Tag: Gulf of Mexico

Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

​Are Invisible Oil Spills Destroying the Gulf of Mexico?

ENVIRONMENT Thousands of invisible oil spills are polluting the Gulf of Mexico. (WIRED) Navigate the geography of offshore oil in the Gulf of Mexico with our dazzling high-res map. Discussion Ideas Why are oil spills invisible? They’re not. What WIRED calls “invisible” is not unsee-able, just low-profile; we don’t hear about them the way we do the Deepwater Horizon or Exxon Valdez spills. The “Coast … Continue reading ​Are Invisible Oil Spills Destroying the Gulf of Mexico?

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Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

Science Sees Sea Snot Seeping on the Seafloor

ENVIRONMENT On the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, scientists reveal a newly discovered process that may inspire better cleanup strategies. (Nat Geo News) Use our resources to learn more about the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Discussion Ideas The Nat Geo News article details a newly discovered phenomenon called MOSSFA—marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculent accumulation. (Just looking at the vocabulary gives you … Continue reading Science Sees Sea Snot Seeping on the Seafloor

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Current Event Connection, Geography In the News

Oil-Spill Fines May Finance 39 Restoration Projects

ENVIRONMENT Oil-Spill Fines May Finance 39 Restoration Projects Louisiana coastal officials have put together a list of 39 restoration projects that they hope will be partially or fully financed by money the state or federal agencies expect to receive as a result of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Discussion Ideas: The New Orleans Times-Picayune article describes some of the projects that may be … Continue reading Oil-Spill Fines May Finance 39 Restoration Projects

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Classroom Ideas

Feds Scout for Science Grads

2010-12-19_0987787.JPGHeads up college seniors!  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, which oversees offshore oil drilling, is looking for students interested in working in the environmental science field to join the team. Starting April 4th and through the end of May, 2011, this government agency will be visiting colleges around the United States to recruit future employees it hopes can help increase scientific knowledge within the Bureau.

The idea is to hire more employees with environmental science backgrounds to help the Bureau make increasingly sound, scientific decisions.  Part of this initiative emanates from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster last year in the Gulf of Mexico.  New rules and regulations have since made the offshore oil drilling industry more secure, but the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, Michael Bromwich, wants this drive to continue through expansion of human capital.

Continue reading “Feds Scout for Science Grads”

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Classroom Ideas

Visualize Scope of the Gulf Oil Leak with These Cool Tools!

Two months after the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico began gushing, the scale of the disaster has only increased.  Sometimes scale can be difficult to visualize from news stories, but these oil spill visualization tools can help! Parents: Talk with your kids about how the size of the spill compares to geographic areas they might be familiar with (e.g. your county, the size … Continue reading Visualize Scope of the Gulf Oil Leak with These Cool Tools!

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