One Year Later, Not One Oil Spill Law Passed

One year after the worst oil spill in American history, the U.S. has yet to pass a single law addressing all the dangers associated with deep water drilling or adjusting the cap limits on damages. 

"NEW YORK -- Soon after his son Gordon died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion last April, Keith Jones made eight trips to Washington D.C. to push for stronger safety measures in offshore oil drilling and to increase the compensation paid to victims of the tragic accident. He met with President Obama, who apologized for the families' "unimaginable grief" and cradled Gordon's baby boy Maxwell in his arms.

When Jones arrived on Capitol Hill, he says he was mobbed by Senators and Representatives eager to express their condolences and to promise that they would swiftly pass legislation to make sure such a tragedy never happens again.

He is still waiting."

Although the Obama Administration released a comprehensive report along with recommendations for safer drilling operations and for lifting liability caps, no significant legislation has been adopted by Congress. One year later, BP's stock is doing well, TransOcean has given what they've called safety bonuses to their executives, many Gulf residents are waiting to recover damages and baby dolphins are showing up dead on shore.

The BP Disater, one year later.

Oil Spill Commission Assigns Blame for BP Disaster

by The Environmentalist Staff

The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has released a chapter from their final report due on January 11, 2011. In the chapter, which is blunt in its assessment, they assign primary blame for the disaster to mismanagement by BP, Halliburton, Transocean, and the lack of proper regulatory oversight. 

The blowout was not the product of a series of aberrational decisions made by rogue industry or government officials that could not have been anticipated or expected to occur again. Rather, the root causes are systemic and, absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur.

The Root Causes: Failures in Industry and Government, Chapter Four from final report by The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

"My observation of the oil industry," stated Commission Co-Chair William K. Reilly in a press release that announced the chapter's conclusions, "indicates that there are several companies with exemplary safety and environment records. So a key question posed from the outset by this tragedy is, do we have a single company, BP, that blundered with fatal consequences, or a more pervasive problem of a complacent industry? Given the documented failings of both Transocean and Halliburton, both of which serve the off shore industry in virtually every ocean, I reluctantly conclude we have a system-wide problem." Continued...

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Massive stretches of oil spotted in Gulf of Mexico

Deepwater Horizon Explosion

Massive stretches of weathered oil have been sighted heading toward the Mississippi Delta three days after the U.S. Coast Guard announced there was "very little recoverable oil still in the water or on the bottom."

Boat captains working the BP clean-up effort said they have been reporting large areas of surface oil off the delta for more than a week but have seen little response from BP or the Coast Guard, which is in charge of the clean-up. The captains said most of their sightings have occurred during stretches of calm weather, similar to what the area has experienced most of this week.

On Friday reports included accounts of strips of the heavily weathered orange oil that became a signature image of the spill during the summer. One captain said some strips were as much as 400 feet wide and a mile long.

Times/Picayune photojournalist, Matt Hinton, who took photos of the weathered oil slick on Saturday, has confirmed the sighting. Continued...

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BP's Report on Gulf Oil Spill Shifts Blame to Transocean and Halliburton

With a conclusion unlikely to be taken as seriously as independent investigations, BP has issued its own internal report on the Gulf oil disaster that shifts the blame to its subcontractors -- primarily Transocean and Halliburton -- as the primary potential plaintiffs in the disaster:

While it puts some responsibility on BP for errors made — such as misreading pressure data that indicated a blowout was imminent — the report tries to undermine the notion that the company acted with gross negligence. Among its most significant conclusions, the report said that the blowout came up the center of the pipe and not up the outside of the well casing, the area known as the annulus.

If true, the finding is significant because it plays down the importance of certain BP decisions that have been criticized as negligent. One such decision was BP’s choice of a type of well casing that internal documents indicated the company knew was cheaper but riskier. Another such decision was BP’s use of fewer-than-advised centralizers, devices that are meant to keep the casing properly positioned.

The 193 page report shifts the blame to BP's contractors, Halliburton for their cementing of the well and Transocean who operated the rig. Continued...

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Study: Up to 79 Percent of Oil Remains in Gulf

The University of Georgia, working with the Georgia Sea Grant, has released a report that concludes up to seventy-nine percent of the oil remains in the Gulf and that it is a threat to the ecosystem. This is contrary to more optimistic reports from BP and the government.

Athens, Ga. – A report released today by the Georgia Sea Grant and the University of Georgia concludes that up to 79 percent of the oil released into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon well has not been recovered and remains a threat to the ecosystem.

