On the main site today, Steve LeVine has a good piece about how BP's handling of the Gulf spill has the entire oil industry panicked:
Executives, not just at BP, but throughout the oil industry, are concerned that the disaster will have the effect of restricting or closing off their continued ability to drill in the Gulf, one of the few remaining places on the planet where oil producers are permitted a relatively free hand. That's why Exxon, Shell, and Chevron, which all have significant operations in the Gulf, are pitching in technical assistance—because the blowback from this disaster might harm their interests as well. "I’m really worried. I think this is Chernobyl" in terms of public opinion, says Merrie Spaeth, a Dallas-based corporate crisis consultant. “It plays to the, ‘Don’t drill, the sky is falling’ crowd."
The rest is definitely worth a read.