So, just how bad is this thing? How bad could it be?

Here's a link to the first article I chose, which is from the New York Times : http://tinyurl.com/2feqso3

Which is about the big ol' mess pictured. An exploratory rig on the gulf has malfunctioned, killed 11 people and is now spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the ocean....not good.

Response to follow.