Follow up to postings on the Gulf Coast oil spill, via the New York Times, more grim news on the long term impact of the disaster from Admiral Thad Allen: “He underscored the challenge by acknowledging, in response to a reporter’s question, that it would take years to mitigate the impact of the spill on the marshes, beaches and wildlife on the Gulf Coast. On Sunday, the admiral had said it could take well into autumn to deal with the slick that is spreading relentlessly across four states of the gulf.”