70,000 Barrels a Day - BP oil spill much larger than previous estimates

Up until now most media outlets (including this one) have been reporting that the estimated amount of oil gushing out of the broken BP oil pipe in the Gulf of Mexico was about 5,000 barrels a day.

We posted video over the last couple of days showing the oil leak at the source and many of our readers commented that it appeared to be a lot more than BP's estimate of 5,000 barrels.

Today there is news breaking that experts who have analyzed the videos and other data conclude that the original estimate is incorrect and that as much as 70,000 barrels a day are pouring out of the pipe into the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida State University oil slick expert Ian Macdonald told the New York Times that by his analysis of satellite data the Gulf of Mexico spill is easily four to five times the government estimate.