It looks like that "Loop Current" might be working as feared, as globs of tar have started washing up on the shores of Key West, Florida. The balls, 3- to 8-inches in diameter, were found at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park beach, but the Coast Guard doesn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. Lt. jg. Anna Dixon told AOL News, "We don't even know the origin of these things. We're going to try to confirm where they came from and search for any more and commence cleanup if any more are found."
If the oil does reach the Loop Current, it could continue to travel up the east coast as far as North Carolina before heading farther into the Atlantic Ocean. But the Coast Guard is using booms and other techniques to keep that from happening (if it hasn't already). Coast Guard Rear Adm. Peter Neffenger said, "We are treating it as if it was its own coastline."
Luckily, BP's new pipe system, installed to siphon oil directly from one of the leaks, has actually been working! The Post reports that the pipe has been sucking up at least 42,000 gallons of oil a day, and depositing it onto a tanker at the surface. Unfortunately, that still leaves about 168,000 gallons a day spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. BP says it will try to cap the leak again by the end of the week, this time using heavy fluids they call "mud" to plug the hole instead of a 100-ton cofferdam.
