Here is a video taken - without BP's permission - (fuck you BP) of a flyover of the Gulf of Mexico. Heartbreaking.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Trying to save the baby pelicans
Baby pelicans: oil-spill orphans
WWL-TV Eyewitness News
FORT JACKSON -- Nearly 700 oil-covered birds have come through the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Fort Jackson.
Workers there said about 80 percent of them are surviving. But they're not all adults. The center has a number of baby pelicans separated from their parents.
Veterinary intern Dr. Leslie Pence is used to treating birds at the West Esplanade Veterinary Clinic in Metairie. But lately, she has a weekend gig cleaning oil-covered pelicans at Fort Jackson.
“I was there when they started getting some of the babies, the little hatchlings in, probably ten or so,” Pence said.
Now workers are caring for 75 baby pelicans that are kept in a pen outside.
“They are cute. They sound like little pterodactyls,” Pence said.
“They're the more aggressive, everybody that's been bitten has been bitten by a baby. They think they're friendly and they snap you right in the face,” said director of the Wildlife Rehab Center, Jay Holcomb.
The baby pelicans are the orphans of the oil spill, separated from their parents, removed from the only islands they've ever known.
But this is not the first time the workers at Fort Jackson have cleaned oil off Louisiana birds.
In 2005, two months before Katrina, oil spilled into Breton Sound.
“During a storm, all the adults leave, and the babies stay. So, they got covered in oil. We picked up a thousand birds, and we only released 250 of those because they were burned from the oil, from the sun,” Holcomb said about the event that taught him how to care for the pelicans.
So far, the center has treated and released 250 birds in Texas; 72 more were scheduled for release in Georgia today.
The question now is what to do with the babies.
In '05, workers raised the babies back on the islands that were cleaned of oil, but in this case, the oil is still gushing.
According to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, BP's contractor that runs the site is still trying to find an extended rehab facility for them.
“The big ones are getting really big and in a few weeks, they'll start test-flying. So, we want them out before then. So, we're pushing the agencies to go faster and get this plan going,” Holcomb said.
And much like saving them, it's a race against time, before there's too much human contact and they can't survive back in the wild on their own.
Holcomb said experts used the same technique to bring back the brown pelican population in Louisiana.
They fed them in their natural habitat until they could fly and kept them near adult pelicans so they can see how to catch fish on their own.
WWL-TV Eyewitness News
FORT JACKSON -- Nearly 700 oil-covered birds have come through the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Fort Jackson.
Workers there said about 80 percent of them are surviving. But they're not all adults. The center has a number of baby pelicans separated from their parents.
Veterinary intern Dr. Leslie Pence is used to treating birds at the West Esplanade Veterinary Clinic in Metairie. But lately, she has a weekend gig cleaning oil-covered pelicans at Fort Jackson.
“I was there when they started getting some of the babies, the little hatchlings in, probably ten or so,” Pence said.
Now workers are caring for 75 baby pelicans that are kept in a pen outside.
“They are cute. They sound like little pterodactyls,” Pence said.
“They're the more aggressive, everybody that's been bitten has been bitten by a baby. They think they're friendly and they snap you right in the face,” said director of the Wildlife Rehab Center, Jay Holcomb.
The baby pelicans are the orphans of the oil spill, separated from their parents, removed from the only islands they've ever known.
But this is not the first time the workers at Fort Jackson have cleaned oil off Louisiana birds.
In 2005, two months before Katrina, oil spilled into Breton Sound.
“During a storm, all the adults leave, and the babies stay. So, they got covered in oil. We picked up a thousand birds, and we only released 250 of those because they were burned from the oil, from the sun,” Holcomb said about the event that taught him how to care for the pelicans.
So far, the center has treated and released 250 birds in Texas; 72 more were scheduled for release in Georgia today.
The question now is what to do with the babies.
In '05, workers raised the babies back on the islands that were cleaned of oil, but in this case, the oil is still gushing.
According to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, BP's contractor that runs the site is still trying to find an extended rehab facility for them.
“The big ones are getting really big and in a few weeks, they'll start test-flying. So, we want them out before then. So, we're pushing the agencies to go faster and get this plan going,” Holcomb said.
And much like saving them, it's a race against time, before there's too much human contact and they can't survive back in the wild on their own.
Holcomb said experts used the same technique to bring back the brown pelican population in Louisiana.
They fed them in their natural habitat until they could fly and kept them near adult pelicans so they can see how to catch fish on their own.
