BP Oil in the Gulf Burned and it's Effect on the Atmosphere

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110920163314.htm

When the tragedy of the BP oil spill occurred, some of the oil was attempted to be contained by burning it away. While at first it may seem like a great idea to help the animals around the area, it actually has terrible impacts on a worldwide level. It was estimated that a whole barrel's worth of oil was burned over the water and is now seen to have released black carbon into the atmosphere. The oil was deliberately burned to save ecosystems, but the black carbon can now destroy the atmosphere itself and hurt organisms around the world. Black carbon is known to destroy the atmosphere since its particles are light absorbing and will hold in the heat from the sun and contribute to global warming, and even just ingesting the particles through breathing it in can cause much health problems. It is estimated that somewhere from 1.4 to 4.6 million pounds of black carbon was released into the air. Even though this was a terrible idea that will have many long-term effects, it has changed our understanding of doing such things as burning oil, and from it we've learned the dangers that it can and will most likely cause. Hopefully this data will be seen as a way to help our environment instead of continuing to treat it wrongfully.