The US Coast Guard is considering a “controlled burn” of the vast oil slick approaching the Louisiana coast line as a result of last week’s oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. A pipe that had been attached to the rig continues to spill around 42,000 gallons of oil per day. Rear Admiral Mary Landry of the US Coast Guard said the spill is within twenty-one miles of hitting Louisiana’s shores.

Rear Adm. Mary Landry: “It’s reached just within, I think it says, twenty-one miles? So it is the closest it’s been to shore throughout this response. And we’re paying attention to that, very careful attention to that, and are engaged with the states in the coastal areas.”