Monday, June 28, 2010
top ten
David Letterman's Top Ten Ways Tony Hayward Can Improve His Image
10. Catch Osama
9. Contaminate waters around a country like North Korea
8. Reveal secret behind his soft and lustrous curly hair
7. Apologize on The Golf Channel
6. Shoot new BP commercial where he is viciously pecked by angry pelicans
5. Join Team Coco
4. Get a job at Poland Spring; accidentally dump a billion gallons of water into the gulf
3. Improve his image, are you kidding? He's doing great!
2. Hang out at BP station, let customers inflate his butt with air hose
1. Dial it back from "arrogant bastard" to "smug
10. Catch Osama
9. Contaminate waters around a country like North Korea
8. Reveal secret behind his soft and lustrous curly hair
7. Apologize on The Golf Channel
6. Shoot new BP commercial where he is viciously pecked by angry pelicans
5. Join Team Coco
4. Get a job at Poland Spring; accidentally dump a billion gallons of water into the gulf
3. Improve his image, are you kidding? He's doing great!
2. Hang out at BP station, let customers inflate his butt with air hose
1. Dial it back from "arrogant bastard" to "smug
Get your act together, National Wildlife folks!
| National Wildlife Hotline Tells Plaquemines Parish Coastal Zone Management Director PJ Hahn To Leave Bird In The Water |
Chefs Ashore
From Chefs Collaborative dot org:
Chefs from around the country flocked to the barrier island of Grand Isle, Louisiana, for Chefs Ashore, a two-day summit aimed at educating the greater culinary community about the fishing industry and the state of Gulf seafood. After surveying the damage to Grand Isle first hand, each chef had an opportunity to talk about his or her connection to Gulf seafood and how the oil spill has affected his or her restaurant. Chef Rick Tramonto, a Chicago restaurateur, voiced his concerns and goals in the same breath, saying: “[I want] to stay educated about the seafood down there so I can explain the situation properly. I want chefs to come see what’s going on so they have the knowledge they need to speak and react intelligently. So they won’t take it off of their menu.”
In the midst of much uncertainty over the safety of the seafood and its availability, it is important that chefs understand the current situation in order to make informed sourcing decisions and to address concerns expressed by their customer base. The question-and-answer segment at Chef’s Ashore was just the beginning – it was followed by a “Seafood Jam” session and the creation of two improvisational paintings by artist Michael Israel. Proceeds from the paintings benefit Friends of the Fisherman, a fund established by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board to benefit fisherman who have been taken out of commission as a result of the oil spill.
For more information go here.
Chefs from around the country flocked to the barrier island of Grand Isle, Louisiana, for Chefs Ashore, a two-day summit aimed at educating the greater culinary community about the fishing industry and the state of Gulf seafood. After surveying the damage to Grand Isle first hand, each chef had an opportunity to talk about his or her connection to Gulf seafood and how the oil spill has affected his or her restaurant. Chef Rick Tramonto, a Chicago restaurateur, voiced his concerns and goals in the same breath, saying: “[I want] to stay educated about the seafood down there so I can explain the situation properly. I want chefs to come see what’s going on so they have the knowledge they need to speak and react intelligently. So they won’t take it off of their menu.”
In the midst of much uncertainty over the safety of the seafood and its availability, it is important that chefs understand the current situation in order to make informed sourcing decisions and to address concerns expressed by their customer base. The question-and-answer segment at Chef’s Ashore was just the beginning – it was followed by a “Seafood Jam” session and the creation of two improvisational paintings by artist Michael Israel. Proceeds from the paintings benefit Friends of the Fisherman, a fund established by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board to benefit fisherman who have been taken out of commission as a result of the oil spill.
For more information go here.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Reaction to Dredging Shutdown
The following is the full text of the statement from Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Chairman Garret Graves in response to the shutdown of offshore dredging efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers:
"Tonight, the United States Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District officially shut down the state’s dredging operation to protect coastal Louisiana from the ongoing impact of millions of gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf from the BP oil spill.
After conference calls and meetings throughout the day, reports from the Corps that they had not shut down our efforts, and a top federal official said he was not halting our dredging operation, we have now been notified that our efforts to help prevent the oil from hitting our coast are officially stopped. Interestingly, the Corps' press release tonight said this was done in ‘close coordination’ with the state, while we have actually been pleading with them to let our dredging operations continue.
This decison was made only hours after BP reported that they had to remove the containment cap and we, once again, have an estimated 60,000 barrels of oil per day to destory our fisheries, birds, wetlands and coastal communities -- mind-boggling.
Indeed, the Corps’ own permit indicates that we are currently operating within the allowed dredge area. Our operations on the Northern Chandeluers have all been within our approved permitted area. We simply asked to continue dredging operations until we could ensure a seamless transition to the next sand borrow site. Reports today show that oil will hit our coast again next week and now we will lose thousands of feet of sand berm that we could have built up in that time to protect our marshes and our coast. Because of this fact, we made it clear to the Corps that their ‘Option 1’ was never an option for the state.
