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5 Years After BP Oil Spill, Experts Debate Damage To Ecosystem

Fresh oil puddles on the white sand in Orange Beach, Ala., during the BP oil spill in 2010. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

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Debbie Elliott/NPR

Environment

5 Years After BP Oil Spill, Experts Debate Damage To Ecosystem

An effort is underway to figure out how the BP oil spill harmed the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. The damage may not be as dire as feared, but researchers say it's too soon to know the long-term impacts.

5 Years After BP Oil Spill, Experts Debate Damage To Ecosystem

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Appetite For Gulf Seafood Is Back, But The Crabs And Oysters Aren't

Blue crabs brought back to Tony Goutierrez's dock in Hopedale, La. For the past few years, his traps have been coming up empty. "It's sad to see it go, but it's going — this way of life is going to disappear," he says. Laine Kaplan-Levenson for NPR hide caption

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Laine Kaplan-Levenson for NPR

The Salt

Appetite For Gulf Seafood Is Back, But The Crabs And Oysters Aren't

Five years after the BP oil spill, the public has stopped asking whether seafood from the Gulf is safe to eat. But now there's a supply issue, and fishermen worry about the future of their industry.

Up Close And Personal With A 40-Story Oil Rig In The Gulf

Shell's Olympus production platform and drilling rig is located about 130 miles south of New Orleans. It is 406 feet tall and weighs more than 120,000 tons. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption

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Jeff Brady/NPR

Energy

Up Close And Personal With A 40-Story Oil Rig In The Gulf

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for more than 20 percent of U.S. domestic oil production. But few see these operations far offshore.

Up Close And Personal With A 40-Story Oil Rig In The Gulf

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Mexico Faces A One-Two Punch From Tropical Storms

An image provided by NOAA taken at 2:45 a.m. EDT Sunday shows Hurricane Ingrid approaching from the Gulf of Mexico and Tropical Storm Manuel just off the western coast of Mexico. AP hide caption

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AP

The Two-Way

Mexico Faces A One-Two Punch From Tropical Storms

From the east and the west, two storm systems are closing in on Mexico, bringing strong winds and heavy rains. Hurricane Ingrid is moving toward the country's east coast in the Gulf of Mexico; Tropical Storm Manuel is closing in on the southwest coast in the Pacific Ocean.

Why The Latest Gulf Leak Is No BP Disaster

An out-of-control natural gas well in the Gulf of Mexico continued to burn Wednesday after it blew out and caught fire. Beams supporting some of the "Hercules 265 jack-up rig" have collapsed. U.S. Coast Guard via AP hide caption

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U.S. Coast Guard via AP

The Two-Way

Why The Latest Gulf Leak Is No BP Disaster

Deep-sea natural gas reservoirs sometimes contain oil, but experts say it's highly unlikely Tuesday's accident in the Gulf of Mexico would leak anything like the BP spill. And there are signs suggesting the only thing crews have to deal with is leaking gas.

Gas Well On Fire After Blowout In Gulf Of Mexico

Before a blaze broke out, a cloud of gas could be seen rising Tuesday from the Hercules 265 drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement hide caption

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Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

The Two-Way

Gas Well On Fire After Blowout In Gulf Of Mexico

A blowout on Tuesday forced 44 workers to evacuate. Later, a blaze broke out. Officials say the damage to the environment should not come close to that caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident.

Call It 'Gulf Of America,' Not Gulf Of Mexico, Lawmaker Says In Bit Of Satire

Sept. 2005: Hurricane Rita enters the Gulf of Mexico — or Gulf of America, as Mississippi House Rep. Stephen Holland would say. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio hide caption

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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

The Two-Way

Call It 'Gulf Of America,' Not Gulf Of Mexico, Lawmaker Says In Bit Of Satire

Democratic Rep. Stephen Holland has introduced a bill in the state House to change the name of the gulf. It's a satirical shot aimed at his Republican colleagues, he says. Stephen Colbert had the idea before him.

Call It 'Gulf Of America,' Not Gulf Of Mexico, Lawmaker Says In Bit Of Satire

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Mexico Slaps New Tariffs On U.S. Pork Etc Over Trucking Dispute

U.S. pork is among the products Mexico hit with new tariffs because of a long-running, NAFTA-related trucking dispute.   WILL KINCAID/AP hide caption

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WILL KINCAID/AP

The Two-Way

Mexico Slaps New Tariffs On U.S. Pork Etc Over Trucking Dispute

Mexico placed new tariffs on U.S. pork and other products as part of its continuing NAFTA-related trucking dispute with its north of the border neighbor. The Teamsters continue to oppose Mexican trucks operating in the U.S.