While the BP oil spill in the gulf is getting world wide attention, little has been reported until now about the almost constant environmental devastation caused by oil spills in Nigeria.   “The Niger Delta has suddenly become a cautionary tale for the US. As many as 546 million gallons of oil spilled into the Niger Delta over the past five decades, or nearly 11 million gallons a year, a team of experts for the Nigerian government and international and local environmental groups concluded in a 2006 report. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 dumped an estimated 10.8 million gallons of oil into the waters off Alaska.” 

Here is a link to one article on this topic, which has a few photos as well: http://www.theage.com.au/world/large-oil-spills-are-old-news-in-the-niger-delta-20100617-yjnf.html

Michael