•April 20th: The Deepwater Horizon Transocean rig, located 42 miles southeast of Venice, LA, explodes and catches fire while workers rush to finish a well for BP. Of the 126 crewmembers on board, 115 are accounted for, 17 are injured, and 11 go missing and are later presumed dead.

•April 22nd: Raging fire onboard the rig causes a second explosion, sinking the entire structure, spilling 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and breaking the riser pipe that normally carries oil from wellhead to the drilling ship.

•April 23rd: U.S. Coast Guard reports that no oil is escaping from wellhead.

•April 24th: BP’s remotely operated vehicles discover oil escaping from two leaks in a drilling pipe. Estimates state the leak rate at 1,000 barrels, or 42,000 gallons, a day.

•April 25th: Coast Guard approves plan for BP to activate a blowout preventer and stop leak; efforts to turn on preventer fail.

•April 26th: Oil slick spreads to cover nearly 28,600 square miles of Gulf of Mexico waters. Clean-up crews in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida set up booms to try and block as much oil as possible from coming ashore.

•April 27th: Government officials consider a controlled burn of the oil slick. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar step up the government’s investigation of the explosion and resultant spill, while other Obama administration officials meet with top BP executives.

•April 28th: BP finishes a containment chamber that could possibly collect oil escaping from the well at the seafloor. The first rig able to begin drilling a relief well arrives on site. U.S. Mineral Management Service calls off luncheon to “present its annual award for exemplary safety and environmental management”; BP was on list of finalists.

•April 29th: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declares a state of emergency; President Obama designates the spill a disaster of national significance. BP and Coast Guard admit that rate of oil leakage is five times higher than originally estimated, at 210,000 gallons a day, and the first fingers of oil reach the Mississippi River Delta.

•April 30th: Obama announces plan to halt all new offshore drilling pending an investigation into the Deepwater Horizon explosion; BP CEO Tony Hayward says the company will take full responsibility for the spill and clean-up.

•May 1st: SkyTruth, a non-profit organization that collects and analyzes satellite imagery, announces that oil spill rate is even higher than BP’s revised estimate, at just over one million gallons per day. Although the Coast Guard and BP disagree, that brings the Gulf of Mexico disaster on par with the Exxon Valdez spill in just eleven days.

•May 2nd: President Obama finally visits affected region, the same day that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) closes all commercial fishing in the central Gulf of Mexico for 10 days; Obama calls spill “a potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.” BP also begins drilling deepwater intercept relief well, which will take at least 90 days.

•May 3rd: BP attempts to install a new shutoff valve, which they successfully lobbied against having to install before drilling began, above the destroyed blowout preventer that was supposed to be the solution of last resort.

•May 4th: BP executives admit even revised spill estimate of one million gallons per day could be a low-ball.

•May 5th: BP succeeds in plugging the smallest of the three main leaks and finishes a 100-ton containment dome meant to siphon oil through a tube and to a waiting ship on the surface.

•May 6th: Oil washes ashore in the Chandeleur Islands, part of Breton National Wildlife Refuge, off Louisiana coast.

•May 7th: NOAA modifies, expands, and extends ban on fishing in federal waters; after heavy testing, EPA orders halt of toxic subsea dispersant operations.

•May 8th: BP announces that containment dome has failed to work properly, as hydrate crystals form inside the siphon and prevent oil from rising to the surface.

•May 9th-10th: Oil slick drifts west past Mississippi Delta; begins washing up on several islands in Southern Louisiana and impacting habitats in Terrebonne and Atchafalaya Bays.

•May 11th: Salazar announces plans to restructure Mineral Management Service, in order to separate the organization’s conflicting duties of approving and enforcing safety measures and selling valuable oil leases to raise money for the government.

•May 12th: Executives from BP, Transocean, and Halliburton appear at congressional hearings and further infuriate the American public by passing the blame, pointing fingers, and offering no good solutions for continuing oil spill.

•May 14th: Obama slams “ridiculous spectacle” of congressional hearings; independent scientists finally confirm SkyTruth’s claim of over one million gallons of oil spilling per day, even saying the top end of the estimate could be closer to three million gallons per day. If correct, the total amount of oil spilled would be over 70 millions gallons, almost seven times as big as Exxon Valdez spill.

