However, an event similar to this occurred March 24, 1989. The oil company Exxon had a spill on the Alaskan coastline, and nearly two decades later, we're still dealing with the impact of the spill. The Environmental Protection Agency Report states, "On March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil. The spill was the largest in U.S…Many factors complicated the cleanup efforts following the spill. The size of the spill and its remote location, accessible only by helicopter and boat, made government and industry efforts difficult and tested existing plans for dealing with such an event."

The oil spill has exceeded the expectations of scientists as well. Crude oil was being deposited at a rate of a thousand barrels per day, without a sign of help or remedy until two weeks after the incident. But the worst is yet to come. Cleaning up the oil spill will be one issue, but dealing with the fatal effects of interrupted marine life is a whole other story.

Jacqueline Savitz, a marine scientist at Oceana said that, "Oil spills are extremely harmful to marine life when they occur and often for years or even decades later. Spills could coat sea birds and limit their flying ability and damage fisheries by injuring marine organism's systems related to respiration, vision and reproduction. Turtles have to come to the surface to breathe and can be coated with oil or may swallow it. And, the Gulf is one of only two nurseries for Blue Fin tuna, more than 90% of which return to their place of birth to spawn."

The innocent animals will be forever suffering from the oil leak caused by BP and Exxon, but it's being hypothesized that the BP spill will be even worse. Habitats will be wiped off of the Gulf Coast, populations will be suffering from the slick oil, and newborn sea life will die. You may be wondering how you can help, and fortunately, there are many ways for you give a helping hand.

For example, The National Wildlife Foundation is now accepting donations from your mobile device. Text "WILDLIFE" to 20222 to donate $10 to the organization's restoration efforts to the Gulf Coast! This charity is a fantastic way to donate a small sum of money that will go a long way.

Do you work at a hair salon, or even at a groomers? Matter of Trust, a non-profit organization invites salons and pet groomers to send leftover hair trimmings. Seems crazy, right? The hair clippings would be put in use for highly absorbent hair mats. According to their website, "Hair is very efficient at collecting oil out of the air, off surfaces like your skin and out of the water, even petroleum oil." The group has twelve designated areas that are ready for the human and pet hair. They also have hundreds of volunteers participating in "Boom B Q" parties which will consist of stuffing the donated hair into recycled nylons to form booms that can be strung along the Gulf Coast and other nearby shorelines.

 

Although animals are getting charities to fight for them, the fishing industry is nearly a lost cause. Louisiana is one of the most productive fisheries in the world, raking in about 2.4 billion dollars each year. But without seafood to harvest, fishermen will feel the wrath of job cuts. The Gulf Coast fishermen are requesting compensation as well. "Already, a federal class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two commercial shrimpers from Louisiana seeking at least $5 million in compensatory damages plus an unspecified amount of punitive damages against Transocean, BP and other companies linked to the rig blast.”

Clearly, the Gulf Coast Oil Spill is causing nothing but a cycle of problems. Between the loss of life, loss of food, and loss of jobs, it seems as though there will be a long road to recovery for the Gulf and BP. The problematic oil company should pay the billion dollar bill, but there's no sum of money large enough to compensate for the lives or environment affected from this devastating occurrence.