Oil spills alone are manageable with enough effort.
It's a problem when oil companies use chemical dispersents like Corexit which bind to the oil droplets and sink them to the ocean floor, out of sight. This kills extraordinarily large amounts of marine life, not only because it's oil, but because the dispersing chemical amplifies the toxicity of the oil several times over as it binds to it. What doesn't die, often builds up in our marine food chains and ends up on our plates or in the trash. Fishermen who make a living off the waters affected by the BP oil spill have to throw out large amounts of their hauls due to deformations and clearly visible oil inside their catches. People in that same affected area have had dramatic rises in cancer, with many developing large tumors documented to be a direct causation of Corexit-binded-oil contaminated water. Out of sight, out of mind unfortunately.
