Six Kinds of Bullshit

When BP’s Deepwater Horizon well exploded two years ago and spewed nearly 200 million gallons of Louisiana crude into one of the world’s most productive fisheries, people of the Gulf prayed it would be a fleeting disaster. It took BP nearly three months to plug the blowout, and despite assurances from government and industry scientists that a crisis largely had been averted, many fishermen and residents of the Gulf knew that was not the end of the oil.

Now two years later, many on the front lines of this disaster are still worried about their livelihoods and the future health of the Gulf fisheries—as well as the people exposed to the toxins that washed and blew ashore. BP used millions of gallons of chemical dispersant to break up the oil and drop it underwater, where many say it still lies, churned up with every storm and blown into the bayous and beaches with every strong south wind. New studies show the sticky tar balls are a potential threat to beachgoers and contain toxins like dangerous vibrio bacteria can poison fish consumers.

Meanwhile, dolphins continue to die in record numbers.