There appears to be both good and bad news exactly one year after the explosion and fire that sank the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, killing eleven, and triggering the largest  accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.   The good news, if it can be called that, is that the ecological doomsday initially feared by many has not come to pass.   This is not to say that the environmental impact of the spill will not be significant and long lasting.  We have posted previously about the unexplained deaths of significant numbers of dolphins and sea turtles in the Gulf. Nevertheless, the consensus  seems to be, “It could have been worse.”

BP Oil Spill: How Bad Is Damage to Gulf One Year Later?

The bad news is that one year after the start of the spill, many are concerned that nothing has fundamentally changed in the offshore drilling industry.  There have been improvements in equipment, procedures,and regulations but otherwise it is business as usual. “The industry and the federal agencies have made some progress,” says Fran Ulmer, a member of the President’s oil-spill commission and chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. “But not enough needed action has been taken.”

The BP Oil Spill, One Year On: Forgetting the Lessons of Drilling in the Gulf

The clean up continues on shore and all the mess isn’t limited to the beaches.  On one hand, some appear to have unfairly profited from the spill, making outrageous claims and earning the nicknames, “spillionaires” or “BP rich.”   Others are caught in the claims process and have gotten nothing for their losses.  In the mean time, BP is spending $100 million on television commercials trying to convince everyone that things are going just fine.

‘Spillionaires’: Profiteering and Mismanagement in the Wake of the BP Oil Spill

Many Hit by Spill Now Feel Caught in Claim Process

Thanks to Phil Leon for passing on one of the articles.