It's not clear exactly how much oil is being salvaged from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico or the seabed gusher below, but for the moment, BP officials are saying the collected crude belongs to the company.
On Andy Revkin's always thought-provoking Dot Earth blog, the NY Times writer and eco-thinker poses an excellent question: Why is salvaged oil going to BP instead of U.S. reserves?
Acknowledging the unfeasiblity of pumping spilled oil into the reserve, Revkin proposes that BP contributes an amount equal to every barrel being salvaged in the Gulf.
It's an interesting thought, with some deep legal issues attached. Be sure to check out the heated sparring in the comments beneath the post.
Photo: The Discover Enterprise collects salvaged oil from the Gulf of Mexico (BP image)