All of the sudden, the Department of the Interior claims we were dredging outside of the permitted area, yet they agreed to this spot for seven to 10 days. If we were dredging outside the confines of the original permit – which we were not, the agencies would have had issued a new permit for dredging outside of the initial permit. A new permit was not issued because it was not needed. We were dredging within the permitted area.
In fact, the Shaw Group project manager for the sand berms is a former top official within the Corps of Engineers. There are few folks in this world that are more familiar with the Corps' regulatory procedures. To suggest that the project manager would dredge outside of a permitted area is absurd.
The Corps’s statement also says they have concerns about the ‘additional erosion issues and possible deterioration of the Chandeluer Islands.’ While I certainly appreciate the Corps’ and USFWS's new-found love for the Chandeleur Islands, if they were actually interested in preventing further erosion in this area surely they would have invested even one dollar from their budgets for coastal restoration projects in the many years they have owned and managed this area -- as they have done for other refuges and recreational areas.
Communities used to live on these islands, today they are virtually gone. Additionally, the Department of the Interior’s continued insistence that this dredge area is a bird rookery makes it clear that they are confused about what it is that they are protecting – and perhaps have never been to the Chandeluers at all. There isn't a place for a bird to land for over a mile away.
Additionally, one of the Department of the Interior's top political appointees told the Associated Press that we were dredging ‘in between islands.’ Mr. Strickland should probably consult a current map, because there is there is nothing north of where we were dredging on the Chandeluer Island chain. It is not ‘in between’ anything. Perhaps if the federal government had taken any interest in protecting the coast in this area there would truly be places for birds to land and people to fish today".
"Tonight, the United States Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District officially shut down the state’s dredging operation to protect coastal Louisiana from the ongoing impact of millions of gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf from the BP oil spill.
After conference calls and meetings throughout the day, reports from the Corps that they had not shut down our efforts, and a top federal official said he was not halting our dredging operation, we have now been notified that our efforts to help prevent the oil from hitting our coast are officially stopped. Interestingly, the Corps' press release tonight said this was done in ‘close coordination’ with the state, while we have actually been pleading with them to let our dredging operations continue.
This decison was made only hours after BP reported that they had to remove the containment cap and we, once again, have an estimated 60,000 barrels of oil per day to destory our fisheries, birds, wetlands and coastal communities -- mind-boggling.
Indeed, the Corps’ own permit indicates that we are currently operating within the allowed dredge area. Our operations on the Northern Chandeluers have all been within our approved permitted area. We simply asked to continue dredging operations until we could ensure a seamless transition to the next sand borrow site. Reports today show that oil will hit our coast again next week and now we will lose thousands of feet of sand berm that we could have built up in that time to protect our marshes and our coast. Because of this fact, we made it clear to the Corps that their ‘Option 1’ was never an option for the state.
All of the sudden, the Department of the Interior claims we were dredging outside of the permitted area, yet they agreed to this spot for seven to 10 days. If we were dredging outside the confines of the original permit – which we were not, the agencies would have had issued a new permit for dredging outside of the initial permit. A new permit was not issued because it was not needed. We were dredging within the permitted area.
In fact, the Shaw Group project manager for the sand berms is a former top official within the Corps of Engineers. There are few folks in this world that are more familiar with the Corps' regulatory procedures. To suggest that the project manager would dredge outside of a permitted area is absurd.
The Corps’s statement also says they have concerns about the ‘additional erosion issues and possible deterioration of the Chandeluer Islands.’ While I certainly appreciate the Corps’ and USFWS's new-found love for the Chandeleur Islands, if they were actually interested in preventing further erosion in this area surely they would have invested even one dollar from their budgets for coastal restoration projects in the many years they have owned and managed this area -- as they have done for other refuges and recreational areas.
Communities used to live on these islands, today they are virtually gone. Additionally, the Department of the Interior’s continued insistence that this dredge area is a bird rookery makes it clear that they are confused about what it is that they are protecting – and perhaps have never been to the Chandeluers at all. There isn't a place for a bird to land for over a mile away.
Additionally, one of the Department of the Interior's top political appointees told the Associated Press that we were dredging ‘in between islands.’ Mr. Strickland should probably consult a current map, because there is there is nothing north of where we were dredging on the Chandeluer Island chain. It is not ‘in between’ anything. Perhaps if the federal government had taken any interest in protecting the coast in this area there would truly be places for birds to land and people to fish today".