•May 15th: Napolitano and Salazar send another letter to Hayward reiterating that BP is accountable to the American public for the full cost of clean-up and economic losses related to the spill; scientists studying private video feed of spill confirm enormous plumes of oil forming underwater.

•May 16th: A new riser insertion tube tool is inserted into leaking pipe; BP estimates it is now capturing up to 44,000 gallons of oil a day from Gulf of Mexico waters.

•May 17th: Another Transocean rig begins drilling a second relief well; SkyTruth satellite models show oil slick entrained in Gulf of Mexico Loop Current, which could eventually carry the oil through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.

•May 18th: NOAA doubles no-fishing zone, which now comprises 19% of federal Gulf waters.

•May 19th: Congressman Edward Markey requests that BP immediately make publicly available its live video feed of leak points and undersea activities; first signs of oil wash ashore in Louisiana wetlands, and tar balls turn up in Florida Keys, although most experts determine they’re not related to oil spill.

•May 20th: EPA orders BP to identify and use a less toxic subsea dispersant; Energy and Commerce Committee posts BP’s live feed of underwater leak, allowing the general public to see the oil spill firsthand.

•May 21st: Louisiana shuts down additional coastline and marsh areas as more oil washes up on shore; beleaguered officials beg for fast-tracking of Army Corps of Engineers/Coast Guard plan to build sand berms offshore.

•May 22nd: President Obama signs executive order creating bipartisan National Commission on BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

•May 23rd: Salazar vows to “keep the boot on the neck” of BP until leaking well is capped, before backing off and conceding that only the oil companies know how to attack oil spill problem.

•May 24th: 65 miles of Louisiana shoreline now impacted by oil, including national wildlife refuges, rookeries, hatcheries, and oyster beds, and several coastal resort towns, effectively shutting down Southern Louisiana’s local economy. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke declares fisheries disaster for entire Gulf of Mexico.

•May 25th: Phillipe Cousteau, Jr., grandson of renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, swims into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill with an ABC News crew to examine the effects of subsea dispersants; emerges saying, “This is a nightmare… one of the most horrible things I’ve seen underwater.”

•May 26th: BP tries “top kill” method to shut down oil leak, injecting drilling mud and concrete into leaking riser; engineers are forced to stop after several hours when method continues to fail.

•May 27th: Top kill attempted again; back-up method of “junk shot” — shooting golf balls, rubber tires, and other debris into riser — also tried. President Obama announces extended six-month moratorium on new deepwater well drilling, along with plans to cancel proposed lease sales off the coast of Virginia and in the Gulf of Mexico — but he also trumpets a new Senate climate bill that would provide massive financial incentives to states that open their coasts to drilling. Oceanographers announce that oil trapped in Loop Current has spun into an eddy, keeping it in Gulf of Mexico.

•May 28th: President Obama tours Louisiana Gulf Coast for second time; tells angry public that “the buck stops with me.”

•May 29th: Top kill and junk shot methods reported a failure as injected mud and debris is seen flowing back out alongside oil.

•May 30th: Ominous headline “BP says it will focus on containment rather than plugging the hole” graces several media outlets; government says oil may continue to spill until August at the earliest.

•May 31st: BP announces that next round of potential solutions includes cutting off the damaged riser and capping the exposed pipe, which could potentially increase the oil spill rate; installing a new blowout preventer atop the existing one; and employing another version of the already-failed containment dome.

•June 1st: Atlantic Hurricane Season begins, raising fears of tropical activity in the Gulf of Mexico which could spread, widen, or even disperse oil slick; BP shares lose over 15% in one day, bringing total losses for the company to $63 billion in six weeks, including $990 million spent directly on clean-up and containment efforts; U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder opens criminal inquiry into explosion and spill.

•June 2nd: Diamond-studded wire saw being used to cut off damaged riser gets stuck; 12 hours after freeing it, saw is deemed ineffectual and giant shears are brought in to attempt cutting pipe. Oil washes up in Mississippi and Alabama and approaches Florida Panhandle beaches for first time; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal pleads with federal government not to suspend offshore drilling; White House and Coast Guard approve six BP-funded offshore sand berms to shield Louisiana coast, and President Obama proposes rolling back tax breaks for oil companies. Up to 33% of federal Gulf of Mexico fishing grounds now closed.

•June 3rd: Shears succeed in cutting off damaged riser pipe; 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin blames environmentalists for oil spill. Tar balls begin washing up on Florida Panhandle beaches, as oil sheen moves less than four miles off coastline.

