As the world looks back on BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster seven years later, a study released this week highlights the costly ecological impacts of the largest maritime oil spill on record. Scientists found that Americans would be willing to pay an estimated $17.2 billion to prevent another catastrophe like the BP oil spill, which leaked more than 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration commissioned the study, which offers the first comprehensive appraisal of the disaster’s financial impact on affected natural resources, like beaches, coral and marine life. Its findings were published in the journal Science on Friday.

Source: Huffington Post April 22, 2017 17:10 UTC