Gulf Oil Spill: Economic or Environmental Disaster?

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour spoke about the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill as an economic disaster on the one year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon's explosion that killed 11 and wounded 13. "They showed the worst pictures from Louisiana and it made everybody think, `Don't go to the Gulf Coast because it's all covered up in oil.' So far, that's been the worst problem for us," the Mississippi Governor and potential Republican presidential candidate was quoted as saying to the Associated Press. He claims the Mississippi spill was "manageable" and what oil did get to the Mississippi River was cleaned up within 24 hours.

His sentiments have been echoed by state officials in every state affected by the oil spill, claiming their beaches and waters are free from oil and open for business. According to most Gulf Coast politicians-the oil is gone.

But the fact of the matter is, while tourism and fishing have been severely affected by the Gulf of Mexico spill, billions of dollars have been poured back into the economy by BP and its subsidiaries.

According to Scientific America, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission director, Rowan Gould has a completely different view of the spill than the legislative view. "This spill is significant and, in all likelihood, will affect fish and wildlife across the Gulf, if not all of North America, for years, if not decades." With that kind of bad news from someone who truly cares about the Gulf of Mexico and its inhabitants, it's easy to see the real picture of the environmental damage that has been caused.

Although the real story has been underplayed by government officials, it may be in part because the real information about the spill has been hidden from public view. The Congressional Research Service report filed by in October of last year revealed "Free and open access to scientific information concerning oil spills is not a given". Worst of all, NOAA may be behind the cover ups.

"NOAA and other federal agencies came into every lab with a dolphin in the fridge and confiscated it," said Casi Callaway, the baykeeper for Mobile Bay in Alabama. "All data, all studies, all work on dolphins was sequestered."

As government officials fight about money and who will pay for the economic impact of the spill, the gulf wildlife continues to suffer. Until more research has been completed and government agencies become more transparent about the spill, we may never know the true environmental impact of the spill. As economic woes continue, the environmental problems in the gulf have just begun.