I think this is a misrepresentation of the actual results. Human efforts to clean up underminded the natural bacteria and fungi that consume oil. But it's sti

I think this is a misrepresentation of the actual results. Human efforts to clean up underminded the natural bacteria and fungi that consume oil. But it's still a huge, massive mess. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill What I find interesting about this is this bit: Despite the extensive cleanup attempts, a study conducted by NOAA determined that as of early 2007 more than 26 thousand U.S. gallons (22,000 imp gal; 98,000 L) of oil remain in the sandy soil of the contaminated shoreline, declining at a rate of less than 4% per year. That it's even measurable as percentage per year seems like it's getting better, by both human and natural means, at a rate faster than if left to its own devices (with my lay understanding, we'd be talking geologic or evolutionary timescales here, right?). Huge messes take a lot of effort and time to clean up.