The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Will Be Bigger Than Valdez In 40 Days

Here’s an infographic detailing the main points of the current oil spill crisis, caused by a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded and sank, killing 11 workers aboard.

As you’ll see, the graphs illustrate all the main points of the story, including the rate of the spill and the number of ships being deployed to fight it.

But the most alarming stat is at the bottom of this graphic, which comes courtesy of GDS Digital. If the oil well causing the spill isn’t plugged in 50 days, it will overtake Exxon Valdez as the largest oil spill in U.S. history. What the graphic doesn’t mention is that the oil rig causing the spill originally sank on April 23rd–meaning that we’re already ten days in, with no end in sight. Not to mention what happens if the well-head goes completely belly up–in that case, the spillage rate will increase many fold.

For stunning images of the devastation so far, check out Boston.com’s The Big Picture.

Via Fastcompany.com

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