Not a chance. There have been even larger oil spills in history. I think the biggest one so far has been the Gulf War oil spill, which was deliberate. Wikipedia lists the amount of this spill at some 1,360,000–1,500,000 tons of crude oil.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill might have surpassed the 100,000 ton mark already, but it still is very far from the worst oil spills that have happened.
BTW, remember how the Iraqi forces actually set fire on Kuwaiti oil wells? Wikipedia says "Nearly 700 oil wells were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi army and the fires were not fully extinguished until November 6, 1991, eight months after the end of the war. The fires consumed an estimated six million barrels of oil daily."
That didn't cause the end of the world, apparently. We are still here. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be a very nasty environmental catastrophe for the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, but a far cry from destroying the whole world.
Laura (guest) 14 May 2010 18:44
