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Report: Gas bubble triggered rig blast Gulf spill likely bigger than Exxon Valdez, claims expert

We hate to say we told you so, Mr. President, but ... well, we did. Within a week of President Obama's effort to expand offshore oil drilling, a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico caught fire and sank, taking with it the lives of 11 men.1 Today, oil is washing over the fragile barrier islands and residents nearby are complaining about dead wildlife washing ashore and the stench of crude oil.2 Even worse, new reports show that BP used its money and influence to shut down tough new safety rules that had been proposed for offshore drilling.3 Mr. President, we told you so. We told you offshore drilling was a bad idea. We told you the dangers were real and the corporations in charge could not be trusted. Now, 11 hardworking Americans are dead and hundreds of miles of ocean and wetlands are threatened. Meanwhile, an entire regional economy is teetering on the brink of collapse just as it was about to enter its most profitable season.4 This disaster should be a wake-up call for Obama -- but we must make sure he hears the alarm. Sign the petition calling for a ban on drilling today and we'll help stage a high-profile delivery in Washington next week to make sure your voice is heard. http://act.truemajorityaction.org/p/7002/nodrilling?petition_KEY=163 Local fisherman Ricky Robin fears the impact the oil spill will have on his livelihood, saying it's "worse than the atomic bomb."4 The slick continues to drift toward the shorelines of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, threatening thousands of miles of estuaries and wetlands already home to many endangered and threatened animal species. It's time to put our money where our mouth is and move "Beyond Petroleum" for real. The first step is moving beyond offshore drilling. President Obama, are you listening? Click here to sign your support and make SURE he gets the message. Thanks for all you do, -Drew Drew Hudson TrueMajority / USAction

Discovery Communications is feeling the pressure. On Wednesday, we hand-delivered the signatures of more than 234,000 CREDO Action members to Discovery Communications. And since Monday, more than 4,500 CREDO Action members have jammed Discovery's phone lines with calls opposing their decision to run Sarah Palin's show. Together with our friends at Defenders of Wildlife -- who have also sent hundreds of thousands of signatures and thousands of calls -- we have forced Discovery to listen. The company released this statement in light of our pressure: "The program will be character driven and centered around Sarah Palin and the pioneering people who make up our 49th state. There will be no politics, policy or advocacy associated with this program. It is not a nature documentary, a travelogue nor will it endorse any natural resource or wildlife management policies." They don't get it. Sarah Palin is a politician -- and there is no way to separate her political life from her TV show. Any platform that allows Sarah Palin to promote a green message sacrifices the integrity of the Discovery brand. It also helps Palin prepare for a 2012 presidential run and adds $2 million to her personal fortune. We must keep the pressure on. Here are two ways you can help: 1. Get us to 5,000 calls. If you haven't made a call yet, please do so at your next available moment between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. Click here for a number to call and a sample script. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5537&id=9052-1999172-x4cFrsx&t=6 2. Get us to 250,000 signatures. Spread the word to your friends, family, and coworkers. Click here for our easy tell-a-friend tools. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5528&id=9052-1999172-x4cFrsx&t=7 Thank you for your help in our campaign to keep Sarah Palin off Discovery! LiAnna Davis, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets

$11.5 million. That's how much money oil and gas interests have donated to members of Congress so far in the 2010 election cycle.(1) Who is going to stand up in defense of our fragile oceans? We must head-off Big Oil's PR campaign and stop new offshore drilling now >> http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFwYj/zkUo/ANR12 In a speech on the Senate floor after last week's horrific disaster, Louisiana's own Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) said "We must continue to drill." All told, she's accepted over $750,000 from oil and gas companies.(2) If our elected leaders are to act in defense of our precious oceans and coastlines, they need to hear loud and clear from their constituents -- from you and me. Stop future oil disasters before they happen -- demand a moratorium on new offshore drilling >> http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFwYj/zkUo/ANR12 There is no such thing as a "safe" oil drill. We must end our addiction to dirty fossil fuels, and stand up to Big Oil's money and influence in Washington.Join me and demand elected leaders protect our oceans. Thanks for making a difference. Andrea W. ThePetitionSite

