REMEMBERING "PRESTIGE"

Twelve (Imperfect) Ways to Clean the Gulf
By DAGMAR SCHMIDT ETKIN, JON HAN and MAYE WEBB

It’s been nearly seven weeks since oil from BP’s deep-ocean Macondo well began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Over that time, the public has, understandably, become increasingly frustrated with industry and government efforts to prevent damage to wildlife and wetlands. There is the growing sense — reflected in last week’s discussion of using nuclear weapons to stop the leak and a viral video about using hay to sop up the mess — that somehow, somewhere there are more innovative and effective measures for containing and cleaning up the oil. But I can tell you, based on 21 years’ experience analyzing and observing oil spills, that the best minds in the business are already doing all they can. No special techniques that would work well to clean up the oil in this situation aren’t being tried or planned. There simply are no foolproof solutions. Once oil spills into water, responders must race against time and the forces of physics, chemistry and biology to minimize the harm to life in the sea and on land. Oil spreads quickly into a hair-thin sheen and begins to evaporate, dissolve and travel with the winds and currents. Strategies to chemically disperse the oil, vacuum it away, sponge it up, burn it or divert it from especially sensitive areas all have their benefits — and their drawbacks. So decisions about how to respond to a disaster of this magnitude involve evaluating the tradeoffs and the net long-term benefits to the environment. Efforts to spare marsh birds may hurt fish; a wetland may be protected, but only by diverting oil to a sandy beach; attempts to clean up the oil may involve trampling marshes or polluting the air. The best strategy, of course, is to prevent spills in the first place. The second best strategy is to do everything possible to clean them up. And that seems to be what is happening. The chart below summarizes the various cleanup efforts being undertaken or proposed in the gulf and along the coast.

— DAGMAR SCHMIDT ETKIN, an environmental risk consultant, who is advising the State of Louisiana and Mobile County, Ala., on the BP spill.

The New York Times. June 5, 2010.