I wanted to know what an oil spill was so when I got the paper I signed up to get to know it better.
Oil Spill
By Tali Donsky
CRASH! A ship crashes into a coral reef, oil spills out of the tanks. You stand on the beach and in the distance you see a black dot it spreads to the shore and you notice it is oil. You slowly walk to your house and turn on the radio someone said “A severe oil spill just happened”. Will the oil hurt the animals? You think, what even is an oil spill?
What causes an Oil Spill?
Boats have had many severe Oil Spills, for example a boat called Exxon Valdez had a very severe Oil Spill, the boat leaked out 11 million gallons of Oil, that could fill up 1,000 big swimming pools! A boat crash is not the only way an Oil Spill can happen, sometimes an undersea oil well starts to leak. Sometimes when a truck is transporting oil, the oil tank can leak and get into a aquifer or underground water and pollute the water.
Effects and problems, of oil spills
Oil spills can affect animals in many harmful ways. Oil sticks to the feathers of ducks, geese, and other seabirds. The birds can’t fly or swim over 300,000 died from the Exxon Valdez boat crash. Some problems about oil spills is oil can get into water where fish are and can get into their gills. when this happens animals all around the world die it does not only kill fish it can kill whales, dolphins, sharks, shrimp, and crabs by getting into their lungs. The oil has toxic fumes that will kill animals when they breath in the oil.
Cleaning Up After an Oil Spill
Here are some ways oil experts clean up oil spills. First they have to stop the oil from spreading they put a boom around the oil that will keep the oil in place. For small oil spills the experts can get a skimmer there are different types of skimmers. One type is like a vacuum it sucks up the oil. This type of skimmer can be reused. Another way experts clean up oil spills is they can take a pad and put it on top of the oil and it will soak up the oil. For bigger oil spill the experts can set the oil on fire, although the fire sends smoke and gas into the air and leaves ash in the water. Cleanup crews can use chemicals to clean up big oil spills. People go onto planes or boats to spread chemicals in the water where the oil is. Sometimes the chemicals can break the oil into tiny bits of oil and that will eventually mix into the water. Some chemicals can make the oil become into a thin sheet of rubbery oil. One type of skimmer picks up the sheet of oil, and put it into a big container. Most of the time oil spills wash onto the shore so scientists spray hot water onto the rocks and sand but that might push the oil down more and harm the animals and plants that live on the shore.
How Can We Prevent Oil Spills?
Maybe you are wondering what can we do to help? Well I am going to answer your questions. If we use less oil there will be less oil tanks in the oceans and less oil spills. One way to save oil is to use less electricity. Electricity is made with burning, oil so less electricity means less oil. You could write letters to members of congress to make laws about oil spills. You can say you want to help the animals and plants that are in danger from the oil. In your letters you can also say that booms, skimmers, chemicals, and bacteria should be ready for a emergencies.
CRASH! A ship crashes into a coral reef oil spills out of the tanks. You stand on the beach and in the distance you see a black dot. It spreads to the shore and you notice it is oil. You slowly walk back to your house and you stop. You realize, I know what an oil spill is, so instead of slowly walking to your house you have a nice feeling in yourself. You go to your room and your sister walks in. “what happened to the water? it is all black and mama said that I can not go swimming” “well” you say “ I read Oil Spill by Tali Donsky and I learned the effects, problems, how an oil spill is caused, how to clean after an oil spill, and what I can do so you should read it”.
Glossary
Toxic- Poison
Fumes- Gas
Undersea oil well- A well that goes underground to pump up oil.
Aquifer- A body of water that is underground.
Boom- a temporary floating barrier that is used to hold in oil.
Bacteria- a member of a large group of microorganisms that can cause a disease.
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