Thanks to the Survival Podcast, I was very surprised to find out that there was another oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, back in 1979. It was in much shallower water, and closer to South Padre Islands in Texas, but it was considered the worst oil spill in US history at the time. The owner of the rig tried much the same tactics as BP has tried, but the spill did not get resolved until the relief well was drilled 10 months later. On the positive side, the Gulf did recover. Unfortunately, while the technology to drill in deeper and deeper waters escalated, the technology to clean up oil spills has not progressed that much. Check out http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/04/bp-could-learn-lessons-fr_n_600492.html for additional details on the previous spill.
It is sad to know that history has repeated itself, as lessons were not learned, 30 years later. Amidst these depressing thoughts, I was encouraged when I read The SurvivalMom’s post found in
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/06/15/9-lessons-from-the-gulf-oil-disaster/
regarding lessons WE can learn for this disaster so we can protect ourselves and our families. There is not a lot we can do about what companies and government do, but we can apply these lessons to something we can control, in our own life.
On a personal note, I am doing the following as a result:
-I believe seafood prices will be rising soon, so I am stocking up on seafood such as fish and shrimp. I will just keep the stores in the freezer. Not having a large freezer, I am extra careful about repackaging the stores carefully to eliminate air so the seafood will stay fresh longer. I also date the packages so I use them within a reasonable time.
-Gas prices are low right now, but prices may increase, I am saving the amount left over the in gas budget to offset any price increases later.
-Continuing to gather items for the bug out bags-God forbid we have a worse case scenario: if there is a hurricane that pushes the spill toward our area, would not want to experience an “oil-ricane” with oil and toxic dispersants raining over us.
The Apartment Prepper's Blog 
My family and I were just discussing hurricane season and the need for a bug out plan. Normally, because we live in the central part of the state and not on the coast, we don’t have to worry too much about hurricanes making this far inland. But with the predictions for such a bad season coupled with the oil spill, we’re not taking any chances.