As you probably know, the Gulf of Mexico is a mess. An offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20th, killing eleven workers and spilling oil into the sea, to the tune of an estimated 5,000 barrels a day. Regardless that some say the oil leakage is actually more, there is still the issue of how to clean it up the over 4 million gallons of oil.
BP, the majority owner of the rig, has reportedly been spending about $7 million a day to try to contain the oil spill. But, the company’s efforts have still been criticized by many, including President Obama. While BP tried to place the blame of the explosion on others, such as Transocean, who owned the rig, Congress has said that BP is responsible for cleaning up the mess. BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward has admitted that BP could have done more to prepare for such a disaster.
Right now, the company has tried many different ways to clean up the spill, which is expected to become the worst in U.S. history. Anchored barriers have been use as have floating booms and chemical dispersants and the shores of the Gulf have been lined with sand-filled barricades.
Weather is not helping the situation. Rough waters and stormy weather is moving in. This weekend, the company inserted a tube into the pipe that is leaking oil in hopes of siphoning the oil that is still gushing into the water. The first tube fell out after two subsea robots collided, but a new one was inserted, although it is not known yet whether it will stop the leak or not. And even if it does contain the leak for a while, there is a chance that it could become blocked.
In addition to threatening tourism (which could result in a loss of as much as $3 billion) and the fishing industry (which could result in a loss of as much as $2.5 billion), there is the impact the oil will have on the wildlife there. The oil spill could threaten over 400 species including dolphins, whales, fish (including tuna), sea turtles, and birds.