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The drilling rig involved in this disastrous offshore blowout was built in 2007. The oil platform used was constructed in 2008. These are the same rigs that the oil industry is suggesting for use off Virginia's shores.
The scale and duration of this huge spill should be an ongoing lesson to which we in Virginia pay close attention. Even new drilling technology is not safe, in spite of the oil industry's claims. The risk of spills still exists and even just one spill would levy disastrous impacts on our Virginia coastal economies and environment.
Worries about the oil spill off Australia's north west coast are now being worsened by fears about the chemicals being used to control it. The spill at the West Atlas drill rig in the Timor Sea started more than three weeks ago, and no-one believes it will take less than three more weeks to plug the oil. The slick is now so big it can be seen from space, and a light sheen has crept within ten kilometres of Ashmore Reef. Fishermen say a fifth of their waters have been polluted by the oil and they're worried that fish could be poisoned.
The above graphic produced by SkyTruth illustrates a "what if" that blowout occurred off the coast of Florida. Granted, Florida currents are different than Australia currents. This graphic is provided only to give you a sense of the size of this spill. The purple blob which depicts the size of the Australian oil spill and superimposed on the Florida coast was taken from NASA satellite images dating back to Aug. 30. Satellite images of the Timor Sea taken on Sept. 3 reveals the area of slicks and sheen more than doubled in size in just 4 days, from 2,500 sq miles on Aug. 30 to 5,800 sq miles on Sept. 3. That's larger than the state of Connecticut at 5,544 square miles.
Dramatic remote-sensing photographs provided by NASA and other federal agencies are available to view online at SkyTruth.
Why, Virginia, why??? Why would we even remotely consider drilling off our shores? So much risk while so little return.
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