The sunken Gulf Coast oil rig is leaking. About 1,000 barrels of crude, or 42,000 gallons, are being released into gulf waters each day. The robotic submersibles have attempted to activate a shutoff with unsuccessful efforts. The well exploded last week killing eleven workers. BP is now having a dome built in attempts to capture the oil and then pipe it up to the surface. Unfortunately this strategy might take up to two weeks. The longer-term option would be to drill one or two wells close to the site in order to reroute the oil.
This leak seemed to be under control last Thursday, only two days following the explosion. However, it turned into a high environmental concern upon the discovery of a new leak on Saturday. Remotely operated vehicles have been trying to activate a "blowout preventer" aboard the sunken Deepwater Horizon. They have still been unable to activate the switch.
Check out the rest of the story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36782945/ns/us_news-environment/
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