Louisiana Coast Oil Spill

By now, anyone who reads this has, I'm certain, heard about the sinking of the BP oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. Well, the Boston Globe has just published a series of photos on the disaster, and it's truly apocalyptic.

Some suggest that the disaster may already be at Exxon Valdez levels, in terms of oil spilt. Of course, the Exxon Valdez spill took place is an enclosed bay where the oil couldn't spread too far... Here, the damage can spread over a much wider area, with devastating results for a number of industries. This presents a pretty clear danger to the Louisiana swamplands, which are of great ecological importance as well (swamplands are precious for a number of reasons, including the number of species that depend on them and their value as carbon sinks.)

Obviously, this bad situation is getting worse. And you know what? If a hurricane hits before this is under control, the entire region could be screwed.

I've read speculation BP Plc might have the ability to stop the leak quite quickly, but it would mean giving up on the well (they'd have to basically collapse the pipeline) and they're still working to save the rig. In order words, if this is true, all this devastation is deemed worth it in order to ensure the well is up and working again in three months. I pray I'm wrong about that, that this speculation is wrong... Because those photos are depressing enough as it is.

UPDATE: Markk II Studios lays out the likely scenarios resulting from the spill. I can't find any obvious flaws in his analysis, sadly.

Also, BP has kinda-sorta admitted their... well, responsibility, if not culpability. Over at HuffPo.