Oil spill in the Gulf

[Khellendross 1,260]

I don't see why Obama doesn't have the Justice Dept. Force judges with Oil ties to recluse themselves from these cases? These fucktards are in it for the money.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Because Obama's campaign, like all other politicians, are funded by Big Oil.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

indeed

pitchforks and torches time yet?

edit

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment Cap Could Stop Leak Within 3 Days

how are we supposed to believe it when the media cant get close?

I do NOT trust BP and I don't trust the incompetent govt handling shit down there

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Methane and Climate Change: From the Amazon to the Gulf of Mexico

Commentary by Nikolas Kozloff, special to mongabay.com

June 20, 2010

BP: New cap on oil well is 'very close'

150,000-pound metal stack should be installed later Monday

The BP executive was careful to keep expectations grounded, stressing that once the cap is in place, it will take days to know whether it can withstand the pressure of the erupting oil and feed it through pipes to surface ships. The cap and vessels together make up BP's plan to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf for the first time since April 20.

considering all they've done is fail and fail and fail some more I have 0% confidence in anything they do

[Ladywriter 7,783]

While reaping the largest profits in history and destroying the Gulf of Mexico, BP and other Big Oil companies have taken more than $35 billion of our money in special subsidies and tax breaks.1

Surprised? I was.

But it's true: Not only did ExxonMobil avoid paying ANY income taxes last year, they also got a $46 million REFUND from the IRS.2

And the bailouts just wont stop. Even as the worst environmental disaster in American history continues unabated in the Gulf of Mexico,3 the Senate just voted to give Big Oil another bailout.4

So we've teamed up with DFA and Credo mobile to demand that Congress end all tax breaks and subsidies for dirty fossil fuels and invest in green jobs and clean energy instead. And you can help by signing this petition:

http://www.stopbigoilbailouts.com/

A few weeks ago, Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) famously apologized to BP for what he called a shakedown of the oil industry.5

Barton was right. But BP and other Big Oil companies are the ones doing the shaking.

In 2008, ExxonMobil earned a record $45.2 billion or just about $5.2 million per hour.6 But unlike the rest of us, they're not paying their fair share in taxes. In fact, they're walking away with billions of our dollars, even as they screw up our environment and keep our economy dependent on dirty and dangerous fuels.

It makes no sense. At a time when we could be investing in clean energy businesses that would create jobs right here in America, why are we writing checks to dirty, polluting Big Oil companies?

Some members of Congress are fighting back by proposing to end the Big Oil Bailout and invest in green jobs instead.4 But they need our help to make it happen. Help us take the first step by signing your name today.

Thanks,

- Japhet

Japhet Els

TrueMajority/USAction

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Oil flows as BP halts work on well fixes

With oil still gushing freely into the Gulf, Wells said BP and federal officials will re-evaluate the best path forward after the 24 hours.

no big fuckin surprise

ZCTn9tqU-mE

[Ladywriter 7,783]

52am1DN_svA

[Ladywriter 7,783]

N.Y. senators call for probe of BP-Lockerbie link

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, whose state lost constituents in the Lockerbie bombing, discuss why they are calling for an investigation into the oil giant and its deals with Libya.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/38257485#38257485

[Ladywriter 7,783]

BP to drill for Libyan oil

despite Lockerbie bomber furor

Oil giant pushed for prisoner deal amid concern about "commercial interests." Story | Senators demand probe

BP: Leak on oil well

cap has been fixed

Key test of device comes next. Story | Robotic vehicles

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Gulf Oil Spill Stopped: BP Says Oil Leak Is HALTED (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

NEW ORLEANS - BP finally choked off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday -- 85 days and up to 184 million gallons after the crisis unfolded -- then began a tense 48 hours of watching to see whether the capped-off well would hold or blow a new leak.

To the relief of millions of people along the Gulf Coast, the big, billowing brown cloud of crude at the bottom of the sea disappeared from the underwater video feed for the first time since the disaster began in April, as BP closed the last of three openings in the 75-ton cap lowered onto the well earlier this week.