•June 4th: Second containment cap successfully fitted over kinked riser pipe; oil flow increases by 20%, but BP estimates they can now capture up to 420,000 gallons of spilling crude per day. Four vents on containment cap left open to prevent hydrate crystal build-up, which doomed last cap effort.

•June 5th: BP engineers spend the day trying to gradually close two containment cap vents allowing some oil to gush into Gulf of Mexico, but eventually realize they can’t, as Discoverer Enterprise drill ship on the surface can only handle and process 15,000 barrels of siphoned oil per day, almost the take with containment cap vents open. One vent eventually closed, but other three remain open “to keep the system stable.”

•June 6th: BP CEO Tony Hayward announces that another free-standing riser pipe will be installed to siphon oil through manifold built during failed “top kill” operation; a second container ship will also arrive to collect more siphoned oil. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen announces that oil spill relief efforts will stretch into autumn: “This is a siege across the entire Gulf of Mexico. This spill is holding everybody hostage, not only economically but physically. And it has to be attacked on all fronts.”

•June 7th: BP announces that cost of oil spill response has reached $1.25 billion; Texas officials announce first oil-fouled wildlife found on state beaches. Scientists and environmentalists scoff at Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen’s assertion that oil spill clean-up will last into fall, saying the effort could last for years or even decades.

•June 8th: University of South Florida researchers determine underwater plumes of oil have spread as far as 42 miles from leaking Deepwater Horizon well. BP’s containment cap collecting up to 630,000 gallons of oil per day; President Obama says he would have fired BP CEO Tony Hayward if the decision were up to him, defends government’s response to oil spill by saying “I know whose ass to kick.” Interior Department announces new safety and environmental rules that would allow shallow-water drilling in Gulf of Mexico to resume.

•June 9th: Amount of oil being captured by containment cap continues to increase, up to 630,000 gallons per day; BP announces plans to burn off much of the collected oil and mixed-in natural gas with an EverGreen burner. Smaller leak found at rig 10 miles from original spill site. News reports emerge detailing heavy-handed and often prohibitive treatment of reporters and photographers looking to cover oil spill by BP contractors, Coast Guard, and local law enforcement. BP admits it has bought up hundreds of oil spill-related Internet domain names to try and direct search results to their own website.

•June 10th: Shares of BP sink to lowest levels in 13 years after massive sell-off, wiping nearly $90 billion away from the company’s market value; U.S. lawmakers push for BP to stop dividend payments and pay more in compensation for Gulf of Mexico oil spill damage. British politicians and financial experts push back, pointing out that many retired UK pension holders rely on dividends from BP for their fixed incomes.

•June 11th: U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt announces that daily spill estimates are almost twice as high as last announced, at between 1 and 2.1 million gallons. President Obama meets with families of 11 workers killed in Deepwater Horizon blast; Coast Guard urges BP to adapt and improve plans for processing oil collected by containment cap.
 
•June 12th: U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida says “present system” of oil spill response “is not working”; serious questions about clean-up crew training, boom placement, and chain of command begin to emerge, especially among frustrated Southern Louisiana citizens and government officials. BP discusses suspended dividend payments to instead divert money to oil spill clean-up.
 
•June 13th: BP announces that containment cap is now collecting 630,000 gallons of oil per day; President Obama says oil spill “echoes” tragedy of 9/11, announces plans for federal fund to compensate businesses and individuals for lost revenue and income.
 
•June 14th: BP COO Tom Costello admits that clean-up tools like skimmers and boom “aren’t ready for the 21st century”; new containment schedule is pushed forward by two weeks, with BP announcing they should be able to capture up to 2.2 millions gallons of oil per day by end of June. New details emerge about BP’s rush to finish Deepwater Horizon well before explosion, against recommendations from Halliburton and protests from several employees; reports state that Mineral Management Service employee who signed off on safety inspection days before the rig had only just begun rig inspection training.
 
•June 15th: Financial analysts estimate BP’s total share of responsibility could eventually top $40-70 billion dollars. President Obama finishes two-day visit to region with prime time Oval Office speech, first crisis-style address to the nation of his presidency. Officials from Exxon Mobil and Chevron tell Congress that BP spill is a “rare event” that shouldn’t happen in the future if proper safety procedures are followed.

