Gulf Focus Shifts to Long Run

More than three months after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig first exploded, the spill is no longer being treated like an emergency. Officials have spent the last couple of days explaining that many of the immediate concerns around the spill and the Gulf Coast are now under control and that they can shift their focus to more long-term recovery. Late this week, some Gulf waters were reopened to commercial fishing, Alabama lifted its swimming advisories, and the Food and Drug Administration found no risks with consuming Gulf seafood. Still, Thad Allen, who is coordinating the spill response, insisted that the crisis is not over. “We should not be writing an obituary for this event until the well is completely sealed, until we have no more oil on the surface of the water, until we understand where all the oil has gone to, until the beaches are cleaned, until the local—federal, state and local—officials agree that the beaches are clean,” he said.