Biology

The news article Weather hinders fight as Gulf oil slick comes ashore Obama puts hold on new offshore drilling by Cain Burdeau of the Associated Press is the latest  report as of April 30th 2010, on the major oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. The spill was caused due to an unexplained explosion on April 20th and the consequential sinking of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon while digging a well. The rig was being operated by British Petroleum (BP). The article reports the ongoing efforts of the Coast Guard, BP and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to curb the spill from causing major environmental damage. Government officials have been reported to estimate the rate of oil being released presently at 200,000 gallons per day. Burdeau enumerates the damage caused to wildlife by oil-spills and the need for quick action to contain the spill, in order to prevent another disaster in the lines of or even greater in magnitude than the oil spill caused by the tanker Exxon Valdez in the Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989.

The report is concise and to the point. The presentation is lucid, and caters to the target audience  the general newspaper reading public. The focal point of the article is the ongoing efforts by various agencies to stem the leakage from the oil well and also to clear up the existing oil slick.

Burdeau informs that the ongoing efforts to contain the perimeter of the slick have been hampered by unfavorable weather conditions, with the National Weather Service predicting high tides which might spread the oil further inland affecting the ecologically fragile coastal wetlands.  Burdeau effectively conveys a sense of emergency in his reporting, in an unbiased way, reflecting on the grave environmental damage the oil spill will cause. He quotes various authorities such as the U. S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support his premise. Burdeau states that the current rate of oil loss is at 200,000 gallons per day as estimated by government officials. He points out that this spill could overshadow the Exxon-Valdez disaster if government action is not precipitate.

Burdeau voices the doubts of the common people, especially those who depend on the coastal area for their livelihood such as fishermen and guides on the effectiveness of the government in taking prompt action. He effectively brings in this angle as a point of debate voicing concerns of some in Louisiana that the government failed them again, just as it did during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Burdeau, 2010) Pointing out that President Obama recently lifted a drilling moratorium for many offshore areas, including the Atlantic and Gulf areas, (Burdeau, 2010) Burdeau delicately pushes the reader to question the Governments stand on offshore drilling. Another concern voiced here is how much responsibility British Petroleum will be taking in this matter, as Burdeau reports that BP has been taking the help of the Coast Guard and is asking for more assistance from the Federal Government. But any effort by BP will be shadowed until the cause of the explosion and the alarming rate of oil effluence from the well is stopped. The dark cloud hanging over BPs head is illustrated by the continued falling of BPs shares on the London Stock Exchange. All in all a stimulating report on an event of National and International importance.