The oil spill that occurred as a result of the explosion on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon is enormous. As oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico and near the Louisiana coastline, estimates have begun that place the size of the spill at a stunning proportion.
According to the Associated Press,
A graphic posted by authorities fighting the slick shows it covering an area about 100 miles long and 45 miles across at its widest point.
And, thanks to NASA, the spill can be seen from space. As of the 27th, news reports had the spill at “48 miles long and 39 miles wide.” Given that reports today have more than doubled that slick’s length, it’s appropriate for many to be concerned.
To put this slick’s size into perspective (100 miles long and 45 miles across), consider the following:
- Rhode Island is 37 miles wide and 48 miles long. This would mean the conservative numbers of 48×39 used yesterday to describe the slick would place the oil disaster as
the size of the smallest state in America.
- The state of Vermont is approximately 161 miles long and 80 miles wide.
- Massachusetts is 183 miles wide and 113 miles long.
- Connecticut has
a length of 110 miles and a width of 70 miles
- . The oil spill, as reported today, would be roughly half the size of the state of Connecticut, a state that has a population of 3,501,252.
It’s terrifying for many whose livelihood is based on industries that require a healthy Gulf Coast that a slick half the size of Connecticut could be nearing this country’s biggest river mouth. Only time will tell what the ramifications will be of this disaster but information will be posted on this blog as it becomes available.