Gulf Oil spill

June 27, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Gulf Oil spill

Latest developments

A summary of events Saturday, Day 67 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill:

PROTEST

Hundreds of people, including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, joined hands on an oil-stained strip of Pensacola Beach as part of an international demonstration against offshore drilling. Organizers of Hands Across the Sand said similar protests took place at beaches around the nation and in several foreign countries. The demonstration also was intended to show support for clean alternatives to fossil fuels.

CONTAINMENT EFFORTS

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Saturday that two containment systems collected more than a million gallons in 24 hours Friday. BP is looking to add a third vessel that would bring the total capacity to 2.2 million gallons a day. No one knows exactly how much oil is gushing, but worst-case estimates show it could be as much as 2.5 million gallons a day.

CLEANUP TECHNOLOGY

Though oil companies have spent billions of dollars to drill deeper and farther out to sea, relatively little money and research have gone into finding new, improved ways to respond to oil spills in deep-sea conditions such as those in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts say the massive Gulf spill has exposed a failure by the industry and the federal government to commit adequate resources to oil cleanup and response technology.

VIPS

Some big names are coming to the Gulf next week to tour areas affected by the spill. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, President Barack Obama’s point man for the cleanup and recovery, arrives Monday for a five-day visit. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says he, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and White House energy adviser Carol Browner also will be in the region Monday. Vice President Joe Biden is due to arrive Tuesday.

FLORIDA TOURISM

Tourist businesses from Pensacola to Panama City are feeling the financial crunch as normally packed parking lots sat nearly empty Saturday despite offers of discounts in an effort to drum up customers. If not for the temperatures in the high 80s, the Florida Panhandle seemed more like the January or February tourist offseason than a weekend day in July. Tourism leaders offered discounts and promoted attractions away from the beaches, but it appeared they were losing the battle to keep vacationers as the gummy tar and black crude made its slow creep toward more beaches.

Source: Associated Press