Massive Oil Spill can be seen from space

Australian oil rig blowout
creates environmental catastrophe
Defenders of Wildlife urges Congress to oppose U.S. offshore drilling

Contact: Richard Charter 707-875-2345

WASHINGTON (Oct. 28, 2009) - The impacts of the nine-week West Timor oil rig
blowout are creating an environmental catastrophe for wildlife and ocean ecosystems,
Defenders of Wildlife said today. In August, the West Atlas/Montara offshore drilling
rig, widely touted as a "safe, modern" operation, suffered what the rig's operators
termed a "loss of well control." Despite three attempts to stop the resulting massive oil
spill, oil continues to leak into the surrounding ocean.

"A global-scale environmental catastrophe so large that it is visible from space is
unfolding in one of earth's last marine wilderness areas," said Richard Charter,
government relations consultant with Defenders of Wildlife, "It is time for the dithering,
excuses, and failed response efforts to end and for the international community to get
the full story on how and why this spill has been allowed to continue for so long. This
persistent mess is too big and too damaging to hide any longer."

Estimates of the volume of oil spilled since the August 21 Australian blowout have
now expanded as much as five-fold, to more than 9.7 million gallons, while the oil slick
has covered several thousand square miles of ocean waters. Meanwhile, the U.S.
Senate is now discussing allowing essentially the same kind of
"environmentally-responsible" offshore drilling to go forward off the coasts of Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida's Gulf Coast and Panhandle
beaches.

"If anything like the Australian blowout ever takes place off of the Southeast U.S.
beaches or in Florida waters, the economic and environmental consequences will last
for decades," Charter emphasized.

Worldwide, conservation interests have become increasingly concerned as satellite
images have shown that the mega-spill has spread from Australia's whale and
sea-turtle rich Kimberley Coast into distant Indonesian waters as well. Three prior
attempts to stop the flow of oil have failed, and a fourth attempt this week had to be
postponed due to equipment failure.



Photos courtesy of TimesOnline.co.uk taken by photographers as identified show the
recent preliminary assessment of wildlife impacts at:
Pictures: Timor Sea oil spill - Times Online
slideshowPopup=true&articleId=6886916&nSlide=14&sectionName=NewsEnvironment

Satellite imagery of the spill can be downloaded courtesy of Skytruth.org at:
Montara (West Atlas) Blowout and Oil Spill, Western Australia, August 2009 - a set on Flickr
and:
SkyTruth- (image)
Montara_spill-MODIS-21oct09-terra-interp.jpg

Click to expand...

PERTH, Australia, November 2, 2009 (ENS) - A huge fire has been blazing at an oil rig in the Timor Sea since Sunday, after an attempt by the oil company to kill a leaking well. The West Atlas rig is located directly above the Montara well head platfrom, which has been leaking oil and gas since August 21.

Click to expand...