•June 16th: Federal scientists up estimate of daily flow rate from broken well to 2.5 million gallons of oil per day, the highest figure yet and at least the fifth official increase. Second containment system begins collecting oil. President Obama holds first meetings with BP officials, who announce suspension of shareholder dividend payments for remainder of 2010 and creation of $20 billion claims fund to be managed by Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw compensation for 9/11 victims. NOAA expands federal fisheries closure again.

•June 17th: BP CEO Tony Hayward appears before House Energy and Commerce Committee; apologizes for oil spill but is light on specifics about the disaster; Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike grill Hayward for nearly 10 hours, with live coverage of the hearings on TV and the Internet. U.S. Representative Joe Barton (R-Tex.) apologizes to Hayward for $20 billion “shakedown” by President Obama the day before; later apologizes for his apology after Republican leaders threaten to remove him from his post. Number of oil-soaked birds caught and transferred doubles in last two weeks; Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen announces that relief well drilling is weeks ahead of schedule.

•June 18th: BP’s containment cap recovers 1.06 million gallons of oil, most it has collected in one day. First relief well comes within 200 feet of damaged well; BP announces that CEO Tony Hayward will step back from oil spill response. Center For Biological Diversity files federal lawsuit again BP, seeking penalties under Clean Water Act; lawsuit seeks $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled, which could lead to $19 billion being paid into United States Treasury.

•June 19th: BP CEO Tony Hayward slammed again by bad PR after attending yacht race off coast of England to watch his 52-foot boat “Bob” compete in aptly named J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Race.

•June 20th: U.S. Representative Edward Markey releases internal BP document showing the company’s own worst-case scenario at outset of oil spill was 4.2 million gallons per day. FSU Professor Paul Flemming also estimates up to 20 million gallons of natural gas may be spilling from damaged well each day. Clean-up workers complain that after traveling long distances, their jobs are being given to local residents, something governors in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida have continually requested.

•June 21st: Details emerge about five new Gulf of Mexico drilling projects — including two deeper than Deepwater Horizon — receiving fasttrack to approval by Minerals Management Service, even after tougher safety regulations were announced on June 2nd. Three of the five projects were granted “categorical exclusion” waivers exempting them from detailed studies of their environmental impact — the same waiver MMS granted to BP for the still-gushing Macondo well.

•June 22nd: Claims fund director Kenneth Feinberg tells CNBC his goal is to make payouts faster; BP estimates they’ve spent $2 billion so far, including $105 million in claims. BP CEO Tony Hayward cancels appearance at World National Oil Companies Congress. U.S. Chemical Safety Board opens investigation into explosion and fire; federal judge Martin Feldman of New Orleans overturns President Obama’s six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects, much to the delight of oil company plaintiffs; news reports divulge the fact that Feldman holds shares in Transocean, Halliburton, and BP’s holding companies. Bipartisan commission appointed by Obama in May to study the oil spill announces that it will hold its first formal meeting in mid-July, most likely delaying the delivery of its final report into 2011.

•June 23rd: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announces new, more detailed order imposing deepwater drilling moratorium; BP appoints Bob Dudley to head Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, and Michael R. Bromwich assumes control of reorganized Minerals Management Service. Undersea robot bumps containment cap, resulting in discharge of liquid and gases that forces BP to remove cap, allowing unobstructed flow of oil to begin anew. Pools of oil wash up along Pensacola Beach, prompting health officials to issue swimming advisory.

•June 24th: Containment cap reapplied after 11 hours of unabated flow of oil. NOAA announces that change in Loop Current should keep Florida Keys and East Coast safe from oil for now. Two oil spill clean-up workers found dead in unrelated incidents; one Alabama charter boat captain enlisted for clean-up takes his own life.

•June 25th: Minerals Management Service renamed Bureau of Ocean Energy; New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg asks new BOE director to halt BP drilling plans off the coast of Alaska. Judge Martin Feldman refuses to stay lifting of offshore drilling moratorium. Oil washes ashore for first time on Mississippi’s barrier islands; tar balls and oil sheens in Pensacola area force Florida officials to issue health advisories in Escambia and Walton Counties.

•June 26th: dozens of heavily oiled turtles turn up near a site where workers are burning off collected oil, raising concerns that they had been burned alive. BP shares fall to a 14-year-low, resulting in the company losing more than $100 billion in market value since Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April. Tropical Storm Alex, first of 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season, forms in western Caribbean before crossing Yucatan Peninsula, taking aim at Texas/Mexico border. Hands Across The Sand gathers thousands at offshore drilling protests in 820 locations in all 50 states and 34 countries.

