BP oil spill: if you can't see it, it doesn't exist

The Obama administration merrily announced this week that most of the BP oil spill has been cleaned up, saying 75 percent of the oil had been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down. (Evaporated?)

Phew. I was getting worried there.

But read Joseph and Amanda Boyden's recent piece in Maclean's for a very different - and scary - view. They walked a Pensacola Beach with experts using ultra -violet lights to see oil that couldn't be seen by the naked eye, or with infrared light. Moreover, whenever they dug a small hole in sand that looked okay,  oil flooded into the hole. Not only is it a beautifully written piece, it chronicles the extraordinary efforts to which BP has gone to keep journalists away from dirty beaches, as well as sugarcoating the facts.

Seems like BP has succeeded and we can all breathe easier. Comforting.

Who wants to think that all that unseen oil could be deep in the marshes and on the bottom of the Gulf?

Comments

[JR Jake]

That is the oldest argument known to man. You can't see the wind but you know it is there. You can't see the cold but you can sure feel it. You may not be able to see the oil, but I bet if you polled enough sea life critters they would sure as heck tell ya "Trust us, it's there" as they gasp and cough.