How does the amount of oil that’s pouring into the Gulf compare to the amount of petroleum we use everyday?

by Adriene Hill

Easy answer: it’s not even close. The US Geological Survey estimates somewhere around half a million gallons of oil are pouring into the Gulf everyday. (This is, of course, significantly higher than the original estimates by BP.) PBS created a counter if you want to keep track of just how depressed you should be at any given second.

But, all that oil is only a very, very small drop in the bucket compared to global consumption. Every day the world blows through about 7,000 times as much petroleum.

It’s mind-boggling.