OIL SPILL: DISASTER

In an obvious case of “rush-to-publish,” a general account of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s first month or so is filled out with information about how oil is refined and used in manufacturing, alternative sources of energy, a profile of two Indiana middle schoolers who studied the role of grasses in removing contaminants from industrially polluted soil and four truncated interviews with energy and wildlife scientists working for various research organizations. Blocks of text float on the generously margined pages near or over color graphics and photos—some of the latter uncaptioned—and there’s nary a sign of a resource list. Considering that this takes the tale to early June 2010 and the well wasn’t even capped until mid-July, the picture presented here is far from complete, and there are, more than likely, plenty of more substantial reports on the disaster in the pipeline. Consider this one only for a short-term stopgap. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 8-12)