A large oil spill off the coast of California has been labelled an environmental catastrophe.
It is believed the crude oil has been leaking from a southern Californian pipeline. Over 470,000 litres has spread into an oil spill over 33 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, injuring local wildlife and devastating a large ecological reserve.
The US coast guard and local and state agencies have hired contractors to clean up the spill. The director of the centre of the Biological diversity’s ocean program, Miyoko Sakashita says the mess will be impossible to clean up entirely and will eventually wash up on local beaches affecting even more wildlife and residents.