exact amount of environmental damage from the event, especially with most of the mangrove and marshes along the Persian Gulf affected, 50 to 90 percent of the fauna impacted, mainly crabs, amphipods, and molluscs.

In essence, many years after oil spills from accidental or deliberate reasons, the effects of oil spills remain relevant in climate change discourse, and it doesn't matter if the incident took place in the Gulf coast,  the Persian Gulf, or Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

The Deepwater episode contributed a share to the present environmental problems,  through the contamination of marshes and habitats that support nesting fish and 1,000 linear miles of land, factors that hamper the absorption of carbon dioxide and the production of oxygen.

The Ixtoc oil spills saga also played a part in the current climate crisis, since it released an estimated 475,000 tonnes of oil to the environment, which led to the release of methane and volatile compounds, potent greenhouse gases.

The Gulf War Oil Spill also play a part in the current crisis, as the soot emissions from the burning oil and gas reached an estimated 20,000 tonnes per day, with the carbon dioxide emissions in Kuwait reaching an estimated 130 to 140 million tonnes, corresponding to two to three percent of global annual anthropogenic contribution from the use of fossil fuel and 0.01 percent of the total global carbon dioxide emissions.

So though oil spills happen decades ago, they contribute in one way or the other to the current Climate crisis, having in the past impacted negatively on coral communities, biodiversity, temperature, rainfall, and other factors.

Through the reduction in oil consumption, improved drilling methods, and investment in renewable energy oil spills could be decreased, to prevent their direct and indirect impact on climate change.

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Vegan food from St Lucia, Credit, Anse Chastanet St Lucia Post