112 Days

Courtesy of Nasa's Terra Satelite

112 Days...

How long is 112 days? It is four months, or more exactly it equals 2,688 hours. Yet neither of these statistics allow a person to grasp actual magnitude of this stint in time. For example Gerald Ford was only president for 895 days, and James Garfield for only 199 days. The Gulf Oil Spill has lasted longer than some presidents (well one actually) and thankfully its flow has been stopped and its permanent closure is in sight, but with 4.9 million barrels of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico its long term effects are just beginning.
 The Death of the Well

On July 15th the ruptured well was capped for the second time, with a new cap that contained all of the oil that would have seeped into the gulf. Then on August 5th, BP announced that the well was being sealed using the 'static kill' method by pumping heavy mud and cement into the well and pushing all of the oil and natural gas back into the reservoir. The Obama Administration and BP have also announced that they will continue the process of digging the relief wells in order to ensure that the well will be under absolutely no pressure in order to further increase the integrity of the sealed well.

But the long term effects are daunting. With 4.9 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico, the gulf shore line will be battling oil and its side effects for years. Look at the Alaskan Coast as an example, decades after Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill, they are still fighting to restore the affected area.

In an area where its economy is based on the waters and beaches, this has dealt the Gulf coast a more deadly blow than even Katrina. Where Katrina wrecked infrastructure, homes, and communication; the oil spill attacked the citizens very way of life. Without marine food products or beautiful beaches, the people have lost the very base of their means to survive. This disaster will unfortunately echo for many years to come and effect an unimaginable amount of people.

Hopefully BP and the Obama Administration will live up to their promises to help these effected people and will not only help those who need it most, but will have the foresight to enact policies and programs to foster new economic growth in the area and get people back to work and the whole are back on track.

Later,
Cody