Oil in Gulf of Mexico oozes ashore; wildlife threatened
Source: Agencies |
May 1, 2010, Saturday
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OIL from a massive spill has begun oozing ashore in the United States, and rough seas expected over the weekend could push it even more quickly into fragile islands and barrier marshes at the mouth of the country's largest river, threatening wildlife and one of the world's richest seafood grounds.
A top adviser to US President Barack Obama said yesterday that no new oil drilling would be authorized until authorities learn what caused the explosion of the BP PLC-operated rig the Deepwater Horizon.
David Axelrod told ABC television that "no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what has happened here."
Obama recently lifted a drilling moratorium for many offshore areas, including the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
The oil slick could become the worst US environmental disaster in decades, threatening to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez in scope. It imperils hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life.
"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said about the spill.
"I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."
As the oil began to come ashore in Louisiana late Thursday, the National Weather Service predicted winds, high tides and waves through Sunday that could push oil deep into the inlets, ponds and lakes that line the state's southeast.
Seas about 2 meters were pushing tides several feet above normal toward the coast, compounded by thunderstorms expected in the area yesterday.
Crews in boats were patrolling coastal marshes early yesterday looking for areas where the oil has flowed in, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard is working with BP to deploy floating booms, skimmers and chemical dispersants, and set controlled fires to burn the oil off the water's surface.
In Mississippi, two Air Force planes were awaiting orders to start dumping chemicals on the oil spill threatening the Gulf Coast, said Master Sergeant Bob Barko Jr.
The leak from a blown-out well nearly 2 kilometers underwater is five times bigger than first believed. Faint fingers of oily sheen started reaching the Mississippi River delta late Thursday, lapping the Louisiana shoreline in long, thin lines. Thicker oil was about eight kilometers offshore.
Officials have said they would do everything to keep the busy Mississippi River ¨? the largest US river, running up the country's middle ¨? open to traffic.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara, facing questions on all three network television morning shows, said the federal response led by the Coast Guard has been rapid, sustained and has adapted as the threat grew since the drill rig exploded and sank last week, causing the sea floor spill. Eleven workers were missing and presumed dead.
A top adviser to US President Barack Obama said yesterday that no new oil drilling would be authorized until authorities learn what caused the explosion of the BP PLC-operated rig the Deepwater Horizon.
David Axelrod told ABC television that "no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what has happened here."
Obama recently lifted a drilling moratorium for many offshore areas, including the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
The oil slick could become the worst US environmental disaster in decades, threatening to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez in scope. It imperils hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life.
"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said about the spill.
"I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."
As the oil began to come ashore in Louisiana late Thursday, the National Weather Service predicted winds, high tides and waves through Sunday that could push oil deep into the inlets, ponds and lakes that line the state's southeast.
Seas about 2 meters were pushing tides several feet above normal toward the coast, compounded by thunderstorms expected in the area yesterday.
Crews in boats were patrolling coastal marshes early yesterday looking for areas where the oil has flowed in, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard is working with BP to deploy floating booms, skimmers and chemical dispersants, and set controlled fires to burn the oil off the water's surface.
In Mississippi, two Air Force planes were awaiting orders to start dumping chemicals on the oil spill threatening the Gulf Coast, said Master Sergeant Bob Barko Jr.
The leak from a blown-out well nearly 2 kilometers underwater is five times bigger than first believed. Faint fingers of oily sheen started reaching the Mississippi River delta late Thursday, lapping the Louisiana shoreline in long, thin lines. Thicker oil was about eight kilometers offshore.
Officials have said they would do everything to keep the busy Mississippi River ¨? the largest US river, running up the country's middle ¨? open to traffic.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara, facing questions on all three network television morning shows, said the federal response led by the Coast Guard has been rapid, sustained and has adapted as the threat grew since the drill rig exploded and sank last week, causing the sea floor spill. Eleven workers were missing and presumed dead.
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