The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has caused an immense amount of ecological and economic hardship. Louisiana's coast is greatly threatened by the oil washing up on shore, as seen in photos of birds and fish covered in brown oil residue. According to scientists, the coast's battle against drifting oil is expected to last months, if not years. They fear the greatest impact of BP's spill will be lethal, as marine-life sickness and disease becomes widespread, and makes for a depressed economy.

According to The Seattle Times, "the millions of gallons of oil moving under water in the Gulf have the potential to spark deformations in newborn fish, damage immune systems in creatures as diverse as dolphins and oysters, alter the genetic tissue of marine mammals, inflame the lungs of endangered sea turtles and spark new cancers in a host of others. Pink salmon and could swim away, but the eggs they deposited in nearby streams or on algae won't survive because oil caused embryos to fill with fluid." The changes will be subtle initially, but over time, much more profound.

With marine-life harmed, the economic ramifications of the oil spill are grave. In fear of further damage, Louisiana state officials say they won't wait for approval to build sand barriers. These barriers are intended to block the oil from the Gulf of Mexico but could inadvertently push oil deeper into unprotected areas. According to the LA Times, documents released Wednesday show that federal officials are concerned that the barriers will alter tides and end up driving oil east into Mississippi. Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to ring the state's southeastern coastline with a $350 million network of sand barriers.

This hastened action comes in response to British Petroleum's delay in implementing their "Top-Kill" strategy. The "Top-Kill" initiative is a plan created by BP engineers to plug the oil leak. They would use 50,000 barrels of dense mud and robotic submarines. This morning, Tony Hayward, BP's CEO said that the company hadn't yet decided whether to go forward with the risky plan, which has the potential to make the leak worse if it doesn't succeed in its primary goal. Hayward also stated that "over the last 12 hours, continuing through the night, we have continued to take pressure readings and establish flow pulse." "Later this morning I will review that with the team and I will make a final decision as to whether or not we should proceed." According to BP's vice president of exploration and production, Kent Wells, as reported in the Washington Post, the top kill maneuver "has been done successfully in the past, but it hasn't been done at this depth."