Many people are more at ease with the news that BP has finally capped the oil well that has been spewing thousands of barrels of oil each day since the middle of April. While this cap stack is a positive step in the right direction the situation is not over. President Obama himself stated as much in his comments Friday, July 16. He said, "This larger more sophisticated cap was designed to give us greater control over the oil flow as we complete the relief wells that are necessary to stop the leak....I know that there were a lot of reports coming out in the media that seemed to indicate, well, maybe this thing is done. We won’t be done until we actually know that we’ve killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We’re moving in that direction, but I don’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves."

The official website for BP provides an illustration and explanation that makes it easier to understand the purpose of the relief wells. Relief wells are a contingency plan that will allow them to completely stop the flow of oil and gas from the original, flowing well. The relief well is dug as deeply as possible and intersects with the original well. A specialized liquid which is denser than the oil is pumped in to suppress the flow afterwhich cement is pumped in to completely plug the well. BP is drilling two relief wells so that if one meets up with problems and has to suspend drilling for a time, the second one can go on with it's intended course.

President Obama also gave assurancethat BP will be "not only paying for the environmental disaster and clean-up but also [will be] compensating people who've been affected." News has spread about BP selling some of it's assets in order to build up cash funds to cover this pay out. The New York Times reported that payments will start in early August.

A comparison can be drawn between the Gulf oil spill we are experiencing now and one that occured in 1979, the Ixtoc I. Many of the circumstances of these two spills are similar so we can looked to the effects of the Ixtoc I spill and get an idea of what we will face in the years to come. Animal life was hit hard and the spill took it's toll on the local fishing indunstry. Fish and octopus catches that year dropped 50% to 70 % compared to 1978 in some places. It took years for some fish populations to recover to the point they could be harvested again. But one major difference is the effect this oil spill can have on wetlands. In a related article, Discovery News contributor Jessica Marshall wrote: "Wetland contamination is difficult to reverse. As wetland plants' roots suffocate and degrade, the sediments they hold in place wash away, leaving nothing for new growth to anchor in." The Gulf states contain many such wetlands that are home to innumerable species of plant and animal life, some of which exists nowhere else on the planet.

We hear a lot of negative things when it comes to the Gulf spill but here are a couple of positives. The Gulf waters contain microbes that are eating some of the methane that was released from the oil well. So Nature is doing it's part to clean up the waters. And some people are helping Nature; the release of the first group of sea turtle hatchlings, rescued from the beaches of the Gulf, was reported last week. The Huffington Post reported this as "part of an overall plan to pluck some 70,000 eggs from sea turtle nests on beaches across Alabama and Florida before they hatch and swim out into the oil from the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion."

Yes, it's time for a little celebration; a generation of sea turtles has been aided to survive, there are crews tirelessly working the shores to keep them clean, BP will be covering the cost of the clean up and will be giving compensation to those who have been affected by this disaster. However, we have to always keep in mind that this is not a problem that will go away on it's own. There are years of recovery ahead. But we can face them with confidence by doing what we canindividually. If you are in a position to volunteer your time, help out. I've included a link to an article that lists several organizations you can contact to offer your help. If you can't volunteer, do what you can to help financially. CNN reported on a group in Alabama who went to the Gulf just to spend their money at the businesses there. Tourism is a very important part and has been severely affected by this spill. And if you can't do like those Alabaman's, donate to credible organizations. We can recover. And yet, this disaster begs further consideration.

This calamity has spotlighted two vital needs for our society:

1. the need for more up-to-date technology and contingency plans to deal with oil spills. The New York Times also reported that significant advances in such technology have been "hampered by a lack of money for research and laws and regulations that make it difficult to test new ideas and introduce improved equipment."

2. the need to ween ourselves off of oil dependency. "Green" energy sources may take some extra money initially and we may have to shift careers but I believe it's worth it for the health of our planet. We can individually take small steps and that will add up; it will spread citywide, statewide, nationwide, worldwide. But it starts with us.