Senators who thought they could pass a climate change bill by selling our offshore waters to oil drillers may be cringing over their poor timing, if not bad judgment, two weeks into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

As oil from the spill continues to flow unabated at 200,000+ gallons each day—creating a potentially "unprecedented" environmental catastrophe in President Obama's words—there are at least mutterings from Senate leaders over the spill's political impact:

"This terrible event will, undoubtedly, require us to re-examine how we extract our nation's offshore energy resources and will have to be taken into consideration with any legislation that proposes to open new areas to development," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday.

"The offshore drilling issue is being reconsidered by many at this point," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters yesterday.

<Update: the public interest journalism group, ProPublica, is reporting that the chemical dispersants used in the Gulf oil spill are toxic and "could create a new set of environmental problems.">

<Update: Scientist says chemical dispersants can make the oil spill even worse.>

Scientists using oil dispersal chemicals seem to be playing a juggling match with onshore and offshore wildlife in the target zone of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

They are reporting some success in keeping oil away from shore-based wildlife and the extensive complex of wetlands in which they live. But by doing so, they are forcing the dispersed oil into other creatures' habitat—such as deep water seabeds. Is one harm less harmful than another? Here's how the Los Angeles Times reports it:

Scientists don't know much about the oil's ultimate effect in the deep water, but most agree that it will have a much larger biological effect if it reaches the coast, which is teeming with wildlife.

"You're transferring the pollution, if you will, but under the right circumstances it's probably favorable," said E. Eric Adams, who specializes in environmental fluid mechanics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Female loggerhead heading back to the Gulf of Mexico after laying her eggs. Photo: nps.gov

Although oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has been washing onto gulf coast beaches since Thursday, the main body of oil—perhaps the size of Puerto Rico and growing by at least 200,000 gallons a day—remains a looming, ominous offshore threat. <Update: Check out this New York Times map graphic showing how the spill is spreading.>

Onshore, clean-up efforts are assembling in four states, preparing for the worst-case scenario of heavy oil invading wetlands and feeding/breeding/birthing areas for more than 400 animal species, including endangered and threatened turtles that come ashore at this time of year to lay eggs.<Update: If there is any good news out of the spill, it is this: a necropsy on 25 dead sea turtles shows no connection to the oil spill.>

But, offshore there is only speculation at this point about what damage is being done to wildlife. The oil is spread across waters where the endangered western Atlantic bluefin tuna breed at this time of year, releasing their eggs to float in the currents. Earthjustice has fought for years to protect both the tuna and sea turtles.

Oil on the Alaskan shoreline following the Exxon Valdez spill. Photo: Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources

President Obama is heading to the oil-ravaged Gulf Coast tomorrow as his administration tries to catch up with a rapidly developing political and environmental crisis.

What he faces is an uncertain catastrophe that's been building for nearly two weeks since an exploratory oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, unleashing a torrent of oil into gulf waters. The spill's disastrous potential became public Wednesday as authorities revealed that 200,000+ gallons of oil are blasting unchecked from the well hole and can't be controlled for weeks or months.<Update: Today, estimates of the spill grew exponentially, with some sources saying more than 10 million gallons are afloat—akin to the Exxon Valez disaster 21 years ago in Alaska. The reports suggest that leakage is many times more than the most recent offical estimates.>

Oil from the spill first hit Louisiana's barrier islands Thursday night and is being pushed by wind and tide onto a broad expanse of coastline. Assisted by a looping gulf current, the oil is expected to assault Florida's western coastline by Monday. In the last few days, it has tripled in size.

As The New York Times reports, the potential harm could range from moderate to catastrophic. The threat is imminent for two wildlife species that Earthjustice has fought to protect for years: sea turtles and bluefin tuna. But, there are at least 400 animal species that dwell in the gulf's oil-threatened coastal areas.