One Hundred Days of Oil in the Gulf

Image by kk+ via Flickr

One hundred days have passed since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig owned by the energy giant BP killed 11 people, leaking so much crude into the Gulf of Mexico that both wildlife and marine life are threatened.

To date, federal scientists estimated that up to 218 million gallons of oil have been spilled.  Around 80 million have been either skimmed or burned off, which leaves 40 million unaccounted for.  Gee, maybe the crude just sank to the bottom, leaving untold damage to the Gulf?

Lately though, it seems as if the oil has pretty much disappeared--on the surface.  And no one seems to know why.  Could it be that the so-called "temporary" cap BP put on the leak until a permanent fix can be found is actually working?

With all that, those whose lives and livelihoods depend on the Gulf face an uncertain future.  Most beaches from Texas to Florida haven't been affected by the oil, but tourists have chosen to stay away.  And the fishing industry may take decades to get back to what is considered normal.  No amount of BP's money earmarked for Gulf residents is going to change that.

Speaking of BP's money, they lost quite a bit of it in the second quarter of 2010.  A record $17 billion, in fact.  They're going to pay a lot more than that before this is over, even if they somehow get the government to help foot the bill for the cleanup.

BP is also making a change at the top.  Tony Hayward, the CEO who was villified for looking clueless in the face of disaster, is moving on to a new job with the company in Russia and taking a reported $18 million with him.  Hayward's replacement is Robert Dudley, the first American to run BP.  One wonders if he's just window dressing to appease angry Gulf residents and government officials.

Still, things are improving in an area of the country that's seen a lot in the last few years, and will continue to see.  Thank goodness they haven't had a major hurricane to really mess things up.  Yet.