WASHINGTON — April 20, 2015 — Today marks the five-year anniversary of the worst environmental disaster in United States history. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster claimed the lives of 11 workers and spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, wreaking havoc on communities, economies, fisheries and wildlife.
Since the spill, numerous studies have found that the oil, and the dispersants used to clean it up, has had detrimental effects on birds, dolphins, fish and other species.
Jacqueline Savitz, Oceana’s vice president for the U.S., marked the occasion with the following statement:
“It has been five years since the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, yet offshore drilling is still not safe. Offshore drilling continues to plague the Gulf with deaths, injuries, explosions and spills.
We are only now beginning to understand the true effects of the BP oil disaster. We have seen sea turtles wash up on our beaches. We know that the oil has damaged the hearts of fish like the valuable Bluefin tuna and caused illnesses in dolphins. Many of these impacts equaled death for these animals, which may lead to effects on populations that were already struggling from overfishing. While the jury is literally still out on the full extent of the impacts, we do know that BP has not yet come close to making Americans whole and recovering the Gulf to its pre-spill conditions.
Read the full opinion piece at eNews Park Forest