On the Surface, Gulf Oil Spill Is Vanishing Fast; Concerns Stay

[Kber]

The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises tricky new questions about how fast the government should scale back its response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of square miles of the gulf after the April 20 oil rig explosion are largely gone, though sightings of tar balls and emulsified oil continue here and there.

Reporters flying over the area Sunday spotted only a few patches of sheen and an occasional streak of thicker oil, and radar images taken since then suggest that these few remaining patches are quickly breaking down in the warm surface waters of the gulf.

Nore at the link...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/us/28spill.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

[ProgressOnTheMove]

1. Great news, just one sign this President works night and day for folks & in US history that's rare.

[Kber]

2. Well - better news than I expected, certainly.

and the Gov.t response seems like it was bigger and more pro-active than originally reported.

[Tutankhamun]

5. How does the alleged lack of oil visibility on the surface prove

that the president works day and night? That sounds like ridiculous spin.

Nice sig. BTW.

[Whisp]

3. i am more than a bit suspcious about this.

red flags are waving in my head.

Maybe it's sunk, or dispersed by those toxins which will end up in the fish and on the shore.
It's not over, not at all.

[intheflow]

4. I absolutely believe that the dispersants dispersed the surface oil

while adding more (invisible) toxicity to the Gulf waters. I want independent labs down there testing water and soil samples for the next decade. If it consistently shows no toxicity due to the spill, I'll celebrate then. But no oil on the surface? There's a lot in this world that looks fine on the outside but is damaged or disturbed below the surface.