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An offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded Thursday did not leak a significant amount of oil into the water, the Coast Guard said ...

The owner of the oil and gas platform, Mariner Energy of Houston, reported that a mile-long slick was visible on the water near the rig. When the Coast Guard reached the scene a short time later, there was no evidence of any leaks ...

The outcome of the explosion was very different from the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig 200 miles to the east. That well, owned by oil company BP, spewed crude oil and natural gas for nearly three months in the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history. About 206 million gallons of oil polluted the Gulf.

The Vermilion Oil Rig 380 that exploded Thursday sat in 340 feet of water and was approved to collect oil and gas from existing wells, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. It was undergoing maintenance and was not producing at the time of the accident.

By contrast, the Deepwater Horizon was operating in more than 5,000 feet of water and was drilling into extremely deep reservoirs under high pressure ...

For those who can't be bothered to read the entire story:

On the other side of the coin, would you rather never being aware of incidents? A mile long oil slick is by no means a non issue. In these days of live video and instant communication, we do have to try and weedle the facts from fiction, on our own. Example being, my previous post, did not refer to disaster at hand, but mentioned the mindset of the suits. Values and schedules.

No, you are correct Steve. But it would be nice if they would just report the facts from authorized legitimate sources. But then sensationalism is what gets the ratings and thus pays the bills via advertisers. Which is another soapbox you don't want me on.

On the other side of the coin, would you rather never being aware of incidents? A mile long oil slick is by no means a non issue. In these days of live video and instant communication, we do have to try and weedle the facts from fiction, on our own. Example being, my previous post, did not refer to disaster at hand, but mentioned the mindset of the suits. Values and schedules.

No, you are correct Steve. But it would be nice if they would just report the facts from authorized legitimate sources. But then sensationalism is what gets the ratings and thus pays the bills via advertisers. Which is another soapbox you don't want me on.