Five months later after the explosion, after numerous struggles, the government proudly declared that the well was stopped on September 19^th after various tests demonstrated that the cement pumped into the well had created a successful seal. While today the leackage is finally contained, the ocean is far from being oil free as “nearly five million barrels of oil had gushed from BP’s well, according to estimates by government scientists, an amount that outstrips the estimated 3.3 million barrels spilled into the Bay of Campeche by the Mexican rig Ixtoc in 1979” (Source: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/oil_spills/gulf_of_mexico_2010/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=bp%20oil%20spill&st=cse). Indeed the oil has been spreading faster than ever and by June it had managed to gild over the cost of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. As it reached the shores, desperate and surprised tourists began to pack their bags as worried fishermen stared at the ocean with a cold shiver. As biologists rescue brown pelicans, the economy of the local towns is at risk: entire villages survived thanks to fishing activities.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that close to 4, 676 birds have been collected and the majority of those were found dead, while over a thousand birds were visibly oiled. The traumatizing species have been put into rehabilitation centers until they are cured and their bodies are strong enough to be self-sufficient. The birds are just one of the many types of species that have been deadly affected by this accident. Today it remains impossible to estimate with full accuracy the damages of the spill.

Skeptical of the declarations made by the federal government, any independent scientists and scholars are launching their own private researches in order to evaluate the real damages. A report conducted by the University of Georgia in collaboration with the Georgia Sea Grant seems to declare that the amount of oil remaining is much more superior to the one reported by the federal government:  “in fact 70-79% of oil not captured at the wellhead by BP still poses a threat to the ecosystem. That’s 2.9-3.2 million barrels of oil still in the water.” (Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/80-percent-oil-from-gulf-oil-spill-remains-in-water.php). According to scholar it is false to believe that the remaining oil had simply dissolved into the water and was therefore harmless. Charles Hopkins, director of the Georgia Sea Grant sustains the reports that declare that the remaining oil is composed of dispersed micro-droplets, some with additional dispersant coats and other residuals particles. The scientists reminds us that the word “dispersed” needs not to be mistaken with the term “gone”. This is a serious misinterpretation often pushed forward by the news and mass media coverage’s. The portraits is not all negative, as some shades of positivity reflect upon the black sea: due to the favorable currents, the oil has been prevented from reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

As the months have passed by and the gushing well has been stopped, many journalists and media coverage centers seem to have forgotten about the most damaging oil spill accident in the history of the United States. Yes, the well has been blocked but public opinion needs to remember that the problems haven’t yet been solved. Professional and financial aid is still need in order to limit the damages and save what is left of the wildlife.

At the beginning of the summer, according to the New York Times, the Obama administration has launched a full on civil and criminal investigation into the BP oil spill. This might seem as a desperate attempt for the administration to take full – on action and to respond to the hurricane of bashing public opinion.  Officials said that they were analyzing the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 in order to hold BP responsible for the cleaning and to determine the appropriate penalty for the damage caused to the wildlife and local population. The OPA hopes to help prevent such incidents and/or at least to provide comprehensive guidelines in times of crisis. “A trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so” (Source: http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/opa.html). So far, the oil company has always declared that it was taking full responsibility for the cleaning process and was ready to cooperate with the government. Yet, when it comes to funding in order to clean-up the biggest oil spill in American history, the situation seems to be somewhat blurry.

Close to 85 days after the first official report of an explosion, an official communication came and declared the temporary stoppage of the leak. New agencies all over the world spread the news that “BP has been slowly reducing the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are monitoring the pressure to see if the broken well holds” (Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/bpdot/7893358/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill-stopped-say-BP.html). This is perhaps the first real concrete result since the explosion occurred and now only time will tell if the cap will actually manage to hold back the oil without the risk of a new leak.  This is obviously a temporary solution while the giant oil company is drilling two relief wells in order to later pump mud and cement with the hopes of blocking the leaking well for goods.  According to AlJazeera news, at the beginning of the month of August president Obama has declared the Gulf coast safe and said “oil is no longer flowing into the gulf, and it has not been flowing for a month. But I am here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is” (Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/201081418126774839.html). Hotel owners, tour operators and businesses have sent thousands of damage claims to BP reminding the company that the tourism industry has been put on hold because of the spill, during the most lucrative period of the year. According to AlJazeera news, based on reports from American scientists the majority of the oil has evaporated or has been dispersed. These statements seem somewhat as a polish PR move in order to alleviate the pressure and the critiques of public opinion on the Obama administration. Have the damages been overestimated or is the worst of the oil spill really over?

