BP Deepwater Disaster and Gulf Oil Spill

LIVE COVERAGE of the oil leak

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A BP cleanup crew removes oil from a beach on Saturday, May 23, at Port Fourchon, La. Officials say it may be impossible to clean the hundreds of miles of coastal wetlands affected by the massive oil spill that continues gushing in the Gulf of Mexico.




United States — The Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a disaster unfolding before our eyes. Eleven lives were lost in the initial explosion, and that incalculable loss is compounded daily as oil continues to flow.

On April 20th, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, an explosion engulfed the Deepwater Horizon exploratory drilling platform, leased and operated by BP, leading to its collapse and sinking days later. The wellhead, nearly a mile below the surface of the ocean, is spilling between 210,000 and many millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf everyday, where it is being mixed with highly toxic chemicals that keep the oil hidden from view. 11 people died in the initial accident. Hundreds of species and the economies of the Gulf states are under dire threat.

Greenpeace is on the Gulf Coast bearing witness to the destruction and conducting independent assessment of the environmental impacts. But even as the scale of devastation becomes clearer in the Gulf, Shell Oil is moving closer to beginning a new exploratory drilling program in pristine Alaskan waters this July.

Neither the disaster unfolding in the Gulf nor the one that is imminent in Alaska are necessary to maintain a strong economy. Renewables like wind and solar, paired with energy efficiency, have the potential to meet all of our energy needs. We are calling for an immediate stop to new offshore oil drilling.

VIDEO FROM THE OIL SPILL



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj9DA5N6GP4