The Wire

Funerals have begun for eleven workers killed in the April 20th explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Louisiana. Immense quantities of oil have since leaked from the ocean floor and US authorities say it could take months to stop the flow. The oil slick covers thousands of square miles and has reached the coastline, threatening sensitive environmental areas in the Gulf states of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. The region contains 40 percent of the nation’s wetlands and many protected species are at risk during mating season. It’s been labelled the ‘Hurricane Katrina’ of Obama’s presidency, but America’s enormous thirst for oil will see offshore drilling continue in the Gulf.