The Gulf Oil Spill 9 Most Outrageous Moments So Far (PHOTOS/VIDEOS)

As the worst environmental disaster in American history continues forward at an unfortunate pace, BP struggles to stop and contain the leak that began well over 45 days ago. Since the catastrophic explosion on April 20th at Deepwater Horizon set these events in motion, many ridiculous statements have been made and irresponsible actions have come to light.

Here are 9 of the most outrageous moments of the Gulf oil spill so far. Unfortunately, there may be many more to come.

1 of 9

So How Much Oil Is It REALLY?

1 of 10

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

First, BP and the Coast Guard claimed that up to 42,000 gallons of oil were leaking each day from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf Mexico. When a second leak was discovered, the NOAA estimated the leak to be 210,000 gallons a day, though BP officials still stuck by their original estimate. When the third leak was discovered, BP finally conceded to agree with the NOAA's estimate. Then, after inserting a tube into the leaking pipe to siphon out some of the oil, BP admitted that more oil was flowing from the well than 210,000 gallons. By examining satellite imagery of the spill and analyzing the live feed of the leaking well, other researchers have given far more drastic estimates. U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt recently stated that two separate teams of scientists calculated the leak to be between 504,000 and more than a million gallons a day.

Earth Week 2012 Challenges: Reusable Bottle Wednesday

State Of The Air 2012: American Lung Association Reports Improvements, Challenges

Eco Etiquette: 9 Time-Saving Tips For Busy Green Moms (PHOTOS)

Vegetarian Sandwich Ideas: How To Make The Best Meat-Free Lunches And Dinners

Gulf Oil Spill Anniversary: Spills Around The World Since Deepwater Horizon

Japan Tsunami Debris: Bones Expected To Wash Ashore, Oceanographer Says

First, BP and the Coast Guard claimed that up to 42,000 gallons of oil were leaking each day from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf Mexico. When a second leak was discovered, the NOAA estimated the leak to be 210,000 gallons a day, though BP officials still stuck by their original estimate. When the third leak was discovered, BP finally conceded to agree with the NOAA's estimate. Then, after inserting a tube into the leaking pipe to siphon out some of the oil, BP admitted that more oil was flowing from the well than 210,000 gallons. By examining satellite imagery of the spill and analyzing the live feed of the leaking well, other researchers have given far more drastic estimates. U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt recently stated that two separate teams of scientists calculated the leak to be between 504,000 and more than a million gallons a day.

comments(114)

featured comment

Reply | Share

Martin Musetsky said on 5 Saturday 2010 am30 4:52 am: Live feeds from all cameras on the sea floor: http://climate.the-environmentalist.org/2010/06/live-video-feeds-of-gulf-oil-disaster.html

Total comments: 114 | Post a Comment

1 of 10

Rate This Slide

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Not Too Crazy Extremely Outrageous

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

5 Most Outrageous Oil Spill Moments

loading...

5 Most Outrageous Oil Spill Moments

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[conviventia]

06:35 PM on 06/12/2010

How about Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club, saying that the Obama administration is doing a "phenomenally good job" handling the BP crisis? I think that should at least count as #10.

[BebeLush]

10:56 AM on 06/07/2010

Lies and stupidity. Keep this in mind the next time your city faces a disaster. This kind of behaviour is disgraceful.

[Scent]

04:52 AM on 06/07/2010

We need a goveernment that is free of the corrupt influence of the parasites if we ever want so seee an improvement in ANYTHING on this planet.

We need rules not MADE by corporations but rules they adhere to OR GO TO JAIL.

[RomeoFoxtrot6]

05:31 PM on 06/06/2010

The pelicans , the wetlands and marshes and the people of rural Louisiana never stood a chance. An organic solution that was produced in Washington state ,proven to work by the US Navy 18 years ago in a spill and by AMOCO in Canada, HAS BEEN IGNORED.

The damage to wetlands and marshes ,the wildlife in them and the beaches could have been mitigated using hydrophobic( repels water) and oilophilic ( attracts oil) cellulose sorbents that the were available.
BP was contacted by no less than 8 separate groups.

The problem stems from the fact that the USA EPA has failed to require performance standards to be a part of the National Contingency Product List.. This has created a de facto monopoly for synthetic oil based sorbents that could not and did not protect the fragile ares of south Louisiana that were left to the same fate as the shorelines of the Prince William Sound.

The EPA has specifically declined to list or evaluate the performance of sorbents.
REF 40 CFR Ch. I (7–1–03 Edition)
g) Sorbents. (
(2) EPA does not require technical product data submissions for sorbents and does not include sorbents on the NCP Product Schedule.

Why? on 05-17-10, the EPA rep response was “there has been no funding”.

