It seems that public opinion is slowly drifting its attention away from one of the greatest natural disasters of our times.  The dramatic incident has perhaps already reached its peaked and new coverage appears to be searching for the next great scandal. Yet, the people who live on the coast haven’t forgotten, the environmentalists and biologists are still working hard in order to save marine life. BP is working hard with a new public relations team in order to turn its image around and save what is left of its reputation. Will a simple rebranding be enough to fool the American population? This article humbly tries to present you with an update of the situation, in order to keep you informed but especially to remind you that the effects of this tragedy are still going on and this emergency shouldn’t be forgotten. It appears to be that some action has finally been taken and a glimpse of change might be on the rise. President Obama has opened an official criminal inquiry into the matter while BP has declared that the cap over the oil well has stopped the spilling.

At the beginning of the summer, according to the New York Times, the Obama administration has launched a full on civil and criminal investigation into the BP oil spill. This might seem as a desperate attempt for the administration to take full – on action and to respond to the hurricane of bashing public opinion.  Officials said that they were analyzing the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 in order to hold BP responsible for the cleaning and to determine the appropriate penalty for the damage caused to the wildlife and local population. The OPA hopes to help prevent such incidents and/or at least to provide comprehensive guidelines in times of crisis. “A trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so” (Source: http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/opa.html). So far, the oil company has always declared that it was taking full responsibility for the cleaning process and was ready to cooperate with the government. Yet, when it comes to funding in order to clean-up the biggest oil spill in American history, the situation seems to be somewhat blurry.

Close to 85 days after the first official report of an explosion, an official communication came and declared the temporary stoppage of the leak. New agencies all over the world spread the news that “BP has been slowly reducing the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are monitoring the pressure to see if the broken well holds” (Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/bpdot/7893358/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill-stopped-say-BP.html). This is perhaps the first real concrete result since the explosion occurred and now only time will tell if the cap will actually manage to hold back the oil without the risk of a new leak.  This is obviously a temporary solution while the giant oil company is drilling two relief wells in order to later pump mud and cement with the hopes of blocking the leaking well for goods.  According to AlJazeera news, at the beginning of the month of August president Obama has declared the Gulf coast safe and said “oil is no longer flowing into the gulf, and it has not been flowing for a month. But I am here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is” (Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/201081418126774839.html). Hotel owners, tour operators and businesses have sent thousands of damage claims to BP reminding the company that the tourism industry has been put on hold because of the spill, during the most lucrative period of the year. According to AlJazeera news, based on reports from American scientists the majority of the oil has evaporated or has been dispersed. These statements seem somewhat as a polish PR move in order to alleviate the pressure and the critiques of public opinion on the Obama administration. Have the damages been overestimated or is the worst of the oil spill really over?

Environmentalists seem to believe that the real long term effects on the environment are yet still impossible to be determined and while the oil spill might be tamed for now, the worst damages are still to come. Oil droplets dispersed in the water could pose a threat to the gulf’s most important fish species. This could pose a long-term threat to the local fish market with health consequences on the population. Only time will tell about the emphasis on the damage. Hopefully this initial milestone will lead the way towards more consistent progress. The media needs to continue to cover the environmental issues in order to raise awareness among public opinion. The ocean still needs our helps and so do all the species that are at risk right now. The cleaning has just begun and all efforts need to continue in that direction at an even greater speed.