Gulf Coast oil disaster threatens marine life and coastal wetlands

After mounting pressure BP has finally released a live video stream of the oil gushing at the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and experts say the rate of flow is probably much higher than what BP previously estimated at 5,000 barrels per day. Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson said yesterday that the oil company had delayed releasing the video.

"Each step it was like pulling teeth to get the video released, but you know, Mr. President, live video pictures don't lie. There is a little pipe that you can see in the video that is coming in and is being inserted in that was supposed to be sucking most of the oil out, but in fact, the pictures don't lie. The live video is showing the gusher is spewing black oil five-thousand feet below the Gulf of Mexico."

Scientists have also found evidence of large plumes of underwater oil, raising concern that the diverse marine life in the area is at risk. To hear more about the efforts to monitor the coastal environment, we're joined by Chris Snyder. He's director of the Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi and he's just returned back from a research trip into the Gulf.