A lot has changed even in the two months since oil stopped flowing into the Gulf. The cleanup response has been scaled back dramatically as oil sightings become less frequent. It seems Plaquemines Parish has been bearing the brunt of much of the recent oil activity. New tar balls and oil sheen were reported in the parish as recently as yesterday. We also traveled back to Grand Isle this week, where this summer we saw mounds of oil as thick as syrup. It’s not as obvious now, but dig below the surface of the sand and you’ll see it.

What’s also less obvious is how the region will recover as a whole. The summer and all its beach vacation dollars are gone for good. And while the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board is at pains to point out that Gulf caught seafood is the most inspected in the U.S., consumers don’t seem to be biting. Maybe it’s because the haunting images of the damage done by the oil will stay with us, long after the oil itself is gone.