Oil Spill Headed For Florida; BP Facing Investigation

Source: Boston Globe's Big Picture, Gerald Herbert

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Florida residents may soon come face to face with what may become one of the worst oil spills in history.

Yahoo News reported today that the crude oil gushing out of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon well may soon be swept up in currents that will take it through the Florida Keys and up Florida's Atlantic Coast. In about 10 days, sunbathers and beach bums in Palm Beach will think twice before donning bikinis.

Meanwhile, the spill has gotten political, and it's BP that has oil on its hands. Today, the White House announced that it will establish an independent commission to investigate the spill. The panel will contain no current members of the government and will have a broad charter.

And still, no one really knows how much oil has poured out of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon since it exploded on April 20. At first, we heard reports that about 1,000 barrels of oil a day were gushing out of a busted pipe. Then, on April 28, we heard that there were multiple leaks, and over 5,000 barrels of oil a day — over 200,000 gallons — were flowing. Multiple news sources say the spill is much worse than oil giant BP reports.

But, at least BP is trying to do something. Dot Earth's Andy Revkin explained last week that BP's failed "top hat" dome approach is being replaced by an "insertion tube." Revkin says it's "essentially an industrial-size catheter that, in theory, will be pushed into the open end of the pipe that is the main source of oil." Revkin points out that these efforts hope to capture the oil that has already escaped, not stop the oil from escaping.

Let's hope that the ideas keep flowing (cutting your hair, playing a benefit concert, creating graphics and more) and the crude doesn't.

Thank you, Boston Globe's Big Picture for the beautiful, if disturbing photograph.