What's happening in the Gulf of Mexico

Ever wonder what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico today? Wonder what happened to the regular news updates on the oil spill and its repercussions? Yeah so do we. There is an occasional update from one of the news outlets, but the worst oil disaster in the US has gone the way of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - relegated to the back of the bus in hopes that the outrage will die. For the most part, it has. Does that mean that everything is okay now?

Absolutely not. The Pensacola News Journal reports that "about 17,000 pounds of oil a month that continues to wash ashore on beaches at Pensacola Naval Air Station," according to BP. Much of this oil is buried as deep as 30 inches, in some areas. Scientists found dead and dying deep sea corals near the BP well site, and although they can't say it's specifically caused by the BP spill, the irony would be too great, if it weren't.

Residents are experiencing health problems more and more as a result of exposure to the toxic chemicals from the spill, and areas of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana continue to find more oil as the tides recede.

Is this being largely ignored today because the painful feeling of helplessness is unbearable, or because we're a fickle and easily bored nation? Either way, the fact that this issue is buried under DWTS updates bodes poorly for the Gulf region. When we aren't reminded that a percentage of our country - the one that still bears scars from the 2005 hurricane season - is struggling, we stop wondering how we can help or what future prospects we should look at to prevent another devastating spill like this from happening again.

In this economy, not everyone can give money, or even donate canned goods for the human beings involved and Dawn dish washing liquid for the animals. What everyone can do is ask the media to push this to the front of the line, to remind us that even though we might be in our own pain, a limb of our country is suffering and needs help. We can demand more products that don't require oil, consciously try to cut back on the oil we consume, and keep the companies that caused this devastation honest. Let BP, Halliburton and the rest know that we expect them to be responsible not only for the environment but for the people who relied on the Gulf for their livelihoods.