One Year After BP Oil Spill: How We Can Help

Wednesday marked the one year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and caused subsequent leak releasing a massive amount of crude oil into the ocean. It is believed that nearly 4.9 million barrels of oil (200 million gallons) have leaked into the ocean. The disaster has been the most devastating and largest oil spill in the U.S. history, and scientists say there might be long-term health impact on humans and animals, as studies continue.

CNN reports that "President Barack Obama said Wednesday that 'significant progress' has been made in tackling the disaster, though he stressed that the 'job isn't done.'"

The oil spill has caused massive damage to the environment as well as local economies. Thousands of birds, fish, turtles, dolphins, and whales had been killed, and the corpses collected were only a tiny fraction of what remained beneath. BBC reports that the spill may have killed 5,000 of several distinctive, iconic animals including rare species of whales and dolphins.

According to National Geographic, the reality of the environmental impact as of today is quite different from scientists' predictions a year ago. It says that massive bird die-offs and disrupted migrations have not happened as predicted, though the oil spill might have had an impact on animals' behaviors.

Fritz Faerber of National Geographic says that the cleanup efforts of simply trying to repair the environmental damage, can actually do more harm.

Aside from all the politics and lawsuits surrounding the BP oil spill, there are things you can take part in to help the relief efforts in the Gulf. You can find the latest updates on the progress of Gulf restoration work on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website.

The Georgia Aquarium is also providing resources to locals who are looking for ways to provide support, and you can visit the Georgia Aquarium Oil Spill Response page to find out more.

The National Wildlife Federation is inviting citizens to send messages to Congress, urging them to commit Clean Water Act penalties－the BP fines from lawsuits, to restoring the Gulf and save the Kemp's ridley sea turtles－the rarest and most endangered species of sea turtle in the world. You can enter your messages on this page. 

The Nature Conservancy is an organization that has been committed to the work of restoring the Gulf of Mexico. You can find out more about its relief efforts and ways to give here.