A breached well has been pouring oil into the Gulf of Mexico for two months now. Nonstop. According to the Associated Press, as much as 125 million gallons may have flowed so far.
Over the weekend, drilling crews raced to build relief wells and Gulf Coast residents were infuriated by reports of BP CEO Tony Hayward attending a yachting competition. BP — which leased the oil rig that exploded April 20, killing 11 workers — pledged last week to set up a $20 billion fund to help relieve people whose businesses and lives have been affected by the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
With an earthquake or tornado, the damage is immediately evident. But the oil spill isn't like that. Officials can't survey the damage and begin rebuilding. The oil keeps coming and coming, and cleanup workers can only try to keep the oil from the shores, from the animals, from the way of life that people in the Gulf know and rely on.
A supply vessel passes through oil floating near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana on May 31. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
APTN photographer Rich Matthews takes a closer look at oil in the Gulf south of Venice, La., June 7. His dive was also videotaped. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Patches of oil from Rich Matthews' underwater vantage. (AP Photo/Rich Matthews)
A bird covered in oil flails in the surf at East Grand Terre Island, La. This photo was one in a series shot June 3 by AP's Charlie Riedel that reverberated worldwide. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A cleanup worker dredges up oil from the mouth of Barataria Bay on Queen Bess Island in Plaquemines Parish, La., on June 4. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Oil clings thickly to the absorbent material used at the mouth of Barataria Bay. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Oil covers a trawler and the booms it pulls through Barataria Bay on June 4. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The owner of a seafood business planted crosses in his front yard in Grand Isle, La., to mark casualties of the oil spill. "Our soul is dying," said the graveyard's creator, Patrick Shay. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Hermit crabs struggle to cross a patch of oil on a barrier island near East Grand Terre Island, La., on June 6. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A brown pelican coated in heavy oil wallows in the surf June 4 on East Grand Terre Island. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A hose sucks oil from the shoreline June 9 in Belle Terre, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Oil slicks move toward sunbathers lining the coast of Gulf Shores, Ala., on June 5. Its beaches are closed to swimming, but Alabama's Tourism Department recently unveiled an ad — funded by BP — to assure travelers that the area is safe. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
A marine reef ecologist tries to get oil off his hands June 7. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Absorbent pads are applied to soak up oil that has washed ashore June 6 in Grand Isle. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A sea turtle on Grand Terre Island, June 8. (Reuters/Lee Celano)
Workers collect oil June 1 on Louisiana's Fourchon Beach. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Absorbent material collects oil near the base of a Gulf Shores fishing pier June 14. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Workers pass decontamination brushes across orange Tiger Dams on June 6 in Grand Isle. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Plaquemines Parish's coastal zone management director, P.J. Hahn, wades in the oily muck June 5 on Queen Bess Island. "You'd think there would be a flotilla of people out here," Hahn told AP. "As you can see, we're so far behind the curve in this thing." (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
An oiled brown pelican tries to fly from Barataria Bay while oil slicks float past June 6. Sea creatures have been trying to flee the oil, sometimes gathering in unusually shallow water. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
