Unfortunately, every day seems to bring new reminders that the environmental nightmare unleashed by BP into the Gulf of Mexico in the spring of 2010 is not over. Sometimes, these things practically hit you in the face...or wash up on your beach. In the more than two years since millions of barrels of oil spewed forth into the Gulf from BP's Macondo mishap, I've joined with other environmental activists in warning that the region's frequent tropical storms and hurricanes were likely to stir up oil -- and re-create some of the horrors of the Deepwater Horizon all over again. Today, just like the meteorologist uttered in the movie "The Perfect Storm"...it's happening:
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The meandering Tropical Storm Debby shut down much of the Gulf Island National Seashore, but its waves and wind also may be churning up tar balls, officials said Monday.
Dan Brown, park superintendent, said he doesn't know if new oiling has occurred because park personnel have been withdrawn from the islands as Debby lingered in the Gulf of Mexico.
"We don't know yet," Brown said of oiled material turning up on the islands.
The reality. as the article notes, is that oil has ...