Giving Compass' Take:

• Chris D'Angelo takes a look at how oil spill potential in the United States remains shockingly high ten years after the explosion of Deepwater Horizon.

• What are the long-lasting environmental and economic implications of a major oil spill? How can you increase funding to stop unsafe drilling procedures and prevent another large-scale oil spill?

• Learn about what oil industry regulations Californians are calling for.

On the evening of April 20, 2010 — 10 years ago today — BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded while the fossil fuel giant was drilling an exploratory well off the coast of Louisiana, nearly a mile below the ocean surface.

The catastrophic event killed 11 workers and, over 87 days, unleashed a torrent of more than 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico — the largest oil spill in U.S. history. An estimated 1 million birds and countless marine animals perished. Oil washed up along more than 1,300 miles of coastline in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, devastating local economies.

But a decade after Deepwater, experts and environmental advocates warn that the U.S. remains woefully unprepared for a major spill — and is perhaps even more at risk of one due to the Trump administration’s relentless push to expand offshore drilling and gut environmental regulations.

Last week, ahead of the 10-year anniversary of Deepwater Horizon, ocean advocacy group Oceana published a report that documented the many economic and environmental impacts of the spill and concluded that “the poor safety culture and lack of oversight that led to the BP disaster persist.”

“If anything, another disaster is more likely, because the industry is drilling deeper and farther offshore, which increases the likelihood of a spill and makes responding to a spill more difficult,” the report stated.

The next one could be far more catastrophic — perhaps on par with the ongoing Taylor oil spill, which began in September 2004, after Hurricane Ivan ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and triggered submarine mudslides that toppled a Taylor Energy platform 11 miles off the coast of Louisiana. At least 25 wells were damaged, and oil has been leaking from the site for the last 15 years.

Read the full article about oil spill risk in the United States by Chris D'Angelo at Grist.