•June 27th: Navy Secretary and former Mississippi governor Ray Mabus prepares for first visit to Gulf Coast after being named White House’s point man on restoration plan; current Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour presses BP and federal officials for increased resources. Five Gulf governors issue proclamations declaring June 27th a day of prayer; 72 brown pelicans rescued from spill are released in Texas’ Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

•June 28th: Rough seas from Tropical Storm Alex threaten containment and clean-up efforts; surfers in Northwest Florida desperate to enjoy head-high swell from Alex drive hundreds of miles east to escape heavy oil in Pensacola area. NOAA expands Gulf of Mexico fisheries closure, up to 33 percent of federal waters. BP reports its share of oil spill cost has climbed to $2.65 billion. 50,000 turtle eggs from Florida Panhandle and Alabama dug up and moved to Florida’s Atlantic coast. Reports indicate that over 400 people have sought medical care for lower or upper respiratory problems after trips to Escambia County, FL, beaches.

•June 29th: New Orleans federal appeals court judge Martin Feldman announces that he will hear federal government’s appeal of ruling overturning deepwater drilling moratorium. Tropical Storm Alex forces suspension of skimming and controlled burn operations. BP says it will provide cash and assistance to independent station operators, some of whom have experienced 40% drops in business. Vice President Joe Biden visits New Orleans, announces uniform safety standard for Gulf seafood; U.S. State Department confirms it is accepting help from 12 countries and international aid organizations.
 
•June 30th: EPA releases devastating data on undersea dispersants that BP used at outset of oil spill to break up plumes of crude; many dispersants fall into “slightly toxic” category, and most produced dangerous side effects on tested shrimp and fish. NOAA announces two-week survey of Gulf Loop Current, which could carry oil up the East Coast. Admiral Thad Allen officially retires from Coast Guard, but will continue with duties as national oil spill incident commander. Walton County, FL, issues health advisory for Topsail Hill State Park. Environmental groups deliver over 400,000 letters to the White House asking for no expanded offshore drilling.
 
•July 1st: House of Representatives increases compensation that can be received by families of those killed or injured by Deepwater Horizon explosion. Federal lawsuit contends that BP’s practice of burning off spilled oil is killing endangered sea turtles; director of BP compensation fund says affected businesses would be able to apply for emergency lump-sum payments. Health advisory issued by Escambia County, FL, for waters west of Penscola Beach Pier to Alabama state line; Okaloosa County withdraws their June 24th health advisory for Destin beaches. According to CBS News story, high-end estimate of 140 million gallons of oil spilled tops Mexico’s 1979 Ixtoc I spill, making BP catastrophe worst spill in Gulf history.
 
•July 2nd: NOAA says Loop Current threat to East Coast has diminished, and that Florida Keys and Miami area could see more oil than Florida’s heavily populated west coast. Some skimmers return to sea after Tropical Storm Alex’s swells subside; BP tells contracted workers that they should “feel free to talk” to news media after several reports emerge about severe censorship. Judge Martin Feldman asked by environmental groups to throw out his order overturning six-month deepwater drilling moratorium; BP and other wildlife protection groups work out final details to save endangered sea turtles from controlled burn operations. New poll reports that 52% of Americans oppose offshore drilling.
 
•July 3rd: More than 30 lawsuits arising from Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill are temporarily consolidated by federal judge to streamline pretrial process. BP criticized for not hiring enough adjusters to keep up with flood of compensation claims. Converted tanker A Whale, billed as world’s largest skimmer, is tested to scrub up to 21 million gallons of oil-tainted seawater per day.
 
•July 4th: More rough weather and choppy seas idle offshore skimming vessels, especially in Alabama. Federal government announces that it will take over control of www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com, one-stop website that had been run jointly by BP and several government agencies. Report states that Fish and Wildlife Service signed off on former Minerals Management Service’s 2007 conclusion that deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico posed no significant risk to wildlife or habitat.
 
