Oil spills affect the ecosystem and people living around it, but not always directly. When the Big Gulf Oil spill happened, huge numbers of Fish, Dolphins, and Sharks fled the oily waters and went to nearby freshwater. With all these animals coming to one place, their needs for oxygen didn’t just go away. Soon the oxygen in the water was running out, so the state of Mississippi then decided to make something called a freshwater diversion.
A freshwater diversion is when you make a diversion coming from a large body of water, in this case the Mississippi River, and make a path going from it to where ever you need the water and the nutrients and sediments it carries, in this case the nearby freshwaters. When the state made this choice, they saved the lives of all the sea creatures they brought the water to because this new water brings them air to breathe, nutrients and sediments. However, it has a negative affect on the Oyster Farmers in the area, like a man named Vujnovich.
Vujnovich and his Oysters
Vujnovich is an Oyster Farmer who’s had three quarters of his Oyster crop wiped out because of the Oil spill and the State’s freshwater diversion. The diversion has caused some salty water to get mixed in with the Mississippi River’s freshwater, which his Oysters then die from the salt.
Dead Oysters from the Gulf
Another affect the Oil spill had was not easy to see. For instance, oil can evaporate into the air. Since humans and pretty much ever other animal on this earth breathe air, we could be breathing highly toxic fumes that could harm us all and have a negative affect on the ecosystem. Many people in the Gulf area have reported that it smells like oil there and they could be breathing it.
The BP oil spill has also effected what we eat, like seafood dishes such as shrimp, fish, and other ocean-life that we diet on. Some restaurants have been serving people seafood at super-high prices. People in Louisiana have been suffering headaches, nausea, throwing up, and other health effects of oil on humans.
Sources for Blog:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/10/louisiana_oyster_industry_stru.html
The Gulf Oil Spill: Human Health is Affected Too | Gina Solomon's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC
Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Begins For Oyster Beds In Mobile Bay
Barataria Bay - Effort to keep oil spill at bay tips ecological balance - Los Angeles Times
The Gulf Oil Spill: Human Health is Affected Too | Gina Solomon's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC
Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Begins For Oyster Beds In Mobile Bay
Barataria Bay - Effort to keep oil spill at bay tips ecological balance - Los Angeles Times
Sources for Photos:
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