GULF OF MEXICO OIL RIG NOT
THE FIRST GIANT TO SINK
On March 20, 2001 the world's then-largest oil rig sank off the Brazilian coast following an explosion that killed 11 workers.
According to the BBC report this was not the first large Petrobras oil spill. More background on the Petrobras oil platform disaster is at Wikipedia.
It is really sad to watch the unfolding gulf tragedy and to experience my own conflicting emotions. I do hope this might be the 911 of off-shore drilling. It might be a game changer -- a political sea change as well as an ecological horror.
That's not what happened after the 2001 Brazilian event but one can hope that times have changed.
[UPDATE 30 April 2010: Top White House officials today, echoing calls from the Senate and environmental groups, said any plans to move forward with new offshore drilling were on hold while the Deepwater Horizon spill was dealt with and investigated. Pro-drilling voices were silent replacing, "drill baby, drill" with "hush baby, hush."]
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