Artists protest BP sponsorship at the Tate Gallery, London

Last April 22 the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which had been on fire for two days finally sank. For 87 days crude oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico at an estimated rate of 53,000 barrels per day, followed by millions of barrels of Corexit and other dispersants. Patches of the Gulf were set on fire in controlled burns. Terms like top kill and junk shot entered the common vocabulary, BP CEO Tony Hayward redefined douche, and we all watched in futile horror.

One year on, and the US congress has done precisely nothing in response to this massive ecological disaster and sickening display of industry incompetence, but it’s back to business for Gulf oil exploration and extraction. Culprits BP, Transocean and Haliburton are all doing brilliantly, thank you very much and “as with the Exxon Valdez disaster, litigation is being discussed in terms of a 20 year timescale.”

Rachel Maddow has been a pit bull on this story. Here is some of her anniversary coverage.

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On the up side, of course, there will always be a moon over Marin. Some further viewing after the break, (how informed but disheartened do you want to be?):

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“A Sea in Flames”: Ecologist Carl Safina on First Anniversary of Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Blowout.

Deepwater Drilling Resumes Despite Unclear Impact of BP Spill: “It is All about Hiding the Oil, Not Cleaning It Up”