Oil, Water and Wildlife: the Gulf of Mexico Disaster and Related Environmental Issues
July 23, 2010
John W. Bickham, Director of the Center for the Environment, Professor of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
The BP Macondo oil field spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest oil spill in US history and has the potential to impact sea turtle and marine mammal populations, among others. This presentation will review the genotoxic effects of oil exposure in wildlife and discuss the potential for an oil spill to impact wildlife populations. Whereas some aspects of a spill are predictable, each spill is different because oils are highly variable as are the environments in which they occur. I will discuss what has been learned from previous spills including the Exxon Valdez and the soviet oil legacy in Azerbaijan, and potential dangers of offshore oil development in the Arctic. Related Purdue University research efforts in oil-spill related engineering and science also will be highlighted.
Contact Details
- John Bickham
- bickham@purdue.edu
Summer gas prices likely lower than 2012, Purdue economist says
May 24, 2013
Consumers should enjoy a summer driving season without unusually high gasoline prices and probably lower than they were last summer, says a Purdue University agricultural economist.
Read Full StoryInnovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays
May 23, 2013
Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing. The electrode i
Read Full StoryAngelina Jolie's double mastectomy highlights need for advances in cancer prevention
May 22, 2013
Angelina Jolie's announcement that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer highlights the need for more cancer prevention options, according to a Purdue University breast-cancer expert.
Read Full Story