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for the love of.... everybody has a stick and everybody's poking In HS I had to turn my Metallica Metal Up Your Ass and GnR rape scene t-shirts inside out when VP Backus caught up to me

Gulf Crisis: What Happened? What Needs to be Done? On April 20, an explosion at a BP exploratory drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and initiated what could be the worst industrial disaster in U.S. history. Hundreds of imperiled species, from loggerhead sea turtles to Atlantic bluefin tuna, will be harmed by the oil spill -- and the entire Gulf ecosystem could be damaged beyond repair. Is BP to blame? Yes. But so is the Obama administration for approving BP's oil-drilling plan, and for announcing just weeks before that it plans to oversee the largest expansion of offshore oil drilling in the past 30 years. Under the Obama plan, BP-like drilling rigs -- and the threat of BP-like oil spills -- will soon appear in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, offshore of Alaska, and along the Atlantic coast from Maryland to Florida. Read more on our Web site here and in the Washington Post. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/gulf_disaster/ http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2010/washington-post-05-06-2010.html What needs to be done: - Ban all new offshore oil drilling - Rescind Obama's plan to expand oil drilling in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast - Suspend the use of environmental waivers for oil drilling - Reform or eliminate the hopelessly corrupt Minerals Management Service - Conduct a federal investigation of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's gross mismanagement in approving BP's drilling plan despite its gaping flaws _______________________________ Real-Time Gulf-Crisis Web site Goes Live The Center has launched a Gulf-Crisis Web site that we'll update daily with information on how big the spill is, where it's hitting shore, what species are suffering the impacts, how the rescue effort's going, what we're doing, and how it's all driving home the critical need to reverse Obama's decision to open up new areas to offshore oil drilling in Alaska, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and along the Atlantic Coast. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/gulf_disaster/ _______________________________ Center Breaks Massive Scandal Story: DOI Exempted BP Drilling From Environmental Review The Center for Biological Diversity's research and communications teams have been working 24/7 since the BP oil-rig explosion to find out what happened and why -- and to make sure it never happens again. Pouring through technical legal and mining documents, we discovered that the Department of Interior rubber-stamped BP's drilling proposal without even conducting an environmental review. That's right: Interior approved a massive, ecosystem-killing offshore-drilling platform with a legal loophole meant for tiny, no-impact projects like building a hiking trail or outhouse. We put together our case and went to the national press, causing an explosive, rolling scandal for Secretary of Interior -- and offshore oil industry booster -- Ken Salazar. As coverage of the scandal expands, so do calls for Salazar's resignation and investigations into his oil industry ties -- including thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from BP. Read about it in the groundbreaking Washington Post story and the Center's press release. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2010/washington-post-05-05-2010.html http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/bp-exempted-05-05-2010.html _______________________________ Center Director Discusses Scandal on Keith Olbermann Show Click below to see Center for Biological Diversity director Kierán Suckling discuss the Gulf oil-spill catastrophe on the Keith Olbermann show. Kierán lays out how the Department of Interior caved into industry pressure at every turn -- from Ken Salazar's 2006 legislation opening up new areas in the Gulf of Mexico to new offshore oil drilling, to the "drugs and sex with oil execs" scandal of 2008, to Interior's exempting BP's cataclysmic oil-drilling plan in 2010. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/audio_video/2010/kieran-s-msnbc-05-05-2010.html _______________________________ DOI Makes Same Drilling Mistake in Alaska, Center Acts to Prevent Another Catastrophe The Center for Biological Diversity yesterday began legal action to stop new offshore oil-drilling in Alaska by filing a "notice of intent to sue" the Department of Interior over spill impacts to endangered polar bears, Steller's eiders, spectacled eiders, and bowhead whales. On October 16, 2009, Secretary Ken Salazar approved Shell Oil's plan to drill in the Beaufort Sea, and on December 7, 2009, he approved a similar Shell plan to drill in the Chukchi Sea. There is no existing technology to clean up a catastrophic oil spill in these icy waters off Alaska's North Shore. Just as he did with BP in the Gulf of Mexico, Salazar adopted Shell's conclusion that "a large oil spill, such as a crude oil release from a blowout, is extremely rare and not considered a reasonably foreseeable impact." In other words, we won't analyze or prepare for a catastrophic oil spill because it is unlikely to happen. This is exactly what BP said -- and the Department of Interior accepted -- in the Gulf of Mexico. Read the Center's press release here: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/arctic-drilling-05-05-2010.html _______________________________ Offshore Oil-Drilling Air Permit Challenged The Center for Biological Diversity and allies on Monday formally challenged Shell Oil's permit to spew tens of thousands of tons of pollution into the pristine Arctic skies. The Environmental Protection Agency approved the permit for Shell's offshore oil-drilling platform, scheduled to begin operation in July. If Shell intends to spew that pollution on purpose, you can imagine how much air and water would be fouled in an oil spill. Read the Center's press release here: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/shell-oil-05-04-2010.html _______________________________ Court Today Hears Offshore Oil-Drilling Case The Center and allies squared off with the Department of Interior today in a Portland, Oregon federal court over the embattled agency's granting of a permit to Shell Oil to begin drilling offshore for oil in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Just as it did in the Gulf of Mexico, the agency downplayed and ignored the spectacular risks of massive drilling operations. The arguments looked particularly weak against the backdrop of a burning oil rig, millions of gallons of spilled oil, and dying wildlife on the Gulf Coast. We'll keep you posted on the case's progress. Read about it in the Christian Science Monitor: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2010/christian-science-monitor-05-06-2010.html _______________________________ Gulf Disaster Fund Needs Urgent Support Since we asked for your support this Tuesday, more than 600 people have dug deep to contribute to the Center's Gulf Disaster Fund a total of $18,275. But we need to raise $12,000 more by the end of this week so our expert team of lawyers, scientists, and activists can continue our efforts to make sure the BP disaster doesn't happen anywhere else -- from the Arctic to the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico. Please click here to give as generously as you can. Your special, emergency gift will have a big impact for wildlife and our oceans. And, if you've already given or aren't able to, please consider forwarding this message to all your friends right now to help with this urgent effort. https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=6200&track=E1003E1 http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/t/5243/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=6993 _______________________________ One Down, Three to Go: Obama Yanks Virginia Offshore Oil Expansion In the wake of a growing scandal at the Department of Interior for exempting the BP drilling platform from environmental review, the White House announced today that it's cancelling public hearings and indefinitely postponing the Department of Interior process for opening coastal Virginia to offshore oil drilling. In March 2010, President Obama shocked environmentalists by announcing he would open Alaska, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Coast from Maryland to Florida, to new offshore oil drilling. The plan was the brainchild of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who is closely aligned with the offshore oil-drilling industry. Salazar has come under intense fire, however, for allowing the Minerals Management Service to exempt the catastrophic BP drilling project from government review. Going forward with Salazar's plan to have MMS open up coastal Virginia to offshore oil drilling would have invited even more controversy. Unfortunately, Obama is still supporting Salazar's plan to open Alaska's Chukchi Sea to oil drilling this summer. Just today, the Department of Interior squared off against the Center and its allies in federal court to defend the Alaska drilling. Here's what we have to say: Mr. President, putting a time out on Virginia drilling is not enough. Please withdraw your entire offshore oil-drilling expansion for the rest of the Atlantic Coast, for the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and especially for Alaska -- which is in Shell Oil's cross hairs right now. Read our press release here: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/atlantic-leases-05-06-2010.html _______________________________ BP "Cleaning Up" Oil With Deadly Chemicals To "clean up" its massive mess, BP is spraying chemicals into the ocean that could add to the permanent damage in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has mobilized one-third of the world's supply of dispersant (more than 156,000 gallons) to break up oil in the vast slick before it reaches shore. The idea is to spray the oil with dispersant as it rises through the water, causing some of it to congeal into droplets and drop to the ocean floor instead of floating on the surface. But dispersants are poisonous themselves, causing genetic mutations and cancer, and exposing sea turtles, bluefin tuna, and other marine life to even more toxicity than oil alone. In fact, the particular dispersant being used, Corexit 9500, has been reported by its own manufacturers to harm early stages of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. And it's been shown to be four times as toxic as oil. Corexit can also be harmful to humans -- like the thousands of out-of-work fishermen and other volunteers currently working to combat the spill's destruction. Beaches in Santa Barbara, California -- the site of an infamous oil spill in 1969 -- harbor toxic, dispersant-caused "tar balls" to this day. Read more in the Guardian and USA Today: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2010/guardian-05-05-2010.html http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2010/usa-today-05-05-2010.html _______________________________ Take Action: Tell Obama "No New Offshore Drilling!" The White House has delayed release of its National Ocean Policy, likely due to the Gulf crisis. The policy is the perfect opportunity for the administration to painlessly back away from its March 2010 proposal to open up Alaska, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Coast to dangerous offshore oil drilling. Click here to send a letter to the President saying "No New Offshore Oil Drilling!" Then please, forward this to everyone you know, asking them to send letters too. I have no doubt that deep down, Obama knows offshore oil drilling is wrong. He likely delayed release of the National Ocean Policy to reconsider his plan after watching the Gulf catastrophe unfold. If tens of thousands of people raise their voices, I really think he will reverse course and do the right thing. No New Offshore Oil Drilling! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3646 _______________________________ Kieran Suckling, Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity | PO Box 710 Tucson, AZ 85702 | 520-623-5252 | center@biologicaldiversity.org _______________________________

