An oil-covered bird is rescued from the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Images)

An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a growing threat to the environment and economy of that area. On April 20, an oil rig (drilling station in the water) exploded in the Gulf. At first, officials did not believe that a significant amount of oil was leaking into the Gulf waters. However, nine days after the explosion, a new leak was found. Officials discovered that much more oil was leaking from the site than they had first believed. About 200,000 gallons of crude oil are leaking out every day.

Millions of gallons of oil are now moving closer to the Gulf coastline. If the oil reaches the coast, it could cause severe damage to animals and land. BP, the company that owns the rig, took responsibility for the oil spill and said “we will clean it up.”

The Gulf of Mexico is important to millions of Americans. Its seafood industry provides jobs to thousands of people, and it catch feeds tens of thousands more. The leaking oil endangers fisheries, oyster beds, wildlife, and beaches. Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana notes, “This oil spill threatens not only our wetlands and our fisheries but our way of life.”

The huge patch of oil from the leak is moving toward the beaches of Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. “There’s enough oil out there, it’s logical to assume it will impact the shoreline at some point,” Admiral Thad Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard noted. “The question is where and when.”

On Sunday, President Barack Obama traveled to southeastern Louisiana to meet with fishermen and others on the Gulf Coast. “Your government will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to stop this crisis,” Obama said. “We’re dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.”

The problem is that no one is quite sure how to stop the flow. One idea is to lower a steel dome down to the source of the leak. That source is nearly a mile below the surface of the water. The dome might contain the oil. This procedure has been used before, but never in such deep waters.
 

Think About It: What can you do when you are not sure how to solve a major problem?

Words to Know

crude - in a natural state; not yet cooked or changed

endangers - to bring into danger or harm

logical - what may be reasonably expected

unprecedented - never having happened before

A Portuguese Man-o-War is seen in clumps of oil in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La., on Monday, May 3, 2010. (AP Images)

Reports from The Associated Press. Posted May 4, 2010.