Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Resources: Research Tools: Kanawha County Public Library

The BP Oil Spill is an unprecedented environmental disaster. For those who want to gain insight into the affects this event has on the environment, KCPL offers the following links from governmental and educational agencies. These resources provide current information about the spill as well as in-depth background information on other various aspects.

Gulf Oil Spill Information Center (GOSIC)

The University of South Florida (USF) Tampa Library, located just a few hundred miles from the source of the spill, had had experience in building online resources on environmental subjects, often involving "gray literature," specialized materials not easily found via conventional publishers, such as research papers or technical reports. So Todd Chavez, the director of academic resources at USF Libraries, began sketching out a framework for a wide-ranging online Gulf Oil Spill Information Center (GOSIC), an impartial, up-to-date information resource, drawing together disparate strands of oil-spill information into one online location.

Official Response

White House

White House-Current response to the oil spill, practical information for anyone who wants to volunteer and a variety of other links

Deep Water Horizon Response

Unified Command group that links the organizations responding to the oil spill. It provides a forum for those organizations to make consensus decisions. There are thirteen government agencies such as the Coast Guard, EPA, Department of State, NOAA, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as BP and Transocean.

Environmental Perspectives

Smithsonian Institution: The Ocean Portal

According to the website, the Ocean Portal is an, "interactive online experience that inspires awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the world's Ocean." In their special coverage of the gulf oil spill you will find an introduction to the crisis, an overview of the science and research related to the spill, and a section featuring the enironmental and health threats posed by the spill with potential solutions.

Oil Spill Information: School of Marine Science, University of South Florida

The USF College of Marine Science is focused on interdisciplinary research in marine science at the graduate level. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Information page collects links to data and information about the spill as well as news related to the spill.

National Wildlife Federation

The National Wildlife Federation claims to be America's largest conservation organization. Their page about the spill focuses on ways you can help wildlife impacted by the oil spill.

National Audubon Action Center

back to page menu

International Bird Rescue Research Center

back to page menu

Congressional Research Service Reports

The Congressional Research Service, provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events.

Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress-Congressional Research Service

This report, written by specialist in environmental policy, Jonathan L. Ramseur, was released April 30, 2010.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Selected Issues for Congress

Curry L. Hagerty, Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy, and Jonathan L. Ramseur are co-authors of this report released May 27, 2010.

These reports were made available to the public by Open CRS, a project of the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Federation of American Scientists.