The deep water oil spill, occurring on April 20 2010 off the gulf of Mexico is estimated to have been the result of pumping some 172-185 million gallons into the ocean, much of which is still submerged while some of it has made visible its impacts in the form of tar balls and oil mousse washing up on shore, in fishermen's marshes and on beaches frequented by tourists.

According to the federal government, the well, after 86 days of nonstop oil pumping, has been declared dead with the help of cement pumped in it as a sealant. As claimed by BP (specifically through Kenneth R. Feinberg's commissioned reports) recovery is likely to be fast paced despite environmentalists airing grave concerns about the 'hidden' and long lasting damage that is due to become evident in perhaps years or decades, especially on the wildlife ecosystems deep beneath the ocean. It is clear therefore that no one can estimate the catastrophic repercussions this incidence will have on the environment.

While officials have posed a rather hopeful outlook on the rescue and recovery efforts and even in their own way penalized the companies responsible for the mess by filing civil lawsuits against them, naming eight companies including BP, Halliburton and Transocean among others as responsible for a preventable accident.

Usually a newly drilled well, is capped, a procedure involving cement plugs to be poured and hardened in the piping to prevent leaks. But in this case a single layer of cement was applied by the oil rig engineers from which leakage of gas occurred thereby causing an explosion that killed 11 workers on spot. Thus, this accident resulted in both a casualty of human life and the environment at the altar of big companies fuel hoarding method.

These companies are now employing damage control tactics for a situation caused by their haste for profit, and refusal to take into consideration the environment, thus compromising it by their risky and 'timesaving methods'. Kenneth R. Feinberg himself has set up a 20 billion BP fund that pays claimants affected by the oil spill, yet it cannot be seen as anything other than a pay off. It is worth noting that aquatic life will not be the ones to claim or receive any compensation for their homes being destroyed and their lives contaminated, in some cases fatally.

The spill endangers the environment due to petroleum toxicity, dispersants, and the last but not the least oxygen depletion which is very crucial for all life forms. The Gulf of Mexico is already confronting industrial pollutants and agricultural run-off from the Mississippi River. Huge Gulf of Mexico algae blooms help to clean up the Midwest's factory pollutants and emissions naturally. In the season of spring this fast growing algae depletes greater sum of deep water oxygen which is very important for all forms of life. The Gulf of Mexico faces a dead zone. And this oil spill is going to worsen this scenario. The scientists found damaged deep sea coral several miles from the BP well, which is an indication that the ecological consequences of the spill may be far more than what officials have stated.

According to researchers, this deepwater oil spill is a great threat to marine life for instance it is going to destroy the well being of fishes, crabs, shrimps etc which will ultimately disturb the marine food chain. The area of the oil spill includes 8,332 species, including more than 1,200 fish, 200 birds, 1,400 mollusks, 1,500 crustaceans, 4 sea turtles, and 29 marine mammals. As of August 13, 4,678 dead animals had been collected, including 4,080 birds, 525 sea turtles, 72 dolphins and other mammals, and 1 reptile (internet source).As a result it will affect the sea food industry which will ultimately affect the revenue generated from this sector. In a long run perspective, it will leave some adverse marks on the economy. Another question mark is what will be the impact of chemical dispersants which are being used to break down the oil spills. As the ingredients are kept confidential by the company manufacturing it, so the biologists can't estimate the effects those ingredients have on the marine ecosystem.

One should also keep the fact in mind that Oil Droplets which are by-product of dispersants also affect living beings .These oil droplets are formed by the dispersants with an intention to make them easier to be digested by the sea water microbes. These oil eating microbes while consuming the oil reduces the amount of oxygen more which ultimately leads to oxygen depletion.

It is clear that simply paying off the victims is not going to absolve the companies responsible for disrupting the harmony of deep sea life, saturating their surroundings with oil, thereby not only wasting a precious resource but also endangering human and animal life. They ought to be made responsible for picking up the pieces of this fiasco through researching and reconstructing the very sites they have damaged and perhaps even funding artificial eco systems for the affected life. Stringent laws ought to be applied in order to prevent any such future accidents and a standard procedures for drilling ought to be set thereby making the business of business to protect the environment they operate in instead of acting as parasites.