The future of offshore drilling in the United States may depend on which way the wind blows in the Gulf of Mexico in the next few days.
If the sunken Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig were to spew millions of gallons of crude oil into the gulf, the scenes of environmental devastation, combined with the loss of life, could rapidly reverse the confidence drillers have gained with the public in the past few years.
But if the wind and current drive any leaking oil out to sea, the disaster could remain, in the public's mind, a tragedy for oil workers and their families — similar to the recent West Virginia mine disaster — but not a threat to the environment.
Read the complete story at The New York Times.