There is enormous frustration setting in as the BP Gulf oil spill continues into its second month devastating vast areas of the American gulf coast. To this date, we do not know how much oil is spilling into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The original estimate (established by BP) was 5,000 barrels per day. Keep in mind that there are 42 gallons in a barrel, so this initial estimate means that 210,000 gallons of oil were spilling into the ocean.

But some scientists estimate, based on the size of the pipe through which the oil is gushing and the rate of flow of the escaping oil, that there might be as much as 70,000 barrels of oil spewing into the water, or in gallons: 2.94 million per day. This is an enormous difference.

PBS created this widget that we can use to estimate the spillage of oil into the Gulf. You can move the slider to adjust the rate of oil spillage per day to see the devastating impact of this oil disaster. Watch what happens as you move the slider to the right increasing the rate of flow.

Why is important to know how much oil is pouring into the Gulf. Lisa Suatoni, in her blog, reports that it is important to know about the extent of the leaking oil because it will influence the response that we will take, and that the law managing damage assessment requires that the government know the extent of the spill. There is also a financial penalty associated with this disaster, but with accurate measurements of the spill, one can not attach an acceptable penalty.

There is evidence that this is a huge disaster, and that it is a further reminder that the U.S. energy future can not continue to maintain the status quo. It is crucial that the oil age needs to end, not because we run out of oil, but because we need to implement and support a new energy paradigm. Thomas Friedman speaks to this problem in one of his posts this week. Friedman suggests that the present administration needs to think big, and imaginatively, and support the energy bill that is being developed in the Senate that would lead to the end of our addiction to oil, and forcefully move us in the direction of wind, solar, electric cars, and high speed rail.