Environment: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Solutions

While most people are celebrating goals and blowing vuvuzelas, the Gulf of Mexico is still bleeding oil into the originally-blue-now-brown ocean.

Blowing vuvuzelas.

Image from Sky.com

Here's a pretty straight-forward news article from Reuters:

Obama wants independent panel to administer BP payments By Caren Bohan and Tom Bergin WASHINGTON/LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Barack Obama's leadership of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill faces key tests this week as the U.S. president gives his first national address on the disaster and meets top BP (BP.L) (BP.N) executives for the first time. With America's largest-ever environmental disaster nearing the two-month mark, Obama will press BP executives to set up an escrow account to pay damage claims by individuals and businesses hurt by the oil spill disaster. The crisis enters its 56th day on Monday as Obama makes his fourth trip to the Gulf -- visiting Alabama, Mississippi and Florida for the first time since the well blew out. He will stay overnight in the region on Monday and return to Washington on Tuesday and make a nationally televised address at 8 p.m. (0000 GMT). After being briefed on Monday morning by U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, his point person on relief efforts, Obama will host a round-table discussion and meet local residents in Gulfport, Mississippi. Obama then plans to travel to Theodore, Alabama, where he will see how the clean-up operations are going and make remarks before traveling by ferry in Alabama from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan. He will spend the night in Pensacola, Florida, home to some of America's most famous beaches. Millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf since an April 20 offshore rig blast killed 11 workers and blew out the well. Obama also will call for an independent panel to administer the payments and to ensure cash is disbursed in a timely fashion when he meets Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and other BP officials at the White House on Wednesday. U.S. Senate Democrats have written to BP urging them to make a $20 billion initial deposit to such a fund as a good faith showing that they will not shirk their responsibility.

Wait, wait, wait, let's take a look at how it all started:

And how far has the spill spreaded?

Now that the methods aren't working, what's there can the people do to help the environment?

What's more, after the hair has been collected, they will need great help from our bio-friends, the oil-eating mushrooms:

San Francisco Bay Oil Spill - Oil-Eating Mushrooms (Nov 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENPkgAEcDoY&feature=related


So, that's cool, huh? But of course, we all try not to damage the environment.


Vocabulary:
disburse -- (vb)[T] formal to pay out money, usually from an amount that has been collected for a particular purpose
shirk -- (vb)[I or T] disapproving to avoid work, duties or responsibilities, especially if they are difficult or unpleasant. ~ responsibilities / duties


Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/v/O10lg_Ugk1k&hl
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1316527220100614
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwQOD_Ir2vQ&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENPkgAEcDoY&feature=related

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/disburse
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/shirk