•July 5th: BP’s costs for oil spill response tops $3 billion, not including $20 billion compensation fund set up for affected victims. Tests on viability of giant supertanker A Whale are inconclusive; Navy deploys MZ-3A airship blimp to monitor oil spill spread, support skimming operations, and detect wildlife in distress. Tar balls arrive on Texas beaches for the first time; every Gulf state now directly affected by oil spill. NOAA expands fisheries closure even further. East Coast beach towns report huge spike in reservations and tourists for 4th of July weekend; Gulf Coast resorts report opposite trend, with business down 40-60% in some places.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

First and foremost, boycotting all BP gas stations may seem like the easiest way to hit the international corporation where it hurts most — square in the wallet. But consider this Op-Ed from the Los Angeles Times:

“Before the Gulf of Mexico spill, BP was considered the most environmentally responsible oil company in the world. Granted, that’s not saying much… but we have to wonder where people who are boycotting BP stations are going to fill up — at stations branded by Exxon Mobil, one of the nation’s biggest polluters? Will they turn to Chevron, which is fighting ferociously to deny responsibility for its role in an environmental catastrophe in the Amazon? In the oil business, nobody has clean hands. There’s also the fact that BP stations are independently owned, so a boycott hurts individual retailers more than the London-based BP… human error can lead to disaster on any oil rig, owned by any company, at any time. That’s why expanding offshore drilling, as President Obama and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle propose to do, is such a bad idea.”

So if you want to boycott something, boycott oil altogether. If you have the means, don’t drive your car. Ride a bike, take the bus, walk. Urge your local, state, and federal lawmakers to reconsider a moratorium on all levels against all offshore drilling. Most importantly, peruse the information below to find proactive, productive ways to help.

Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ) has introduced the No New Drilling Act http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-5248 of 2010 which would prohibit new offshore exploration, development, or production of oil and natural gas. The proposed legislation is currently the ONLY bill in Congress that would ban all new offshore drilling in the United States. Despite the tragic lessons of the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the No New Drilling Act currently has only modest support in the House with a total of four co-sponsors. If you haven’t already, please participate in the Action Alert http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1727 to ask your representatives to protect our oceans and coasts from drilling! Please also call your Congressman http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt to ask them to co-sponsor the No New Drilling Act of 2010. Calling your congressional representative is the most effective way to have your voice heard on this issue and to help advance this legislation. Thank you for taking action!

What you should know about volunteering

•      Only trained and paid workers will be allowed to work directly with oil.
•      BP is providing oil cleanup training through PEC/Premier Safety Management, and those living in affected areas will be given priority for employment in oil     cleanup jobs.
•      Aside from the volunteering opportunities listed below, there are a host of nonprofit organizations, such as the National Audubon Society and state-level     organizations like the Fish and Wildlife Commission or Department of Environmental Quality/Protection, that may be accepting and training volunteers for oil     spill response tasks.
•      At the moment, the number of willing volunteers exceeds the training resources and available positions in many areas, so those who are planning on traveling     to affected areas in order to help should be sure to secure a position before making travel arrangements.

National Information Resources and Hotlines

•       www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com
•   Twitter: http://twitter.com/usnoaagov
•   Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov
•   Podcasts: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast.html
•   NOAA Roles and Tools: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/topics/oceans/spills/
•   EPA: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/
•      www.oilspillvolunteers.com
•      Report oiled shoreline/ request more information: 866-448-5816
•      Vessels of Opportunity (submit your boat for skimming): 281-366-5511 or 425-745-8017
•      Submit a claim for damages: 800-440-0858
•      Report oiled wildlife: 866-557-1401
•   Report tar balls to Coast Guard: (800) 424-8802
•      PEC Hotline (specialty volunteer training) 866-647-2338
•   Fish & Wildlife tally: www.dailydeadbirds.com

Fact sheets related to oil spills in general and this spill:

•   http://www.piersystem.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/
•   http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon
•   http://gulfseagrant.tamu.edu/oilspill/index.htm
•   United States Congress letter to BP CEO Tony Hayward, with details on oil rig failure.
•   EPA report on BP's use of dispersant underwater chemicals

Volunteer information by state

Alabama

•      To register to volunteer or make a donation to help with cleanup efforts, visit www.servealabama.gov  
•      Those interested in volunteering as individuals or in groups can also call 1-888-421-1266
•      Other organizations seeking volunteers and donations for cleanup efforts include:
       The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program: www.mobilebaynep.com
       The Alabama Coastal Foundation: www.joinacf.org
       Mobile Baykeeper: http://savethegulf.mobilebaykeeper.org

