Gulf of Mexico oil spill

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against BP seeking to halt controlled burnings of spilled oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico because they say endangered sea turtles are being burned alive in the process. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is "a catastrophe that could have been avoided," oil industry officials conceded last week. Speaking at a news conference on June 23, Nobuo Tanaka, director general of the International Energy Agency, said the accident was the result of "an accumulation of human errors." A relief well that might divert the gushing Gulf of Mexico oil leak is still weeks from completion, a top U.S. official said on Wednesday, as the season's first Atlantic hurricane disrupted cleanup efforts.