The only materials in the now publicly available BP spill response plan approved a year ago were synthetic ADSORBENTS. WHY is a question to be asked in the hearings that are sure to come

[KarenT]

12:16 AM on 06/06/2010

So the CEO of BP sells a third of his stock in BP just before the disaster, Goldman Sachs sells 44% of their stock in the month prior to the disaster and GS is the 4th largest shareholder in Halliburton which is involved in the rig. This needs to be investigated!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7804922/BP-chief-Tony-Hayward-sold-shares-weeks-before-oil-spill.html

[kinoptikation]

11:29 PM on 06/05/2010

The car is on fire and there's no driver at the wheel...
...and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides...
...and a dark wind blows.
The government is corrupt..
...and we're on so many drugs...
..with the radio on and the curtains drawn.

We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine...
...and the machine is bleeding to death.

The sun has fallen down...
...and the billboards are all leering...
...and the flags are all dead at the top of their poles.

It went like this:

The buildings tumbled in on themselves...
...mothers clutching babies picked through the rubble...
...and pulled out their hair.

The skyline was beautiful on fire...
...all twisted metal stretching upwards...
...everything washed in a thin orange haze.

I said: "Kiss me, you're beautiful - these are truly the last days."

You grabbed my hand... and we fell into it... like a daydream or a fever.

* * *

We woke up one morning and fell a little further down - for sure it's the valley of death.

I open up my wallet and it's full of blood.

(Godspeed You Black Emperor - The Dead Flag Blues)
http://c.wrzuta.pl/wa6199/514c84bb002949e64ac9d2e2/0/f# a# infinity - 01 - the dead flag blues.mp3

[LightBeam]

10:50 PM on 06/05/2010

We are in the midst of an Ayn Randian tipping point. So sad that it had to come to THIS for it to happen.

[Markkansail]

09:58 PM on 06/05/2010

It is tragic, to see all of us, so addicted to oil, that we cannot stop, and see what damage we have caused. Until now...after a complete region is laid to waste.Shout out on Blog Talk Radio, "Sailing Tales", Sunday at 10:00am ... Markkansail

[olivia]

06:15 PM on 06/05/2010

Who Killed the Electric Car Part 1/8

Please, for this planet and this country, search for that on YouTube and watch all 8 parts.

GM and Chevron killed the electric car. The EV1 was wildly popular and worked.

[msicenhour]

05:18 PM on 06/05/2010

You know, after all that come out about this (thus far) it has to be plain to EVERYONE by now that we need to be completely off oil no matter what... But none the less, humans are ignorant to the point of complete self destruction.

[Opygollopy]

02:53 PM on 06/05/2010

Now we know where Sistah Sarah got the idea that the environmentalists were responsible for this accident looking for a place to happen.

She got it from listen from Rush "Bloviated Whale" Limbaugh. He wants the Sierra Club to pay for the clean up. The man is an idiot. Someone call K. O. he can add that to the daily claim that "This woman is an idi0t". Whenever he talks about Rush "Bigmouth" Limbaugh, he can start the piece with "This man is an idi0t". Works for me.

Some one should dump that sack of mouth into the Gulf, 5 miles from shore & have him swim back. Then they can bath him with "Dawn", dump charcoal down into his stomach and clean his feathers. You know the ones that look like "chicken" feathers.

Thanks for listening, I feel better now. Peace.

[olivia]

06:16 PM on 06/05/2010

Rush first uttered it, Charles Krauthammer repeated it in a column, and Sarah spews it.

It took the SIX WEEKS to come up with that spin on this mess. They are losing their mojo.

[rich misty]

10:10 PM on 06/05/2010

http://www.examiner.com/x-5738-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m5d3-Video-Rush-Limbaugh-blames-environmentalists-for-Gulf-Coast-oil-spill

http://timothymatters.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/krauthammer-blames-environmentalist-for-oil-spill/

http://www.ex-christian.net/index.php?/topic/38675-sarah-palin-blames-enviromentalists-for-oil-spill/

It took them six weeks to blame environmentalists because for the first 5 they were denying there was an oil spill. They complain about the government response, but imagine if they had been in power... Weeks they would have denied there was a spill. Just like they did, then they would go blaming environmentalists, just like they did.

[reasonshouldrule]

10:13 PM on 06/05/2010

Opygollopy, that's the best rant I've read in a long time! Fanned.

[medcare651]

12:51 PM on 06/05/2010

We are watching our lives being changed forever. All of the people who have loved this part of the world for generations are watching it be taken away forever in our live. We are one of many countries changed forever.
It's all because petroleum has become something we can't live without. Try to live a non plastic life.
If we could all replace as much as we can with metal and glass. If we could spend less on this stuff. Recycling is a must.
I never looked at my life in this was before this disaster. That I have any responsibility for the death of this area just makes me sick and I will do everything in my power to limit my petroleum consumption as much as possible.

[christopherflynn]

01:28 PM on 06/05/2010

I hope a million people read your post and make a similar committment. I did, but my time left on earth is relatively short...May the young take heed of your words of wisdom...
fanned and faved...

[reasonshouldrule]

10:16 PM on 06/05/2010

I hope your time on earth is longer than you think, and your commitment will continue to make a difference.

[Lefty08]

11:28 PM on 06/05/2010

Fanned.