Florida

•      Volunteers may serve in roles including: Coast Watcher shoreline monitoring, administrative and office support for call centers, and managing
     volunteer databases and providing Web site support
•      Coast Watchers monitor their home breaks for signs of oil contamination and notify the proper authorities of beaches that need attention.
•    To report oiled shoreline in Florida, call 1-877-272-8335
•    Information on how to identify oil impacts is available at www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org 
•      Visit www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org and check for volunteer opportunities in your county.
•    Some counties are conducting pre-impact cleanups
•      To work with oil as a Qualified Community Responder, fill out an online application for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, or     
    Wakulla Counties at www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org 
•   In Okaloosa County, call: 850-651-7150
•   In Bay County, call: 850-763-6587
•   In Walton County, go to http://www.waltonso.org/
•   Florida Palm Beach/Treasure Coast area volunteers can email Surfrider's Florida Regional Manager Ericka Davanzo:edavanzo@surfrider.org
•   Florida Emergency Information Line: 800-342-3557
•   Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) incident response website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm
•   State Action Alert for Special Session http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1816
    (FL Only) – Our legislators are holding up Gov. Crist's request for a special session to make oil drilling a 2010 ballet item.
•   Florida Gulf Recovery Jobs website: http://gulfrecoveryjobs.employflorida.com

Louisiana

•      Register at www.volunteerlouisiana.gov. Use the website to search for volunteer opportunities by Parish
•      Complete necessary training courses dependent on position
•      Volunteers will be assigned to a role including: shoreline monitoring, donations management, wildlife marker/sitter, facility and site maintenance,      transportation assistant, administrative and support, pre-impact beach cleanup, command post or volunteer reception center, and light construction
•   Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana http://www.crcl.org/

Mississippi

•      Register with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service at www.volunteermississippi.org  
•      Apply for oil cleanup jobs
•    Call 888-844-3577
•    Apply with the Mississippi department of employment security at www.mdes.ms.gov
•   Mississippi Department of Marine Resources http://www.dmr.state.ms.us/ - (228) 374-5000

Texas

•      Galveston Bay Foundation http://www.galvbay.org/volunteer_oil_signup.html

Surfrider Foundation/Ocean Conservancy/SkyTruth Oil Spill Tracker

•   www.oilspill.skytruth.org
•   Grassroots, open format incident report tool allows organizations and individuals to track impact of Gulf of Mexico oil spill in real time
•   Allows communities throughout the region to assist in the monitoring and cleanup of this horrible catastrophe, while also providing a space for documentation     of “before” reports of clean beaches
•   Surfers, beachgoers, and anyone else concerned about the oil spill can contribute via incident submissions that can include text, images, and links to news     articles and videos

Dedicated Surfrider Foundation Oil Spill Website

•   www.nottheanswer.org
•   Urge Obama and Congress to ban new drilling: http://www.surfrider.org/nodrilling
•   Find an continuously updated Oil Spill Volunteer Toolkit
•   Sign up for a Surfrider Foundation membership and receive a “Not The Answer” T-shirt
•   Take action to urge President Obama and other lawmakers to restore the federal offshore drilling moratorium.

Hands Across The Sand Nationwide Protest Scheduled For June 26th

•   Florida-based movement will expand on previously held protests in March to mobilize people of all walks of life and political affiliations to draw a literal and     metaphorical line in the sand against offshore drilling
•   The newly redesigned www.handsacrossthesand.org contains detailed info about grassroots protests planned nationwide for June 26th. Visit the site today to     schedule/plan a protest or find one near you.

Other organizations dedicated to mitigating the impacts of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

•   Caribbean Conservation Corporation, www.cccturtle.org
•   Blue Frontier Campaign, www.bluefront.org
•   Clean Ocean Action, www.cleanoceanaction.org
•   National Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc.org
•   Defenders Of Wildlife, www.defenders.org
•   Ocean Conservation Research, www.ocr.org
•   Oceana, www.oceana.org
•   Save Our Shores, www.saveourshores.org
•   Sierra Club, www.sierraclub.org
•   350.org, www.350.org
    Click here to send a letter to your representative


    Click here to write a letter to your editor: www.350.org/oil-lte
•   Restore America’s Estuaries https://www.estuaries.org/donation-form.html
•   Save Our Gulf http://saveourgulf.org/