The report, authored by five prominent marine scientists, strongly contradicts media reports that suggest that only 25 percent of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill remains.

“One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless,” said Charles Hopkinson, director of Georgia Sea Grant and professor of marine sciences in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade. We are still far from a complete understanding of what its impacts are.”

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U.S. Energy Secretary: BP Oil Spill Update

by Steven Chu

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu
talks with President Barack Obama

As you may know, I’ve spent much of the last three months working to help contain the BP oil spill. I recently returned from my seventh trip to Houston, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to update you on our work to seal the damaged well in the Gulf.

My job has been to oversee the federal science team – a group of top scientists from the Department of Energy’s national labs, the federal government, and academia, along with outside industry experts. We have been working seven days a week to tackle this very challenging problem. Our focus has been on collecting as much data as possible and making sure we plot the best path forward based on the facts.

Because of the gravity of the situation, the Administration asserted its authority over BP’s actions. As we evaluated the scenarios for stopping the leak, BP was not allowed to move forward on a course of action without the government’s approval.

The results of the well integrity tests (including additional monitoring of the wellhead and the surrounding area, which we had insisted upon) indicated that the well was likely intact, and we saw no evidence that oil was leaking from the wellbore into the rock formation. This meant we would be able to safely pump fluid into the well to attempt to kill it.

After the science team reached a consensus that the static kill attempt could work with minimal risk, we gave BP the go-ahead to proceed. During the static kill, the damaged well was filled with mud, stabilizing the pressure within the well and relieving a lot of the excess pressure on the damaged blowout preventer and ceiling cap. I am pleased to tell you that it was completed successfully.  Continued...

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Protection of the Public Interest: Senate Hearing on Industry Influence on Government Regulators

In light of the lax oversight that contributed to the BP oil spill, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) held a hearing Tuesday on the industry influence on government regulators. The concern is what is known as "agency capture," whereas the regulators themselves have been captured by industry to become an interest group of that industry.

This was most notably seen in the Minerals Management Service which has since been broken up by the Obama Administration to prevent a reoccurrence of the events that led to the catastrophic BP oil spill on the Gulf floor.

The entire hearing is available at this link (VIDEO).

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Obama: Oil Capped for Now, Problem Not Still Done

President Obama made a brief statement to the press and took questions about the temporary nature of the new cap (live feed--may load slowly) that seemed to be holding for now, the need to finish the relief wells and about the many lives, livelihoods and wildlife impacted by the disaster.

The President cautioned the media that, while the stoppage of the flow of oil (for now) was moving in the right direction, it was not the end of the story:

"There were a lot of reports coming out in the media that maybe this thing is done. We won't be done until we know that we've actually know that we've killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We're moving in that direction, but I don't want us to get too far ahead of ourselves."

"in the meantime, obviously we’ve still got a big job to do. There’s still a lot of oil out there, and that’s why we’ve got more skimmers out there, there’s better coordination on the ground along the shorelines, there’s still going to be an enormous cleanup job to do, and there’s still going to be the whole set of issues of surrounding making sure people are compensated properly, that the $20 billion fund is set up and is acting expeditiously.

So we’ve got an enormous amount of work to do and people down in the Gulf, particularly businesses, are still suffering as a consequence of this disaster. But we are making steady progress and I think the American people should take some heart in the fact that we’re making progress on this front."

Video and Full Transcript at this link. 

More Gulf News here.

The Case for Informed Citizenship

by Janet Ritz

With reports of the use of child labor in horrific conditions that supply tobacco to Philip Morris cigarettes, the ongoing destruction of the Gulf of Mexico, the denial of unemployment extensions to the millions who've exhausted their benefits, the suicides by technology workers in China, the widespread use of child labor to produce chocolate, the conflict minerals used in cell phones, has the time come for citizens to look in the mirror?

Human Rights Watch, the group best known for documenting governmental abuse and war crimes, plans to release a report on Wednesday showing that child and forced labor is widespread on farms that supply a cigarette factory owned by Philip Morris International in Kazakhstan, in Central Asia.

While child labor should be condemned in any setting, the report said, employing children on tobacco farms is particularly hazardous because tobacco field laborers are exposed to high levels of nicotine while doing their jobs.

In a society that runs on oil, on gas, on coal, on supermarket produce sections piled high with colorful fruits and vegetables that many around the world would see as equivalent to the gold in Fort Knox, we have distractions from the consequences of our choices. If we stop to think about what went into the production of that phone, that tank of gas, that bar of chocolate, what will we see in ourselves? Are we, by our own obtuseness, responsible for those who toil in unsafe conditions, who find themselves looking out at a destroyed Gulf of Mexico, who mourn for loved ones buried in an unsafe mine?

