djconn
New Member
POISONED PLANET
Oil Spills A Threat To Oceans And Seas
By YP GUPTA
It is seriously questioned these days whether petroleum, the harbinger of modern civilisation, is a boon or a bane because its use has been causing pollution as a result of which the very survival of life on this planet is threatened. Oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth’s surface, and 40 per cent of the world’s population live within 60 km of a coast. But our oceans and seas are becoming increasingly polluted with petroleum and industrial waste, oil spills being the latest threat. The coastal areas have become a dumping place. Our oceans and seas (the harbinger of life) are thus under the shadow of extinction.
Beaches affected
The oil spills and oil tank wrecks have adversely affected the marine eco-system and damaged facilities at beaches. It is estimated that about six million tonnes of crude oil are dumped into the oceans every year either through accidents, cleaning of large tankers or transfer of oil at ports. Almost every week, a spillage of roughly 2,000 metric tonnes is reported in some parts of the world.
The government of India had earlier expressed great concern over pumping out oily residues in the country’s coastal waters causing extensive oil pollution, damaging the environment and endangering life and property. The National Institute of Oceanography had reported that shrimp, prawn, and fish yield off the Kerala coast had declined by 25 per cent owing largely to the polluted coastline.
The Supreme Court had ordered closure of polluting aqua culture farms in the coastal states, which have been causing environmental contamination besides soil erosion. All construction activity within 500 metres of coastal areas was also banned because industrialisation has endangered the eco-balance.
Recently, a Greek oil tanker grounded outside Karachi port spilled around 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea, damaging the environment and thereby killing marine life and polluting 7.5 km of sandy beaches. A slick of 1900 tonnes of oil threatened to pollute Denmark’s Baltic coast. An oil spill into the sea waters near Eucador’s Galapagos islands threatened some of the wold’s rarest land and sea animals and birds. Also, three lakh litres of diesel slick into the sea at the Kandla port threatened many species of marine life in the shallow waters of Gulf of Kutch off the Jamnagar coastline (near Marine National Park in Jamnagar).
Cities damaged
In the recent past, an oil spill caused extensive damage to the coastal cities on the Sea of Japan. There was a spilling of 2.85 million litres of oil contaminating resort beaches on the Atlantic coast when a barge slammed into a coral reef of San Juan (Puerto Rico). Also, the oil spill from the Mumbai High urban oil pipeline rupture caused damage to fisheries, bird life and the quality of life. The oil slick from the damaged oil tanker in the Bay of Bengal caused a threat to human and marine life in the Nicobar island and other regions. A leakage of 85,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from the Liberian-based tanker largely polluted Scotland, and caused major damage to the island’s bird life.
The worst spill occurred from Exxon Valdez tanker in the Prince Williams Sound in Alaska in which more than two million tonnes of oil flowed into the sea. It was estimated that 35,000 birds, 10,000 sea otters and 16 whales died. This was surpassed many times over by the oil which Iraq pumped in the Gulf waters and the bombing of oil tankers by the USA in the 1991 Gulf war. Over 11 million barrels of crude oil entered the Persian Gulf waters and region, as a result of which many precious birds and animal species in the Gulf region became extinct.
Pollution affects human beings as well. The use of petroleum as a fuel in over 630 million automobiles in the world is a major cause of pollution. Despite pollution control laws in the developed countries, over 15 million tonnes of carbon monoxide, one million tonnes of nitrogen oxides and 1.5 million tonnes of hydrocarbons are released into the environment every year. The amount of carbon dioxide introduced into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels comes to billions of tonnes per year. The developed countries account for 70 per cent of the atmospheric pollution. India contributes a few million tonnes of sulphur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere every year. These pollutants cause a number of diseases like lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis. Delhi has the highest incidence of lung diseases in the country having 30 per cent of its population as the victims. Delhites run a higher risk of contracting respiratory and throat diseases.
Present day wars using weapons of mass destruction cause the greatest ecological disaster. The 2003 war against Iraq poisoned the entire ecological system in Iraq and its surrounding areas. Smoke from oil-wells and oil-trench fires polluted the air and soil. Also, heavy metals and other hazardous substances were released into the air. Soil and water supplies endangered the lives of the people.
