THESIS STATEMENT: What factors are the factors leading up to, cause, and repercussions of the deepwater
horizon spill?

I. Why is oil so important?

A. The answer is not that simple; today’s society has been built on and revolves around oil.

B. Fluctuating oil prices and a strong dependence on imported sources create economic vulnerabilities.

C. “The nation uses (2003) about 20.1 million barrels of oil per day (mb/d),” (Sissine 5)

 II. What caused this Oil spill?

A. “Down near the seabed is the blowout preventer, or BOP. It's used to seal the well shut in order to
test the pressure and integrity of the well, and, in case of a blowout, it's the crew's only hope.” (Granatstein 2)

B. “a crewman on deck accidentally nudged a joystick, applying hundreds of thousands of pounds of

force, and moving 15 feet of drill pipe through the closed blowout preventer.” (Granatstein 2)

C. “He discovered chunks of rubber in the drilling fluid. He thought it was important enough to gather
this double handful of chunks of rubber and bring them into the driller shack.” (Granatstein 2)

 III. What is going to happen now that the oil is in the water?

A. “With BP finally gaining some control over the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico,
scientists are increasingly worried that huge plumes of crude already spilled could get caught in a current that
would carry the mess all the way to the Florida Keys and beyond, damaging coral reefs and killing wildlife,”
(Trigaux 1)

B. “Pollutants can smother and kill corals-living creatures that excrete a hard exterior skeleton- or can
hinder their ability to reproduce and grow.” (Trigaux 1)

C. “If the oil has entered the gulf’s loop current it could show up as tar balls in the Florida Keys in eight
to 10 days.” (Staff 1)

IV. What is being done about the oil spill?

A. BP claims it collects about 84,000 gallons of oil a day from the blown-out well. (Staff 2)

B. “Protecting the marine environment from accidental oil and chemical spills is an important mission
of the Coast Guard.” (Ramseur 1)
 C. That would be about a fifth of the 210,000 gallons the company estimated is gushing out each day,

though scientists who have studied the leak say it could be much bigger,” writes Craig on his report of the oil

spill. (Pittman 2)