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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's Historic Speech on Corporate Influence in Government

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) gave a historic speech on the corporate influence in government as seen through the "regulatory capture" of government regulatory agencies by corporations.

"We must act in defense of the integrity of this great government of ours, which has brought such light to the world, such freedom and equality to our country. We cannot allow this government - that is a model around the world, that inspires people to risk their lives and fortunes to come to our shores - we cannot allow any element of this government to become the tool of corporate power, the avenue of corporate influence, the puppet of corporate tentacles.

This American government of ours should never, never be on its knees before corporate power, no matter how strong. It should never be in the thrall of corporate wealth no matter how vast.
This American government of ours should never give the American citizen reason to question whose interests are being served. Never.

In this complex world of ours, Mr. President, government must protect us in remote and specialized precincts in the economy. In those remote precincts, few people are watching, but big money is made. We must be able to trust our government, both in plain view in front of us, and in corners far from sight, to be serving always the public interest, not doing the secret bidding of special interests; of corporate interests, because that's where the big money is at stake."

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Too Bad to Fail

by Sherman Yellen

During the banking crises, the billion dollars bailout was given to those reckless, behemoth banks that were called too big to fail; the argument was that they would bring down the entire American economy if they were allowed to suffer the consequences of their greed-driven gambles. We learned of that shadow world of devious derivatives, short sales, and swinish swaps, etc. none of which meant a damned thing to me, but meant mega fortunes for Goldman Sachs and their brothers in that high stakes gambling casino called American banking; a casino in which the house always won, because the people would cover the losses. We were essentially held hostage to these banks, not daring to risk their failure which then might spread across the nation and the world and transform a horrible recession into a devastating depression.

Thus we had the Obama policy of bailout before they destroyed the entire world economy; note that both the scheme for bailout and the destruction had been in place before Obama came into office. And still, months later, the jobs situation is critical for millions despite the assurances of Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers. A situation made more critical by the stone-hearted Republicans who refuse to extend the unemployed benefits for the long term unemployed. Lionel Barrymore and Edward Arnold played these guys in the old thirties movies, political friends of the millionaires, and the enemies of the downtrodden, but Jimmy Stewart always saved the day. Where is Jimmy now that we need him? Can Obama find his inner Jimmy Stewart? We can only hope so. If this is class warfare it is unique, because it is a revolution started by the super-rich. 

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Editorial Cartoon: Integrity Testing

Sandy Ritz is an editorial cartoonist, the recipient of the Certificate of  Editorial and Artistic Accomplishment from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and is a Doctor of Public Health in Hawaii.

BP's Bob Dudley Responds to Viewers' Questions in Online PBS Interview

PBS Newshour's Ray Suarez interviewed BP's chief of Gulf Coast restoration Bob Dudley with questions and video sent in via YouTube from around America. In one piece of news from the interview, Dudley said the company is exploring "at least two options to divert the flow" of oil if the relief wells fail to kill the blown-out well.

Calling the well polluting the Gulf of Mexico "just a very unusual problem," Dudley said the company's first relief well is now being drilled down vertically parallel to the blown-out well and must go another 600 feet before casing is added and another kill attempt is made.

In answer to one submitted question, Dudley referred to the dispersant being deployed as "toxic as dish soap," but then qualified that with the historic volumes of oil mixed with dispersant coming from the blown well they did not know the actual impact. Continued...

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Sharks Gather at Oily Shore To Escape Oxygen Dead Zone in Gulf (Video)

Ben Raines of the Press-Register in Alabama has captured a remarkable and disturbing sight on video near the shore; sharks and other sea life crowding the oiled waters in need of oxygen no longer available to them in the polluted Gulf.

"Video footage shot on June 18 by Ben Raines of the Press-Register and uploaded the following day captured both oil in the water and a Gulf water teeming with sharks. The video closes with a view of a discarded American flag in the water, clotted with oil like the crab in front of it."

[ 1 [2] ]  Link to the video and story...

Historic Aerial Footage Reveals the Scope of the BP Gulf Oil Disaster (VIDEO)

On June 21, 2010, Photographer John L. Wathen of Hurricane Creek Keepers went on an extended flight over the Gulf with South Wings pilot, Tom Hutchins and author, David Helbar, to give us the clearest view yet of the BP Gulf Oil Disaster.