But the company stopped far short of declaring victory over the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and one of the nation's worst environmental disasters, a catastrophe that has killed wildlife and threatened the livelihoods of fishermen, restaurateurs, and oil industry workers from Texas to Florida.

Now begins a waiting period during which engineers will monitor pressure gauges and watch for signs of leaks elsewhere in the well. The biggest risk: Pressure from the oil gushing out of the ground could fracture the well and make the leak even worse.

I got my fingers crossed this will work....

Such zero confidence in BP I'm not getting my hopes up

[Sledgstone 8,672]

This better work correctly. Now why the fuck didn't they make this cap over a month ago?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Just days after BP managed to successfully cap the deepwater oil well that's been gushing freely into the Gulf of Mexico for almost 3 months, officials are reporting that mysterious seepage is coming up from the seabed a small distance from the busted oil well.

Although Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen made no comment about what the seep may be, it's feared that there is a leak elsewhere in the wellbore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse and harder to fix (Associated Press).

BP tested pressure in the well as soon as the current capping mechanism was installed, but levels were strangely lower than expected, leading many to fear that additional leaks were allowing the oil to escape.

Some fear that the seepage may be methane escaping through cracks in the seafloor, and despite a strongly worded letter from Adm. Thad Allen, BP is currently ignorning government requests to increasing monitoring in the area.

"When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours. I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed," Allen said in a letter to BP Managing Director Bob Dudley.

Reopening the recently placed capping mechanism to release pressure will allow oil to flow freely into the already decimated coastal waters for at least three more days.

Once again, disagreements between BP and the government have many in the Gulf (and around the nation) wondering who's really in charge.

SIGN THE PETITIONS!

• Hold Oil Companies Accountable for their Spills
  
• Stop Another Disaster: Shut Down BP Atlantis
  

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Judge refuses to withdraw from drilling ban case

Updated 14 hours, 6 minutes ago

A federal judge who overturned the Obama administration's initial six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling has refused to disqualify himself from the case. Full story

Obama spill chief says cap on ruptured BP oil well leaking, but not yet a major concern

Updated 17 hours, 42 minutes ago

Obama spill chief says cap on ruptured BP oil well leaking, but not yet a major concern. Full story

BP shares drop as oil spill costs rise

BP's troubles are threatening to cast a shadow over David Cameron's upcoming visit to Washington as fears of a new leak in the BP oil well surfaced late Monday and anger continued to grow over claims that BP pushed for the release of the Lockerbie bomber to help it win oil contracts in Libya. ITN's John Irvine reports.

[ame=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38312976#38312976]msnbc.com Video Player[/ame]

[Sojourn 100]

I know this might be a little off topic, but.. I actually live on the Gulf Coast. Mississippi, to be exact. I'm currently on vacation in Michigan's UP, but I'll be home in 14 days. If you would like, or if it would be allowed, I could upload some photos of it in the area.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

go 4 it yo

Relief tunnel to reach Gulf well by weekend

Oil gusher could be plugged for good within two weeks

NEW ORLEANS — Three months into the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. government's spill chief says a relief tunnel should finally reach BP's broken well by the weekend, meaning the gusher could be snuffed for good within two weeks.

After several days of concern about the well's stability and the leaky cap keeping the oil mostly bottled up, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Tuesday that engineers concluded the risk of a bigger blowout was minimal and were getting closer to pumping mud into the column to permanently seal it.

"We continue to be pleased with the progress," Allen said in Washington, giving the go-ahead to keep the well cap shut for at least 24 more hours and possibly longer.

BP vice president Kent Wells said crews hope to drill sideways into the blown-out well and intercept it at the end of July. The relief well is necessary to plug the well permanently.

After it's done, crews will begin the kill procedure, pumping mud and cement into the hole a mile underwater to seal it, which BP said could take anywhere from five days to a couple of weeks.

Seepage detected from the seafloor briefly raised fears that the well was in danger, but Allen said that another well is to blame .