Oil Spill Updates
Some oil spill events on Thursday, June 24, 2010
(AP) – 2 hours ago
CAP
A cap was back in place on BP's broken oil well after a deep-sea blunder forced crews to temporarily remove what has been the most effective method so far for containing some of the massive Gulf of Mexico spill. Engineers using remote-controlled submarines repositioned the cap late Wednesday after it had been off for much of the day. It had captured 700,000 gallons of oil in 24 hours before one of the robots bumped into it late in the morning. Bob Dudley, BP's new point man for the oil response, said crews had done the right thing to remove the cap because fluid seemed to be leaking and could have been a safety hazard.
GUSHER
While the cap was off, clouds of black oil gushed unchecked again at up to 104,000 gallons per hour, though a specialized ship at the surface managed to suck up and incinerate 438,000 gallons. The oil-burning ship is part of an armada floating at the site of the rogue well some 50 miles off the Louisiana coast and the scene below the surface is no less crowded. At least a dozen robotic submarines dangle from ships at the surface on mile-long cables called "umbilicals," with most of the undersea work taking place within a few hundred yards of the busted well.
OILED FLORIDA
In Florida, thick pools of oil washed up along miles of national park and Pensacola Beach shoreline Wednesday, as health advisories against swimming and fishing in the once-pristine waters were extended for 33 miles east from the Alabama line. "It's pretty ugly, there's no question about it," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said. The oil reeked as it baked in the afternoon heat on a beach that looked as if it had been paved with a 6-foot-wide ribbon of asphalt. Park ranger Bobbie Visnovske said a family found an oily young dolphin beached in the sand in the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Wednesday. Wildlife officers carried it into shallow water to revive it. They later transported it to a rehabilitation center in Panama City, about 100 miles to the east.
MORATORIUM
The Obama administration seeks to resurrect a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. The Justice Department filed court papers asking U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to delay his ruling overturning the order to suspend drilling on 33 wells and stop approval of any new deepwater permits. Several companies, including Shell and Marathon Oil, said they would await the outcome of any appeals before they resume drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would issue a new order within the next few days. He said it may allow drilling in areas where reserves and risks are known and is likely to include criteria for when the ban would be lifted.
DUDLEY
The man who inherited the Gulf oil spill response from BP's embattled CEO said Wednesday that Americans have been too quick to blame his company for the environmental disaster now in its third month. "I'm somewhat concerned there is a bit of a rush to justice going on around the investigation and facts," BP PLC managing director Bob Dudley said after touring a New Orleans wildlife conservation center where oil is cleaned from sea turtles. The Mississippi native said BP has been unusually open about making its internal investigation public and shared information that no other company would.
NORTH SEA
Britain, home of BP headquarters, said deep-sea exploration will continue in North Sea oil fields off Scotland despite safety concerns raised by the Gulf spill, the country's energy minister said Thursday. Energy Secretary Chris Huhne told an energy conference in London that regulation is strong enough "to manage the risk of deep-water drilling." Britain announced this month it was doubling the number of inspections carried out at North Sea oil rigs following the Gulf disaster.
WORST-CASE ESTIMATE
The current worst-case estimate of what's spewing into the Gulf is about 2.5 million gallons a day. Anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons have spilled since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. BP PLC was leasing the rig from owner Transocean Ltd.
WASTE DISPOSAL
A leaky truck filled with oil-stained sand and absorbent boom soaked in crude pulls away from the beach, leaving tar balls in a public parking lot and a messy trail of sand and water on the main beach road. A few miles away, brown liquid drips out of a disposal bin filled with polluted sand. BP PLC's work to clean up the mess from the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history already has generated more than 1,300 tons of solid waste, and companies it hired to dispose of the material say debris is being handled professionally and carefully. A spot check of several container sites by The Associated Press, however, found that's not always the case.
BROWN PELICANS
More than five dozen brown pelicans rehabilitated from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico take flight in Texas. The 62 pelicans arrived on Coast Guard cargo planes Wednesday and were taken to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge about 175 miles south of Houston. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups released the pelicans and one northern gannet. Wednesday's release was the largest to date since the offshore oil rig exploded April 20.
PLUMES
A federal report confirms what independent scientists have been saying for weeks about the Gulf oil spill: Undersea oil plumes extend for miles from the ruptured well. The report may help measure the effectiveness of spreading chemicals to break up the oil. Government researchers released a summary Wednesday of water sampling conducted last month near the undersea gusher. It describes a cloud of oil starting around 3,300 feet deep up to 4,600 feet deep and stretching up to 6 miles from the well. Levels of oil and gas within the cloud are significantly higher than concentrations closer to the surface. The Environmental Protection Agency says there's been no significant harm to sea life, but marine scientist Vernon Asper of the University of Southern Mississippi says the levels are enough to kill fish.
DEATHS
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says two contract workers helping with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup have died. Neither death appears to have a direct connection to the spill. Allen said Wednesday in Washington that one man was killed by what investigators later called a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Allen said the other worker's death involved swimming. He would not provide more details.
