Well, it’s been a while since I last commented on the situation in the Gulf so it is probably well past time for an update. As of a few weeks ago there is a temporary cap that seems to have managed to stop the oil gusher. I did not make a joyous post right away because after BP’s previous efforts, I thought a “wait and see” position would be prudent. There was initially some concern that the cap might cause the seabed to destabilize or that there might have been a second leak, but supposedly that was not the case. At least, anything that was detected was “not consequential.” While I wont say there is a conspiracy, I find myself wondering how reliable BP’s reports to Thad Allen actually are, what with their assurances that they had plans to handle situations just like this one when they got permission to begin drilling.

Then there was the tropical storm Bonnie, the second tropical weather event to hit the gulf since the leak began on April 20th. Essentially this caused a delay of a few days in that the support fleet had to pack up all their pipes and sail away, until they decided the weather wasn’t really that bad. Still, between the tear down, the move, and then the reassembly of the pipes the plug process was delayed for several days.

The good news is that with the relief well essentially completed BP launched the first half of their plan to finally plug the well by injecting mud into the cap. (As of this writing the top injection is “done” and seems to have worked.) Once the relief well is completed they intend to inject a mud and concrete mixture into the broken well head from beneath the surface to finally put an end to this gusher, presumably once and for all. The relief well for the second injection is expected to be completed in less than two weeks at this point.

It is pretty clear that a lot of people are just hoping this thing will go away, so it is no surprise that many are beginning to ask where all of this leaked oil has gone. BP’s new chief executive Bob Dudley was claiming the leak was over as early as July 27th, and discussed scaling back clean up efforts. The scale back is apparently sensible, as most reports seem to indicate that the effort to keep the oil from reaching shore, (or the surface of the ocean for that matter) were for the most part effective. This is of course due to the unprecedented use of the dispersant Corexit. While Corexit is EPA approved, there have been findings of tiny droplets of oil making their way into the Gulf food chain thanks to Corexit’s efficiency at breaking down the black blobs into essentially too small to see particles. These particles actually have an easier time making it into the food chain.

At this point, of course, the threat that this combination might have on the ecology is being vastly downplayed, and some even claim that due to the rich ecosystem of the Gulf, oil is not something to be all that concerned about. Couple that with the proclamation that roughly 75% of the oil has been “cleaned” and I would be surprised if this was still a news story by September. Granted, it’s also just come out that apparently the estimated rate of the leak was still too low and this is in fact the largest off shore oil spill in global history.

But everything will be all right, I’m sure. The off shore drilling ban is going to be lifted sooner than anticipated, the judge who ruled on the case sees no conflict of interest between his own oil and gas investments and ruling on off shore drilling, and local politicians are hoping the Obamas will go swimming in the Gulf when they come down for a vacation! I mean, I’m sure this sort of thing will never happen again, it is not like we’re going to be letting the people responsible collect all the evidence or anything.

Oh, and in case you somehow missed it, there was also an oil spill in China, an oil spill in Michigan, a second blown oil head in Louisiana, and an Alaskan pipe line all happened while this was going on. The truth is that our own burn now, pay later attitude as a society is far more dangerous than any curse that the Maya(n) people never made in the first place. As long as we remain silent, nothing will change.