Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill struck the lands of the Pointe-Au-Chien Tribe in 2010. Photo from PAC Tribe
The New York Times supports efforts by the Interior Department to strengthen oversight of off-shore drilling but says the response and restoration effort to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is far from complete:
In the run-up to the fifth anniversary on Monday of one of the worst environmental disasters in American history, the 2010 BP oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the country has heard happy talk from the company most responsible for it. Using phrases like “returning to pre-spill” or “baseline” conditions, and by emphasizing a rebound in fishing and tourism, BP has been suggesting in its reports and advertising that recovery of the entire ecosystem is just around the corner. It is not. While much of the oil has evaporated, been consumed by bacteria or widely dispersed, its poisons linger in marshes and wetlands, deep-sea corals are visibly damaged, and scientists have estimated that millions of gallons settled in roughly 1,200 square miles of the ocean floor, with untold consequences for the health of bottom-dwelling organisms. An official federal-state natural resource assessment, mandated by the Oil Pollution Act, is still far from complete. In the meantime, it is impossible to say what the long-term effects will be on individual species like bluefin tuna, dolphins and pelicans. As the officials in charge of that study have said, “The environmental effects of this spill are likely to last for generations.” Amazingly, though, this calamity yielded two benefits. One was an overhaul of federal oversight of offshore drilling, which for decades had been distinguished mainly by the cozy relationship between industry and its regulators. The interior secretary, Sally Jewell, building upon internal reforms begun by her predecessor, Ken Salazar, recently proposed tough rules mandating updated control equipment and blowout prevention technologies.Get the Story:
Editorial: The Gulf, Still at Risk (The New York Times 4/22) Also Today:
After BP oil spill, Louisiana tribe’s way of life quickly disappearing (Al Jazeera 4/20)
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