[oMeoMi]

02:07 PM on 06/05/2010

I agree. We need to DRASTICALLY change the way we live - it won't fix this problem but it is a start.

[tempting]

12:19 PM on 06/05/2010

All these CEOs should be tried and convicted and made to do hard time/life/death penalty for the killing and destruction of the people, animals, and the environment.

The supreme court ruled that corporations are people who can give countless amounts to politicians, thereby overriding any voice or values the communities that they are from may have.

Therefore these same CEO's should pay for their crimes as people who commit crimes do.

I heard a lawyer on MSM arguing that these people will not be held to the same standards as criminals because it has to be proven that they personally set out to hurt us.....give me a break.
If that's the case I will be proud to put my name on any document challenging the Supreme Court's dicision in the "Citizens United" case. If anyone has a link for that let me know please.

In the main time check out this site and their amazing links.
http://www.freespeech.org/blog/weekly-mulch-oil-spill-could-bring-mass-extinction-gulf-coast

[oMeoMi]

02:09 PM on 06/05/2010

If we were all addicted to drugs and one of our major suppliers had a boat full of loaded syringes spill in the ocean - our beaches would be covered with syringes. Seagulls and pelicans would get stuck with these needles, get high and flying through our car windshields, killing us in droves. Our children would step on these needles and get addicted.

We would get really mad and punish our suppliers which in not a bad idea. But is there more to the picture we should consider?

[tempting]

02:40 PM on 06/05/2010

I don't see where it is that you're going.....

But this disaster of an oil volcano that is destroying us is worst than your analogy. The syringes would actually have to stick us------but right now all of the environment is being affected in one way or another.
The chemical they used is banned in some countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/business/energy-environment/13greenwire-less-toxic-dispersants-lose-out-in-bp-oil-spil-81183.html

And workers are getting sick from just breathing the fumes. I can't imagine what the stationary animals and insects are going through.

This is heart-breaking and ALL THE CEO'S OF ALL THE COMPANIES INVOLVED SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.

[brushfinch]

11:26 AM on 06/05/2010

WE JUST MUST STOP USING SO MUCH...WE ARE ENERGY HOGS...EVERY AMERICAN MUST CUT DOWN THEIR CONSUMPTION OF OIL,WATER, COAL,ETC, BOTH AT HOME AND AT WORK..THERE ARE MILLIONS OF LITTLE THINGS WE CAN ALL DO. WHEN WE ALL DO THEM, IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE..OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO MORE TO DEMAND THIS CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR; I SEE IS AN ISSUE OF NATIONAL SECURITY,AND PATRIOTISM.

[oMeoMi]

02:11 PM on 06/05/2010

Exactly.

[olivia]

06:17 PM on 06/05/2010

How many of us would use green transportation if we could?

We who have jobs and families and busy lives don't have time to walk, or bike, or even ride the bus if it involves a mile walk, every time we need to show up somewhere on time. Sometimes we have to transport stuff. I take the bus, bike, walk, but it's not a total solution.

Who here would buy a green car if they could?

The EV1 worked, its drivers loved it and begged to keep it, and it would work for 90% of the driving that goes on in America. GM and Chevron killed it after GM proved it works and is marketable.

Watch "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and I promise you will not be bored. In 8 parts on YouTube, or from NetFlix or your library.

Please do it. Something good should come of this. If GM would manufacture that car again and sell it to anyone who wants it, that would be the good thing.

[nobleday]

11:08 AM on 06/05/2010

Obama is partly responsible for the mess in the Gulf at this point. He has to be the least involved and most divisive "leader" we have ever had. No wonder he loves his job...it's just one party and one international trip after another. Camp Obama is the priority. In Obama's world who really cares about the Gulf?

Someone needs to make a list of all of the other priorities this man has had since the day the well exploded...it's disgraceful. No matter what spin Obama tries to put on it...the truth is still there and it's not pretty. I have no respect left for this man.

The government's finger-pointing, hearings to find fault, government lawyers running down to threaten suing, and other divisive actions don't bring people together to get good things done. The Obama administration's actions have led people to hunker down and run from the disaster.

If we had a REAL leader, they would have IMMEDIATELY gotten every scientist, engineer, and inventor down to the Gulf to problem solve this disaster...people working together on any and every solution possible. They should have started implementing every and any good solution immediately to see which ones worked.

But no...Obama has lawyers running around and people throwing blame around. No wonder things aren't getting better. Seminar-leader in Chief...Obama can talk a good game, but gets nothing done in the Gulf.

[oMeoMi]

02:13 PM on 06/05/2010

>"Obama is partly responsible for the mess in the Gulf at this point."

YOU AND I ARE PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MESS>

[EmmaGold]

06:10 PM on 06/05/2010

"Least involved"...you mean less involved than his predecessor? Please! What do you want? For President Obama to stick his fit in the pipe? In actuality, every scientist, inventor and engineer is already working on this issue. EVERYONE is working on this issue. But not everyone is sitting back criticizing what everyone else is doing.