Obama heading to Gulf Coast as oil spill disaster intensifies
Source: Agencies |
May 2, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico has grown tremendously in just a day or so.
Satellite images analyzed by the University of Miami show the spill has expanded from the size of Rhode Island to something closer to the size of Puerto Rico.
The news comes as US President Barack Obama heads to the Gulf Coast this morning for a first-hand update on the spill from an offshore oil rig.
Hans Graber, executive director of the Miami university's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing, said yesterday that the spill is moving faster and expanding much quicker than estimated.
Graber says the size of the slick was nearly 3,000 square kilometers on Thursday. By the end of Friday it had tripled to about 9,900 square kilometers.
Graber says estimates of only 1,000 barrels spilling a day seem to be more public relations than anything accurate.
A White House official said yesterday that details of this morning's trip were still being worked out, but Obama will likely travel with a "small footprint" - meaning a very small entourage.
Obama has vowed his administration will do all that it can to battle the spill, which came from a BP rig.
Obama has been relying on reports from agency chiefs and Coast Guard officials since the magnitude of the spill became clear late on Wednesday. Aides report he's been getting regular updates.
Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said Obama got another update early yesterday before flying to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a speech at the University of Michigan.
On Friday, the president ordered Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to conduct an immediate review of rig safety in the Gulf and report back within 30 days if any new technologies were needed.
He promised that no new offshore oil drilling leases would be issued unless rigs had new safeguards to prevent a repeat of the explosion that unleashed the massive spill.
The spill came just weeks after Obama announced plans to open up large areas of the eastern seaboard and a part of the Gulf for possible future oil drilling.
And it has led to increasing calls to reconsider that initiative by environmentalists and coastal state politicians.
The first known wildlife casualty of the massive oil spill was a northern gannet seabird, found alive but coated in oil.
That bird, was recovered offshore on Friday and taken to an emergency rehabilitation center to be cleaned up and nursed back to health.
Meanwhile, documents have emerged showing BP downplayed the possibility of a major accident at the rig. In a 2009 analysis it said an accident at the rig leading to a giant oil spill was unlikely, or virtually impossible.
Satellite images analyzed by the University of Miami show the spill has expanded from the size of Rhode Island to something closer to the size of Puerto Rico.
The news comes as US President Barack Obama heads to the Gulf Coast this morning for a first-hand update on the spill from an offshore oil rig.
Hans Graber, executive director of the Miami university's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing, said yesterday that the spill is moving faster and expanding much quicker than estimated.
Graber says the size of the slick was nearly 3,000 square kilometers on Thursday. By the end of Friday it had tripled to about 9,900 square kilometers.
Graber says estimates of only 1,000 barrels spilling a day seem to be more public relations than anything accurate.
A White House official said yesterday that details of this morning's trip were still being worked out, but Obama will likely travel with a "small footprint" - meaning a very small entourage.
Obama has vowed his administration will do all that it can to battle the spill, which came from a BP rig.
Obama has been relying on reports from agency chiefs and Coast Guard officials since the magnitude of the spill became clear late on Wednesday. Aides report he's been getting regular updates.
Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said Obama got another update early yesterday before flying to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a speech at the University of Michigan.
On Friday, the president ordered Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to conduct an immediate review of rig safety in the Gulf and report back within 30 days if any new technologies were needed.
He promised that no new offshore oil drilling leases would be issued unless rigs had new safeguards to prevent a repeat of the explosion that unleashed the massive spill.
The spill came just weeks after Obama announced plans to open up large areas of the eastern seaboard and a part of the Gulf for possible future oil drilling.
And it has led to increasing calls to reconsider that initiative by environmentalists and coastal state politicians.
The first known wildlife casualty of the massive oil spill was a northern gannet seabird, found alive but coated in oil.
That bird, was recovered offshore on Friday and taken to an emergency rehabilitation center to be cleaned up and nursed back to health.
Meanwhile, documents have emerged showing BP downplayed the possibility of a major accident at the rig. In a 2009 analysis it said an accident at the rig leading to a giant oil spill was unlikely, or virtually impossible.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
