Oil Suspected In Loop Current

AP photo as seen on The Huffington Post

If you've ever had the privilege of visiting the Florida Keys then you know how beautiful, yet fragile it is. I've been SCUBA diving in those emerald waters: flat seas, excellent visibility, and delicate reefs so shallow that you run out of energy before your tank runs out of air.

We may not think of them as such, but reefs are living creatures. Researchers say computer models show oil has entered the loop current that could carry this toxic BP oil spill toward the world's third longest barrier reef.

The White House issued a warning that it expected the oil giant to pay for the damages caused by this disaster, up to $75 million liability cap.  It was also reported that President Obama is gathering a team of scientists to work on this problem, as executives and the lawyers who love them do not appear to capable of preventing or managing this catastrophe. It would be beneficial for President Obama's team to bring in young minds with fresh ideas as well.

According to the AP:

The oil is now over the western edge of a roughly 61-mile expanse of 300-to-500-foot-deep reef south of Louisiana known as the Pinnacles, about 25 miles north of where the Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and starting the spill that grows by the hour.

The Pinnacles is one of nine coral banks and hard-bottom areas stretching from Texas to Florida that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tried in 2008 to get designated a marine sanctuary called Islands in the Stream.

This sanctuary would have restricted fishing and oil drilling around the identified reef "islands." But the plan was put on hold after vehement objections from Republican lawmakers, fishermen and the oil industry.

Keep an eye on the loopholes and the ones who work to provide them or the taxpayers will be paying for this, too.  Listen: more silence on the right.