This animation of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was created using actual overflight information and forecast models from the NOAA and Unified Command.

The red dot is the location of the Deepwater Horizon oil well, which exploded on April 20, releasing oil into the Gulf near the Louisiana coast that has yet to be contained. Eleven rig workers are missing and are presumed to have died in the explosion.

The animation begins April 22, the day the first image of the spill via flyover was released.

From Nola.com “A containment boom staged at the Breton National Wildlife Refuge Thursday. The spill, a slick more than 130 miles long and 70 miles wide, threatens hundreds of species of wildlife, including birds, dolphins and the fish, shrimp, oysters and crabs that make the Gulf Coast one of the nation’s most abundant sources of seafood.”

I found a page of great resources. The news changes on this every hour, so here is a list where you can find the latest information.

Thanks to Mary McCurnin of Firedog Lake. She writes:

We are all the Oil Industry and we need to take responsibility for changing our lives now.

Here are links for May2, 2010 to news, wildlife rescue, state and federal sites, volunteer sites and others. I will update them as the information becomes available. Any information or links are appreciated. Thanks to everyone who provided links. Please keep them coming. There is some overlap between the catagories.

Today is was harder to find specific information. Seems that organizations are overwhelmed or out in the field.

News Updates:

Skytruth
Time Picayune New Orleans Daily Newspaper
NOLA.com
http://www.pnj.com Pensacola FL
http://www.sunherald.com Biloxi/Gulfport MS
http://www.al.com/press-register/ Mobile AL
Reuters
New York Times

MSNBC

Links to Volunteer or Work:

Basic Safety and Health Training will be held at The Mary C. in Ocean Springs, MS at 9:00, 10:00, 4:00, and 5:00. No reservations are required, just show up. Volunteers doing outdoor work with BP are required to undergo a 20-minute health and safety training course.

Links to Help Rescue Wildlife:

Oiled Wildlife Care Network Blog-U.C. Davis This is information from the front lines in LA.
Tri State Bird Rescue and Research
IBRRC International Bird Rescue Research Center
Facebook/Louisiana Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries
California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Spill Prevention and Response
Wildlife Health Center, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Discovery News

(Nothing about the oil spill at all on the Mississippi, Alabama, or Georgia department of wildlife and fisheries websites or facebook pages.)

Federal, State, Information, Fact, Sites:
Deepwater Horzon Incident Site
NOAA
NOAA Environmental Modeling Center
Environmental Economics Blog
Environmental and Urban Economics Blog
Twitter Oil Spill
EPA

Others:
British Petroleum Site (cringe)