AQUARIUM-DEAD GULF
A new exhibit at an aquarium in Iowa had intended to showcase the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, it will be void of life to underline the environmental impact of a massive oil spill in the ocean basin. The 40,000-gallon aquarium at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, was supposed to have been teeming with sharks, rays and other fish. Two smaller tanks were to show a seagrass bed and coral reef. Instead, says executive director Jerry Enzler, the main tank will hold water and artificial coral, with window stickers that look like oil.
COMMISSION
The House has approved legislation that would give subpoena power to the presidential commission investigating the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Rep. Lois Capps, a California Democrat, said that Americans want answers from those responsible for the spill, and subpoena power will ensure "no stone goes unturned." The vote Wednesday was 420-1, with Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas casting the only no vote. President Barack Obama has appointed the seven-member commission to investigate the spill.
SUBPOENAS
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed BP claims documents, after its chairman said the company has not complied with requests to provide information on its payments. The committee's voice vote showed bipartisan agreement for Chairman John Conyers' efforts to release claims information to the public. The committee also voted, 16-11, to approve a bill eliminating limits on the amount of money that vessel owners had to pay for deaths and injuries. The bill would let family members collect payments for non-monetary damages such as pain and suffering. Introduced by Conyers, D-Mich., the bill was sent to the full House, where it will be considered along with other legislation resulting from the oil spill.
POLITICS
In need of political momentum, Democrats are exploiting Republican Rep. Joe Barton's startling apology to BP for its treatment by the Obama administration, launching a steady, low-budget campaign of fundraising appeals, a pair of television commercials and Web ads. Little more than four months before midterm elections, party officials appear to be testing ways to maximize the gain from a comment that ricocheted across the Capitol at a furious pace last week, and that Republicans deemed significant enough to force Barton to recant.
MESSAGE MANAGEMENT
To a nation frustrated by the Gulf oil spill, BP's attempts at damage control have sometimes been infuriatingly vague. But from a legal standpoint, that's exactly the point. With the company facing more than 200 civil lawsuits and the specter of a Justice Department investigation, saying the wrong thing could expose BP to millions of dollars in damages or even criminal charges for its executives. Inside the company, experts believe, there is a natural tension between public relations people who want BP to project a positive image and lawyers who don't want to be boxed into a corner. It's a balancing act with billions of dollars — perhaps even BP's survival — at stake.
SUMMIT
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is urging the White House to hold a summit with East Coast governors and local officials to ensure they are prepared if oil from the Gulf spill makes its way up the Atlantic coastline. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, made the request in a letter to President Barack Obama on Wednesday. Computer models show that the oil could enter the Gulf's loop current, go around the tip of Florida and up the coast.
(AP) – 2 hours ago
CAP
A cap was back in place on BP's broken oil well after a deep-sea blunder forced crews to temporarily remove what has been the most effective method so far for containing some of the massive Gulf of Mexico spill. Engineers using remote-controlled submarines repositioned the cap late Wednesday after it had been off for much of the day. It had captured 700,000 gallons of oil in 24 hours before one of the robots bumped into it late in the morning. Bob Dudley, BP's new point man for the oil response, said crews had done the right thing to remove the cap because fluid seemed to be leaking and could have been a safety hazard.
GUSHER
While the cap was off, clouds of black oil gushed unchecked again at up to 104,000 gallons per hour, though a specialized ship at the surface managed to suck up and incinerate 438,000 gallons. The oil-burning ship is part of an armada floating at the site of the rogue well some 50 miles off the Louisiana coast and the scene below the surface is no less crowded. At least a dozen robotic submarines dangle from ships at the surface on mile-long cables called "umbilicals," with most of the undersea work taking place within a few hundred yards of the busted well.
OILED FLORIDA
In Florida, thick pools of oil washed up along miles of national park and Pensacola Beach shoreline Wednesday, as health advisories against swimming and fishing in the once-pristine waters were extended for 33 miles east from the Alabama line. "It's pretty ugly, there's no question about it," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said. The oil reeked as it baked in the afternoon heat on a beach that looked as if it had been paved with a 6-foot-wide ribbon of asphalt. Park ranger Bobbie Visnovske said a family found an oily young dolphin beached in the sand in the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Wednesday. Wildlife officers carried it into shallow water to revive it. They later transported it to a rehabilitation center in Panama City, about 100 miles to the east.
MORATORIUM
The Obama administration seeks to resurrect a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. The Justice Department filed court papers asking U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to delay his ruling overturning the order to suspend drilling on 33 wells and stop approval of any new deepwater permits. Several companies, including Shell and Marathon Oil, said they would await the outcome of any appeals before they resume drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would issue a new order within the next few days. He said it may allow drilling in areas where reserves and risks are known and is likely to include criteria for when the ban would be lifted.
