Katie Gordon
May 21, 2015
Oil Spill in California: A huge oil slick lines the California coast after a pipeline breaks
Blackburn, Laura. "News." Oil Spill in California. N.p., 20 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
The article “Oil Spill in California: A huge oil slick lines the California coast after pipeline breaks” by Laura Blackburn, talks about the pipe burst in California causing a half mile of oil to form in the ocean. The spill was discovered by authorities responding to a foul smell near Refugio State Beach. The article touches on how the U.S. Coast Guard, Santa Barbara County emergency officials, and state parks officials began the process of cleaning up the area. “To see this level of spill in such a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch,” said Owen Bailey, executive director of the Environmental Defense Center, in a statement. “These waters are known as the Galapagos of North America with numerous species of endangered whales migrating through marine protected areas.” Laura Blackburn also writes about how history is repeating itself, with the big pipeline break in 1969, where oil lined the entire coast line.
In my opinion, this article brings up elements that people should be more aware of. This pipe burst is significant to humanity because with oil in our oceans the marine life is at great risk. More and more creatures are becoming extinct and at danger because of these oil outbreaks. “This is an important reminder that we must redouble our efforts to make safer, cleaner and forward-looking decisions on energy production,” said Bailey.
This article was very well-written by Laura Blackburn, except for some aspects. Blackburn could have added more details on the actual burst and its effect on society. Although, Blackburn did a great job on adding in quotes to help the reader grasps the importance on the topic. Overall, the article was well written and informative.
Katie’s current event review of Laura Blackburn’s 2015 article in Time For Kids titled “Oil Spill in California: A Huge Oil Slick Lines the California Coast After Pipeline Breaks,” was very well written and informative from a reader’s standpoint. One thing I liked about Katie’s review was that she picked a topic that has a great impact on a fragile subject in that the oil pipeline that burst as described in the article could potentially put the whales that migrate to the California coastline at risk, not to mention the fish and other marine animals that live there year-round. A second thing I liked about her article was that Katie used a lot of quotes pulled directly from the article to help prove the points she made in her review. Thirdly, I liked how Katie kept her review pretty short and concise, and did not give the reader any information that was not all that important. While her article review was well written, I think Katie’s review could have benefitted in that she could have explained a little bit more into how previous oil pipeline burst incidents have harmed wildlife, and maybe give a few specific examples. Also, I think Katie could have included information on how far away the pipeline is from the actual Californian coast so readers can sort of estimate the time it took for the oil to reach the coast, giving them an idea of how long the pipe has been gashed open for. All in all, if I had to take one thing away from Katie’s article, it would be to be more mindful of the environment we live in because of how even modern-day necessities like oil can damage the ecosystems of countless animal species.
ReplyDeleteBlackburn, Laura. "News." Oil Spill in California. N.p., 20 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
http://www.timeforkids.com/news/oil-spill-california/243386
ReplyDeleteI chose to read Katie’s review on the article, Oil Spill in California: A huge oil slick lines the California coast after a pipeline breaks by Laura Blackburn. Katie did a really good job reviewing this article. First of, Katie did an excellent job summarizing the article. She filled you in on everything you needed to know about the topic as well as going into detail. Also, I really enjoyed Katie’s opinion about the article’s importance. Lastly, Katie decided to add several quotes to her review, which I really enjoyed. For example, she quoted Owen Bailey, executive director of the Environmental Defense Center, which to me sounds like a credible source.
Although Katie did a very good job, there were a couple things that he could’ve done that would have made her review even better. For example, Katie could’ve included some statistics about this topic because it would have added some credibility to the argument. Also, when talking about the importance of this article, Katie could’ve stated how this directly influences our generation. Lastly, after finishing the review I was left kind of hanging as to what is being done to fix this issue. I’m not sure if the author of the original article mentioned anything, but it would have been something nice to include.
After reading this review, the most interesting quote that I came across was, “To see this level of spill in such a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch”. This quote is interesting because it shows true concern about the issue at hand. If this is really an environmental devastation, something should be done quickly in order to fix it. After reading this article, I am curious as to what else is being done to fix this issue and it causes me to want to research more about it.
Blackburn, Laura. "News." Oil Spill in California. N.p., 20 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timeforkids.com/news/oil-spill-california/243386
Katie's review of the article, “Oil Spill in California: A huge oil slick lines the California coast after pipeline breaks” by Laura Blackburn, was very informative without overwhelming the reader with information. The first thing that Katie did very well was using quotes not only in her summary but also in her connection to the world. It gives good, direct information that helps the reader understand what is going on and why this issue is important. Another thing she did well was making a good connection to the world, saying that this issue effects us as a society but also the other organisms living in this world, mainly sea life. Lastly, I thought she made a good suggestion for the original author to include 'details on the actual burst and its effect on society.' Katie was able to make her own connections but I agree that the opinions of the author would have strengthened the original article and Katie's response to it. Some things I would suggest for Katie would be to add some information about the process of cleaning up the oil spill because it would deepen the severity of this issue. I would also suggest that she add more information about the 1969 oil pipe break that she mentioned briefly. That would also provide more insight into the issue and how to prevent future problems. I thought that it was extremely sad that the area the spill affected was where an endangered species of whale migrates. It is awful that we are causing the endangerment of these animals.
Blackburn, Laura. "News." Oil Spill in California. N.p., 20 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timeforkids.com/news/oil-spill-california/243386
Katie’s review of the article, “ Oil Spill in California,” was well written. One thing that I thought Katie did particularly well was that she incorporated a few quotes into her summary of the article. These quotes were interesting and gave me a better understanding of the article. Another Katie did well in her review was give a good, uncomplicated summary of the article. The summary made the rest of the review very clear. Also, I liked how Katie gave us her opinion on the situation. It made the review more interesting and provided another perspective. One thing I think Katie’s review lacked was details, it would have made it even more interesting to read if there were more details included. I think Katie also could have added more about previous pipeline breaks so that we could understand the nature of them and how California has been affected by them in the past. Reading this article made me realize how much damage these oil spills can cause, and it makes me wonder if anyone is doing anything to try and prevent them from happening.
Blackburn, Laura. "News." Oil Spill in California. N.p., 20 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timeforkids.com/news/oil-spill-california/243386
For this assignment, I read Katie’s review on the article, Oil Spill in California by Laura Blackburn. Katie did a really good job reviewing this article. First of, Katie did an excellent job summarizing and giving a brief synopsis the article. She excelled at giving the reader everything you needed to know about the topic as well as going into detail. Also, I really enjoyed Katie’s opinion about the article’s relevance. Lastly, Katie then decided to add direct quotes from the article to her review, which I really think added a nice touche.. Although Katie did a very good job, there were a couple things that he could’ve done that would have made her review even better. For example, after finishing the review I was left kind of hanging as to what is being done to fix this issue. I’m not sure if the author of the original article mentioned anything, but it would have been something nice to include. Lastly, Katie could’ve included some statistics about this topic because it would have added some credibility to the argument. Also, when talking about the importance of this article, Katie could’ve stated how this directly influences our generation.. After reading this article, I am curious as to what else is being done to fix this issue and it causes me to want to research more about it.