SHORELINES:
The effect of oil spills on the shoreline is detrimental to the environment and the habitants. The tartar from the oil sticks onto vegatation such as agricultural products and trees limiting their growth and development, then eventually killing them. The tar can also become lodged in the gills of aquatic life devastating nearby fishes. The most severe effect is the the tars ability to destroy sea grass, which in turn promotes algae booms turning the once vibrant shoreline, into a lethargic swamp [1].
The entire coastal community is also affected. It halts the fishing industry by making the sea unnavigable. The agricultural industry is damaged as farmland becomes barren. Most importantly, the tourism industry also suffers as it will take hundreds of years to recover, and no right minded person would visit a tar filled beach. The picture below shows an unfortunate tourism driven city at Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish whose economy was comprised of hotels, restaurants and travel facilities, which now becomes a abandoned ghost town after the BP oil spill [2].
The entire coastal community is also affected. It halts the fishing industry by making the sea unnavigable. The agricultural industry is damaged as farmland becomes barren. Most importantly, the tourism industry also suffers as it will take hundreds of years to recover, and no right minded person would visit a tar filled beach. The picture below shows an unfortunate tourism driven city at Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish whose economy was comprised of hotels, restaurants and travel facilities, which now becomes a abandoned ghost town after the BP oil spill [2].
[1] http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/field_manual/field_manual_of_wildlife_diseases.pdf
[2]http://cricketdiane.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/louisiana-oil-spill_100406.png