DUDLEY
The man who inherited the Gulf oil spill response from BP's embattled CEO said Wednesday that Americans have been too quick to blame his company for the environmental disaster now in its third month. "I'm somewhat concerned there is a bit of a rush to justice going on around the investigation and facts," BP PLC managing director Bob Dudley said after touring a New Orleans wildlife conservation center where oil is cleaned from sea turtles. The Mississippi native said BP has been unusually open about making its internal investigation public and shared information that no other company would.
NORTH SEA
Britain, home of BP headquarters, said deep-sea exploration will continue in North Sea oil fields off Scotland despite safety concerns raised by the Gulf spill, the country's energy minister said Thursday. Energy Secretary Chris Huhne told an energy conference in London that regulation is strong enough "to manage the risk of deep-water drilling." Britain announced this month it was doubling the number of inspections carried out at North Sea oil rigs following the Gulf disaster.
WORST-CASE ESTIMATE
The current worst-case estimate of what's spewing into the Gulf is about 2.5 million gallons a day. Anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons have spilled since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. BP PLC was leasing the rig from owner Transocean Ltd.
WASTE DISPOSAL
A leaky truck filled with oil-stained sand and absorbent boom soaked in crude pulls away from the beach, leaving tar balls in a public parking lot and a messy trail of sand and water on the main beach road. A few miles away, brown liquid drips out of a disposal bin filled with polluted sand. BP PLC's work to clean up the mess from the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history already has generated more than 1,300 tons of solid waste, and companies it hired to dispose of the material say debris is being handled professionally and carefully. A spot check of several container sites by The Associated Press, however, found that's not always the case.
BROWN PELICANS
More than five dozen brown pelicans rehabilitated from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico take flight in Texas. The 62 pelicans arrived on Coast Guard cargo planes Wednesday and were taken to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge about 175 miles south of Houston. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups released the pelicans and one northern gannet. Wednesday's release was the largest to date since the offshore oil rig exploded April 20.
PLUMES
A federal report confirms what independent scientists have been saying for weeks about the Gulf oil spill: Undersea oil plumes extend for miles from the ruptured well. The report may help measure the effectiveness of spreading chemicals to break up the oil. Government researchers released a summary Wednesday of water sampling conducted last month near the undersea gusher. It describes a cloud of oil starting around 3,300 feet deep up to 4,600 feet deep and stretching up to 6 miles from the well. Levels of oil and gas within the cloud are significantly higher than concentrations closer to the surface. The Environmental Protection Agency says there's been no significant harm to sea life, but marine scientist Vernon Asper of the University of Southern Mississippi says the levels are enough to kill fish.
DEATHS
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says two contract workers helping with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup have died. Neither death appears to have a direct connection to the spill. Allen said Wednesday in Washington that one man was killed by what investigators later called a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Allen said the other worker's death involved swimming. He would not provide more details.
AQUARIUM-DEAD GULF
A new exhibit at an aquarium in Iowa had intended to showcase the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, it will be void of life to underline the environmental impact of a massive oil spill in the ocean basin. The 40,000-gallon aquarium at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, was supposed to have been teeming with sharks, rays and other fish. Two smaller tanks were to show a seagrass bed and coral reef. Instead, says executive director Jerry Enzler, the main tank will hold water and artificial coral, with window stickers that look like oil.
COMMISSION
The House has approved legislation that would give subpoena power to the presidential commission investigating the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Rep. Lois Capps, a California Democrat, said that Americans want answers from those responsible for the spill, and subpoena power will ensure "no stone goes unturned." The vote Wednesday was 420-1, with Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas casting the only no vote. President Barack Obama has appointed the seven-member commission to investigate the spill.
SUBPOENAS
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed BP claims documents, after its chairman said the company has not complied with requests to provide information on its payments. The committee's voice vote showed bipartisan agreement for Chairman John Conyers' efforts to release claims information to the public. The committee also voted, 16-11, to approve a bill eliminating limits on the amount of money that vessel owners had to pay for deaths and injuries. The bill would let family members collect payments for non-monetary damages such as pain and suffering. Introduced by Conyers, D-Mich., the bill was sent to the full House, where it will be considered along with other legislation resulting from the oil spill.
POLITICS
In need of political momentum, Democrats are exploiting Republican Rep. Joe Barton's startling apology to BP for its treatment by the Obama administration, launching a steady, low-budget campaign of fundraising appeals, a pair of television commercials and Web ads. Little more than four months before midterm elections, party officials appear to be testing ways to maximize the gain from a comment that ricocheted across the Capitol at a furious pace last week, and that Republicans deemed significant enough to force Barton to recant.
