Junk Drawer Ecology by Bobby Mercer

Author:Bobby Mercer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Step 9: Hold the feather with one hand and wash the feather with the fingers of your other hand. Gently go with the direction of the feather as you wash it.

Step 10: Pull out the clean, wet feather. Does it look like all of the oil is gone?

Step 11: Let the feather dry out completely, so it comes back to its original shape.

The Science Behind It

Around the world, crude oil is drilled from beneath the Earth’s surface. Some is even drilled by floating oil rigs, so the oil comes up through a pipe under water. The crude oil is usually loaded onto large oil tankers and delivered to refineries. The refineries turn the crude oil into gasoline, kerosene, plastic, and many other useful materials. But sometimes the oil leaks, and that is what scientists call an oil spill. Most of the dark oil will float on top of the water. This floating oil then covers the wings of birds that live in the ocean environment.

Birds have difficulty flying with oil-covered feathers. And if birds can’t fly, they will have a problem getting their next meal. It also hurts the ability of the bird to use the feathers for insulation. Perhaps you have seen a bird in winter all puffed up. They ruffle their feathers and trap air in their feathers. This air helps them stay warm. Oily feathers won’t fluff up, so a cold temperature might harm the bird.

Ecologists respond to oil spills by cleaning the birds in the same manner you did. Dish soap and scrubbing the feathers will work, if they can catch the bird. This is an expensive and very hard job. And ecologists must get to an oil spill quickly. Many birds will die before the process can start.

The best way to prevent this problem is to stop oil spills. The easiest way is to stop using oil, or at least cut back on its use. Recycling plastic, driving less, and electric cars are all ways to reduce our need for crude oil. Companies also need to make the transport of crude oil safer. Everybody loves ducks, pelicans, and seagulls. Preventing oil spills is a concept everybody can support. And volunteering to help if you can clean birds if it ever happens close to you.

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