Giant Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Posted by NG Kids in News Bites on April 30, 2010
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Last week, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico called the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank. It first looked like the oil spill from the accident would be small, but now the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that the the damaged pipes from the BP company-owned rig are leaking 5,000 barrels a day.

The oil is thin at the surface, but because the spill is coming from deep underwater, there’s lots of oil in the water that can be seen from above.

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The oil has spread over several thousand square miles and has reached the coast of Louisiana.

See more pictures and learn more about the oil spill on National Geographic News.

Read more on NG Kids Green Scene.


Photographs courtesy of MODIS Rapid Response Team/NASA
Tags: , ,
Categories: Environment

Comments

  1. escape2books
    April 30, 2010, 9:14 pm

    I heard that Pres. Obama might shut down the drilling to investigate the spill. Which will make gas prices reach the sky. Whether Pres. Obama likes it or not America is dependent on oil, if we do not drill on our land than we are dependent on those countries who sell au oil. my dad said that if the countries we are in dept to ask for the money we would HAVE to sell states. to me that is a scary thought so we have to drill on America, become less dependent on others, and get rid of the dept we have already.

  2. poodo12
    May 2, 2010, 11:23 am

    WOW!That is so interesting!

  3. Karmella10
    May 2, 2010, 4:52 pm

    Wow thats crazy!

  4. emshemie3
    May 2, 2010, 5:31 pm

    What a horrible tragedy! I live in MS and where my family would go to the beach will now be closed down for God knows how long due to the awful oil spill…And it’s not over yet! More oil is still pumping into the ocean. The explosian killed many human lives, too. I can’t get over the clip I saw on the news of a girl praying(and crying)for her dad to still be alive. We should all be praying for these families who have lost their loved ones! And also for Pres. Obama to make the right descisions…
    One of my favorite Bible passages is,
    “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
    -Proverbs 3:5-6

  5. horsegirl613
    May 4, 2010, 5:47 pm

    i cant beleive that happened now all the fish in that oil spill or around it or even on land in SeaWorld or any amusement park loke that will die:( i feel sry for them

  6. nitedreamr777
    May 5, 2010, 10:32 am

    what extra efforts are being made to protect the animals?

  7. ashies
    May 5, 2010, 1:51 pm

    that is teriable

  8. rohbeth
    May 6, 2010, 8:07 am

    X0 That is a bad news! I hope it doesn’t come to or country

  9. tijini123
    May 6, 2010, 7:46 pm

    thats to teriadlemy famaily is so scard

  10. tijini123
    May 6, 2010, 7:49 pm

    thats bad news i hate bad news

  11. yellow
    May 13, 2010, 12:32 am

    Yikes!

  12. Anonymous
    May 17, 2010, 7:20 pm

    Sad it’s killing the sealife.

  13. jindo2108
    May 17, 2010, 7:52 pm

    I heard about this! Man… that is bad!

  14. tapsroom13
    May 19, 2010, 5:24 pm

    Kia ora koutou. Our classroom in New Zealand has joined this blog because we are very sad about the oil spill. What makes us sad is that many fish, birds, turtles, jelly fish, seaweed and many other living things in the ocean are dying and continue to die every single day.

    We feel concerned about the fact that people have lost their lives and jobs because of this disaster. We are really pleased and excited that many people are volunteering their time to do what they can to HELP with the oil spill.

  15. tapsroom13
    May 20, 2010, 5:57 pm

    Hello

    Room 13 would like to share what we learnt about the oil disaster.
    When the explosion occurred the drilling rig exploded and the riser pipe got twisted and fell on the sea bed. Unfortunately, the riser pipe had leaks in three major areas. The engineers were looking at ways to contain the oil. They could use robot submarines; a dome structure, and a new drilling riser. We also learnt that the riser fell 500 metres before it hit the sea bed.

    There are 11 crew members missing, 17 injured and 4 critical.

  16. tapsroom13
    May 24, 2010, 5:16 pm

    We feel disappointed for the Fishermen crew who lost their jobs due to the oil spill in the gulf of mexico.

    We feel excited and confident because a First Aide Concert was being held to help the Fishermen crew and their families.

    We appreciate New Zealand and our beautiful beaches and all the living things in our waters.

  17. CupKake111
    May 25, 2010, 9:58 am

    I think this is a very bad thing that happend and i hope they can fix it. It’a very inportant

  18. Cutiepie1012798
    May 25, 2010, 7:15 pm

    It’s really sad its killing the sealife who would do such a thing to these poor animals and marine life and such a bad idea!!!!!!!!!! And Help the sealife… help the sealife… help the sealife…

  19. Cutiepie1012798
    May 27, 2010, 8:01 am

    help the sea life…help the sealife…help the sealife…help the sealife…

  20. angel123456
    June 3, 2010, 1:35 pm

    i cant b live dis wat happened

  21. jindo2108
    June 10, 2010, 11:37 pm

    tapsroom13, I feel like you do. The main problem I feel now is how to stop the oil spill. I hear that they are now putting a cap on it to stop the oil. That is good…… but where do they put the oil? BP also should start cleaning the oil in the ocean up.

  22. supercooljock
    October 10, 2010, 9:07 pm

    are you sure they can clean up all the oil? i mean, don’t you think that maybe the oil would spread out? and they also don’t think that maybe another oil spill will take place and the two oil spills join together? you should always note what is possible. i used to live in gulf coast, it was so beautiful then. but then the oil spilled and we had to move away. the sea life is also in danger, and did you know up to 211 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea? luckily, only 11 people died.
    i have seen the spill for myself, and believe me, it was ugly

  23. supercooljock
    October 10, 2010, 9:09 pm

    i hate to say…….why doesn’t Obama do anything about the oil?

  24. supercooljock
    October 10, 2010, 9:14 pm

    tapsroom13 and jindo2108, i think the same. it was a disaster. as i said before, i lived in gulf coast before, so i know what it’s like.

  25. supercooljock
    October 10, 2010, 9:21 pm

    let’s hope that the oil spill doesn’t come to our country.

  26. supercooljock
    October 10, 2010, 9:25 pm

    tapsroom13,

    do you really think it’s wise to talk about what you learned at school? the oil spill doesn’t need to know what you think of it. it’s like a gigantic monster in the sea killing anything in its path. well, not anything, but you get the main idea.

  27. supercooljock
    October 10, 2010, 9:27 pm

    how exactly can they extract oil out of the water? i mean, how?

  28. treeHugger298
    January 31, 2012, 9:35 pm

    the oil spill is sad

  29. treeHugger298
    February 1, 2012, 6:15 pm

    I wish I could help

  30. rehoreohermit6
    May 8, 7:36 pm

    This is so bad. I love the ocean and its creatures. I even don’t like seafood because people could OVERFISH!!! Plus, supercooljock is right. HOW do they do that. Also, I DO NOT like any fisher I meet. I like dolphins and manatees, especially manatees. They are ENDANGERED!!!! Also, I vote for hermit crabs. I have a pet land hermit crab, and oh, do I have a feel for them!!!!!!!!!

  31. rehoreohermit6
    May 8, 7:39 pm

    also, cutiepie, you’re right

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