Many in the Gulf Coast believe that when the cameras leave, so to will the government and BP's clean up efforts. The skepticism amongst the region's residents is steadfast, as they've had to deal with the lasting effects of past disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Yet BP officials like Fred Lemond, who is the director of BP Cleanup Operations, insists that his company will "do everything" to stop any further oil from coming ashore and that they'll continue to protect the coastline.
Earlier this week, Thad Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral leading the federal response to the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, delivered promising news to the Gulf Coast region.
"We have reached a static position in the well that allows us to have high confidence that there will be no oil leaking into the environment," he told reporters at a White House briefing.
The news came in response to BP's successful efforts in its "static kill" operation that pumped mud into the disastrous well, and will now hopefully kill the well permanently in the coming weeks. But with this good news, how long will BP stay? Sure, much of the oil has dissipated from the waters surface and workers continue to comb the beaches for any oil that has come ashore, but what about the marine life below the water that's been affected? What about the fisherman and shrimpers whose lives have been altered forever? These are all pressing questions still undetermined and that will only be answered with time.
Quotes
"We are still finding oil. We're still looking hard for oil. We have reconnaissance flights that go up, sometimes as many as six times a day. We have boats on the water. We're looking for oil before it gets there (to the shore)." Commander Claudia Gelzer, U.S. Coast Guard
"There's tons of it (oil) on the bottom. One of my guides was doing something the day before yesterday. He put his boat in reverse. Oil just comes flying up off the bottom. So there's still tons of it underneath the water." Ryan Lambert, Gulf Coast resident and charter boat captain
Warm Up Questions
1. What do you know about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?
2. Why is it difficult to clean up oil?
3. What do we use oil for? Why is it so important?
Discussion Questions
1. According to the video, what are researchers at Louisiana State University testing as a result of the oil spill?
2. If you could give the federal government and BP officials advice on ways to cleanup the oil spill, what would it be? List a few ideas.
3. How long do you think the federal government and BP should stay in the gulf region? Should they set a timeframe, or just stay until the job is completely finished?
Additional Resources
Almost 75% of Oil in Gulf Now Accounted For, Government Say
Capping and Cleaning Up The Oil Spill
