Massive Oil Spill May Reach Florida and Beyond

Monday, May 03, 2010

President Obama traveled to Louisiana yesterday for a first-hand briefing on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The "Deepwater Horizon" oil rig exploded on April 20th, rupturing its well and eventually sinking into the Gulf. An estimated 200,000 gallons of oil are gushing into the Gulf each day, as federal government and BP officials frantically explore options to contain the spill.

The oil slick is expected to hit the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama; if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream, it could extend to the beaches of Florida and beyond.

The New York Times reporter Campbell Robertson is covering the story from Gulfport, Miss. Mike Tidwell is author of "Bayou Farewell." He explains the scope and size of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the likelihood of human error causing a disaster of this scale.


Campbell Robertson and Mike Tidwell

Produced by:

Arwa Gunja

Comments [7]


Someone on here mentioned Haiti, but c'mon now--it's only a pod of sperm whales, seals, birds, and untold numbers of fish and plant life that's suffering. Since when have we been responsible for the well-being of other life on this planet? We can't even take care of ourselves.

May. 03 2010 12:36 PM
hank Linhart from Brooklyn

Your commentary today stated that there are 3,500 oil wells but Fridays Please explain on the Leonard Lopate show stated that there are 35,000 - 37,000 oil wells in the Gulf. Can you say which it is ?
Thanks for any effort to clarify.

Hank Linhart

May. 03 2010 11:07 AM
Mespilus from Massachusetts

Let’s hope that the oil company executives got paid out with sufficiently large bonuses, earned by cutting corners, so as not to be unduly inconvenienced for this science fiction scale catastrophe. Perhaps this will get rid of those pesky fisherman, nature lovers, and tourists, who just get in the way. Seriously, if they did care about anyone else, or they would have had a plan in place. The fact is, executives are already paid out, and have no stake in what happens next, not to their large corporations, not the banks, nada..An act of unspeakable violence has been done. What we really need to pray for is PEACEFUL change, because any on peaceful change will sow the seeds of its own illegitimacy, and only replace on problem with another .

May. 03 2010 11:00 AM
Emily from Miami, FL

Where is all the discussion about the fish for the fish' sake? Not just as our restaurant supply. I know that the estuaries are a crucial & delicate ecosystem, but isn't the deeper ocean also full of incredible biodiversity being threatened now? Aren't there species threatened for extinction after a disaster like this? I'd like to hear more on that.
Also, while the finger is being pointed at BP, isn't it partly America's fault for not allowing any drilling on land (because that is where we live), but allowing massive amounts off shore (where marine life is out of sight, out of mind)? Shouldn't we take more responsibility in the clean up as well? Where are the other oil companies? Wouldn't they look good jumping in to help too? This could happen to any of them.
After seeing how much people could do for the Haiti disaster, why is there not more happening for this? It seems catastrophic and people are responding casually.

May. 03 2010 10:15 AM
Jean from New York City

At some point, I'd appreciate information on the role Halliburton played in the disaster. I've heard that they had finished some important work just 20 years prior to the accident. Also, I've heard that BP had the option not to follow some important safety procedure because they didn't want to spend the money. The latter would implicate our recent history of lack of governmental regulation.

May. 03 2010 09:37 AM
Brent Angell from Windsor Ontario Canada

It is curious to me that corporations that conduct deep sea oil drilling and extraction operations can only come up with lame responses citing equipment failure. Should there not be several safety precautions in place to ensure that not if, but when these "accidents" occur remedies are readily at hand? Inventing solutions after the fact is not indicative of BP being a responsible corporate citizen. Given that this is a national disaster perhaps nationalizing BP, seizing their assets, and jailing their executive and board of directors may get the point across that inflicting terror in the minds of gulf coast residents, devastating the regions marine-based economy, destroying the ecosystem is just not acceptable.

May. 03 2010 08:46 AM

When the effects of "only one" mistake are so devastating, a "good track record" requires no mistake.

May. 03 2010 08:19 AM

Leave a Comment

Email addresses are required but never displayed.