Environmentalists seem to believe that the real long term effects on the environment are yet still impossible to be determined and while the oil spill might be tamed for now, the worst damages are still to come. Oil droplets dispersed in the water could pose a threat to the gulf’s most important fish species. This could pose a long-term threat to the local fish market with health consequences on the population. Only time will tell about the emphasis on the damage. Hopefully this initial milestone will lead the way towards more consistent progress. The media needs to continue to cover the environmental issues in order to raise awareness among public opinion. The ocean still needs our helps and so do all the species that are at risk right now. The cleaning has just begun and all efforts need to continue in that direction at an even greater speed.

Every year, in the small village of Taiji in Japan, fishermen chase dolphins into a hidden cove where they get trapped and killed with knives and spears that make them bleed to death. As the sea turns crimson red, the dolphins are put into boats and brought the well-hidden places where they get butchered into pieces.  Some of the dolphins that see their lives spared are captured and sold for an astonishing amount of money to water parks.  “Taiji is regarded as the spiritual home of Japan’s whaling industry. The first hunts took place in the early 1600s, according to the town’s whaling museum, but the industry went to decline after the introduction of a global ban on commercial whaling in 1986” (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/14/dolphin-slaughter-hunting-japan-taiji). This town is a couple hours train ride from Tokyo, where restaurants serve whale and dolphin meat and where cetacean designs and photographs and designs are splattered all over the town. Locals and fishermen respond to the harsh accusation and critiques of animalists and the international community by saying that for them it is “a legitimate exercise in pest control, blaming dolphins for decimating fish stocks” (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/14/dolphin-slaughter-hunting-japan-taiji). Every year around 20 000 dolphins are killed, including endangered species, and often these dolphins contain a dangerous amount of mercury that renders their meat highly toxic for human consumption. Corruption and citizens misinformation contribute to this dramatic situation where animals are slaughtered and Japanese citizens get intoxicated because of high levels of mercury. The meat greatly exceeds the norms of Japan’s own health standards yet this doesn’t seem the stop this annual massacre. O’Barry, the trainer of the world’s most famous dolphin, Flipper, became a passionate activist for the free dolphins from captivity cause. He is working hard to launch social awareness campaigns that expose people to the suffering of dolphins in captivity where they are kept in pools that are too small.

The Cove, Oscar winner documentary has contributed to raise world social awareness to this issue that had reminded unknown to most of us. In response to the outrage, the Japanese government put a temporary ban on hunting bottlenose dolphins. This ban did not include other species and types of dolphins and even worst the ban ended up being only temporary.

If you have seen the documentary and want to be part of the solution, you can help get the word out by telling all your friends and family, writing a letter to President Obama, making a pledge, or signing an online petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/stop-the-dolphin-slaughter . WAZA is the world association for zoos and aquariums, as long as Japanese fisherman are paid as much as $150, 000 for a living dolphin, this market of cruelty will never stop.  By putting pressure on WAZA we need to force them to expel the Japanese association of Zoos and Acquariums (JAZA) from their organization. Go sign the petition, it will only take you 2 minutes but each signature can make a difference.  Please go visit http://www.savejapandolphins.org/takeaction.php and find out how you can take concrete action. The next time you are on vacation, if you truly want to be coherent with yourself, refuse to pay money to see a dolphins show in water parks. These beautiful and innocent animals need our help.  Critiquing the actions of Japanese fishermen is easy to do if one doesn’t take action and changes its own behaviors.

A violent hurricane has hit the country of Belize, carrying strong winds and torrential rain that preoccupied the American National Hurricane Centre (NHC). According to Admiral Thad Allen, “the continued bad weather caused by Hurricane Alex means that skimming vessels and other boats working on the clean-up have to remain in port” (Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/07/2010721622335501.html).