Worst disaster
Earlier, the 1991 Gulf war caused the worst ecological disaster, almost equal to Hiroshima, Bhopal and Chernobyl combined. Iraq became a “poisoned desertâ€
Oil Spills A Threat To Oceans And Seas
By YP GUPTA
It is seriously questioned these days whether petroleum, the harbinger of modern civilisation, is a boon or a bane because its use has been causing pollution as a result of which the very survival of life on this planet is threatened. Oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth’s surface, and 40 per cent of the world’s population live within 60 km of a coast. But our oceans and seas are becoming increasingly polluted with petroleum and industrial waste, oil spills being the latest threat. The coastal areas have become a dumping place. Our oceans and seas (the harbinger of life) are thus under the shadow of extinction.
Beaches affected
The oil spills and oil tank wrecks have adversely affected the marine eco-system and damaged facilities at beaches. It is estimated that about six million tonnes of crude oil are dumped into the oceans every year either through accidents, cleaning of large tankers or transfer of oil at ports. Almost every week, a spillage of roughly 2,000 metric tonnes is reported in some parts of the world.
The government of India had earlier expressed great concern over pumping out oily residues in the country’s coastal waters causing extensive oil pollution, damaging the environment and endangering life and property. The National Institute of Oceanography had reported that shrimp, prawn, and fish yield off the Kerala coast had declined by 25 per cent owing largely to the polluted coastline.
The Supreme Court had ordered closure of polluting aqua culture farms in the coastal states, which have been causing environmental contamination besides soil erosion. All construction activity within 500 metres of coastal areas was also banned because industrialisation has endangered the eco-balance.
Recently, a Greek oil tanker grounded outside Karachi port spilled around 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea, damaging the environment and thereby killing marine life and polluting 7.5 km of sandy beaches. A slick of 1900 tonnes of oil threatened to pollute Denmark’s Baltic coast. An oil spill into the sea waters near Eucador’s Galapagos islands threatened some of the wold’s rarest land and sea animals and birds. Also, three lakh litres of diesel slick into the sea at the Kandla port threatened many species of marine life in the shallow waters of Gulf of Kutch off the Jamnagar coastline (near Marine National Park in Jamnagar).
Cities damaged
In the recent past, an oil spill caused extensive damage to the coastal cities on the Sea of Japan. There was a spilling of 2.85 million litres of oil contaminating resort beaches on the Atlantic coast when a barge slammed into a coral reef of San Juan (Puerto Rico). Also, the oil spill from the Mumbai High urban oil pipeline rupture caused damage to fisheries, bird life and the quality of life. The oil slick from the damaged oil tanker in the Bay of Bengal caused a threat to human and marine life in the Nicobar island and other regions. A leakage of 85,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from the Liberian-based tanker largely polluted Scotland, and caused major damage to the island’s bird life.
The worst spill occurred from Exxon Valdez tanker in the Prince Williams Sound in Alaska in which more than two million tonnes of oil flowed into the sea. It was estimated that 35,000 birds, 10,000 sea otters and 16 whales died. This was surpassed many times over by the oil which Iraq pumped in the Gulf waters and the bombing of oil tankers by the USA in the 1991 Gulf war. Over 11 million barrels of crude oil entered the Persian Gulf waters and region, as a result of which many precious birds and animal species in the Gulf region became extinct.
Pollution affects human beings as well. The use of petroleum as a fuel in over 630 million automobiles in the world is a major cause of pollution. Despite pollution control laws in the developed countries, over 15 million tonnes of carbon monoxide, one million tonnes of nitrogen oxides and 1.5 million tonnes of hydrocarbons are released into the environment every year. The amount of carbon dioxide introduced into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels comes to billions of tonnes per year. The developed countries account for 70 per cent of the atmospheric pollution. India contributes a few million tonnes of sulphur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere every year. These pollutants cause a number of diseases like lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis. Delhi has the highest incidence of lung diseases in the country having 30 per cent of its population as the victims. Delhites run a higher risk of contracting respiratory and throat diseases.
Present day wars using weapons of mass destruction cause the greatest ecological disaster. The 2003 war against Iraq poisoned the entire ecological system in Iraq and its surrounding areas. Smoke from oil-wells and oil-trench fires polluted the air and soil. Also, heavy metals and other hazardous substances were released into the air. Soil and water supplies endangered the lives of the people.
Worst disaster
Earlier, the 1991 Gulf war caused the worst ecological disaster, almost equal to Hiroshima, Bhopal and Chernobyl combined. Iraq became a “poisoned desertâ€