Big Oil's Catastrophe in the Gulf Coast Save BioGems: Take Action: Say No to New Offshore Drilling https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advoc... NRDC BioGems Defenders take online action to protect wildlands and wildlife across the Americas. Please take action now!

10 Things You Can Do to Help the Gulf Coast Clean the Oil Spill Alarming photos of dead sea turtles washed ashore--as well as satellite images of an ever-spreading oil slick--demonstrate that a serious ordeal is ahead for the Gulf Coast. The April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused a spill that has spread more than 130 miles so far. The spill has reached land in Louisiana, and is expected to reach Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. If it continues, it will surpass the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill as the worst in history. Here's how you can help: 1. Want to lend a hand? Affected states allow you to register to volunteer online. Louisiana and Florida volunteers can register online, or Gulf Coast volunteers can call 1-866-448-5816. Oil Spill Volunteers is another registration site that matches up those willing to assist with the groups that need their help. Volunteer opportunities run the gamut from wildlife sitter to administrative support, so any and all help is appreciated. 2. Florida is calling on untrained volunteers to pick up trash on its beaches to minimize the impact of the spill once it hits land. Volunteers are asked to leave natural debris in place, though, as it provides shelter for birds and other animals. If you'd like to help out with areas where oil has already washed ashore, it is recommended that you contact a local group to be trained in how to handle oil-covered materials. 3. If you're in the Gulf Coast area and see a distressed animal, do not try to assist it on your own. Injured animals can be defensive and may try to bite you--also, crude oil can be harmful when it comes in contact with human skin. A hotline has been established for injured and dead animal sightings. Call 1-866-557-1401 to leave a message with the animal's precise location. iPhone users in the Gulf can download the Noah project's app to document distressed animals and the spill's impact on wildlife. Learn more about Noah here. 4. Two specialized opportunities to help are available for qualified professionals. BP has called upon fishermen and boaters in the Gulf area to participate in their "Vessels of Opportunity" program. Those with eligible vessels will be compensated for their use in cleanup efforts. For more information, call 281-366-5511. In addition, the EPA has called upon engineers and experts to submit alternative cleanup solutions via this form. 5. However, if you're not already living in the area, it is not recommended that you travel to the Gulf Coast to assist. OilSpillVolunteers.com and other organizations stress that your help would be more appreciated in the form of a donation. The Alabama Coastal Foundation, and Save our Seabirds are among the many organizations accepting donations for coastal relief. 6. Dishwashing detergent is used to clean oil off of birds and animals, and Dawn is pitching in to help. Purchase a bottle of Dawn and $1 will go towards the Marine Mammal Center and the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Please note that you must go online to activate this donation--it's not automatic with your purchase. 7. Own a salon or pet grooming business? Hair collects oil, so the group Matter of Trust is taking donations of hair and nylons. For more information, visit their website or call 415-242-6041. 8. For those inclined to send a political message about the need to restore the Gulf Coast, the National Wildlife Federation has created this form letter you can send to President Obama. Those in favor of halting all ocean drilling can use this form letter from the Sierra Club. 9. The Audubon Society, protecting American birds and their habitats for more than 100 years, has launched a response to the crisis. They'll be organizing volunteers for wildlife rescue and beach clean-up, as well as researching the effects of the spill on habitats in the weeks and months following its landfall. If you'd like to volunteer for the Audubon Society, you can fill out this volunteer form. If you'd like to donate money to aid relief efforts, you can use this site. 10. For up-to-date news on volunteer and relief efforts, several Twitter users have aggregated the best sources of oil spill tweets into lists. Follow Crisis Camp's list, Crisis Mappers' list, or the hashtag #oilspill. Two good individual accounts to follow are EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and BP_America.

