The Big Oil Spill - Latest News

Ranger Rick answers your questions.

The leaking oil well has been capped, and no more oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. But the story is far from over. And kids are asking new questions about what’s happening now—and what will happen in the future. Here are answers to some of their questions, from the experts at Ranger Rick.

Q: Has the oil leak been stopped for good?

A: The leak was stopped in mid-July when a huge cap was placed over the well. On August 3, thick, heavy, mucky stuff called “drilling mud” was forced down into the well. Then on August 5, concrete was pumped in to make sure the mud stays in place. But to plug up the well completely and for good, workers have been drilling a “relief well” deep into the sea bed next to the plugged well. Soon this well will join up with the other well. And then the workers will pump more mud and concrete into the plugged well from below. They hope this will "kill" the well forever.

Q: How much oil escaped into the Gulf? Where is it now?

A: Experts believe that enough oil gushed into the Gulf to have filled 350 Olympic-sized swimming pools—or about 100 school gymnasiums filled floor to ceiling. Much of that oil spread across 2,500 square miles of the Gulf’s surface—an area almost twice the size of the state of Rhode Island.

A lot of the oil has been sucked from the surface by specially equipped boats or burned off. The sun, waves, and wind have broken down much of the oil, allowing it to evaporate into the air or dissolve into the sea. People have also treated the oil with chemicals called dispersants, which helped to break down the oil into tiny droplets.

The good news is that very little oil is now floating on the surface. And that means that very little additional oil will flow into the marshes and wetlands along the Gulf Coast. The bad news is that tiny droplets of oil and poisonous chemicals are now drifting together through the Gulf as huge underwater clouds. Some oil is also still being found in the marshes and under the sand on beaches.

Q: What will happen to these clouds of oil droplets and chemicals?

A: The droplets and chemicals are quickly being gobbled up by bacteria, fungi, and other microbes. But no one knows what will happen as time goes on. Will the microbes multiply to huge numbers and then die and decay when their job is done? If so, they could remove oxygen from the water and create “dead zones” where few creatures can survive. Or will their growth in numbers provide more food than usual for other creatures, helping to replace those killed by the oil?

Scientists are worried about the oil that doesn’t get digested by the microbes. The droplets may already have killed unknown numbers of the eggs and larvae of fish and other sea creatures. So, will any leftover oil continue to do so? Will it sink into the deepest parts of the sea? And if it does, what harm will it do there? Scientists also wonder: Will life in the Gulf be harmed for a long time by the changes brought about by the spill? Or will things quickly return to normal? It may be months or years before we know for sure.

Huge areas along the Gulf Coast have already become “dead zones”—not because of the oil spill but because of other kinds of pollution. This pollution has been flowing down the Mississippi River and out into the Gulf for many years. But scientists worry that the oil spill could lead to these dead zones growing larger.

Q: What will happen to the marshes and other wetlands along the coast?

A: That’s another big mystery. Much of the marsh grass that was coated with oil has died, but some of it is already growing back. That’s very good news, because many people worried that the oil would kill the marsh plants’ roots. That may still happen in some places, though, and that would be bad news. If the roots were to die, then there would be nothing to hold the marsh soil in place. And that would allow the sea to wash away the unprotected marshlands.

Since long before the big oil spill, the marshlands along the coast of Louisiana have been dying, for many different reasons. Every 30 minutes of every day, scientists say, an area of marshland the size of a football field disappears forever. So it’s important to try to save as much as the marsh as we can—and then to try to bring all the marshland back to health again.

Q: When will people be able to catch—and eat—seafood from the Gulf again?

A: During the spill, people were not allowed to catch fish or shrimp in most of the water along the coast. But now that the oil is disappearing, fishermen are returning to some of these areas. The seafood they’re catching is being tested, and so far it seems to be OK to eat.

Q: What can we do to keep such a disaster from happening again?
A: President Obama has ordered that all drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf be stopped until we learn more about what happened. This is the best way, he says, to drill more safely in the future. But as long as people keep using more and more oil, companies will have to drill more and more wells. And since we’ve used up all the oil that’s easy to get to, we’ll have to keep drilling in places where it’s more likely that tragic accidents will happen.

Many people believe that the best way to prevent disasters like this one is to cut down on the amount of oil we use, and to do it as quickly as possible. And that’s where kids can help. Learn how to help your family live a greener lifestyle, one that uses less oil and fossil fuels.

But as some people try to cut back their use of oil, millions of others continue to use more and more. That’s why stopping disasters like this will take a lot more than conservation. We’ll have to pressure our government officials to make stronger environmental laws and rules. We’ll have to get them to lead the way in getting more energy from the sun, the wind, and other clean and renewable sources. And all countries will have to join together to cut carbon dioxide pollution and stop global warming.

Q: What can I do to keep from feeling sad about what happened—and worried about what might happen in the future?
A: It may help a little to know that millions of other people are feeling sad and worried, too. You should also know that from these feelings often comes action!

There may not be a whole lot kids can do about oil spills and other disasters. But you can tell your parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other grown-ups how you feel—and then ask them what they are going to do to change things. How about getting together with your parents to write a letter to your member of Congress? Or how about asking your teacher to help you learn more about where our energy now comes from—and how we can change?

Environmental disasters truly are tough on us, on wild creatures, and the wild places we all love and need. But it often takes things like this to make us do what’s right. So let’s not let this one go to waste!