BP Oil Spill Vanishing Fast, but Long Haul Still Ahead

The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico seems to be vanishing faster than anyone expected. The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of square miles of the Gulf are mostly gone, with only a few balls of oil being found here and there. While this is great news, it would seem that there is still going to be a long recovery process.

The New York Times reports that radar images taken since Sunday suggest that the few remaining patches of oil are quickly breaking in the Gulf waters. There are several factors contributing to this dissipation of oil. The Gulf has an incredible capacity to break down oil, mostly because oil steady leaks into the Gulf from natural seeps. Consequently, the Gulf is swarming with bacteria that can eat oil. Furthermore, the two storms that passed through recently helped to disperse the oil. And finally, the fact that BP and the federal government launched the largest oil spill rescue effort in history definitely helped as thousands of workers battled the oil head on.

The dissolution of the oil should reduce the risk of the oil killing animals or hitting Gulf shore lines. However, this does not put an end to the disaster. The New York Times reports that the risk of shoreline oil could continue for several more weeks. Other problems include the long term effects on shorelines that were hit and the fishing industries. Moreover, there are still uncertainties as to how much damage occurred under the surface.

And so it would seem that in light of the good news, the only thing that is certain is that there is a long haul ahead.

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BP Says No More Oil Spilling Into Gulf

Sources:
The New York Times
ABC