Will the Gulf of Mexico oil slick get into the Loop current?

Not yet; and I tend to think that the concerns over the Florida Keys reefs are overblown. (Not that this won't be one of the most devastating environmental disasters in history).

But regarding the Keys: the corals have been degrading just fine by themselves due primarily to excess nutrients causing excessive algal growth and thus turbidifying the waters, and the cause of those excess nutrients is us humans. A few tar balls and mousse tendrils drifting by? By the time the oil gets there, what's left of it is going to be in gloppy patches. Sure it'll be annoying and unsightly, but I don't think it's going to be a major problem there. The Mississippi Delta, bayous, Redneck Riviera beaches -- that's another story, and if a major amount of oil despoils them, we could be looking at oil's Cuyahoga River moment.

More on that later, hopefully, as I get a chance, and as the situation develops.