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posted 04/29/10 03:00 PM | updated 04/29/10 04:53 PM
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Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico has Local Greens Seeing Red

By Michael van Baker
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Northwest bloggers with environmental leanings have been watching developments in the Gulf of Mexico closely--with a sinking feeling at the scope of the disaster, mingled with outrage at having seen this coming from many miles away. (Even meteorologist Cliff Mass joined in, posting pictures of the spill from NASA's AQUA satellite.)

Each day after the oil rig exploded and sank, killing eleven workers, a broken pipe has been spewing something like 5,000 barrels of oil per day (210,000 gallons), creating a slick of more than 2,000 square miles. Initial estimates of 1,000 barrels per day have since risen to 5,000, and one analyst puts the outflow at 20,000 barrels, covering 4,400 square miles.

Grist quotes Republican governor Charlie Crist: "If this doesn't give somebody pause, there's something wrong," in contrast to the White House's continued support for offshore drilling, including Alaska. The White House has declared this spill of "national significance," which means that federal resources can be used. 

Sightline's Eric de Place couldn't believe that the "best" option for spill containment could be setting it on fire. (And don't get him started on President Obama's moving beyond "tired debates.")

But even that scorched-water strategy isn't foolproof: the New York Times reports, "sea and wind conditions prevented officials from executing a controlled burn of some of the floating oil" and the spill will reach the Mississippi Delta by tonight or tomorrow.

Images: Gulf oil spill, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s AQUA satellite. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/MODIS Rapid Response Team


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Tags: oil spill, gulf of mexico, oil rig explosion, sightline, grist, environment, bp, charlie crist, white house, offshore, drilling + add tags
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