Reported in the Times-Picayune this morning:

Government scientists say three-quarters of the oil from BP’s massive spill has been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces. White House energy adviser Carol Browner said on morning TV talk shows Wednesday that a new assessment found that about 75 percent of the oil has either been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Interesting.

I’d even like to believe it.

The frustrating thing about statements like this are there is no way to really prove, nor disprove it. The government, British Petroleum and the NOAA have been so scarce with data regarding this spill from day one that all we have left is confusion. They set the precedent. They created the skeptics. They decided straight away they were going to put all information through a giant filter and give the public only what they felt we needed to know. It’s not that this is surprising, governments and corporations have been doing it forever, what is surprising is when they still expect to be trusted.

I realize there are two types of people in this country:

Those that believe corporations and the government have the people’s best interests at heart, their health and well-being and continually try to do the right thing to ensure the people are as well cared for as possible.

These people are often referred to as patriots.

Then there are those who believe quite the opposite, that those in power try to do what they can to maintain their power, that those with the money try to hold onto as much of it as they can, for as long as they can, that people are not the first priority, perhaps not even the second or third or fourth…

These people are often referred to as cynics or idealists.

To say that 75% of the oil is just, gone…and even if it is true, to not also relay what the unprecedented use of dispersants have potentially cost the Gulf ecosystem, well this sounds to me like more of what we’ve been reading in the mainstream press as of late, that the oil spill has been handled, much like Katrina had been handled before, so please America, stop paying attention…

So yes, I am an admitted cynic but in this instance, I would also love to be wrong.

And if I am, a quick look at the numbers:

It was not clear if she was referring to 25 percent of what gushed from the well — about 205 million gallons based on new government estimates released this week — or 25 percent of what made it into the water, about 172 million gallons. The rest was either burned, skimmed or siphoned in the days after the April 20 explosion aboard the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon.

Using the lower number, 25 percent would be about 43 million gallons. Even if the Gulf well had leaked only that much to begin with, it would still be among the worst oil spills in history. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez tanker spill that wreaked environmental havoc in Alaska in 1989 spilled 11 million gallons.

Yeah…I’m way too cynical. Even good news in the Gulf is bad news.

Read the article,

BP plugs well with mud; feds say much of oil gone

Have a nice day…