Surface Spill News Today

Of similar diasters in the past and they end to just get worse before they get better. what is your feeling about this? >> well, the futcher is unknown. unfortunately we have never had -- unfortunately, we have no baseline of an understanding of what this means. the exxon valdez in 1989 was a surface spill with much less oil. even that still has impacts 20 years later. i was with cnn off the coast of vera cruz in november looking at the oil spill of 31 years ago and theres still oil there. so wh...

I mean, youve had experiences of similarky sasters in the past and they end to just get worse before they get better. what is your zbut feeling about this? >> well, the futcher is unknown. unfortunately we have never had -- unfortunately, we have no baseline of an understanding of what this means. the exxon valdez in 1989 was a surface spill with much less oil. even that still has impacts 20 years later. i was with cnn off the coast of vera cruz in november looking at the oil spill of 31 years a...

Dispersants there, in addition to the concerns over dispersants you have oil free-flowing once again into the gulf. what concerns for, what environmental concerns do you have now that were in day 83, where are we in terms of the effect of all of this still on the environment down there? >> well, the effect of all of this oil is just incredible. youve got really several different spills, youve got a deep surface spill, some of that oil doesnt ever get to the surface. it stays down in the water co...

>> we also, of course, now know that the figures that bp and all these companies were using, which were government figures about the impact of an oil spill, they were based on a surface spill, not something at such deep water depths, which, frankly, the government hadnt studied. all the data was wrong even if they had filled out the forms. we appreciate it tonight. breaking news, we have new information on tropical storm alex. >> the news is now that the hurricane watch that was from baffin ba...

Have gained the system to their advantage, even if they got the environmental review. the bottom line is, if you talk to people who really cover this stuff closely, they say if there had been a real environmental test there at the end of the process, with a real hard look at what bp and others have been doing, maybe we wouldnt be in this spot right now, anderson? >> we also, of course, now know that the figures that bp and all these companies were using, which were government figures about the i...

Companies in one way or another have been gaming the system in trying to get more and more oil out of the gulf. its highly possible they would have gained the system to their advantage, even if they got the environmental review. the bottom line is, if you talk to people who really cover this stuff closely, they say if there had been a real environmental test there at the end of the process, with a real hard look at what bp and others have been doing, maybe we wouldnt be in this spot right now, a...

Animals are already found affected by the spill. the first patient was a young northern gan et. this birds white feathers are coated with black oil. winds will push the spread further to land. the navy is sending booms, skimmers and contractors to mop up the surface spill. the president has thus far sent to the scene the secretary of homeland security, janet napolitano, the secretary of the interior, ken salazar, and head of the epa, lisa jackson. the president himself and his senior adviser dav...

Take a closer look at this. and another big announcement about wind power further up. lets check first at the gulf coast. here is where the spill is as of late afternoon, just a few hours ago. 16 miles from the coast of louisiana. the surface spill runs almost 100 miles along here if you look at this. heres one of the things going to try to fix it. looking closely here. this is a robot on a submarine underground, trying to close down the valve. trying to shut off the source of the oil. the crude...