The seepage is closer to the older well than to the one that blew out, Allen said.

There are two wells within two miles of BP's blowout, one that has been abandoned and another that is not in production. Around 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf aren't checked for leaks, an Associated Press investigation showed this month.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Read this article for a possible end of the world scenario. The article is a little over a week old so i takes place before the cap was put on... but after reading this article, maybe this cap is actually setting up pressure to cause a global killing methane bomb...

BP oil leak could be world-killing scenario, scientists say

http://dvice.com/archives/2010/07/bp-oil-leak-cou.php

I know this might be a little off topic, but.. I actually live on the Gulf Coast. Mississippi, to be exact. I'm currently on vacation in Michigan's UP, but I'll be home in 14 days. If you would like, or if it would be allowed, I could upload some photos of it in the area.

btw, click this link and join the ac family and elite groups so you can upload pics:

http://forums.ancientclan.com/profile.php?do=editusergroups

[Sojourn 100]

btw, click this link and join the ac family and elite groups so you can upload pics:

Really off topic, you want me to go ahead and do this even though I don't meet the requirements?

And sure thing about taking pics anyway, I'll be home the 6th, and I plan to go with a group of friends down to actually clean up some of the junk on the beach.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

re methane

nearly a decade ago when I started studying the ice methane came into that research, at first in the form of methane hydrates ~earth turds~ and then the gas itself. Methane is captured in the oceans and in the perma frost. Both mediums have been violated by human activity and warming climate. It will not get better only worse as temperatures rise.

By now I think we all know its a far more powerful greenhouse gas that will accelerate the rise of global temperature faster then co2 alone can do. This disaster has also swung attention to the dead zones underwater, places where there is not enough oxygen in the water to support marine life. We've all seen the images of sharks rushing the coast; yeah well they were doing that to get someplace they could fucking breath. How massive these new dead zones are and how long it will take them to recover is still unknown and yeah thats a fuckin problem for all the peeps that support themselves and their families harvesting the bounty of the sea. Far more jobs have been lost because of the spill then would be lost with a permanent ban on all offshore drilling. Put the roughnecks to work building hydro and wind turbines instead of tearing up the oceans.

There were already dead zones in the gulf primarily caused by pesticide and other chemical run off seeping into the Mississippi River and making its way out to sea. The methane that escaped from the busted well will compound the problem, expand and create new dead zones.

We will not see the major die offs and fish kills that happen out in the open water. Its a huge area to survey and BP/coast guard have more or less told the press to back the fuck off and go take a good shit for themselves. I'm sure in the months years and decades to come scientists will descend on the gulf in droves. The way it stands now we'll all have to shove a thumb up our ass and wait for their findings to appear in their peer review journals. They're just establishing base lines now....

This is no surface spill like Valdez or broken pipe leaking crude or refined oil. This was an underwater volcano of toxic diarrhea and gas that erupted for 3 months. BP made the shit worse spraying toxic disputants all up into the mess in a PR attempt to keep the crud from rising to the surface en mass and looking as bad as it is.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, no seafood on the grocery list here. A tuna fish sandwich isn't worth the wholesale rape of the already struggling ocean. If for some bizarre reason I need to eat fish I'll go pull one out of clean Skaneateles Lake.

I will not buy produce grown in the gulf and surrounding states. I do not trust the rain/groundwater to be free of contamination. I'll get what I can local as always and in winter I'll buy produce I can't get from greenhouses here from California.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I have a feeling that seafood from the gulf area won't be safe for a long time.. and even if they say its safe, it'll mostly have been cleaned with different oil removing chemicals.. and I wonder just how safe those residual chemicals will be in our bodies. x_x

Off Topic: Really off topic, you want me to go ahead and do this even though I don't meet the requirements? And sure thing about taking pics anyway, I'll be home the 6th, and I plan to go with a group of friends down to actually clean up some of the junk on the beach. Sure. You qualify from the old account.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

BP CEO Tony Hawyard, who's quickly become the public face of the Gulf Oil spill, will be stepping down within days, according to reports in the British press.

