Communication Strategies

Information is a great solution for prevention. How true is this phrase The social animal called man is blessed with air, water and land and co-exists with the other species forming an eco-system. Water being one of our essential needs is very necessary for our survival and we have been learning about it from time to time. Water covers two thirds of Earths surface and houses great variety of plants and animals. The beauty of this underwater life is beyond comparison and thus underwater life is a major part of our ecosystem. Where does oil spills fit into this picture I will definitely explain that. However, let me first introduce oil spills. By definition, oil spills is accidental petroleum release in to the environment. In simple words oil spills is spilling of oil and today, I consider it a great opportunity to talk about oil spills and underwater life- their relation to one another.

Marine life or underwater life is a home for the worlds biggest creatures- the whales that spend their entire lives in the sea. There are other amphibians like seals, sea lions and otters who reside under the water adding to its glory. The dance of the dolphins, the swim of the sharks, the wade of the turtles and the loitering of the fishes cannot be missed by anyone. Just a glance at these creatures on television gets us awestruck at their marvelous beauty. Such is the life underwater.

I would go on and on talking about the life underwater however, concentrating on the topic of oil spills, I would like to point out the possible causes for oil spills. The primary cause for oil spilling into the sea is with oil transportation from the oil fields to the refineries. Tankers are used to transport oil across the oceans and are among the biggest ships. They carry more than 500000 tons of oil. So, the catastrophe occurs when these tankers collide, leaking large volumes of oil into the water. The most common cause for oil spills is the slow release of petroleum based products. Petroleum fuels or lubricants used to run vehicles on road accumulate on land and end up in the sea. The third cause is natural seepage of oil in the ocean due to shifting of plates below which are further accelerated with human activities such as drilling.

Researches and analysts are still examining the possible causes for the leak and the primary cause is a rig explosion while drilling oil by the BP. CNN stated The estimated amount of oil spilling in an underwater leak from last weeks oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has increased to 5,000 barrels a day, five times more than what was originally believed, a Coast Guard official said late Wednesday and the estimation currently is 60000 barrels a day, thus making it one of the worst in the history.

Well every action has its own repercussions and the marine life is usually affected by oil spills. The slick formed from oil spills may remain together or spread as masses and can cause great damage to the ocean life.  These creatures are poisoned by the oil wastes that harm their biological system in various ways. Exposures to these wastes deteriorate their thermal insulation and reproductive systems. The effect reaches its notch with the death of these creatures. Death rate depends on the quantity of the oil spill and the damage repair that has been done. Huge oil spills kill a large number of marine creatures and disrupt the migration of these animals. In the long run, pollution of water through oil spills interrupts the food chain, causing ecological imbalance, resulting in the extinction of species.

After listening to this, we can easily deduce that oil spills is closely related to underwater life.  This topic is really huge to cover in one speech and it took me a while to decide on a suitable topic to inform and I chose oil spills as we keep hearing it everywhere. Well, I have done my analysis and can conclude that leaking of oil accidentally into the water affects the underwater life and our ecosystem. By stating the possible causes and their effects, I hope that this speech has been informative and please feel free to get in touch with me in case you have any questions regarding the same. Thank you.