Pelican Eggs Stained with Brown Sludge from the Gulf Oil Spill
Photos and Video: Watch the BP oil spill live feed here. The "Top Kill" procedure began on the leaking oil well 5000 feet below the surface on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The operation began at approximately 1:00pm Central time on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. BP officials have said it could take hours or days before the leak is plugged up and sealed.
Scroll to the Bottom to View 20 Devastating Slideshow Photos
Will the "Top Kill" Procedure Work?
The procedure began with a mud mixture that was supposedly pushed through two 3-inch tubes into choke and kill lines of the blowout preventer at a rate of up to 65 barrels per minute. Mud then fills the blowout preventer, clogging it and preventing the oil flow. Cement is then pumped into the blowout preventer and into the well to permanently plug it.
Everything hinges on the success of the "Top Kill" procedure. Gulf Coast residents, fishermen and officials are hoping for the best. However, if the operation doesn't work as planned, the "Top Kill" could backfire and dramatically increase the flow of oil.
BP was pumping heavy mud into the leaking well off Louisiana's coast, and officials said Wednesday night that there had been no problems so far.
The Wall Street Journal reported Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the operation as saying, "The absence of any news is good news. It's a wait and see game here right now."
Top Kill: Wait and See. There's No Guarantee
CNN.com quoted BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles from Robert, Louisiana, saying, "I think we just need to take the next 24 hours and actually see what the results are." The operation, known as a "top kill," that began Wednesday afternoon was going according to plan, he said, with drilling mud being applied to the well at a rate of up to 65 barrels per minute.
Sick Oil Recovery Crew Members
Meanwhile, four crew members involved in the oil recovery operations reported feeling sick with nausea, dizziness, headaches and chest pains, and were taken to the hospital for further evaluation. This prompted a recall of all 125 commercial vessels involved in the oil recovery operations. Three others were treated at a medical center.
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Inspects Gulf Oil Spill Environmental Damage
Providence, Rhode Island's own Senator Sheldon Whitehouse – along with five additional U.S. Senators – toured and inspected the Gulf oil spill damage earlier. According to a report in the Providence Journal, Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and one of six senators to inspect the gulf oil spill environmental damage, said, "The damage in the Gulf of Mexico is severe and continues to get worse."
Does Rhode Island have to Worry About the Gulf Oil Spill?
University of Rhode Island scientist and ocean engineering professor Malcolm Spaulding believes that the East Coast (Rhode Island) doesn't have anything to worry about. Spaulding said, "chances are remote that the spill could effect the East Coast."
For 200 Gulf Oil Spill Photos, See These Articles:
BP Gulf Oil Spill: Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs, Live Oil Feed Videos and Photos
Latest Pictures and Videos: Second Oil Plume Discovered, Oil-covered Pelicans Rescued
BP Gulf Oil Spill: Live Feed Videos, Pictures of Oiled Birds, Dead Dolphins Continue to Shock
BP Gulf Oil Spill Update: Shocking Pictures of Oil-Covered Pelicans, Dying Birds and Wildlife
Latest BP Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Live Feed Videos of Oil Leak Continue to Shock the World as Saw Gets Stuck
BP Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Live Feed Shows Top Kill Fails to Plug Oil Leak
BP Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Top Kill Update, Watch Live Feed of Oil Leak off Louisiana Coast
Pictures: How Big is the Gulf Oil Spill? Google Map Shows BP oil Leak Bigger than Rhode Island
Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: R.I. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Inspects BP Leak Location
University of Rhode Island Scientist Says East Coast R.I. Beaches Should be Fine
Sources: online.wsj.com; projo.com; cnn.com
Photo: Pelican eggs that appear to be stained with oil sit in a nest on an island in Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, just inside the the coast of Louisiana, Saturday, May 22, 2010. The island which is being impacted from oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, is home to hundreds of brown pelican nests as well at terns, gulls and roseated spoonbills. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Comments
Fix this
that is so sad
Makes me upset when people were chanting "Drill baby Drill!" during Obama compaign. Make up your mind America! this is the reason we should not drill everywhere.
This is unfortunate, however, the government will overreact and shut down all drilling and production. Environmentalists will be ecstatic even though they all drive cars, ride on buses, fly in airplanes and ride on trains, use vaseline jelly, use plastic, etc.,etc.. Hypocrits all!
can you imagine if Chernobyl leaked radiation all over Europe for 36 days??? what sort of (SUPER POWER)would let this continue???
Everyone, meeting in Jackson Square in New Orleans @ 8am on Sunday morning May 30th 2010. Bring anybody you can!
drill drill baby drill
Alex, I hope someone sets up an oil derrick in your front yard.
just part of it... sell your car, get a bike and shut up!
its so sad
you have killed my children for far too long, now i will kill you......MOTHER EARTH
Has anybody been able to confirm that this whole thing wasn't caused by some wack-o environmentalist who wanted drilling stopped?
It makes you wonder.
Everybody wants to play the blame game & give BP a hard time about it, but it looks like they are doing everything they can to fix it.
Anybody know if Obama finally gave the OK for the governor of Louisiana to get the help he needs from the National Guard? Last I heard, he had been waiting over 2 weeks for an OK.
