DAY 87 BP SAYS NO OIL LEAKING INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO

 According to BP they have successfully placed the containment cap on wellhead that has allowed crude to gush into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days.  This is wonderful news.  Testing will continue as they monitor the pressures below the device for at least the next 6 hours.  The most critical period will be late Thursday night (July 15th) and could continue for up to 48 hours.  Everyone is very optimistic today and hopefully the relief well will soon be connected so the final steps can be completed to cap off the gusher.  BP is cautiously stating that although it is a good start, there is still much more to be done and the risks are not completely over.

They state that if the pressures remain very high and the valves on the containment cap remain closed this could be the beginning of the end of the catastrophe.  Thad Allen says "The cap was not designed to permanently shut in the well -- it was meant to move to a four-vessel containment system and assure redundancy in the event of a hurricane". But he said, "there could be a huge side benefit if the oil can be contained".

We all look forward to the containment well completely closing off the oil.  But we have to remember the damage that has already been done to the ecology and the environment.  Work is far from over and it may take years or decades to recover our beautiful and bountiful Gulf of Mexico.

We will still be dealing with the Corexit that will without doubt continue to be dispersed to try to clean up the devastated areas.  Unfortunately for the wildlife, the marshes, our fresh waters, citizens and economy will not recover for a very long time.