On October 1st a large oil spill of 126,000 gallons was first detected. It was a result of a 13 inch break in an oil pipeline running along the ocean floor. The 3,000 barrels of oil that leaked into an ocean closed beaches for around a week but more importantly caused Governor Gavin Newson to declare a state of emergency due to ecological effects. Now on the date of December 31st state officials have declared the cleanup from the spill is complete.

In the article it is noted the team effort from federal, local and state levels helped put the cleanup behind them. However, the spill broached important infrastructure, and future environmental planning California will have to face. The aging and fragile pipes are the cause of this spill. It is believed the pipe was dragged along by a container ship’s anchor until it broke. The lack of maintenance on these pipes as well as their general weakness due to age is important for California to start to tackle. Lastly, due to the ecological impacts from an oil spill California can begin planning to phase out off-shore oil rigs in the future; with growing support for this initiative.

This article notes on the already high gas prices in California reaching record highs in Orange County this past week. The price for regular gasoline peaked at $4.70 a gallon in Orange county. This peak can be accounted for by a few key details. The first being a new blend of gasoline being sent over Southern California. The “summer-blend” as the article states brought the average price of gasoline up 5 cents this week. Also increased world tensions between OPEC have increased oil prices by $10 per barrel.

Everybody complains about gas prices in California. Even non-californians scoff at our high gas prices. Our heavy restrictions on domestic oil, imported oil, pollution regulations all contribute to the steep price. Unfortunately for Californians it is a cost that we will have to bear. During the quaratines of Covid gas prices dropped, but now it is important to plan shopping trips to conserve fuel, drive the speed limit – as speeding causes a decrease in gas mileage, and even invest in a more fuel efficient vehicle. The high gas prices are here to stay, pay the price, or spend the extra money.

The Los Angeles city council voted on January 26th to ban introducing new oil and gas wells due to public health concerns as well as environmental activism. In the article it is noted that over half a million LA county residents live within a quarter mile of a gas/oil well which releases dangerous toxins such as benzene. Also, the county plans to phase out all domestic oil wells over the next five years. If put into action this has the possibility of losing jobs for Californians and hiking up gas prices. On the other hand it is a big win in lowering California’s CO2 emissions and keeping residents safe.

In my opinion this is a great step towards lowering fossil fuel emissions in California. However, we are teetering on a dangerous line between making gas prices in California unbelievable. The benefit of higher gas prices is that it encourages drivers to invest in more fuel efficient cars (fun fact: my mom just bought one yesterday). I also believe that by outlawing, and phasing out oil wells, residents, especially those in the black and african american community, who are disproportionately affected by oil well pollutants, we can kill two birds with one stone lowering fuel emissions and protecting Californians from preterm births, asthma, cancer, and respiratory diseases.

Over a week ago, a breach occurred in a pipeline for a refinery’s loading buoy. This resulted in over 40,000 gallons of oil spilling along the coast of Thailand’s Rayong Province. In addition, the oil has drifted ashore at Mae Ramphueng, a popular beach destination. Since then, the governor has declared the beach as a “disaster zone” and it is completely affecting the entire area around it.  Because of this, Thailand’s Pollution Control Department is asking for the Star Petroleum company to pay for “every penny” of the cost to remediate the spill. Furthermore, the hope is now that more oil doesn’t spread to nearby beaches. 

Reading this story, it is deeply disappointing that more of these oil spills are going on. Oil spills are so harmful to the ecosystems in these oceans as the wildlife succumb to thousands of deadly chemicals and pollutants. This is more than just a temporary ban of not going to the beach today as each oil spill is contributing more to hurting our planet. Even more so, not only do the chemicals in the oil affect the plants, animals, ph/salinity levels, but it also affects the air we breathe. It’s a good thing that Thailand’s Pollution Control Department is holding Star Petroleum accountable. 

The past week, the Nigerian Navy troops arrested 13 people for suspected  pipeline vandals and recovered about three million liters of crude oil and diesel in a major operation in Rivers. The suspects were arrested in  Akuku Toru by troops attached to “Operation River Dominance. ” These troops have been supportive of the State Government’s fight against the illegal refineries. The men are said to have destroyed over 44 illegal refineries and seized 14 large wooden boats. One of the men states “We are gaining more grounds as we dismantle more illegal refining sites in the ongoing operations”. 

