I had a somewhat in-depth conversation today with an engineer who specializes in environmental remediation (rebuilding polluted wetlands, etc.). She poleaxed me…

CHECK THIS SHIT OUT: In the U.S., the oil industry successfully lobbied to keep raw petroleum off the Federal Government’s list of hazardous substances when the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), was enacted in 1976.

I looked. It’s not on the list.

The same is not true in other countries, by the way.

So the good news is, there’s no problem in the Gulf of Mexico right now…there’s nothing hazardous in the water. And the entire EPA response is guided accordingly.

Fuck me to tears.