News sources have just reported that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is spreading out of control and now threatens to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident, which leaked 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which started when an offshore oil rig exploded, caught fire and sank, has reached the ecologically fragile Louisiana coastline and the mouth of the Mississippi River. The spreading oil is threatening marshlands along the Louisiana coast and 10 wildlife management areas in Louisiana and Mississippi as well as oyster, shrimp and other seafood fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Government officials said late Wednesday that oil from the underground well could be leaking five times faster than previously estimated--at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day instead of 1,000. Emergency crews tried to corral the oil spill with skimmers and containment booms, and started a controlled fire to burn as much oil as possible off the surface of the water. Weather prevented additional burns on Thursday, but more burns are likely to be conducted when weather conditions improve.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday morning pronounced the incident a "spill of national significance," a designation that frees more federal resources to help with the cleanup. Later in the day, President Barack Obama dispatched Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to help with the spill and promised that the White House would use "every single available resource" to respond to what is almost certain to become the nation's worst oil spill and one of the most damaging environmental disasters in U.S. history.
"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told The Associated Press. "I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."
Experts believe it could take up to three months to drill a relief well and plug the gushing oil well that lies 5,000 feet underwater. That well taps into one of the largest U.S. oil reserves and could continue pumping out 5,000 barrels (about 200,000 gallons) of oil per day until the repairs are done.
The oil spill also could have far-reaching effects on America's future energy policies, according to White House officials and other observers. President Obama's proposal to expand offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling along the Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico and northern Alaska is about to enter a public comment period. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that public reaction to the oil spill might force modifications to the plan. Meanwhile, the comprehensive Senate Climate Bill, which also calls for expanded offshore drilling, may have an even tougher time garnering the votes needed for passage.
"This will become part of the debate" over offshore oil drilling, said Carol Browner, Obama's top energy and climate advisor. "That goes without saying."
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Comments
That’s a pretty sad comment on what’s going on in this country. And — to me — one of the worst things happening is that we won’t listen to each other.
How can anyone make a reasoned decision if they only hear one side of any question? I don’t agree with a lot of loud mouths on both sides — but I do read, and listen to them all. It really irks me to have worked hard & lived frugally, and then have people try to tell me how to live and what to do with the money I earned and saved!
I really care about the future of this country. Though I won’t be around much longer, my children, and theirs, will be. All of those to come deserve a free country!
MOTHER NATURE IS ALL WE REALLY HAVE. REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL POLICY…WE HUMANS ARE MOSTLY WATER, WE LIVE ON A PLANET THAT IS MOSTLY WATER. WE ARE POLLUTING, HAVE BEEN POLLUTING AND WILL CONTINUE TO POLLUTE, RAPE, PILAGE, AND TERRORIZE THE EARTH…UNLESS WE ALL GET A CLUE, GET ON OUR BIKES, EAT LOCALLY, LEARN TO GROW OUR OWN FOOD AND LIVE A MUCH SIMPLER MORE CONNECTED LIFE. BASICALLY GO BACKWARD IN TIME A BIT. GOD BLESS YOU ALL…GET OUT OF YOUR CARS AND QUIT SUPPORTING CORPORATIONS IN ANYWAY!!!
atta girl mariah i agree 100%
cant help but think the whole world should be on this and fixing this mess never mind blame fix it NOW
They say it could take three months to drill a relif well while all along the oil is still going to be leaking?! We need to find something out NOW or else some serious problems are going to occur other than the ones that have already happened. I agree with Darren saying that the whole world needs to mpitch in and help because if we don’t act now it will effect the WHOLE world.