9781422285589

10 Marine Resources

The oil drifted far from the rig, soiling vast stretches of Gulf Coast beaches. It took workers three months to cap the gusher, and many more to ease the environmental damage. Much of the crude washed ashore, fouling 1,100 miles (1,770.28 kilometers) of coastline from Florida to Mississippi. Some of the oil settled on the bottom of the ocean, destroying local fishing grounds. Before the spill, about two-thirds of all the oysters in the United States came from the Gulf of Mexico. After the explosion, the oyster reefs grew barren and other fish were tougher to find. The catastrophe reminded people just how valuable marine resources are, and how much we humans depend on the oceans for our survival.

The Deepwater Horizon rig burns after a massive explosion on April 20, 2010.