The battle to clean up the Gulf

With hopes high that the oil has finally stopped flowing, the race is on to save the Gulf region. How bad has the damage been — and how bad will it eventually be?

Workers cleanup oil left on the beaches of Waveland, Mississippi.
(Image credit: Getty)

How much oil has been spilled?

No one really knows, but the worst-case scenarios are alarming. Up until this week, the government estimated that the amount of oil gushing daily from the damaged well was about 2.5 million gallons a day. If that’s accurate, the total outflow from the well will be nearly 260 million gallons by August, when BP hopes to complete work on a relief well and completely stop the underwater gusher. The spill has already inflicted billions of dollars of economic damage on the Gulf region’s fishing and tourism industries. While the total damage is not yet known, experts say it could reach $70 billion. “The magnitude of this event is beyond anybody’s belief,” says Richard Charter of the environmental advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife.

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