(Repeats to widen readership) * States have higher incentive to demand higher BP fines * Complex talks, litigation could...

It took just 89 days for that well to spew over 4 million barrels of oil, but it will take much longer for us to fully understand the impact of this disaster -- and longer still to rebuild a healthy and prosperous Gulf of Mexico.

In the Gulf, new information is confirming fears that fish and wildlife -- and millions of people on the Coast -- are being seriously impacted by the 4.9 million barrels of BP oil spewed from the ocean deep last year.

We cannot continue to let the Gulf suffer. Pillars of the regional economy -- tourism, energy, recreational fishing and the seafood industry -- cannot prosper without the natural resources that support them.