A part from putting in danger the lives of the clean-up staff the storm is pushing junks of crude oil on the beaches and the already damaged and fragile Gulf coasts. In addition to the clean temporarily stopped cleaning activities, the control of oil on the ocean and the diffusion of dispersant chemical products were all put on hold due to the weather conditions. The hurricane has given life to six-foot waves and winds going up to 20 miles per hour. This nightmare has caused the total paralysis of a lucrative tourism industry on the states situated along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The ruined beaches have killed any potential tourist activity and this situation has consequently left all hotels and restaurants empty handed. “The lucrative tourism industry in the Gulf could be had to hit for years by a false perception the spill has ruined all the beaches, tourism officials said” (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65O5TA20100629). Many blogs and comments on the web seem to believe that this hurricane is being wisely as an additional excuse to elongate the time of clean-up since blaming mother nature is easier than taking full on responsibility. Polls and public opinion have treated President Obama in a very serious way for his slow response to this national crisis. Logically, an even harsher treatment was reserved to BP who has been fined $ 5.2 m by the US Interior Department (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10461597.stm).

The United States have finally accepted 22 offers of help from 12 countries in order to contain the spill. Skimmers will be sent from Mexico, Norway, France and Japan while sweeping systems will be given by the Netherlands. ” The details of which offers will be accepted and how to help will be delivered were still being worked out, but would include two high skimmers and fire containment booms from Japan, the State Department said” (Source: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115×252319). At this stage, it is impossible to assess the concrete difference that will be brought by those other nations. As we have seen with the Haiti earthquake, with the increase of help and resources comes the increasing challenge of a real coordination which is often the most important aspect of emergency operations.

The President and his staff seem to avoid presenting an immediate solution in order to clean up the oil, contain the spill as much as possible, pay back damages to the local population and coordinate action in order to achieve more rapid and effective results. Mr. Obama stated numerous times that he would restore the Gulf as it was before and went as far as to declare he would make the Gulf of Mexico even better than before (see our previous post on BP oil spill /bp-oil.html). While public opinion is expecting and demanding a direct plan of action in order to contain the oil spill and protect the wildlife and the coast, President Obama is diverting attention on the long-term plans he has in mind. This is an emergency situation and before evaluating a long term plan the damage needs to be controlled and contained immediatly. The drilling seems so to have stopped temporarily, yet so far, the administration hasn’t proposed any new legislation on energy or on the specifics related to oil drilling.  It is time for the President to deliver because is somewhat already fragile reputation is at risk especially when the Republicans are waiting around the corner to demolish him. According to various news papers, Obama has promised he would force BP to take action, cover all the expenses and clean up the mess; yet in the meantime, the oil has reached the coastlines of Florida (Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=B1aDpUOQ1QDlAW9jwB1a9hmBDrwltKNRB00B2whb3NCjpUh&bbParentWidgetId=B8k88rWwXopuz5STgLeVwBLu). It is obvious that BP alone will not be able to resolve this crisis any time soon due to the expensive cost, the long procedures and most of all the need to cooperate with local officials in order to come up with a unitary plan. It could take years or even decades to restore the balance of some fragile ecosystems that are starting to suffer from the oil spill and to clean up all the oil. The many disagreements between federal, local authorities, scientists, environmental activists and the BP administration on how to handle the situation is only making things worst.  Just like we have recently experience with the Haiti earthquake, in situations of emergency coordination becomes key in order to be able to use all resources effectively.

The BP official website presents a completely different outtake on its response to the oil spill. A special report page entitled  “Gulf of Mexico response” presents numerous daily updates of all the positive things the Enterprise has accomplished so far in order to clean up the mess and contain the situation (Go see for yourself: http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=40&contentId=7061813) .

