Gulf in recovery, oil disappearing & LA begins fishing

Remember the disaster to end all life in the Gulf of Mexico? Surprise (not really), the Gulf is on the mend.

If you hadn't heard, fishing has resumed in some areas. August 2, 2010 pix above is Gov. Bobby Jindal pushing BP to approve seafood certification program. Gov. Jindal wants:
"BP to fund a $173 million, long-term seafood testing and marketing campaign aimed at restoring consumer confidence in the state's seafood products."

Check fish OK = good idea.

Um, so about the "disaster", where did the oil go anyway?

From Aug 4th, 2010 RestoreTheGulf.gov:
"A third (33 percent) of the total amount of oil released in the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill was captured or mitigated by the Unified Command recovery operations, including burning, skimming, chemical dispersion and direct recovery from the wellhead, according to a federal science report released today.

An additional 25 percent of the total oil naturally evaporated or dissolved, and 16 percent was dispersed naturally into microscopic droplets. The residual amount, just over one quarter (26 percent), is either on or just below the surface as residue and weathered tarballs, has washed ashore or been collected from the shore, or is buried in sand and sediments. Dispersed and residual oil remain in the system until they degrade through a number of natural processes. Early indications are that the oil is degrading quickly."

Say, hey, do we trust the new government line "all the oil is gone!"... Well probably no 100% trust, buuut, oil is diminishing. From New Scientist:
"We can't find oil at the surface and, as of this week, we cannot find it deep down either," says Terry Hazen, a microbial ecologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, whose research has focused on the area within 100 kilometres of the wellhead.
Hazen thinks he can explain why the plumes are gone. He had previously collected water samples from inside and outside of the plumes, which he kept at 4 °C - the coldest temperature along the floor of the Gulf. Within days, he found that the microbial populations in the samples began to shift in favour of those able to break down oil. The findings tally with those of other ecologists working in the field. Hazen also found that the oil disappeared faster still in the presence of Corexit 9500A, the dispersant used by BP in the Gulf waters."

So, NOW WE HAVE TO WORRY about "toxic" dispersants killing everything?! umm... are you scared of shampoo, lotions or juice?! The dispersant ingredients from the New York Times:

"This afternoon Nalco added a release to its website that matched up the chemical components of Corexit with the common household substances that it had named last month as sharing common ingredients with the dispersant. According to Nalco, ioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate is also used as a "wetting agent in cosmetic products, gelatin, [and] beverages"; sorbitan, tri-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs is found in body and face lotion; sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs is used in mouthwash and baby bath products; and sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate is found in body shampoo and juice."

A little perspective from HotAir:
"the total amount lost in the Gulf represents what the US normally consumes — in six hours."

iBleedRedCrimson has a really cool video showing the timeline of the oil spill:
"The Times-Pic (www.nola.com) and the Mobile Press-Register (www.al.com) have provided the most informative, most accurate and most complete coverage of the spill, its effects and the bumbling federal response."

For those in Gulf region who need updates, check out: "ERMA®)" (Environmental Response Management Application) is a web-based GIS platform to map the "Response to BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico" From geoplatform.gov:
"The dynamic nature of the BP oil spill has been a challenge for a range of communities – from hotel operators to fishermen to local community leaders.
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse has a new online tool that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. Developed by NOAA with the EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Interior, the site offers you a “one-stop shop” for spill response information. The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill’s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources — such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships — into one customizable interactive map."

What does all of this mean? Yes there is clean up & might take a bit. Yes there was huge ineptness by the golf-playing WH-Usurper-Regime - and BP - who share the blame for the stalled clean up in the first place... but is it all a continued epic disaster of gi-normous proportions so USA & the whole earth should give up drilling for oil? Nope. Quit freaking out eco freaks. Take a breather. Seriously.

Lastly some wise words from the Aug 4th, 2010 Rush Limbaugh show:

RUSH: ... New York Times today on Day 105: "US Finds Most Oil From Spill Poses Little Additional Risk." On Day One, EIB reported that most oil from the spill would pose little risk. So here's the president. They plugged the hole today, but he doesn't sound happy about it. Most of that "oil has been dispersed or removed." Remember this was the worst environmental disaster in our history. So remember last week. There were no concrete implications, by the way. There was no reason for a drilling moratorium. There was no reason for any panic whatsoever. And note it was BP that plugged the hole for Obama's birthday. Obama didn't. BP plugged the hole. BP thought they were giving him a present. BP was shaken down for $20 billion. Turns out there weren't any "concrete implications" whatsoever.

Remember last week we pointed out to you that the partisan political operative media, now that the truth was known that the oil was not a disaster -- that the leak (the spill, whatever you want to call it) had not fouled anything, that it was not Armageddon -- said, "Well, we can't let go of the story. We need the disaster! We need to move cap and trade forward. We need to move the Obama, anti-capitalist agenda forward." So what did they do? They came out and said, "The dispersants! (heavy breathing) BP used more dispersants than they should have and they fouled the water with dispersants," and even the EPA said, "Well, not really. They didn't use all that much more than what we had suggested." But the media tried to keep it alive. "Dispersants now! What the oil didn't kill the dispersants were going to kill," and the dispersants are not poison. They're not toxic.

Amen Rush... lots more other stuff to worry about with the Dem-Regimists running the show...