The move is expected to come in anticipation of the company's announcement of its first-half results on Tuesday. BP will announce that it has made approximately $10 billion this year, even while contending with the largest oil spill in history, the U.K.'s Telegraph reports. Here's Telegraph

The chief executive of BP, Tony Hayward, is finalising the details of his imminent exit from BP this weekend as the oil giant prepares to make an announcement on the chief executive's future possibly within the next 48 hours.

After a weekend of detailed negotiations over Mr Hayward's severance package, it now appears almost certain that he will announce his departure ahead of BP's half year results on Tuesday.

Bp Ceo Tony Hayward Resign

BP Tries To Block Release Of Oil Spill Research ..

Deepwater Horizon Alarm System Was Partly Disabled Prior To Explosion, Technician Tells Congress

Technician Mike Williams told the panel that the alarm system was turned on to monitor for fire, explosive gas and toxic gas but that its sound and light alarms had been disabled.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

How much you want to bet this guy's severance package will be in the millions? and then he'll continue making millions for life?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

naturally. Tony gets his life back complete with golden parachute

Gulf oil slick appears to vanish quickly

The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises tricky new questions about how fast the government should scale back its response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of square miles of the gulf after the April 20 oil rig explosion are largely gone, though there continue to be sightings of tar balls and emulsified oil here and there.

Reporters flying over the area Sunday spotted only a few patches of sheen and an occasional streak of thicker oil, and radar images taken since then suggest that these few remaining patches are quickly breaking down in the warm surface waters of the gulf.

John Amos, president of SkyTruth, an advocacy group that sharply criticized the early, low estimates of the size of the BP leak, noted that no oil had gushed from the well for nearly two weeks.

“Oil has a finite life span at the surface,” Mr. Amos said Tuesday, after examining fresh radar images of the slick. “At this point, that oil slick is really starting to dissipate pretty rapidly.”

yeah right.... don't mind me I'll just go sit over here not believing this daydream

cientists said the rapid dissipation of the surface oil was probably due to a combination of factors. The gulf has an immense natural capacity to break down oil, which leaks into it at a steady rate from thousands of natural seeps. Though none of the seeps is anywhere near the size of the Deepwater Horizon leak, they do mean that the gulf is swarming with bacteria that can eat oil. The winds from two storms that blew through the gulf in recent weeks, including a storm over the weekend that disintegrated before making landfall, also appear to have contributed to a rapid dispersion of the oil. Then there was the response mounted by BP and the government, the largest in history, involving more than 4,000 boats attacking the oil with skimming equipment, controlled surface burns and other tactics.

Some of the compounds in the oil evaporate, reducing their impact on the environment. Jeffrey W. Short, a former government scientist who studied oil spills and now works for the environmental advocacy group Oceana, said that as much as 40 percent of the oil in the gulf might have simply evaporated once it reached the surface.

An unknown percentage of the oil would have been eaten by bacteria, essentially rendering the compounds harmless and incorporating them into the food chain. But other components of the oil have most likely turned into floating tar balls that could continue to gum up beaches and marshes, and may represent a continuing threat to some sea life. A three-mile by four-mile band of tar balls was discovered off the Louisiana coast on Tuesday.

“Less oil on the surface does not mean that there isn’t oil beneath the surface, however, or that our beaches and marshes are not still at risk,” Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a briefing on Tuesday. “We are extremely concerned about the short-term and long-term impacts to the gulf ecosystem.”

pssst

The outrageous truth of CEO pay

A look at what CEOs make compared to you.

[ame=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/38439269#38439269]Rachel Maddow Show[/ame]

[Ladywriter 7,783]

link

A group of oil companies including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Citgo, Chevron and other polluters are using a front group called "America's WETLAND Foundation" and a Louisiana women's group called Women of the Storm to spread the message that U.S. taxpayers should pay for the damage caused by BP to Gulf Coast wetlands, and that the reckless offshore oil industry should continue drilling for the "wholesale sustainability" of the region.

