The Faces of the Gulf Oil Spill

Over the past few days, several photos of oil-covered birds have circulated on the Internet. “The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico finally has a face,” David W. Dunlap writes at Lens. “These are the faces that government officials and oil executives may see in their nightmares.” Dunlap continues, “These new photographs are fundamentally different than those that have, so far, dominated news coverage: talking heads at lecterns; orchestrated beach visits; aerial views that attempt to convey the extent of the leak but manage, in an awful way, to be captivating in their beauty; or underwater photos that are almost as fascinating as they are horrifying.” The photos were taken by Charlie Riedel, an Associated Press photographer. For those upset by the images, Riedel has at least a morsel of good news: “I’m told that the birds that were still alive—mostly pelicans and up to 40 of them—were taken to a bird cleaning facility in Ft. Jackson and are being cared for.”