Um... yeah, that's a good idea.

News outlets are reporting that the Coast Guard has plans to try and set the massive oil spill from last Tuesday's sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig on fire before it can reach the coast.

While alarming, the tactic may be one of the few options left to try and thwart what is becoming more and more likely to be a certain environmental disaster.

The spill, which has grown to size larger than West Virginia, is now less than 40 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The Coast Guard has said that is will attempt to set several small "controlled burns." According to officials, if successful the fire should eliminate most of the "light oil" but would still leave much of the "heavier material" that is suspended below the surface. It is believed that some of that material will likely reach the coast. "We will still see some environmental damage," said Rice University Chemical Engineering Professor Walter Chapman.

Meanwhile, efforts to control the spill at sea are not fairing any better. According to the satellite imagery outlet SkyTruth, containment efforts are proving ineffectual. The spill is just too large.

Oppose Destructive Seismic Testing for Oil Exploration

President Obama recently announced a significant expansion in offshore drilling and exploration. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has called for seismic surveying to explore for oil along the mid and south Atlantic. Seismic surveying is incredibly damaging to marine ecosystems.

Seismic surveys are conducted to locate and estimate the size of an offshore oil reserve. In order to conduct surveys, ships use ‘airgun arrays’ to emit high-decibel explosive impulses in order to map the seafloor. The noise from seismic surveys can damage or kill fish eggs and larvae and impair the hearing and health of fish, making them susceptible to predators and making it challenging for them to locate prey or mates or communicate with each other. These disturbances can disrupt important migratory patterns, forcing marine life away from suitable habitats meant for foraging and mating. In addition, seismic surveys have been implicated in whale beaching and stranding incidents.

Seismic testing is equivalent to a bomb detonating every few seconds for months on end! To learn more about seismic testing check out this Surfrider Foundation fact sheet on Coastal A-Z here.

Take a moment to send a clear message that seismic testing is devastating to marine ecosystems--urge the MMS to consider the environmental impacts of seismic surveying and the use of less damaging alternative technologies.

Go here to send your letter.

Oil Spill Continues; Slick Grows; Coasts Threatened

National Geographic reports:

Response teams were deploying remote-operated submarines in an urgent effort Sunday to stop the flow of oil from the site of the accident in the Gulf of Mexico that destroyed the BP-leased rig, the Deepwater Horizon.

If the gambit fails, it could take months to stop the leak-now estimated at 42,000 gallons per day of crude oil, according to the joint U.S. government and oil industry task force.

Response teams were deploying remote-operated submarines in an urgent effort Sunday to stop the flow of oil from the site of the accident in the Gulf of Mexico that destroyed the BP-leased rig, the Deepwater Horizon.

The best hope is that the remote-operated submarines-at least four are deployed at the scene--would be able to activate a huge device on the sea floor called a "blow-out protector," a series of valves meant to control pressure in the well. "This is a highly complex operation," said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP's exploration and production division. "And it may not be successful."

If that operation fails, the next option is to drill a relief well-a process that would take at least two to three months, said Suttles. A BP rig equipped for this task is to arrive at the scene by Monday.

In the above graphic, note the Wildlife Reserves in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Also, should the oil become entrained in the Florida Loop Current it could be transported along the Florida Reef Tract, through the Keys and to the Florida east coast. A recent aerial photograph of the oil slick, plus additional images of the Deepwater Horizon blowout can be seen here.

-- UPDATE: 1:30 PM PST --

According to the NY Times, "Coast Guard officials said Monday afternoon that the oil spill near Louisiana was now covering more than 1,800 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico, and they have been unable to engage a mechanism that could shut off the well thousands of feet below the ocean's surface." Also "The unified command is monitoring the situation and is working closely with officials from Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service and NOAA to understand the impact the spill and response activities may have on whales and other marine wildlife in the area."

Coast Guard: "We are dealing with a very serious spill"

The U.S. Coast Guard announced today that the agency has found not one, but two leaks in the line below the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig, which sank 50 miles off the Louisiana coast this week. After using submersibles to survey the site, Coast Guard officials announced that the breaches were leaking approximately 42,000 gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.

"We thought what we were dealing with as of yesterday was a surface residual (oil) from the mobile offshore drilling unit," said Rear Admiral Mary Landry. "In addition to that is oil emanating from the well. It is a big change from yesterday ... This is a very serious spill, absolutely."

News agencies are reporting that the surface slick, which measured just a few miles yesterday, had grown 25 times that size overnight and was now nearly 20 miles long by 20 miles wide.

According to the Minerals Management Service fixing the leaks will not be easy given the depth (nearly 5,000 feet).

Both government officials and environmental organization are preparing for the worst. When asked about the situation, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal acknowledged that the spill could impact not just his state, but the Mississippi, Alabama and Texas coastlines as well.


"This type of accident is certainly one of the worst-case scenarios you can imagine," said Jindal.

According to a Coast guard spokes person, high winds and 10 foot seas are hampering clean-up efforts.

Obama: "Not the last time there will be a spill"

Even as a foul mix of crude and marine fuel continues to spew forth from the wreckage site of the Deepwater Horizons, the Obama Administration remains unrepentant about their recent decision to allow new offshore drilling and exploration off the East, Gulf and Alaskan coastlines.

Robert Gibbs, Mr Obama’s White House spokesman, told reporters that the accident didn’t change Mr Obama’s commitment to offshore drilling and exploration. “I don’t think it opens up a new series of questions” on the process, Mr Gibbs said, predicting that it “won’t be the last time” there would be a spill.

One can't help but wonder, what the threshold will be for both the Obama Administration and the Drill Baby, Drill crowd to realize that offshore drilling is not an acceptable answer to our nation's energy woes.

Will it take a spill along the Florida coastline, effectively killing tourism, the state's principle economic driver?

Will it take another event like the Exxon Valdez in Alaska's environmentally sensitive north slope to make us realize the cost for our foolishness?

We've seen the loss of two major drilling platforms in less then six months.

If not now, when?

What will it take?

Burning oil rig sinks in Gulf of Mexico

And it is also leaking over 250,000 gallons of crude oil per day.

Read more...

NOAA Responds to Explosion on Oil Drilling Platform

NOAA is responding to an explosion and fire on a deepwater semisubmersible drilling platform some 50 miles SE of the Mississippi Delta. The incident on the DEEPWATER HORIZON occurred at approximately 11:00 PM on 20 April with more than 120 crew reported aboard. The rig caught fire and has been evacuated. USCG Search and Rescue operations have been initiated. A secondary concern is the estimated 27,800 bbls (over a million gallons) of #2 Fuel Oil or Marine Diesel Fuel reported onboard. The USCG has requested scientific support from NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration. NOAA is running oil spill trajectory models of potential spilled oil. A NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator is on-scene in Morgan City, LA. The NOAA Weather Service is providing forecasting support. Additional information may be available at Incident News (www.incidentnews.gov)and NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (www.response.restoration.noaa.gov). Also see NOAA's role and tools used during an oil spill at www.response.restoration.noaa.gov