The video is heartbreaking but vital for the understanding of the scope and enormity of the disaster.  It shows the sea and the operations underway at the site of the blown well and compares the mitigation efforts to the true size of the disaster and its impact on wildlife:

John Wathen: "This was the most emotionally disturbing video I have ever done. A flight over the BP Slick Source where I saw at least 100 Dolphins in the oil, some dying. I also photographed a Sperm Whale covered in oil all around it's blow hole."

Mr. Wathen asks that concerned parties visit two Gulf funds listed on the video, which is available at this link. 

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NASA's Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster Satellite Timelapse Video

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has tracked the disaster in the Gulf with two or their satellites, Terra and Aqua. They've put together this timelapse video from earth's orbit:

Oil Gushes Unchecked After Problem With Cap On BP Well

BP has removed the cap that was partially capturing the oil on the broken well head this morning after an underwater robot bumped into the venting system. According to Adm. Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard, the oil and gas flowing through the broken blowout preventer is gushing into the Gulf without the the cap until they are able to put it back.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The Coast Guard says BP has been forced to remove a cap that was containing some of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says an underwater robot bumped into the venting system. That sent gas rising through vent that carries warm water down to prevent ice-like crystals from forming in the cap. Allen says the cap has been removed and crews are checking to see if crystals have formed before putting it back on.

A live video feed of twelve cameras on the damaged well is available at this link:

http://climate.the-environmentalist.org/2010/06/live-video-feeds-of-gulf-oil-disaster.html

The Pelican and Me

by Sherman Yellen

I know I should call this piece The Pelican and Us because I don’t own the rights to the feelings of horror, anger, outrage and repulsion at the sight of the great bird covered in oily slime, doomed to suffocation and death, pictures that have come to symbolize the horrors of the BP oil spill. I know that eleven men have died as a result of that tragic event, but men who do dangerous work know the risks they undertake, although some might argue that they are forced to do so given the limited opportunities to make a decent living in hard times. But these birds are the innocent victims of this “spill” and stand forever as the symbol of a culture which placed greed above nature, and the death of those birds seems to be the direct result of that greed. The child in me feels as if Big Bird had been killed, and all Sesame Street is in mourning.

These real birds, and the many species that inhabit the gulf area; turtles, dolphins, and the fish they live on, are in military terms collateral damage like the armless child who is mutilated or destroyed by the missile meant for the terrorist. BP – no – not the British people, is a multi-national company driven by greed and ruled by dividends; for them the endangered pelicans are not amazing creatures with which we share our finite world, but really bad PR, a public relations nightmare making viewers of the birds destruction cringe in horror and dismay.  Continued...

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Flow rate from BP oil spill many times higher than previously estimated

by Janet Ritz

Update 6/15/10:  The estimate has been raised to 35,000-60,000 barrels (1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) a day. 

The federal government has doubled the official estimate of the oil spewing from BP's damaged well head on the Gulf floor to 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day.  That is many times the estimate a few weeks ago and exponentially more than the initial estimate calculated by the pictures of the disaster provided via government satellite.

A government panel on Thursday essentially doubled its estimate of how much oil has been spewing from the out-of-control BP well, with the new calculation suggesting that an amount equivalent to the Exxon Valdez disaster could be flowing into the Gulf of Mexico every 8 to 10 days.

A barrel is 42 gallons, so 30,000 barrels would equate to nearly 1.3 million gallons a day. The Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989 is estimated to have spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska.

Ira Leifer, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a member of the flow-rate group, said the new figures confirmed a suspicion he had developed, based on looking at satellite data, that the rate of flow for the well was increasing even before BP cut the riser pipe.

"The situation is growing worse," Dr. Leifer said.

This dramatic change in estimate came about after it was discovered that BP had high resolution video of the Gulf floor they had chosen neither to release or to inform Congress or the Flow Rate Group of its existence.  It is expected, as the newly revealed high resolution video is studied by the Flow Rate Group scientist who've been brought together by the USGS, the estimates will continue to rise.  Continued...

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White House Releases Graphic of Oil Spill Effort

The White House released this graphic of the efforts in the Gulf.  It shows the different resources deployed and the stats (some of them grim and sure to rise, as with wildlife deaths) collected thus far.  Click on the picture to see a larger version.

In a related story, an uproar has begun over the White House's announcement that they may allow shallow water drilling in the Gulf after the moratorium to look at permitting and regulation.  Continued...

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Related:  A live feed from all cameras on the ocean floor is available at this link:  http://climate.the-environmentalist.org/2010/06/live-video-feeds-of-gulf-oil-disaster.html