pbsthisdayinhistory:

APRIL 20, 2010: Deepwater Horizon Explosion

Two years ago today, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused a massive oil spill that would last for months in the Gulf of Mexico.

Soon after the spill, FRONTLINE and ProPublica set out to joint investigate the trail of problems that led to the disaster, including deadly accidents and countless safety violations which long troubled the oil giant, BP.

Could the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico have been prevented?

Watch “The Spill” right here and read Azmat Khan’s “Do We Need a ‘Death Penalty’ for Negligent Oil Companies?”

Remember BP?

jtotheizzoe:

The Secret of the Ooze: Two Years After the Spill

Al Jazeera has a frightening, damning, and infuriating report on the ongoing damage to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It’s been nearly two years since the Macondo well was ruptured, spilling almost 5 million barrels of oil and requiring almost 2 million barrels of dispersants to clean it up.

Fishermen are reporting shrimp catches full of eyeless shrimp, as well as fish and shellfish with oozing sores and black gills. The damage doesn’t seem limited to oil, either. Manganese-heavy drilling mud and dispersant lefotvers are showing up at even higher rates than petroleum.

Head over to Al Jazeera to read the full article. The Gulf has not recovered, and it will likely take most of a lifetime to do so. It’s important that scientists continue to get financial support to monitor the area and that the government keep pressure on BP to do their part. Not just this year, but until the mistake is fixed.

This is one of the most diverse and fruitful ecosystems in America, and we must repair it.