On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon off-shore oil rig exploded killing  eleven crewmen and sinking two days later. 
As of July 5, the US government  estimates that somewhere between 43 and 127 million gallons of oil have  been released 
into the Gulf of Mexico; oil has washed up on the beaches of  all five Gulf states.    


The following emails are part of a roundtable on the Gulf of Mexico oil  spill organized by Christopher Jones. 
It consists of four energy  historians attempting to provide some perspective on a crisis that  continues to unfold.    


It is our hope that this roundtable sparks some comments and discussion;  we are especially interested in learning 
from those of you who live and  work along the Gulf coast.    


Sincerely,    

Robert Lifset  
H-Energy Editor