Oil in the Gulf of Mexico!

[Paul the Human]

I posted this in Science, because I wasn't sure where else it should go.

This is bad, people. Very, very bad. The sociopolitical and environmental implications of this disaster are difficult to wrap my mind around. This is a world changing event.

The Coast Guard conceded Saturday that it's nearly impossible to know how much oil has gushed since the April 20 rig explosion, after saying earlier it was at least 1.6 million gallons — equivalent to about 2½ Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Even at that rate, the spill should eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident as the worst U.S. oil disaster in history within about a week. But a growing number of experts warned that the situation may already be much worse.

The oil slick over the water's surface appeared to triple in size over the past two days, which could indicate an increase in the rate that oil is spewing from the well, according to one analysis of images collected from satellites and reviewed by the University of Miami.

Oil industry experts and officials are reluctant to describe what, exactly, a worst-case scenario would look like — but if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream and carries it to the beaches of Florida, it stands to be an environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.

Bolding is mine. Full Article is Here.

The oil company (British Petroleum) claims it can cap the leak within 10 days, but most of the ‘experts’ not in the employ of BP are saying it could take up to 3 months. Either way, nothing good can come of this. I’m afraid the consequences of this are going to prove to be irreparable.

Any thoughts on this?