Lessons From Deepwater
Top Stories - People - Press Clips - @Work - What's Happening - Faculty Authors Lessons From Deepwater - America's biggest oil leak exposed a glaring need to proactively protect and monitor coastlines, researchers say - Mario C. Aguilera and Robert Monroe | Dec. A controlled burn of oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill sends towers of fire hundreds of feet into the air over the Gulf of Mexico June 9. Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard. In the 24-hour news cycle era, the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico already feels like an event from yesteryear, an event that had its 15 minutes of news domination during the summer of 2010 then made room for the next big story once the wellhead was capped. But though gulf residents fear that they will be forgotten as cleanup crews pack up and leave, the inquiry into the oil leak is only beginning on scientific fronts. As the federal government continues to review its initial response to the disaster, research institutions are seeking portions of a $500 million reserve that BP has pledged to studying the long-term effects of the leak. The gulf's health isn't the only open question.