MESSAGE MANAGEMENT
To a nation frustrated by the Gulf oil spill, BP's attempts at damage control have sometimes been infuriatingly vague. But from a legal standpoint, that's exactly the point. With the company facing more than 200 civil lawsuits and the specter of a Justice Department investigation, saying the wrong thing could expose BP to millions of dollars in damages or even criminal charges for its executives. Inside the company, experts believe, there is a natural tension between public relations people who want BP to project a positive image and lawyers who don't want to be boxed into a corner. It's a balancing act with billions of dollars — perhaps even BP's survival — at stake.
SUMMIT
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is urging the White House to hold a summit with East Coast governors and local officials to ensure they are prepared if oil from the Gulf spill makes its way up the Atlantic coastline. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, made the request in a letter to President Barack Obama on Wednesday. Computer models show that the oil could enter the Gulf's loop current, go around the tip of Florida and up the coast.
The Feds & the Berms
Once again the Federal Government is doing its best to screw up attempts by the state of Louisiana to protect its coast from the poison tide of oil. On Tuesday (June 22), Billy Nungesser announced that his previously approved plan to build berms to protect Plaquemines Parish were put on hold. Apparently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department has concerns about where the dredging is being done. The department says one area where sand is being dredged is a sensitive section of the Chandeleur Islands, and the state failed to meet an extended deadline to install pipe that would draw sand from a less-endangered area.
The person responsible for this snafu is a Jane Lyder, assistant deputy secretary for the Department of Interior. Jane seems like your typical government pencil pusher. I looked her up in Linked In and found that she has been in the Department of Interior for 33 years.
I’m sorry, but I fail to understand her reasoning about drawing sand from a “ less endangered area”. Jane: EVERYTHING is endangered right now!!! Without the berms, EVERYTHING will die. Apparently, Jane sent out an email to several people to see if she could get some volunteers to help expedite the pipe installation. Here is the email:
From: Lyder, Jane
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 4:41 PM
To: Lee, Alvin B COL MVN; Garret Graves; Kyle Graham; charlie hess; Serio, Pete J MVN; Accardo, Christopher J MVN; Colletti, Jerry A MVN; Ulm, Michelle S MVN; Mayer, Martin S MVN
Cc: Robert Routon; steve mathies; Jeff Jenkins; George bevan; Mark Zimmerman; ancil taylor; Mike Flores; Harris, James
Subject: Question about manpower
I’ve been asked if we could get more people out there to help lay the pipe would it go faster. It was suggested that we should help the State find volunteers to make a 5-7 or 9-10 day job a much shorter job. Is that feasible at all? We would be willing to contact folks in Houma & round up volunteers if it would help at all.
Jane
And here is Billy Nungesser’s response on Anderson Cooper last night:
And to give you the kind of person we're dealing with, she sent an e-mail out today that said, could we possibly move volunteers to shorten that time frame?
Obviously, this lady has never -- doesn't know what a dredge is, doesn't know what a barrier island is. It's a 36-inch steel pipe, lady. You don't move it with volunteers.
And the pelicans she's worried about -- Anderson, you saw that small grass area behind us. This berm by Friday would have protected that small, one of the last breeding grounds out there left.
But this -- with this project being shut down, if that oil comes to the Chandeleurs by Friday, like projected, those pelicans, those breeding grounds will be destroyed because she single-handedly stopped this project.
And I want to put her on notice...
Here are some statements by Nungesser sent to BayouBuzz.com (and others) by Nungesser's press office
Nungesser Dredge Statement
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
“Every minute we waste makes us more and more vulnerable to the oil attacking the marsh and the breeding grounds for the pelicans. It’s a shame that the bureaucrats once again fight us instead of helping us in this war against the oil,” said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser.
Below is an email from Jane Lyder of the Department of the Interior. She’s the one holding up the dredging. This is one piece of correspondence in a chain with the State of Louisiana, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOI, and others.
(2nd Nungesser statement from June 23)
“You don’t move sediment pumping pipe with volunteers. This is the lady that Thad Allen and President Obama are allowing hold up dredging to save our wetlands—God help us. What planet is this lady from? In the conference today Lyder was worried about the pelican nesting grounds. Obviously, she hasn’t been out there to see the birds dying, covered in oil, just like the other people who make ridiculous comments. Maybe she should go sailing on a yacht in England with Tony Hayward, it would be a great place to send her on vacation. I’ll pay her way,” said President Nungesser.
The person responsible for this snafu is a Jane Lyder, assistant deputy secretary for the Department of Interior. Jane seems like your typical government pencil pusher. I looked her up in Linked In and found that she has been in the Department of Interior for 33 years.
