It is nearly a year since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion killed eleven crew members and resulted in 206 million gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico until the BP well was finally sealed. This was one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history and was detailed in previous posts.
Although there is uncertainty about the severity of the long-term effects of the spill on the environment and the Gulf ecosystems, it is generally accepted by scientists that the major impacts of the Gulf spill will be addressed by the end of 2012 and the environment will begin to recover. Nonetheless, the clean-up continues on the Gulf coast beaches and although the environment may be in a recovery phase, the human cost continues as the perception of the disaster is slow to adjust to the reality.