[ame=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/37007857#37007857]Rachel Maddow Show[/ame] May 6: Ed Schultz is joined by a panel to debate what lessons the government should learn from the oil disaster. [ame=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37004595#37004595]msnbc.com Video Player[/ame] Expert Q&A: Gulf Oil Spill Endangers Wildlife and Natural Habitats

THE GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF BP -- OIL GIANT'S TRYING TO SLICK ITS WAY OUT OF CONTROVERSY By Greg Palast, GregPalast.com As a fraud investigator hired to dig into Exxon Valdez, I can see that BP's role in the devastation in Alaska is exactly the way BP is now sliming the entire Gulf Coast. http://www.alternet.org/story/146771/the_gross_negligence_of_bp_--_oil_giant%27s_trying_to_slick_its_way_out_of_controversy BP Worked With FreedomWorks And The Chamber To Build 'Grassroots' Support For More Drilling leefang http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/05/06/bp-worked-with-freedomworks-and-the-chamber-to-build-%e2%80%98grassroots%e2%80%99-support-for-more-drilling/ Federal regulators let BP avoid filing blowout plan for Gulf oil rig

Marine Reserves now! We now know that human activity can have serious impacts on the vital forces governing our planet. We have fundamentally changed our global climate and are just beginning to understand the consequences of that. As yet largely unseen, but just as serious, are the impacts we are having on the oceans: we are damaging them on a scale that is unimaginable to most people. Ecosystems are collapsing as marine species are driven towards extinction and ocean habitats are destroyed. Degraded and stripped of their diversity, ocean ecosystems are losing their inherent resilience. We need to defend our oceans because without them, life on Earth cannot exist. [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdo-YUFZd6c]YouTube- Drop into the Ocean[/nomedia] Tell Congress: No drilling, no coal, clean energy now! In recent months, we have been forced to open our eyes to the awful truth about our dependence on fossil fuels. In April, 29 miners died in a coal mine in West Virginia. A couple weeks later, an explosion on a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and began spewing millions of gallons of crude oil into the water. Sadly, these disasters are simply par for the course and a predictable outcome of our reliance on coal and oil. In addition to the millions of people suffering the effects of climate change and the direct impacts of burning fossil fuels, we can expect more loss of life, more ecological catastrophe, and more economic ruin — unless we change course NOW.