This was an unusual positive story about Petroleum/oil in which we never see. These troops are doing an exceptional job as they are eliminating criminals as well as helping and caring for the environment. The fact that they have destroyed “over 44 illegal refeiners” shows how productive they have been and how they are doing more than their part for helping all of the pollution that is being a result of Petroleum/oil. Glad to see that they are continuing to help in all that they can. 

Following the Volcanic eruption at Tonga, powerful tsunami’s swept the Pacific Ocean. Peru, being near Tonga, was hit with waves causing an oil spill at a local refinery. A black mass of crude oil could be seen in the water extending some 3 km along the shoreline. In addition, the oil spill has been affecting the beaches of three coastal districts, which is causing danger to the ecosystems of the marine life that lives there. There is said to be 33 million dollars in fines due to environmental damage towards the  companies of the oil operation. “Work is being done to return the coastal area to its original state. More than 200 people divided into crews with specialized equipment are carrying out” – Pampilla Refinery. 

It’s very unfortunate that this situation had to happen. Natural disasters are bound to happen which is something we cannot control. My question is why are there so many oil drilling operations near the ocean. I understand that the ocean sea floor most likely has an abundance of oil but it seems to be very unsafe. As I do more research on Petroleum/oil, I am regularly finding oil spills in the news. There has to be better ways of retrieving oil.

Juhasz, Antonia. (2021, August 17). Exxon’s oil drilling gamble off Guyana coast ‘poses major environmental risk.’ The Guardian, pp. 1–4. From https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/17/exxon-oil-drilling-guyana-disaster-risk

In South America, the powerful oiling company Exxon,  has been extracting oil from the coast of Guyana. Their operation has been going since 2019 where they have been deepwater drilling for vast amounts of oil. They have now received charges for disregard for safety from experts who believe that  the company has “failed to adequately prepare for possible disaster”.  In addition, experts have been reporting that the company has been taking advantage of the weak Guyana government by abusing their resources and being extremely unsafe. By 2025, the company hopes to produce over 800,00o gallons of oil per day which would make them the largest single source of fossil fuel production anywhere in the world.

This article demonstrates the overwhelming amount of power these big companies have throughout the world. They are taking advantage of a weak, poor country for the use of its oil while destroying its land. The article has illustrated numerous times of how destructive these oil drilling are to the environment as they are polluting the water. Furthermore, the enormous amounts of oil they are expected to produce by 2025 is unbelievable as they are taking the lead into worsening global warming.

Krall, Allie. (2021, August 7). Oil pipeline protest in Green Bay aimed at stopping construction, protecting land and water. First Alert, pp. 1–2. From https://www.wbay.com/2021/08/07/oil-pipeline-protest-green-bay-stop-construction-protect-land-water/

In Green Bay,  Wisconsin, there are numerous protests going on over the construction of oil pipelines. These pipelines are very poorly built and according to the JOSHUA Environmental Justice Task Force,  Justice Peche,  “There has never been a pipeline that doesn’t leak.” The leakage of these oil pipelines has been extremely destructive to the wild rice fields in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Furthermore, these pipelines are coming all the way from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin,  transporting crude oil and natural gas liquids.  Additionally, they’re violating the rights of the citizens that live there by destroying their land and ability to hunt, fish, and gather on. Overall, this issue not only affects climate change, but it affects the importance of human rights as well. 

Unfortunately, this article details another instance of oil leakage in the US and how badly it is affecting the people around it. I completely stand for the people protesting for the removal of these oil pipelines as it has been creating problems for everyone living near that area of Green Bay. The toxicity of oil is ridiculously unhealthy as it can create a lot of health problems and even cancer if the people are overly exposed. Moreover, the fact that the oil could be potentially getting into your food such as the rice is just plainly unacceptable.  In all, oil is just so bad in all cases as it affects our environment, our health, and our world.