It is now estimated that 5,000 barrels of oil per day are being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, five times more than originally thought. Some other sobering facts out today on the impact of the oil spill:
- As of this afternoon, the spill is 3 miles from land and 25 miles from the nearest populated area. The company is spending $6 million per day in cleanup costs, and the total cost of cleanup could reach $8 billion. Eleven-hundred people are working on the cleanup effort.
- The growing spill may cost the insurance industry up to $1.5 billion in claims. Experts estimate that it may take 90 days to stop the leak in the well that's located 5,000 feet under water.
- The Louisiana Governor today declared a state of emergency, and Administration officials are calling it a "spill of national significance," allowing them to draw down resources from other areas to combat it.
Our nation's entire system of relying on oil has been an emergency waiting to happen, actually, but not so much about oil spills. It has more to do with the length we'll go to for oil supplies and the really dirty environmental tradeoffs we're willing to accept so we don't have to change.
Posted by: Ron Lamberty