Commentary by Marita Noon

Five years ago, following a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers, the nation was spellbound by the 87-day visual of oil flowing freely into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the Macondo well. The 3.1 million barrels of spewed oil has been called "the world's largest accidental marine spill" and "the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history."

Looking back, CNN reports: "There were dire predictions of what would follow. Environmentalists and others braced for an environmental collapse on a massive scale." Indeed, there were extreme claims including one from Matt Simmons, known for his peak oil alarmism, who predicted the crude would "float all the way to Ireland."

Now, five years later, however, we see that, while the Deepwater Horizon accident was a tragedy, the dramatic claims were hyperbole. Nevertheless, lessons have been learned