Share this Post:

Print this page

Email this page

Gulf Oil Spill Could Get 10 Times Worse

Facebook

Twitter

RSS

YouTube

SIGN-UP for our latest news and action alerts:

Regular Blog Features:

Scope of Science:

Understanding environmental issues with science

Blog Categories:

Facebook Fans

Related Blog Entries

by Kari Birdseye:

Arctic Whales, Shell Execs & Spider Legs

if (window!= top) // if your website window is not top top.location.href=location.href Earthjustice received some superb video today from Dut...

by Jessica Ennis:

Arctic Needs Independent Review Of Drilling

Today, the Department of the Interior announced a 60-day assessment of the 2012 drilling program in the Arctic Ocean. Earthjustice legislative repres...

by Trip Van Noppen:

Shell's Drill Rigs Requiring Extra Federal Attention

With one Arctic drill rig shipwrecked on an Alaskan island and the other reportedly under criminal investigation for possibly “operating with se...

Earthjustice on Twitter

Follow @Earthjustice

05 May 2010, 6:53 AM

Terry Winckler

Gulf Oil Spill Could Get 10 Times Worse

One of three leaks capped, but no slowdown yet, and outlook is grim

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA)

<Update: There's only one cure for man-made oil spills, says New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman: man-made legislation that ends our dependence on oil.>

One of three leaks from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been capped, according to news reports, but there is no apparent slowdown in escaping oil, and that report came with a warning that the spill could increase exponentially if containment measures fail.

Oil is flooding from the sea floor at an estimated 210,000 gallons daily since an oil rig exploded two weeks ago at a British Petroleum offshore drilling site. Yesterday, after a meeting with BP executives, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) said they warned him that oil flow could grow to as much as 2 million gallons a day. BP is hoping to put an experimental dome over the leak, a mile below the ocean surface, this week.

Meanwhile, four coastal states were bracing to protect themselves against the main body of oil, amid predictions that it will start coming ashore within three days. <Update: Frantic efforts are being made to protect fragile coastal areas teeming with wildlife and directly in the path of the oil spill.>

<Update: Check out the Gulf Restoration Network website for local reports on the oil spill.>