Judge Rules on Amount of Oil Spilled By BP Disaster

Think about then number 3 million. Three million is a lot of anything! A federal judge has determined that 3.19 million barrels of oil were released into the gulf by the BP oil spill.

Three million pennies is $30,000. Three million miles if twelve trips to the moon or 120 trips around the earth. Three million ounces would be 250,000 12 ounce beers! Three million barrels of oil spilled in the gulf is a lot. It's not as much as the government estimate of the spill (4.2 million barrels) and it's more than the BP estimate of 2.4 million barrels. Why does this number matter. It is the number that will be used to determine the BP fine under the Clean Water Act. BP could pay up to $4,300 per barrel according to a story at WWL.