The Daily Telegraph is now questioning whether Deepwater Horizon qualifies as an environmental disaster. According to Alex Spillius, the oil has evaporated, only three dolphins were killed, few birds hurt (less than one percent) and sea life has suffered much less damage than was forecast. Read more.
Today’s PNJ reports that Florida beaches have had the worst that they get from the BP well. This is what I feared. The desire for the media and locals to return to normal is beginning to dominate the airwaves.
It is too early to call the game over. Fifteen million gallons of crude oil hasn’t just miraculously evaporated. The impact on marine life will take months, maybe years, to fully understand.
The Times-Picayune has a completely different story than the PNJ or Telegraph. On Thursday, the New Orleans daily newspaper interviewed Louisiana fishermen Mike Frenette, who is now employed in BP’s “Vessels of Opportunity†cleanup program, who said the spill was the worst he had seen it. Frenette questioned whether or not the mainstream media lives in a “parallel universe.â€
“There was more oil at South Pass Tuesday than I’ve seen since this whole thing started; it was really discouraging,†Frenette told the Times-Picayune. “I don’t know where everyone else is looking, but if they think there’s no more oil out there, they should take a ride with me.â€
Don Sutton, another fisherman employed in the cleanup, also has seen large patches of oil: “There were patches of oil in that chocolate mousse stuff, slicks, and patches of grass with oil on them. The Gulf might look clear, but we’re still seeing oil coming ashore.â€
Folks, this is a huge environmental disaster….despite what you might be reading elsewhere. I’ve already reached out to my sources along the coast and hope to have more information to post soon.