NOAA issued a report on August 4, 2010, which comes to the conclusion, that most of the oil is already GONE (see why), about 25% being still in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists argue over the exact amount still in the Gulf. But not many predicted a  recovery of "our" Gulf so quickly. The oil leak of the Macondo well was only stopped a month ago (capped on July 15, 2010)

Seemingly 2 factors are very important. First, our warm weather and warm waters lead to large amounts of oil simply evaporating. Second, the Gulf consists of many microbes, which love petroleum - and "eat" it. Few people know, that there are many natural oil seepages (spills) in the Gulf. The leaking petroleum is constantly dealt with on a natural basis. So, in a way, the Gulf was prepared for the oil and is getting rid of it much faster than we would have hoped (details). Of course the effects for certain parts of the northern Gulf states were devastating. But at least they did not spread as far as feared.

Luckily, most of our vacation home guests in Cape Coral do not even think of oily beaches anymore. They enjoy the wonderful sunshine, their swimming pools and the warm Gulf waters - beside all the other things they can do in Southwest Florida. In this case, a short memory is okay ... / Heimo W. Langenbach, Sea Breeze International Management Corp., www.seabim.com