That's the description from Al Jazeera correspondent, Sebastian Walker, just now on Al Jazeera as the first oil makes its way on-shore...
This doesn't include the quote, but here is the latest from Al Jazeera. :(
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/04/201043015759452829.htmlThe news from the BBC has been just as depressing this morning. The spill is expected to spread from LA, to MS, to AL to FL by Monday.
Here is a video of the current oil spread:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8651333.stmReports have included that rookeries in the estuaries of S. LA could lose a whole generation of nesting birds.
...'Mind-boggling'
"This is a very, very big thing," said David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
He told the Associated Press news agency that the clean-up efforts could be "mind-boggling".
Crews deploy boom to contain oil spill off coast of Louisiana - 29 April 2010
Crews are rushing to protect sensitive coastal areas
An emergency shrimping season was opened on Thursday to allow fishermen to bring in their catch before it was fouled by the advancing oil.
The US government has designated the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as an "incident of national significance". This allows it to draw on resources from across the country.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency and asked for federal funds to deploy 6,000 National Guard soldiers to help with the clean-up.
The Louisiana coastline, with its rich shrimp and oyster beds, is the most threatened by the spill. There are also fears of severe damage to fisheries and wildlife in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Navy vessels are helping to deploy booms to contain the spill.
President Obama has dispatched high-level administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to the area.
He said they would "ensure that BP and the entire US government is doing everything possible, not just to respond to this incident, but also to determine its cause".
Speaking at the White House, Mr Obama also said: "While BP is ultimately responsible for funding the cost of response and clean-up operations, my administration will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal, including potentially the Department of Defence, to address the incident."
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said there was no reason so far to reconsider the president's recent decision to support plans for increased offshore drilling...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8653162.stmObama needs to get a grip on this fast.