Using the age-old PR trick of featuring celebrity messengers to attract public attention, America's Wetland Foundation is spreading a petition accompanied by a video starring Sandra Bullock, Dave Matthews, Lenny Kravitz, Emeril Lagassi, John Goodman, Harry Shearer, Peyton and Eli Manning, Drew Brees and others.

The video urges petition signers to "Be The One" to demand the government devise and fully fund a plan to restore the Gulf. There is no mention that BP, Halliburton, Transocean, Cameron, or any other oil industry player "be the one" to pay for the damage done to the Gulf. Why call on the government to once again foot the bill for this dirty industry's reckless behavior?

Perhaps the celebrities featured in the group's videos are unaware of AWF's true intent, and signed up thinking that they were helping the Gulf Coast cause in the wake of the BP gusher. But under the surface it sure looks like they are being used as pawns to lure the public into the oil industry's corner, ensuring that taxpayers pick up the tab for much of the damage caused by BP et al to the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Coast communities, economies, and the environment.

The celebrity video announcement leads viewers to RestoreTheGulf.com where a curious reader would learn that a group called Women of the Storm is behind the effort. But a click through to the "sponsors" page reveals that this effort is actually led by America's WETLAND Foundation, which is funded chiefly by the same oil companies who have ruined the Gulf and endangered the planet with their global warming emissions.

The America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) was launched in 2002 with primary support from Shell Oil and a host of other oil companies. AWF is run by the PR shop Marmillion+Company, whose founder previously served as a PR manager at ARCO and staffer to various GOPers.

According to the Washington Post "Shell Oil, worried about its offshore drilling platforms, put up several million dollars for a PR campaign to rebrand Louisiana's marshes as 'America's Wetland.'"

A quick look at the sponsors of America's WETLAND Foundation reveals the oily underpinnings of this greenwashing campaign, with Shell serving as "World Sponsor," and a long list of oil companies, the American Petroleum Institute and other polluting interests who back the group financially as well.

Founded in January 2006 in response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Women of the Storm might seem like a truly grassroots organization to the casual observer. Is it possible that they never figured out that the oil companies behind America's Wetland Foundation had an ulterior motive in "partnering" with their group -- to greenwash the oil industry's efforts to stick taxpayers with the bill for damage caused by drilling activities in the Gulf? Perhaps Women of the Storm were willing to take any help they could get, given the horrible response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by the Bush administration.

Anne Milling, founder of Women of the Storm, says that the organization has never received a penny directly from BP or any other major oil company, although she did acknowledge Women of the Storm received advisory assistance from some of these entities when originally launching the project after Hurricane Katrina.

Mrs. Milling was unapologetic when asked about the prominent placement of the America's Wetland Foundation banner on the group's website and its various partnerships with the oil-backed group. She sees nothing wrong with AWF's cozy relationship with the same oil and gas giants that are partly responsible for the coastal wetlands degradation that is the focus of her group's concern.

Why? Perhaps because she is married to R. King Milling, the chairman of America's Wetland Foundation, Mrs. Milling sees nothing wrong with the oil connections.

America's Wetland Foundation and Women of the Storm are partners in another affiliated campaign called "America's Energy Coast" whose tag line is "Shore Up, Fuel The Nation."

Last fall, America's Energy Coast released a white paper called Region at Risk: Preventing the Loss of Vital National Assets [PDF], which called on Congress and the Obama administration "to resolve the maze of bureaucratic roadblocks that threaten the long-term sustainability of region."

The AWF's "America's Energy Coast" white paper lays out what the oil-funded campaign is primarily concerned with protecting:

At risk is an engine that fuels, feeds and supports the American economy.

This is the nation's energy corridor that provides 90% of the domestic offshore oil and gas supply and is tied to 50% of the nation's refining capacity.

Never mind the pelicans and dolphins -- this is all about oil production.

