California spill not the environmental disaster first feared
After a crude oil sheen was detected on the waters off the Southern California coast, environmentalists feared the worst: A massive spill that would wreck the ecosystem. A week later, the region and its signature beaches appear to have been spared a potentially calamitous fate, though the long-term toll on plant and animal life remains unknown. … But environmental advocates said the situation remains serious, and they fear the long-term effect on wetlands and ocean life.