This morning I received an email from a Worldchanging reader who was amazed at the lack of coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico here at Worldchanging. I agree with the reader that this spill is one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in decades and that a great focus of effort and ingenuity is needed to address the gigantic problems the oil spill has created (and is continuing to create). As to why there's been a lack of coverage here, well, there are two reasons:

1. Other outlets are covering the spill well and in great detail
   
2. Worldchanging's primary journalistic mission is to cover solutions to problems, especially those solutions that address systemic change. It seems to me that the ultimate solution to this spill lies in reducing global dependence on oil that makes such risky drilling appealing to businesses and governments. Examples of the kind of systemic changed needed have been reported on many times at Worldchanging -- Alex Steffen's article "My Other Car is a Bright Green City" is a particularly good primer on how we need to move towards green compact communities, smaller well-built homes, walkable streets and smart infrastructure. These are the kinds of solutions I think we ultimately need to focus on long term.

That said, I'm certainly following the spill and on the lookout for more immediate solutions to the problem at hand (especially 'green' ones). I have found the following list of media outlets, environmental organizations, and blogs to have useful coverage for learning about the spill itself and the various responses being taken to contain and clean it up:

OVERALL COVERAGE

• The New York Times - National News: The NY Time's has a number of articles up about the spill, including the impact it's having on Arctic drilling proposals, wetlands, and tourism, and the toxicity of dispersants being used in the cleanup. They also have a frightening and well designed interactive "Tracking the Oil Spill" map, where you can select any date and see how the spill has grown (the map uses estimates from BP, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Ian R. MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University).

• The Guardian - Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Guardian has created a page exclusively to round up all their coverage of the oil spill. It is a fairly comprehensive accounting of all the news stories related to the spill. They also have a beautifully photographed and devastating multimedia story that is tracking the spill in images day-by-day; the slide show starts on April 20 and continues to May 14, so far.

• Climate Progress: Worldchanging ally Joe Romm is keeping a very up-to-minute blog about the oil spill that is well worth following.

• Center for American Progress: CAP has had three particularly good articles about the spill that consider the health ramifications of the disaster in addition to the environmental disaster, the lessons we can learn from the tragedy, and how the US should be moved to revitalize our economy and environment with a comprehensive clean energy strategy.

• NOAA's National Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration | Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico: The United States's leading scientific resource for oil spills. NOAA is providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations and advising on cleanup options as well as on sensitive marine resources at risk. Additionally, NOAA is predicting the oil spill's trajectory -- they're publishing trajectory maps online, the most recent of which shows that the oil slick has reached the Loop Current. Their website is being updated daily with new reports.

IMAGERY & VIDEO

• Deepwater Horizon Response: The Official Site of the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command: The home page has tons of photos of the disaster and response operations, as well as links to more from the United States Coast Guard.

• NASA: NASA has dedicated a web page to the oil spill and has posted satellite and fly-over photos of the Gulf that show the extent of the spill.

• How Big Is the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?: Google Earth engineer Paul Rademacher has built this utility for overlaying an image of the oil spill on top of a Google map of your choosing, which can help you get perspective on how big the spill is by seeing it in comparison to your own home region (for you Pacific Northwest readers out there, don't miss Sightline's figures showing how big the spill is in comparison to NW lakes).

• Bill Nelson, US Senator: Senator Nelson is hosting hosting a live online feed of the Gulf oil spill from 5,000 feet below sea level. Heavy demand has been slowing access, but there are also some embedded videos on his site of the oil leak.

• Flickr: You can view and share photos and videos of the spill by tagging them SPILL_NW10.

• {UPDATE} Images of the Disaster in the Gulf: A series of images taken in and around the Gulf of Mexico in late June posted by Yale Environment 360.

• {UPDATE} Eyewitness: BP oil spill: A stunning photo of a wave breaking on Orange Beach, Alabama, more than 90 miles from the BP oil spill.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
National Wildlife Federation: NWF has made a good list of four things you can do to help:

1. Volunteer for the Cleanup Efforts - The National Wildlife Federation is helping coordinate the on-the-ground volunteer effort, including NWF's Gulf Coast Surveillance Teams, which are being set up to monitor the coastline for wildlife in distress.
   
2. Text "WILDLIFE" to 20222 to Donate $10 - You can help wildlife threatened by the oil spill by donating via your mobile phone. Your donation will help support National Wildlife Federation's on-the-ground volunteer and restoration efforts.
   
3. Speak Up for Cleaner Energy Choices - Tell your senators that now more than ever we need to pass comprehensive legislation that provides America with cleaner and safer energy choices.
   
4. Help Spread Messages Online

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Center for American Progress.

---

---