A state of emergency has been declared in Louisiana as oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico reportedly washed ashore overnight, threatening fisheries and wildlife in the marshes and islands off the coast. Oil gushing from a blown-out well a mile underwater is estimated to be five times the previous estimate: 5,000 barrels a day, or more than 200,000 gallons. "The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez in scope," reports Nola.com. "It imperils hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life."
In New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf coast, an emergency shrimping season was opened to allow shrimpers to scoop up their catch before it is fouled by oil. "They lied to us," fishing guide Cade Thomas tells Nola.com. "They came out and said it was leaking 1,000 barrels when I think they knew it was more. And they weren't proactive. As soon as it blew up, they should have started wrapping it with booms." About 210,000 feet of boom has been laid down to protect the shoreline in several places along the Gulf Coast, but the marshland is most vulnerable.
Last night Stephen Colbert examined the crisis with ironic gallows-humor:
There appears to have been behind-the-scenes infighting between the Coast Guard and BP, which leased the oil rig that exploded last week and is responsible for the clean-up. Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry of the Coast Guard, the federal on-scene coordinator, described a "dynamic tension" among participants in the spill response, and promised to ensure that BP was trying every approach available. "If BP does not request these resources, then I can and I will," she told reporters Wednesday. When asked if she had confidence in BP's efforts, she chose her words carefully: "BP, from Day 1, has attempted to be very responsive and be a very responsible spiller."
Yesterday the first lawsuits were filed on behalf of commercial fishermen, shrimpers and injured workers against BP and other companies involved in the drilling process, including—wait for it—Halliburton. A company called Transocean actually owned the oil rig and the blowout preventer, a device that was supposed to seal the well in the event of such a catastrophe, but failed. Robotic submarines have been unable to activate the blowout preventer or stop the gushing oil, and no immediate solution seems available.
And though some analysts estimate the spill could surpass the Exxon Valdez disaster (11 million gallons) by pumping an estimated 18.9 million gallons of oil into the water, the Wall Street Journal points out that still wouldn't top worst oil spill in history, which took place right here at Newtown Creek in Greenpoint. A 2007 report by the EPA estimated that as much as 30 million gallons of oil gathered in a massive underground oil pool following an Exxon explosion in 1950. The site was given Superfund status this year.
