History

The oil spill disaster unfolding in the Gulf Coast is one of the most significant threats to the environment our country has faced in decades.  It is not an 'oil spill' but a river of oil flowing from the Earth's crust at a rate of 240,000 gallons per day, with the potential to keep flowing for up to three more months. It is making landfall among highly sensitive fisheries and coastal ecosystems that are still recovering from the 2005 hurricane season.  It has the potential to devastate fragile coastal communities and ecosystems beyond repair, easily making it far worse than the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989.

• Learn more about the philanthropic response from Rockefeller Philanthropies

Media Lists of How to Help

• USA Today
• Blog Tonic
• CNN
• MSNBC

Resources to Keep Informed About the Oil Spill

Our thoughts are with those who lost their lives and the thousands of people working tirelessly to battle what may become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades. The Greater New Orleans Foundation has provided the following information to monitor the situation:

• NOAA
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracking the Gulf Coast spill
• Effect on local ecosystems
  Provided by NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration