By now I'm sure most of you know about this oil spill that is reportedly leaking almost 200,000 gallons of crude oil daily into the Gulf of Mexico. BP stilll hasn't figured out how to stop it.  There's a really interesting (and short!) story about three plans to stop the oil flow at MSNBC.com. 

One plan is to use remote controlled submarines to shut off the valves underwater. This is kind of like robotic surgery 5000 feet under water int the dark!  Another more promising plan is to put a 125-ton, 40-foot high lid over the largest leak.  Oil would be collected and brought up through a new pipeline to a ship floating on the surface where the oil could then be separated from seawater and gas. The last plan is to  dig a relief well that hopefully would hit the break in just the right place. The mud and concrete would be pumped down to block the leak.  The bottom line is that none of these plans will work fast.  It could be months or years before this can be fixed.
 
I am really worried about this. The oil spill will affect all kinds of wildlife and many businesses like commercial fishing, travel and tourism---just to name a few. My friends whose parents work at these kind of jobs are really concerned. With no easy fix in sight, the long term impact is unknown. I read today that our Congress plans to make BP accountable for this mess big-time and hopes to pass new laws that will make oil companies responsible for any future disasters. I think this a huge wake-up call. Now tell me why we can't pass a clean energy act?      

Peace Out--

Ethan