Some thoughts on all the oil spill handwringing this afternoon. The government says seeps have been spotted within two miles of the site of the blowout. So what? Does that mean it's time to panic that oil from the Macondo well is finding a new path to the surface, and is set to burst open through the seafloor in a new, unstoppable gusher? Probably not.  What we need to know is this: did these seeps exist before the cap test began? If they did, then they'll probably continue with or without the cap. If not, then BP and the government need to determine what's worse: smaller oil volumes in the gulf from seeps, or bigger volumes from reopening the well? If this seep is new and big, then it could probably be dealt with by reopening the well and going back to siphoning the oil up to the surface.  BP doesn't seem that concerned and wants to keep the cap on, preferably until the relief well finishes the job. BP says it would take a couple days to slowly open the well, during which time oil would once again dump into the gulf for some time (three days they've said) until the siphon could be safely reattached.  Natural seeps occur constantly in the Gulf of Mexico, and had been spotted around the blowout well by NOAA's science ship Thomas Jefferson long before this recent capping maneuver. The good news is that according to BP, pressure readings from the well continue to climb roughly 2 psi per hour, to 6,811 psi as of late afternoon. Climbing pressure is a good sign. If the oil were to pop a new hole in the seafloor, we would see pressure plunge. Though, of course, by then it would be too late.  When the cap test began, the hope was that pressure would rise to 8,000 psi in a couple days. That it hasn't could indicate that some oil is indeed flowing out of the ruptured casing into other rock formations.  What we need is more information on these seeps. The government should immediately release all the findings of sonar readings and from study ships like the Thomas Jefferson. We can't trust BP or the government unless we're confident that we have all the data they do.
New oil spill lingo: seep. Time to get worried? Not until we know whether they're new or old, big or small.