It's no wonder we're put down so much.
Offshore risks
Consider spill an aberration
By World's Editorial Writers
Published: 4/30/2010 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 4/30/2010 4:48 AM
Even here in oil country we can't gloss over or ignore the disaster taking place in the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion and sinking of an offshore oil platform. In fact, Oklahomans know better than most the dangers inherent in the search for oil.
The first estimate of the leak from the underwater wellhead, about 1,000 barrels a day, was low. The latest estimate, British Petroleum officials said, is that it could be 5,000 barrels a day.
With winds blowing the miles-wide oil slick toward the shores of Florida and the other Gulf states, measures are being taken to limit the damage. A companion well is planned to relieve the pressure and draw oil from the formation. The U.S. Coast Guard has begun setting the slick afire. Ships have tried to contain the slick using booms that surround the oil on the water.
None, however, is foolproof. It is very likely that some, maybe even a great deal, of the oil will reach U.S. shorelines. That puts some pristine beaches in jeopardy at the beginning of the tourist season. It also threatens the fragile ecosystem in the Louisiana swamps.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=61&articleid=20100430_61_A18_Evenhe767297