Gulf Oil Slick: "It’s just like a hurricane”

SHOOT: People don't realise it but the slick in the Gulf has global significance. Firstly in that it will be shutting down gulf activities [killing oil supply lines] and secondly in that this disaster will probably discourage further deep-water drilling because the risks will simply not be worth it.

clipped from latimesblogs.latimes.com Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson flew over the gulf oil spill Saturday, later telling people at a meeting in New Orleans that “it’s like all five of the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes are oil sheen.” Jackson said she was skeptical of dispersing the gushing oil at the wellhead, a method officials were testing, and that much about the spill’s potential effect was still unclear, including which fisheries might be closed and for how long. “It’s just like a hurricane,” she said. “We’re looking at the forecast. We’re trying to figure out where it’s going to go.”