The well is dead. Finally.

A permanent cement plug sealed BP's well nearly 2.5 miles below the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico, five agonizing months after an explosion sank a drilling rig and led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's point man on the disaster, said Sunday BP's well "is effectively dead" and posed no further threat to the Gulf. Allen said a pressure test to ensure the cement plug would hold was completed at 5:54 a.m. CDT.

The gusher was contained in mid-July after a temporary cap was successfully fitted atop the well. Mud and cement were later pushed down through the top of the well, allowing the cap to be removed.

But the well could not be declared dead until a relief well was drilled so that the ruptured well could be sealed from the bottom, ensuring it never causes a problem again. The relief well intersected the blown-out well Thursday, and crews started pumping in the cement on Friday.

The April 20 blast killed 11 workers, and 206 million gallons of oil spewed.

The disaster caused an environmental and economic nightmare for people who live, work and play along hundreds of miles of Gulf shoreline from Florida to Texas. It also spurred civil and criminal investigations, cost gaffe-prone BP chief Tony Hayward his job, and brought increased governmental scrutiny of the oil and gas industry, including a costly moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling that is still in place.

Gulf residents will be feeling the pain for years to come. There is still plenty of oil in the water, and some continues to wash up on shore. Many people are still struggling to make ends meet with some waters still closed to fishing. Shrimpers who are allowed to fish are finding it difficult to sell their catch because of the perception – largely from people outside the region – that the seafood is not safe to eat. Tourism along the Gulf has taken a hit.

The disaster also has taken a toll on the once mighty oil giant BP PLC. The British company's stock price took a nosedive after the explosion, though it has recovered somewhat. Its image as a steward of the environment was stained and its stated commitment to safety was challenged. Owners of BP-branded gas stations in the U.S. were hit with lost sales, as customers protested at the pump.

With the BP oil spill in the Gulf finally somewhat under control, it is now time to deal with the aftermath.  There is a nation-wide ban on drilling off the coasts of US soil, countless animals have died and their habitats destroyed and the Gulf Coast will never quite be the same.  Many of you have stepped up to the plate to help clean up this disaster or have raised awareness to show the severity of this tragedy and also the consequences we and the wildlife, must face.  I believe that this passion and support can be easily focused on any other cause you have the infatuation to pursue.

Most of you teens have already started another year of school, always a dreaded time for the majority of us.  I say that to start this year off right we enter it with a positive attitude and our minds set to make a difference.  It’s so easy to get involved these days; there are so many opportunities out there waiting for you. 

If you’re an activist for the environment like me, talk to your school board about starting a recycling program.  If you already have something along those lines, don’t let it get you down.  Organize a group of people who share your beliefs and go around your school grounds and have a contest to see who can pick up the most trash.  I talked to one of my fellow students today who agreed to help me start a program to clean up our local lake. It has become a local party spot and therefore the litter has become a big issue and also dangerous for its visitors.  We are in the process of writing a letter to our local Chamber of Commerce to see if they will support our cause.  It’s just that easy.  Find something you would like to change or make better and take action.  Anyone anywhere can do this if they put their minds to it. 

My advice to all of you out there is to find something you are truly passionate about.  Something you will love to dedicate your time to.  Challenge yourself to do a little research and find some places in your community that could possibly offer what you’re looking for.  Another thing that always comes in handy is to find other people your age who are interested in the same things as you or are just simply looking for a way to get involved. If you’d rather make a change alone you can always go solo and start a powerful movement (like TeenagersCare). 

            While looking online for Non-Profit Organizations to support, I stumbled upon the Website for Teenagers Care.  After reading the Mission Statement and all about the efforts that Matt Pierce, the Founder of Teenagers Care, and his supporters have done in such little time to raise awareness for the oil spill in the Gulf, I knew that this was the cause I had been looking for.  I was truly inspired to see and know that there are teenagers out there who are willing to donate their time and devote themselves to something that will not reward them financially, but give them the feeling of satisfaction of a job well done.  The fact that they have stepped up in a time of need, to help clean up after this ecological disaster, gave me hope, hope that more teens will follow the example set forth and help join our fight to show that teenagers really do want to make a difference.

            If you were to Google “Matt Pierce Teenagers Care” you could see for yourself that what started as one teen’s idea, turned into a nation wide wake-up call; there are issues out there that need to be addressed and taken care of.  As a result of hard work and raising awareness, Teenagers Care “Help Clean Up The Spill” has been publicized in countless newspapers. The Humane Society of the United States dedicated a large chunk of their article “Teens Respond to Gulf Oil Spill” to the organization. Matt Pierce was also featured on NBC news earlier this month where Teenagers Care had its own news story broadcasted across the country.  The Teenagers Care Website, teenagerscare.org, received over 25,000 hits from 11 different countries a short while after the organization began. All of these efforts to raise awareness are apparently working, Teenagers Care is now globally known.  This is a huge accomplishment that one day may happen with your idea.  An idea that hopefully supports our Mission Statement; to show teenagers really do care.

Perhaps the fastest and most well known form of networking for the organization is the “Help Clean Up The Spill” Facebook page. The page has a growing number of fans; the number has almost reached 500.  We hope to see the number keep growing so that more and more people will learn about our goals and hopefully support them.  Most of the fans are teens and not just those from areas immediately affected by the spill, just people our age wanting to help.  This just shows that if our Generation want to take action, with a little help and support and the drive to make it happen, anything is possible. The support Teenagers Care has gotten from people everywhere should act as motivation to teens and anyone else for that matter. If you truly want to see a change you have to put yourself out there and take a risk.  To quote a man of complete respect and inspiration, Mahatma or Mohandis Ghandi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  We could do this together here at Teenagers Care.  

From Ashley Clevenger
Teenagers Care News Reporter