The BP oil slick is seven and a half times the size of the restricted zone surrounding Chernobyl.

[TheWraith]

For a sense of perspective: the "zone of alienation" surrounding Chernobyl, where you need to get government permission to enter, is about 38 miles wide, for a total area of a little less than 1,200 square miles. The BP oil spill is estimated at up to 9,100 square miles, more than seven and a half times that size. That is NOT counting the additional areas which will be affected by broken down hydrocarbon byproducts evaporated into the air and rained out elsewhere.

And while the Chernobyl exclusion zone has gone wild and turned into an accidental nature preserve due to the forced evacuation of most of the human population, this oil slick is killing everything in it's path down to the microorganism level. And the slick is growing every day.

This is quite likely to end up being the worst ecological disaster in human history.

[spanone]

1. ....and growing.

[Demeter]

2. and moving...dispersing into the world's entire ecosystem

without a check or hindrance.

[TheWraith]

11. I wish.

Spread out across the planet, it would be much easier to break down and less dangerous to do so. As it is, though, it's sticking right there creating a superabundance of toxins and depleting the ability of the ecosystem to destroy it. That means a geometric increase in the amount of damage that it will do relative to if it were spread out.

[Democrats_win]

3. Someone should apologize.

Where's BP headquarters?

[Fumesucker]

6. Someone already apologized to BP..

It's too late for that..

[eowyn_of_rohan]

9. "A minor point at such a moment" - Rhett Butler

[Dreamer Tatum]

4. Pfft. Can humans inhabit Chernobyl? No. Can they inhabit Prince William Sound area? Yes.

It's bad, but oil isn't radiation.

[TheWraith]

5. Actually, people can and do inhabit Chernobyl.

It's officially forbidden, but there's a permanent population there of roughly 400 or so. Mostly old people who didn't want to give up the homes that they'd spent their entire lives in.

[Cetacea]

7. Send me a postcard.

n/t

[spanone]

8. might as well be to the ecosystem

[TheWraith]

12. Worse for the ecosystem.

Humans are skittish about radiation, but most species aren't. The area around Chernobyl may be devoid of all save a few hundred humans, but the wildlife is thriving. Can't say the same about the Gulf.

[Rex]

15. Can humans swim in the Gulf, probably not a good idea.

No oil ain't radiation, it gives you cancer through another process. Got any other ideas?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. OMG, and the half life of Carbon 12 is like hunderds of billions of years 'n shit.

We're so screwn.

[jpak]

13. nuclear power and deepwater oil drilling are not safe

the end

[Rex]

14. That is the problem with a sphere and mostly water

it spreads geometrically and if the outpouring lasts for years, who knows how much will end up in the Earth's waterways. Will it disperse, eventually after killing millions of lifeforms in the sea. I hope the aliens at the bottom of the ocean don't get too pissed, they have the ability to kill us all of rather quickly (The Abyss).

[anarch]

16. well, to be fair, the impact of Chernobyl extended well beyond that restricted zone

and you can probably attribute a much higher number of human deaths to it than most are likely to admit...but I agree that the oil catastrophe is likely to end up being worse, from an overall ecological standpoint.

I bet we can still find a way to top it, if we keep enough people alive for long enough...I mean, we have all those nuclear weapons and all....