Where is the oil?

Cataclysm or not much to it?

Millions of gallons of crude gushed from the fractured Deepwater Horizon well into the Gulf of Mexico in the last 100 days before efforts to stop the flow succeeded. Those seabirds and marine life covered in the ick were not imaginary.

Yet ABC News, which reported that at its peak last month the Gulf oil slick was the size of Kansas, now says it is far smaller. The New York Times reports that the oil “appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected.” Mississippi beaches have, for the most part, remained clear.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was pilloried for not overstating the crisis, declining to join those who were. Former BP CEO Tony Hayward, who has a doctorate in geology, was exiled for pointing out, among other things, that “light sweet crude” would react differently in the warm Gulf of Mexico than the heavier Alaskan crude spilled into Prince William Sound from the Exxon Valdez 11 years ago.

Objectively, except for the PR gaffes, BP has done everything right since an explosion and fire destroyed the Deepwater Horizon and killed 11 people. They have pledged full financial accountability and clearly intend to keep that pledge. A flotilla at sea and an army ashore have been burning, dispersing or mopping up as much oil as they can find.

Still, no one owes anyone an apology. Despite the BP and federal response efforts, this was still an unprecedented environmental disaster.

As we watch the resiliency of Planet Earth in awe, it’s clear every reasonable effort must be undertaken to avoid a repeat of what we have witnessed daily since April. It’s not reasonable to stop or even slow oil and gas exploration at sea, and President Barack Obama and others should let go of their insistence on a moratorium.

There’s still a lot of oil out there. As it mixes with seawater, more harm to habitat — including human habitat — will come.

In hindsight, though, it’s becoming clear that the rig failure, though far from trifling, has not turned the Gulf into a toxic wasteland. The truth, as often happens, is somewhere in between.