It is now more than forty days after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and they still have not stopped the leak. I can’t even remember all of the things they have tried or thought about trying…booms, setting it on fire, top hat, top kill, junk shot, and now the latest - the deployment of the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System. What will they come up with next? It has been over 20 years since the Exxon Valdez oil spill and we have yet to figure out a way to contain and clean up the mess. Perhaps drilling should cease until someone can come up with a way to get rid of it when these things happen. 

I have read many reports regarding the effects of the oil spill on the wildlife in the Gulf Coast area and the most common number I can find is that about 25-30 dead birds have been found covered in oil. I have also read that about 500 birds, 200 turtles and 30 mammals have been found dead along the Gulf coast, however, they have not linked these deaths directly to the oil spill. Many of these deaths were probably related to the oil spill and that these numbers are probably low because many of the dead organisms are likely to be eaten prior to washing up on shore. If that is the case, then whatever ate the dead, oil-affected organisms will probably also be affected. Not to mention the fish and shellfish that also live in these waters.