Research Paper Our question was about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and how much it really affected the environment. Though the media teemed it as catastrophic at first; they later seemed to not worry when the cap was filled. BP and even media made it look like all was well out in the Gulf after it was capped and that there was no further worrying to be done. But even after it was filled there were still millions of gallons of oil out in the ocean “smothering coral formations, infecting the food chain, layering vast areas of ocean floor with tarry deposits, and affecting life forms in ways that can only be estimated.”(# 1) This spill in the Gulf has many devastating impacts that many uninformed people don’t even know about. Though the capping of the leak made the oil from becoming worse there was already “17 to 39 million gallons of oil” released in the ocean (# 2). These estimates are much larger than those of BP who said that only about 11 million gallons had come out. Not to mention, the underground well was also leaking out at an enormous rate which further increased the oil expansion. These spills have occurred before, but BP’s was the largest in American history, much larger than Exxon Valdez’s. The devastating effects can still be seen today in the marine ecosystem. “The National Wildlife Federation reports that already more than 150 threatened or endangered sea turtles are dead. And 316 sea birds, mostly brown pelicans and northern gannets, have been found dead along the Gulf Coast as a result of the spreading oil.”(#2) This spill was a killer to the ecosystem and the food chain to say the least. Though prevention of this is becoming sterner now because of the spill, many companies drill recklessly out in the ocean, and are only allowed to because of the money they have to do what they want from the government. Many people seem to think that the oil spill will only remain out in the Gulf. But there are many currents out in the ocean, especially the Gulf of Mexico. One of the main currents is the Loop current that is right near the oil spill and could affect “Florida Keys, (and entire East Coast) as well as areas of the west coast of Florida. Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico could also be affected” (# 2) Another large current is the Gulf Stream which could take the oil to part of the Atlantic Seaboard. Many people fail to know how to oil affects the weather patterns also. The presence of oil could lead to a more