I’m sorry, but I fail to understand her reasoning about drawing sand from a “ less endangered area”. Jane: EVERYTHING is endangered right now!!! Without the berms, EVERYTHING will die. Apparently, Jane sent out an email to several people to see if she could get some volunteers to help expedite the pipe installation. Here is the email:
From: Lyder, Jane
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 4:41 PM
To: Lee, Alvin B COL MVN; Garret Graves; Kyle Graham; charlie hess; Serio, Pete J MVN; Accardo, Christopher J MVN; Colletti, Jerry A MVN; Ulm, Michelle S MVN; Mayer, Martin S MVN
Cc: Robert Routon; steve mathies; Jeff Jenkins; George bevan; Mark Zimmerman; ancil taylor; Mike Flores; Harris, James
Subject: Question about manpower
I’ve been asked if we could get more people out there to help lay the pipe would it go faster. It was suggested that we should help the State find volunteers to make a 5-7 or 9-10 day job a much shorter job. Is that feasible at all? We would be willing to contact folks in Houma & round up volunteers if it would help at all.
Jane
And here is Billy Nungesser’s response on Anderson Cooper last night:
And to give you the kind of person we're dealing with, she sent an e-mail out today that said, could we possibly move volunteers to shorten that time frame?
Obviously, this lady has never -- doesn't know what a dredge is, doesn't know what a barrier island is. It's a 36-inch steel pipe, lady. You don't move it with volunteers.
And the pelicans she's worried about -- Anderson, you saw that small grass area behind us. This berm by Friday would have protected that small, one of the last breeding grounds out there left.
But this -- with this project being shut down, if that oil comes to the Chandeleurs by Friday, like projected, those pelicans, those breeding grounds will be destroyed because she single-handedly stopped this project.
And I want to put her on notice...
Here are some statements by Nungesser sent to BayouBuzz.com (and others) by Nungesser's press office
Nungesser Dredge Statement
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
“Every minute we waste makes us more and more vulnerable to the oil attacking the marsh and the breeding grounds for the pelicans. It’s a shame that the bureaucrats once again fight us instead of helping us in this war against the oil,” said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser.
Below is an email from Jane Lyder of the Department of the Interior. She’s the one holding up the dredging. This is one piece of correspondence in a chain with the State of Louisiana, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOI, and others.
(2nd Nungesser statement from June 23)
“You don’t move sediment pumping pipe with volunteers. This is the lady that Thad Allen and President Obama are allowing hold up dredging to save our wetlands—God help us. What planet is this lady from? In the conference today Lyder was worried about the pelican nesting grounds. Obviously, she hasn’t been out there to see the birds dying, covered in oil, just like the other people who make ridiculous comments. Maybe she should go sailing on a yacht in England with Tony Hayward, it would be a great place to send her on vacation. I’ll pay her way,” said President Nungesser.
More BP human casualties
It’s been reported that two people who were working for BP on cleanup of the oil spill have died. One of the people died in a “swimming incident” (still trying to dig up info on that) and the other took his own life. Here’s the story on the second person:
From the latimes (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-boat-captain-despondent-over-spill-commits-suicide.html)
William Allen Kruse, 55, a charter boat captain recently hired by BP as a vessel of opportunity out of Gulf Shores, Ala., died Wednesday morning before 7:30 a.m. of a gunshot to the head, likely self-inflicted, authorities said.
"He had been quite despondent about the oil crisis," said Stan Vinson, coroner for Baldwin County, which includes Gulf Shores.
Kruse, who lived with his family in nearby Foley, Ala., reported to work Wednesday morning as usual at the Gulf Shores Marina on Fort Morgan Road in Gulf Shores, Vinson said. He met up with his two deckhands at his boat, The Rookie. One of the deckhands later told Vinson that Kruse seemed his usual self, sending them to fetch ice while he pulled the boat around to the gas pumps.
As the deckhands walked off to get ice, they heard what sounded like a firecracker, Vinson said. They turned around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. So they proceeded to gather the ice and wait for Kruse at the pumps. "He never showed," Vinson said.
After waiting a while, the deckhands returned to the boat, which was moored where they had left it, Vinson said. They went aboard and found Kruse at the captain's bridge above the wheelhouse, Vinson said. He had been shot in the head. A Glock handgun was later recovered from the scene, and investigators do not suspect foul play, Vinson said.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Road Trip to Plaquemines
NOLA Blogger Liprap describes her road trip down to Fort Jackson to volunteer to help clean oiled birds here. She's a great writer.
The post also has links to pictures of her trip. Enjoy.
Here's a link to another post by Liprap with links to the different websites helping to save the birds so you can make a donation.
The post also has links to pictures of her trip. Enjoy.
Here's a link to another post by Liprap with links to the different websites helping to save the birds so you can make a donation.
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