Beaches recovered from 1979 spill

The press won't run this story in prime time because it doesn't fit their meme.
Texas beaches that were covered with up to 15 inches of crude were clean and beautiful not long after the spill caused by the Mexican Ixtoc blowout.
You might even argue that the spill help one species by almost killing it off.
The sea turtles were hurt badly and were provided with much stronger protections after the spill, which helped bring them back from a weak position that already existed prior to the spill.
In fact, you might use the wildfire argument in this case: If you continue to prevent fires, the protected area becomes weak and primed for greater damage because it has not suffered a natural stressor's effects.
Oil always seeps and our drilling and protections result in much less exposure, limiting nature's response in the same way a lack of exposure to disease results in a weaker immune system.
One thing that Texas did after the Ixtoc spill that was smarter than the current response is concentrate on the river mouths and wetlands instead of the beaches.
If only they would do that now with their limited resources, but history is ignored by a public and leadership addicted to mainstream media as an information source.