One Year Later And The Oil Is Still There

Today marks the one year mark of the BP/Deep Water Horizon oil spill off the coast of New Orleans.   Over 200 million barrels of oil spilled into its waters when an oil rig exploded, killing almost a dozen people.  The event has been lauded as the worst oil spill since the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989.

Now, one year later, the costly affects of the spill have many doubting whether its shores will return to normalcy, whether its sea food is safe, and perhaps most of all -  the cost of human suffering.

Organizations like National Research Damage Assessment are tasked with assessing the damages, a fund for the victims has been created to compensate workers (though most say they have received too little or next to nothing in compensation, and have sued the fund for negligence), and families talk about losing loved ones.

Recent reports suggest that there are still substantial amounts of oil beneath the Gulf's surface (video), while BP officials argue that dispersants have gotten rid of 80 percent of the spilled oil.

Despite BP's disaster in the Gulf, and being under investigation by the FBI, the company is still being awarded government contracts.

The Obama administration, in a statement issued today, says his administration continues to hold BP accountable and continues to monitor the spill's aftermath.  

"We continue to hold BP and other responsible parties fully accountable for the damage they’ve done and the painful losses that they’ve caused. We’re monitoring seafood to ensure its continued safety and implementing aggressive new reforms for offshore oil production in the Gulf so that we can safely and responsibly expand development of our own energy resources. And EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is leading a task force to coordinate the long-term restoration effort based on input from local scientists, experts, and citizens."

The administration, shortly after the BP spill, put a moritorium on deep water drilling, but has since lifted the moritorium and has called for cleaner fuel alternatives to reduce U.S. dependence on oil.

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