In language that demonstrates fully the bastardization of the word "sustainability" by polluting interests, the paper suggests:

...our nation does not fully appreciate the benefits derived from these working wetlands.

... The ongoing debate at the national level on the best use of the region's natural resources has failed to recognize the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to

the challenge of wholesale sustainability.

"Wholesale sustainability?"

And by that the AWF apparently means:

...no greater threat to sustainability exists than

the threat of inaction or

the maze of governmental processes

that prevent efficient solutions.... the

long-term survival and success of this region is ultimately tied to large-scale Federal recognition and support."

...

Among the most challenging obstacles to achieving sustainability along America's Energy Coast are inconsistent laws, policies and regulations at all levels of government.

And why is the oil-backed group such a big fan of restoring wetlands and achieving "A New Sustainability"? Could it possibly have anything to do with protecting oil rigs and refineries?

These coastal landscapes provide protection to

millions of people and

hundreds of billions of dollars worth of property and infrastructure

because they serve as buffers against hurricanes and storm surges.

The AWF paper even has the gall to blame global warming for threatening oil and gas infrastructure, oblivious to the irony of such an argument:

Energy production and navigation activities are essential to America's economic interests, but

environmental threats, such as increasingly intense storms, rising sea levels, and ongoing coastal erosion and subsidence pose a significant risk to the physical infrastructure

that supports these activities.

This week, AWF ran ads in several DC and Gulf Coast media outlets touting a letter the group sent to Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy. The top priority item requested in the letter:

Accelerate [Outer Continental Shelf drilling] revenue sharing

to Gulf producing states for coastal restoration.

That would of course mean more risky offshore drilling, one of the primary threats to the Gulf's health, as the BP disaster has made clear.

So next time you sign a petition ostensibly about "saving" the Gulf ecosystem, make sure you know who is behind it first. America's WETLAND Foundation seems more interested in saving face for the oil and gas industry and tapping taxpayer coffers to protect oil and gas infrastructure than truly protecting the Gulf Coast.

BP and the rest of the offshore drilling industry should "Be The One" to clean up their mess, not the U.S. taxpayer.

[Sojourn 100]

I have a feeling that seafood from the gulf area won't be safe for a long time.. and even if they say its safe, it'll mostly have been cleaned with different oil removing chemicals.. and I wonder just how safe those residual chemicals will be in our bodies. x_x

A little off topic, but honestly, most Gulf Coast residents ( granted, the ones in my area that i've talked to) are still concerned about what health impact Katrina will have on us in 10, 20 years. salt water was pushed miles inland, reducing wooded areas to dead tree trunks stipped of bark. Not to mention all the mold that had to be taken care of. So much trash from Katrina was burned in my area, that the smoke plumes could be seen day and night, probably for a good month (sounds about right). Now we have to worry about our seafood, which we can't eat. We're getting stuff from overseas (phillipines, i believe) which just makes it even HARDER on Gulf coast fishers. As if life isn't hard enough. We still haven't recovered from Katrina. There's still trash on the side of the road in many places, condemned houses that haven't been torn down (basically becoming a huge petri dish for all sorts of mold). Add all this mess to the oil issue, and Governor Barbour cutting health and school funds because of budget, and you just have a big pile of crap sitting on top of what USED to be a place that A-list music bands, actors, and politicians came from time to time.

Anyway, that got increasingly off topic, and I'm sorry for that. Had a rawr moment.

[Khellendross 1,260]

Unfortunately, the way the southern states are, I don't foresee most of the crap getting picked up. I grew up in Louisiana. Most of the people in charge there just really don't care about the people who actually voted them into office. Huey P. Long during the great depression, Edwin Edwards back in the 90's, most of the tards currently in office.

Its the whole culture of "I don't care as long as my family is taken care of."

Of course, with Huey it was "I don't care at all, i'll toss my brother into a mental facility for speaking against me, and build the state capital building with federal funds that were supposed to go to the poor during the great depression."

Louisiana has been screwed for a very long time...