Oil Off of Miami Beach? Say it Isn't So

The massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 20, 2011, when The Deepwater Horizon caught fire and exploded off the Louisiana coast. The oil slick has been spreading at a rapid pace since then, thinning out around thousands of miles above and below the ocean surface.

While oil rigs such as the Deepwater Horizon are highest of high-tech machinery, it is becoming clearer and clearer that this disaster was caused by human minds and human hands. Officials at BP, motivated only by their own timeline based on minimization of costs and maximization of profits, pushed for the completion of work on the rig despite mounting evidence and multiple warnings against the actions eventually taken.

Here is an excellent technical description of how oil rigs work - and why they fail.

Now the oil leak is threatening to severely impact South Florida and Miami Beach as it is getting closer to the Loop Current. According to the Wall Street Journal, supercomputer studies suggest it is "very likely" ocean currents will carry oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico around the tip of Florida and thousands of miles up the U.S. East Coast this summer.

Thousands of businesses, property owners, and individuals harmed by the effects of the oil leak have already filed claims with BP in State and Federal Courts. The claims process has been the subject of much debate and frustration because of its inherent complexities and uncertainty. The claims process is in fact a new procedure for dealing with the aftermath of an oil spill, having been created by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) which was passed following the Exxon Valdez disaster. Here is an overview of how OPA works.

By Bryant Esquenazi on May 31, 2010 9:11 AM