It's Raining Oil

last night I posted a photo to Flickr of an oily spot on my hand that I discovered after getting caught in a sunshower in Clearwater on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The light rain left a filmy feel on my face that felt sort of tight. My wife and sister-in-law complained that the air had a chemical smell (I did not smell anything, but I don't smell that well) and we all wondered if the film was oil or dispersant evaporated from the surface of the Gulf and reintroduced from the clouds in the form of rain. In the car about an hour later I noticed an oily spot on my hand.

I thought I was likely over reacting (though it made for a good image) and the most likely explanation was that I rubbed against the car without noticing. Now today on Twitter I discovered this YouTube link to the aftermath of an oilrain in a suburb outside of New Orleans.



In case you think these are exceptions, just query the search term Oil Rain on YouTube or on Google and you'll discover that the Oil Rain problem is widespread.

How big is the oil rain problem, how far will it spread, and what are the long term consequences of oil raining down on civilian populations and agriculture? Impossible to say.