Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - Online Resources

Submitted by denio on Wed, 05/05/2010 - 11:23am.
oil spill.jpg
Image from NASA

Many people are looking for ways that they can help mitigate damage following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster off the coast of Louisiana and for more information about the spill. With anywhere from 5000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day being released into the Gulf of Mexico, the negative impact to the environment and economy of the Gulf Coast is expected to be very severe.

Resources with more information and ways to help

The Joint Federal Response website dedicated to the disaster http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/

The White House is maintaining a blog post detailing the government response to the disaster day-by-day at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/05/ongoing-administration-wide-response-deepwater-bp-oil-spill

The Boston Globe’s Big Picture series dedicated to the spill http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/oil_spill_approaches_louisiana.html

NASA satellite images monitoring the spill http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/oil-creep.html

AL.com’s Gulf oil spill page. Alabama focused with frequent updates and lots of images.http://www.al.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/

TakePart.com is an independent online community that connects people to info on important issues and opportunities to help. They are maintaing a good list of volunteer opportunities related to the spill. http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/04/30/the-gulf-coast-oil-leak-how-to-help

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College has partnered with BP to provide health and safety training for volunteers http://www.mgccc.cc.ms.us/announcements/2009-2010/deepwater_horizon_02may2010.php

These important number from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can also be found on most of the above sites:

  • To report oil on land, or for general Community and Volunteer Information, please phone 866.448.5816
  • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401
  • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858
  • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. Fishermen should phone 281.366.5511 about this program.