Their updated page seems to present no explanation for the shortcuts on security norms and regulation that the company decided to take in order to save money and meet deadlines. The damages that need to be repair exceed 100 million dollars in payments. Ironically, BP chose to take shortcuts in order to save money, causing the spill, and is now obliged to spend an amount of money that is so much more costly than it would have been to simply abide by security norms in construction and piping. BP’s ferocious communication campaign is perhaps the last strand the company has in order to save itself from total investor panic. “After closing above $60 before the April 20 disaster, the energy giant’s share plunged almost 20% in New York, to below $50, in just two weeks” (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65H4A920100618).  Despite the plunge, when the disaster occurred very few analysts suggested to sell most of them. The motto only slowly shifted from “buy” to “hold”. Only a few financial advisors advocated the sealing as the ultimate solution. While it all seems to revolve around economics, shares and profit the ocean has turned a worrisome color of black, a canvas left without life where every shad of blue has been swallowed by the spill of black paint.

Now that the oil has reached the coast of Florida things could only get worst. This is taking a tool on tourism and on local economies that are centered on fishing. All eyes are pointed on the Obama administration as a sentiment of distrust is spreading around public opinion. The president’s charismatic cheer “Yes we can” seems to have be transformed in an interrogative stance: “Can we?”.

“According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a small portion of the slick has entered the so-called ‘loop current’, a stream of faster moving water that circulates around the Gulf before bending around Florida and up the Atlantic coast. Its arrival may herald a wider environmental catastrophe affecting the Florida Keys and tourist-dotted beaches along that State’s East coast. There is the growing risk that the spill could reach farther south”. (source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279881/Gulf-Mexico-oil-spill-NASA-images-slick-spreading-Florida.html). In a pre-emptive manner, U.S. officials have initiated talks with Cuban authorities in order to help them respond effectively to the spill should it reach the island’s northern coast.

On May 19,  Bobby Jindal,  Gov. of Louisiana has declared that sheets of crude oil from the offshore spill have entered deep into the marshland around the entrance of the Mississippi River. The governor has been putting a considerable amount of pressure on the Federal government to approve a plan to build sand berms   to protect the remaining wildlife. Mr. Jindal has accused BP, the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers for not moving quickly enough in order to implement the Sate’s proposal of building 80 miles of sand berms along the coastline.

Ken Holder, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said in a statement “that the Army Corps was still evaluating the potential environmental impact of the sand-berm plan”.  “The Coast Guard was also still reviewing the plan”, said  spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tony Russell. Tom Mueller, a spokesman for BP, said “The company had several questions about the proposal, including whether the berms would be effective or cause unintended damages to the environment”. (source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/us/20spill.html?ref=science).

The risk is that the process of evaluation becomes too long and daunting while the disaster continues to worsen.

On Monday, May 14^th, the President visited Mississippi and Alabama in order to reassure local residents that “the government will leave the Gulf Coast in better shape that it was before”. Yet, as long as the cleaning task is in the hands of BP,  there is a sentiment of desperation and total distrust amongst the local community and scientists. Public opinion holds no faith in the company’s genuine desire to restore the Gulf and take full on responsibility for its actions. After the latest investigations on the dramatic incident, BP’s image and reputation are highly at risk. According to B. Skoloff and M. Daly from Associated Press, investigators found out that BP was terribly late on the project and was suffering from losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars daily. In order to respond, the company made a series of money-saving shortcuts including  well design to the installation of key safety devices. One of the world’s largest energy companies, BP, in order to save time and money, made decisions that increased tremendously the risk of a blowout.

(source: http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/US/Default.aspx?id=1050566)

“A 2003 report by the National Research Council predicted that the oil in a deepwater blowout could break into fine droplets, forming plumes of oil mixed with water that would not quickly rise to the surface. That prediction appeared to be confirmed Saturday when the researchers aboard the Pelican reported that they had detected immense plumes believed to be made of oil particles”

(source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/science/earth/20noaa.html?ref=science).

The results were not confirmed as final, and came as a surprise to the government.  The greater worry is that unique sea life concentrated in those areas could be exposed to a heavy amount of toxic materials as the plumes flow through the sea.

With evaluations, research and investigations still on-going, it is impossible to fully evaluate and comprehend the real dimensions of the spill and the continuous damage it is causing to the wild life and local economies.  The clock is ticking and a rapid solution needs to be found. The Obama administration has to promote greater transparency on this issue and to work closely with BP in order to coordinate an efficient and rapid plan of action.  People demand the truth, as the nation is nurturing a sentiment of exasperation.