Justin Ahrens
Sarah Ahrens
Kara Ayaram
Tim Damitz
Bob Davidson
Susan Herda
Kerri Liu
Katrina Strich
Intern
Guest Blogger
You all know that we love to keep up on the green news here at R29. So we’ve been following the updates about the recent oil spill off the Gulf Coast. (For a great photographic recap, check out this link.) The concerns about the spill aren’t only environmental. They reach much further into the realms of politics, economics, and livelihoods, not to mention those who lost their loved ones in the explosion.
Here’s a little recap of the events so far:
April 20th: An oil rig 52 miles offshore of the Louisiana mainland exploded, killing 11 people and injuring 17. The explosion was blamed on a defective “blowout prevention mechanism.”
April 22th: The damaged oil rig sank, leaving behind a 1×5 mi oil slick. At that time it wasn’t known if the oil that appeared was due to the explosion or if there was an active leak.
April 24th: BP confirmed the active leak. Fresh oil was leaking from two areas of the oil well at the rate of 42,000 gallons per day. Cleanup teams have been deployed by this time. For more on cleaning up oil spills, visit this link.
April 28th: They discovered a third leak and increased the estimated oil flow to 210,000 gallons per day. The leaks proved difficult to cap at a depth of 5,000 below the water surface.
April 29th: The slick had grown to 120 miles long and was dangerously close to the Louisiana shoreline. The government’s eye turned toward the spill, and they began pulling resources in to help.
May 3: BP confirmed that they will be footing the bill of the cleanup. It’s estimated to cost more than $3 billion.
Over two weeks later, oil is still leaking from the well, and cleanup crews are scrambling to prevent massive damage to the fishing industry and to the shore. The cleanup efforts have been successful in keeping much of the oil from reaching the mainland shore, so they are to be applauded.
Today, BP is going to attempt to contain the spill by placing a 4-story container over the ruptured oil pipe. We hope that it works!
What do you think about offshore drilling in the U.S. Is it worth this type of risk? Let us know.
Just found this too – latest info: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/
Thanks! Great resource.
[...] a 4-story dome/cap and the Top Kill procedure (for a recap of April’s events, check out our previous post). Two relief wells are being drilled, which are supposed to be the magic bullet. However, until [...]