With the failure of last week's attempt at a "top kill" to stop the flow of oil from the ruptured deepwater oil drill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has moved on to yet another attempt to cap the well and slow the flow of oil into the water. Today BP was able to sever the damaged riser pipe. They were forced to use shears to cut through the pipe because the diamond tip saw they were attempting to use yesterday failed. The drawback to using the shears is that it produces a much rougher cut which makes it more difficult to create a tight seal between the cap they are installing and the riser pipe. If this method works the oil will flow through the installed cap and up a pipe to a ship on the surface. This method will not stop the flow of oil from the damaged well; it will simply reduce the amount of oil that is spilling directly in to the Gulf. For more information, click HERE.

Also, check out Gulf Oil Spill Alert #13 that was sent out yesterday.