Helping with Offshore Oil Spill Containment Using the Internet

Jun 3, 2010
Lisa Devoto

An Offshore Oil Platform in the Gulf of Mexico - Wikimedia Commons / Chad Teer

Petitioning those in charge and encouraging others to help with oil spill containment may help alleviate environmental damage from the offshore oil spill.

The following possibilities focus on opportunities for oil spill control found online that do not require volunteering in person or sending money to help with oil spill control. These opportunities include encouraging others to help clean up oil and offering suggestions and demands to those in power. These steps do not require much effort, but they may make a difference in the long run.

Offer Ideas and Encourage Others to Help with Cleaning Up Oil Spill

For those who wish to send ideas directly to British Petroleum (BP), BP has a form that can be filled out with possible suggestions for oil spill containment. This form, available from horizonedocs.com and titled "Alternate (Alternative) Technology Response Form," should be used for offering viable solutions for oil spill containment, rather than complaints or comments.

The National Wildlife Federation encourages everyone to spread the word through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. These sites allow users to connect to many people instantly, so they and sites like them provide perfect opportunities for spreading the message that oil spill control is extremely important for the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Simply letting people know about the magnitude of the oil spill can help those who do not know much about the disaster thus far.

Petition British Petroleum and the American Government

Another way to encourage action is to sign petitions or send letters to appropriate parties. Both the Gulf Restoration Network and Audubon Society have recommendations for this option.

The Gulf Restoration Network provides interested people with a form that can be sent to BP in an attempt to improve its oil spill management and heighten its sense of responsibility for communities affected by the oil spill and the environment. This form can either be sent as is or adjusted to be a more personal letter.

The Audubon Society provides a similar form that calls for government representatives to take action for oil spill control. The form, like the one described above, can be sent with the provided text, or one may include a personal message. The form requests that representatives push for use of governmental funds for oil spill management and for restoration of the Louisiana wetlands.

For information on how to volunteer or donate money to organizations involved in cleaning up oil spill, see the article British Petroleum Spill Oil Cleanup: How to Help.

Sources:

Audubon Society. 2010. "Support Full Funding for Coastal Louisiana Restoration." loon.audubon.org

Deepwater Horizon Response. 2010. "Alternative Technology Response Form." Retrieved 3 June, 2010. Deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

Flourish. 2010. "The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Tragedy: How Your Church Can Help!" Retrieved 2 June, 2010. Flourishonline.org.

Gulf Restoration Network. "BP's Oil Drilling Disaster: Tell BP to Clean Up Their Mess." action.healthygulf.org

National Wildlife Federation. 2010. "How You Can Help Wildlife Impacted by the BP Oil Spill." Retrieved 2 June, 2010. Nwf.org

Lisa Devoto - Lisa Devoto has professional experience as a writer, editor, and administrator for an environmental consulting firm. She has a B.A. in ...

Social Networking Can Help With Oil Cleanup - Open Icon Library / Wikimedia Commons

Oil Spill Containment Concept Diagram - Wikid77 / Wikimedia Commons

Oil Spill Control is Needed to Save Wildlife - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Wikimedia Commons

Comments

Jun 4, 2010 2:56 AM

Guest :

My boyfriend has an excellent idea to help with the oil spill problem but I`m unsure how to get it forward. He has experience as a hydraulic engineer on oil rigs and feels that capping is totally wrong ! Contact us for further info at maryandguy38@hotmail.com

Jun 4, 2010 6:08 PM

Lisa Devoto :

If you want to make a suggestion to BP about how to contain the spill, you can follow the link in the article by clicking on the word "form." However, you can also reach the page by going to horizonedocs.com and clicking on the "Alternate Technology Response Form."

Jun 8, 2010 10:10 PM

Guest :

Planetresource.net has a Eco friendly solution to clean up the tragedy British Petroleum has created, please watch the video animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60bdQQQ3iVw and pass this along to as many people as you know.

One person can still make a difference in this world, is that simple interactions have a rippling effect. Each time this gets pass along, the hope in cleaning our planet is passed on.

Jun 13, 2010 9:40 PM

Guest :

NUKING THE PIPE WON'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM!!!! if this goes wrong more lethal gasses will be released as it will create more fissures and gasses currently seeping such as benzine up to 300,000 parts per BILLION will increase over a MILLION parts per BILLION and i don't have to say what will happen to the entire east coast of america if this gas reaches there.

you have to figure out how to build an appartus which will equalize a pressure of 70,000 psi and contain the oil leak. i suggest a box made of all the metals and alloys, heck put tungsten into it, everything and you will contain it

Jun 13, 2010 10:02 PM

Guest :

I suggest we take a smaller gage pipe strong enough to contain the instintainious pressure when shoved int to the wider broken pipe and once the smaller gauge pipe is half or a quarter way down the pipe , use a typ of expander to block the leak around the pipe once the pie is so far down which would allow you to suck some of the oil up the pipe thus decreasing the pressur comming out. the reason the pipe would have to be strongly buit is so it dosnt expolde under the pressure, though it could widen as the lenghth gets closer to the surface! Or use the smaller gauge pipe to go into the broken pipe and at the widening part of the pipe thier should be a blocker like a steal ring around the perimiter...aka (stoper) once the pipe is a quarter or half mile down the stoper should be close to the opening of the pipe, !!!IMPORTANT!!! : This should all be done with a vacume in mind! to lesses the pressure of the ecsaping oil a vacume is !CRITICAL! In this _!WHOLE PROSSES!_ Once the vacume is fired up that will decrease the pressure allowing for the stoper plate to be brought down and welded on to the wider diamiter broken pipe! PLEASE I HAVE VERY GOOD IDEAS ON STOPING THE LEAK! I WILL NEED TO GET THIS TO THE BP EXECUTIVES! ONE WAY OR ANOTHER I AM REALLY CONCERNED AND JEST WANT TO HELP IT STOP! PLEAS HELP ME GET IT TO THEM! COPY AND PLACE WISELY AND STRATIGECLY!!!!

5 Comments