Crisis in the Gulf of Mexico

Spill layers data provided by the State Of Louisiana. Image: TerraMetrics / Google

It all began began on April 20th when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, caught fire, then sank in the Gulf of Mexico off Venice, Louisiana, leaving 11 crew members presumed dead.

The significant crude oil leak resulting from the devastating event poses a serious threat to wildlife, affecting as many as 400 species along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

Many agencies are working to contain this crisis, but the outcome is questionable. Between 200,000 and 1 million gallons of oil are gushing into the ocean every day, and may continue to do so for another 90 days. BP’s disaster will soon eclipse the infamous Exxon Valdez as the worst oil spill in American history.

And that’s just the beginning: As the Obama administration was approving the disastrous BP drilling, it was also lifting the decades-long, nationwide moratorium on new offshore oil drilling. It plans to push similarly dangerous oil rigs into Alaska, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Coast from Maryland to Florida. As Interior Secretary Ken Salazar proudly boasted, it will be the biggest expansion of offshore oil drilling in 30 years.

We have to take action right away. The Center For Biological Diversity has set up a Gulf Disaster Fund, and they are accepting donations.

These are their plans going forward:

• Hold the Obama administration’s feet to the fire for approving BP’s drilling, building a national outcry to end all new offshore oil drilling forever.
• Immediately appeal the Obama administration’s permit giving Shell Oil the right to spew tens of thousand of tons of air pollution into the Arctic with new offshore drilling.
• Argue in court, this Thursday, that the Obama administration’s approval of new offshore oil drilling in the Arctic is illegal and should be immediately stopped.
• In a few short weeks, file suit against Obama’s entire national plan to open up Alaska, the Atlantic coast, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico to offshore oil drilling.