Since the Gulf oil spill began in April of this year, we’ve showcased a variety of resources related to the event. It started with a simple overlay and later led to more advanced files like this comparison tool and Google’s Crisis Response page.
The latest tool to be released comes from the “Defenders of Wildlife”, in the form of an impressive “Gulf Oil Spill Response and Recovery” map.

As explained on the Google LatLong Blog, here is what makes this tool so useful:
This Gulf Oil Spill Recovery map was created using the Google Maps API and the Google Earth API. It allows any users, whether they’re part of a non-profit group or concerned citizens who want to report what they observe in their backyards, to upload stories, photos and video to the common shared map. The result is an impressive illustration of all the projects – from beach cleanups to air monitoring surveys to sediment sampling – going on in the region to help rescue and restore affected species and their habitats. The map also shows numerous steps that the Obama Administration is taking to mitigate the near- and long-term impacts of the spill. As the map evolves, you’ll be able to see how the marine environment and coastlines recuperate from collaborative efforts by average people, non-profit organizations and government agencies.
For more information, you can visit the Defenders of Wildlife website or watch the video below to see what they’re all about:
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
So . . . 75% of the oil in the Gulf is gone while 75% remains.
Why, this here is just good old Texas figurin’ boys. You take your 75% and your 75% and you get one plus a whole nuther half.
And the Gulf of Texas is plenty big enough for three halves. Aww, sure it is. That’s how that oil can be mostly gone while it’s mostly still there.
It’s about optics. You know, the way when you look at a fish down in the water it isn’t actually where it seems to be. It’s actually over there a little bit. It’s there but it’s not there.
Same with oil. When you look at oil in the water, it isn’t actually there unless you know how to get it out of the water. If you savvy how to get it out of the water then it’s plain to see that it’s all there, and it’s all BP’s. Why, even the gummint will back that.
As soon as Kevin Costner or some other feller figures out how to get that 75% that’s not in the Gulf back out of the Gulf it’ll be BP’s oil instantly, and he’ll have to buy it from ’em at their price just as fast as he pulls it out. Any oil he misses isn’t theirs and isn’t there.
It’s all about optics.
And as for the safety of Gulf seafood —
no. It ain’t safe to be seafood down there, not no how.
I couldn’t have said it better. Antifa has a point. But I commend those heroes who continue to allot their time and effort to save wildlife.