Shep Smith Says BP Oil Spill Could Be Bigger Than 9/11

It’s no secret that Shepard Smith feels quite passionate about the devastation the BP oil ppill has wreaked on the Gulf. Smith, a native of Mississippi, has on numerous occasions in the last few weeks expressed his anger and frustration about the what he feels is the cavalier attitude of BP, and particularly its CEO Tony Hayward toward the residents of the Gulf Coast. Today, as BP prepares to test the experimental “Top Kill” plan to stop the leak, Shep spent a large part of his Studio B show talking about the procedure and trying to gauge what the fallout will be if this latest plan doesn’t work and we have to wait till August for the relief well to be dug: “Will life in the Gulf ever be the same again?”

Said guest David Biello of Scientific American: “It’s hard to say…once the marsh grasses go you’re talking about reshaping the actual, physical coast line cause they’re what are holding the land together. You could see an entirely different coast line in a couple of years.” He also noted that entire generation of shrimp and other aquatic life could be wiped out for years to come.

Said Shep: “This could end up being the story of our generation, couldn’t it? Bigger than the attacks on the World Trade Center, bigger than most anything, if 14 million people live down there and a way of life…it’s just unthinkable.”

Video below.