\nhome to oyster beds and a major stop for migratory birds.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“For birds,
\nthe timing could not be worse; they are breeding, nesting, and especially
\nvulnerable in many of the places where the oil could come ashore,” said Melanie Driscoll of the Audubon Society.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Coast Guard
\nwas coordinating vessels including skimmers, tug boats, and robotic submarines,
\nwhich are investigating the underwater damage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The White House
\nhas gone into emergency response mode to better coordinate resources and try to
\navoid the kind of disaster that Hurricane Katrina brought to the region in
\n2005.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
U.S. officials called the event a disaster of
\n“national significance,” as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) meanwhile declared a
\nstate of emergency and called for urgent help to prevent “catastrophic
\nloss” of vital spawning grounds and fishing communities from pollution on
\na massive scale. Jindal also sought the mobilization of 6,000 National Guard
\ntroops to respond to the crisis. Florida Gov.
\nCharlie Crist (R) also declared a state of emergency on Friday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered two Air Force C-130 aircraft to the area to start dropping chemicals in a bid to contain the spill, the Pentagon said. The U.S. Navy meanwhile sent in 66,000 feet of inflatable oil boom, seven skimming systems, and about 50 contractors to Gulfport, Miss., said spokesperson Lieutenant Myers Vasquez.<\/p>\n
Top commanders and Gates were continue to confer with the White House and the Department of Homeland Security on how the military can assist the effort to contain the spill.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite frantic
\nefforts to stave off an environmental calamity, many of those dependent on the
\nregion’s vital fisheries and nature reserves had already given up hope due to
\nstrong onshore squalls forecast for several days to come.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brent Roy, who
\ncharters fishing boats off the coast, said rough seas through Saturday would
\nmake it nigh on impossible for rescue teams to contain the spill offshore.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“As it gets
\ninto the wildlife management area it is going to kill us,” he told AFP
\nafter returning to the small coastal hub of Venice from the Pass a Loutre
\nnature reserve.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At least two
\nlawsuits were filed on behalf of fishers and shrimpers, in what is expected to
\nbe a flood of litigation from the disaster.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oil continues to
\ngush unabated from near the Deepwater Horizon platform, which sank on April 22,
\ntwo days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers. Officials revealed late
\nWednesday that 200,000 gallons per day—about five times as much oil as previously
\nestimated—was now pouring from the leaks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Crews conducted
\na controlled “trial” burn Wednesday of one of the thickest parts of
\nthe slick, but such operations were suspended indefinitely as the heavier winds
\nblew in.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
BP, which leased
\nthe rig from Houston-based contractor Transocean, has been operating 10 robotic
\nsubmarines in a so-far-unsuccessful bid to cap the ruptured well on the seabed
\nsome 5,000 feet below the surface.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the
\nGulf well’s current estimated rate of leakage, it would take 54 days for the
\namount of spilled toxic crude to surpass the 11 million gallons of oil that
\npoured from the grounded Exxon Valdez tanker in Alaska in 1989.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Wake up, Obama. The Gulf spill is our big chance<\/a><\/p>\n Oil rig disaster could soon be worse than Exxon Valdez<\/a><\/p>\n Big Oil continues to see big profits, pollution while Americans get robbed at the pump<\/a><\/p>\n