Furthermore, they will drill; maybe not in the U.S., but drilling will be done because of they want the taxes we pay at the pump!!
sad to say this but the Obama team does'nt know what to do.This catastrophy will affect the whole world forever and ever. Money might make you happy for today, but won't fix the problem.
Something needs to be done! This is tragic!
Stop oil altogether. seriously. as the most advanced country in the world, we sure are stupid.
he is one man and you are expecting to much of one man, give him some time he is trying his best
everything takes time. going from oil to no oil in a year even is impossible. Obama is the man... he will do his best during his term.
this is so sad, it needs to be fixed!!!!!!!
may god b with us!!! people live your lifes correctly its almost over, yes i have faith ...but the time is near and we need to relize all we have is god right now. god bless u all! this situation may b worse the government is only telling us part of the story..if they told us the truth everyone will b running frantic!!! and they do not want that!!
YEAH HIS 1 AND ONLY TERM!
sad to say this but the Obama team does'nt know what to do.This catastrophy will affect the whole world forever and ever. Money might make you happy for today, but won't fix the problem.
Dont blame bp and obama there actually trying to help its his first year in office and hes already had to deal with alot im sure hes doing everything he can to solve the problem
some people should go to prison for this
you should go to prison for this
do you still like your car?
Are any of you folks in the oil industry?
There should be a way to slide a cap over the damaged area. wrap the pipe with metal and weld it in place.
Unfortunatetly, the only way that this is gonna get solved is if they get a crew together to go down and manually take care of it but, thats gonna cost lives and alot of money.
BP is doing everything they can to fix this because they know it is there fault for trying to save a few million dollars and now look where there at, in the hole billions
Wade obama is a joke he first put us further in debt but its for the better of our economy it is working pretty good for us haha. And when Bush got in office he only had to deal with the war thats all. But obama is doing a great job!!!!!!!
the world isnt gonna end from natural disaster, it's going to end from human disaster and our own actions. what a shame.
I am ten years old and I want to be a marine bioligist. This has made me so sad and I would love to be older so I could go help all of the innocent animals. Please pray for them.
w0h
dare think th"A"y
0wn gaia!
If our chief executive did his job he might have discovered the mess in MMS. Instead we've started electing Presidents to be super-legislators, kind of like dictators. The conflict of interest ridden bureaucrats have been delegated the Chief Executive job. Let's read the Constitution.
Obama makes sense. It's a tough spot for all, but he's trying to fix it and not line somebody's pockets. Bush & Cheney would have paid Halliburton billions to fix and clean up. They would have made sure the money lasted as long as possible and then blamed the oil rig workers who died.
We will never destroy this earth. It was not made by us, and it will not be taken by us!!! GOD IS IN CONTROL!!!
How could this possible be a live feed if there is not evidence of mud at the leak? Most likely a video running on a loop over and over...
the time has come folks be prepare
If you people had a clue... Obama Has no idea what he is doing as a leader of the free world. If he would just read the regulations that our so called legislators have put in place. He might get a clue. Thats right they don't read legislation.. We are supposed to trust what they say. It is supposed to be for our best intrest... AND you think he needs more time??? NOT...
I know let's drill a well thousands of feet deep, a mile below the surface of the Gulf, capable of flowing 2,000 barrels of oil an hour against the incredible pressure of 5,000 ft of water. What could possibly go wrong?
To Jack pascoe: Nobody knows what to do, Jack. Not BP, not Obama, not God! They are having to make it up as they go. This is the logical consequence of a set of policies we've been following since the 1950s. We've been warned repeatedly. We've had umpteen chances to go a different direction. Unfortunately we have the best government money can buy and nobody has more money than Big Oil. We are all guilty, driving our gas hogs, turning our air conditioners to freezing in the summer and our heaters to boiling in the winter, drinking water from disposable plastic bottles. If BP gets this thing shut off in a few days, it won't be one election cycle before we will be hearing, "Drill, baby, drill!" We can't destroy the earth, but we can make it so the earth destroys us.
lower a flexible bladder of sorts filled with heavy oil that will settle into the rupture slowing this outpouring. Then get a submersible to go down and pour molten steel capping the mess.
Duct tape in a massive sense
TopGun: If God were in control, he wouldn't have let this happen. It proves there is no God.
How about dumping thousands of tons of broken-up concrete and rocks on the riser and BOP, and burying the whole mess? Can it sink that far? Ships have sunk that far, haven't they? Why not concrete?
a huge vacuum suck from the center while simultaneously applying a clogging agent from the outer zone working toward the center
french fries --just kidding
how about something that swells after it has been blasted into the rupture.
is this pipe vertical or a horizontal piece?
Vertical--yank the piper out and clog hole
Horizontal-- clamp source
My point is to all the people looking to blame someone---use your time and energy to brainstorm solutions and eventually we will overcome this ...then and only then you can devote the rest of your life to reducing our demand for oil
super hose filled with bounty picker upper (some super porous wafers) that fits over the rupture. although it does not seal completely it absorbs or something that turns into a wick that is burned until we can do somethingelse
who has time for spelling
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