by Roxanne Amico
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Spirit Morph Studio
May 25, 2010
This is the 3rd installment in my collection of information about the oil gushing into the oceans from the Gulf of Mexico, a la BP. There are a total of 115 links here. (Sure hope it all fits into this here page!) There have been far more than this that I’ve read since the last installment. But these are the ones that I thought were most relevant, with the least amount of repetition, and the most complimentary.
After an exercise like this, which I can say takes hours with breaks, over the course of days of dizzying absorption and sorting out to try to make sense of it, I can tell you that it’s the same ole same ole: This oil hemorrhage in the Gulf is just an (albeit sickening, infuriating) object lesson in the destruction inherent in a culture that’s based on violence, exploitation, extraction, and domination…And a good look at why it is collapsing, and why it must change. With a few sprinkles of just how to do that… A few, and maybe enough… Gravely unfortunately, this particular lesson could come at the cost of life on the planet, as many activists and ecologically wise and informed observers know, because of this little thing in the real physical world called, “Cumulative Effects”….
Again, I worked to organize it according to categories that would make it available and accessible for specific information… This time, I included (STARTED WITH) an action component… To that end, I’m quoting Lierre Keith on the definition of active participation in acting against the forces of destruction: “One would hope that a looming mass extinction would compel us to seek something beyond emotional solace wrapped in pseudo-spiritual platitudes. But strategies for action are an affront to the faithful, who need to believe in individual action. This faith is really just liberalism writ large. One of the cardinal differences between liberals and the truly radical is in their conception of the basic unit of society. This split is a continental divide. Liberals believe that a society is made up of individuals. Individualism is so sacrosanct that, in this view, being identified as a member of a group or class is an insult. But for radicals, society is made up of classes, economic ones in Marx’s original version, or in any group or caste. In the radical’s understanding, being a member of a group is not an affront. Far from it: identifying with a group is the first step toward political consciousness and ultimately effective political action to win justice.”
That’s my preface for my point that whatever we do, we have to do in collectives of others, AND / OR to do work that reaches out beyond changing our own lives and lifestyles, but builds solidarity and movements against the dominant culture’s paradigm of movement and community *fragmentation*. So, my first and most important suggestion is to go to this–The USSF: “We need to work on developing our own american revolutionary culture. The U.S.Social Forum will certainly be a show case for this in June.” http://www.ussf2010.org/ Below are 11 others. As in the last installment, also below are…
A. Actions to Take, Resistance to Break (…the imperialists), and Revolution to Make! (11 in all)
B. Ways to keep updated, poems, images, and commentaries (24 in all)
C. Articles on how the BP empire commited this crime against the earth and our people–YUP, a whole new collection to muck around in the BP gunk… (33 in all)
D. Again, as last time, the measure of the gushing blood of the planet: How bad it is, how bad it could get… (45 in all) The oil has begun to wash ashore, destroying years of conservation and preservation and wildlands protection measures… Homes, food, flesh, flesh, and the flesh of the wild creatures of the sea. And there’s no end in sight….
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to clean my brain out with a long walk and then a long intense bike ride, to remember whatever clean air is available to breathe; to remember I live in my body; to remember I like it there. I hope this serves the same, for whomever cares to be reminded.
…Oh!!!—-> And…. THANKS TO DANDELION SALAD AND TO THE KASAMA PROJECT for posting my audio piece, “oceans of oil”. Please check out these outta sight sites!!!…:
1. https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/oceans-of-oil-by-roxanne-amico/
2. http://kasamaproject.org/2010/05/23/roxanne-amico-oil-in-the-gulf/
Thank you!
Roxanne
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A. Actions to Take, Resistance to Break (…the imperialists), and Revolution to Make!
1. May 25, 2010…12:58 pm Urgent: BP Oil Flood Protest – New Orleans…Date: Sunday, May 30, 2010…Time: 1:00PM-7:30PM…Location: Jackson Square, French Quarter, New Orleans… http://southernleftists.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/urgent-bp-oil-flood-protest-new-orleans/
2. “…We’ve compiled a list of groups who need you to sign up now. And if you help, please let us know. We’d love to hear your stories and see your pictures…”
http://www.tonic.com//article/how-you-can-volunteer-to-clean-up-the-gulf-coast-oil-spill/
3. DATE: May 23, 2010 13:09:04 CST Alternative Response Technology Inquiry Thank you for your interest in submitting your Alternative Response Technology or Idea as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response…Please fill out this form to submit your information. If you need additional assistance, please contact the Alternative Response Technology Hotline at (281) 366-5511. http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/541843
4. “BP’s long-term, reckless disregard of safety is threatening the Gulf with a spill many times larger than Horizon. Even BP admits another catastrophic accident is possible. Food & Water Watch has the evidence. Tell President Obama to shut down BP Atlantis until proven safe.” http://www.spillthetruth.org/
5. Lessons from the Gulf Oil Spill: Don’t let sensitive Arctic waters be next…Photo…By Neil Shader on May 10, 2010 – 7:07pm…”…As the Gulf Coast continues to endure one of the worst oil spills and environmental disasters in U. S. history, many people are reconsidering off-shore drilling as a viable solution for America’s energy needs…Senators from coastal states are already threatening to stop potential climate and energy legislation that would continue offshore drilling, and already a proposed lease sale off the coast of Virginia has been cancelled as the first oil-slicked birds, turtles, and mammals are being found near the barrier islands in Louisiana…While coastal states around the country are asking themselves “what would happen here?”, The Wilderness Society is taking a stand….On May 5, we joined more than a dozen major conservation groups in urging the Department of Interior to halt drilling plans in the biologically rich Chukchi and Beaufort seas, off the coast of Arctic Alaska…” http://wilderness.org/content/lessons-gulf-oil-spill?awesm=fbshare.me_AMpFS&utm_medium=fbshare.me-facebook-post&utm_source=direct-fbshare.me&utm_content=fbshare-js-large
6. No Bailout for BP…As the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig continues to spill over 1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf every day, Republicans are demanding less regulation for companies like BP and Transocean while also looking for a taxpayer-funded bailout of BP…After a month of oil spewing into the Gulf, the cost of cleaning up BP’s mess is $542 million and counting. But a group of Republican senators led by Lisa Murkowski of Alaska want the company to only pay for about the first five days of the cleanup and put taxpayers on the hook for everything else…It’s a straight-up bailout for BP, and it’s outrageous…But we can stop it. Use this page to tell Murkowski and her Senate colleagues that it’s time to end offshore drilling and focus on clean energy instead.
http://act.truemajorityaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=71
7. “…Stop The Drill Demand a clean energy future: Help us reach 500,000 names on our petition to stop offshore drilling…On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico….Now, an oil spill on pace to be worse than Exxon Valdez is pumping at least 5,000 barrels of oil a day – that’s over 200,000 gallons – into the biologically diverse and commercially productive Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of sea birds, dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and other animals are threatened by the ever growing plume of toxic sludge…Offshore drilling will NEVER be safe. Sign the petition to end offshore drilling now…Learn more about Oceana’s response to the oil spill and what you can do to help….” http://na.oceana.org/en/stopthedrill?utm_source=facebook%2Bshare&utm_medium=oceana&utm_campaign=offshore%2Bdrilling
8. Wednesday, May 12, 2010…Time to Take Action: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak… “…Sign all the petitions you want, but until the people take to the streets nothing will change. Why isn’t anyone furious enough to start marching? Let’s march. I’ll join. Will you?…Here’s a website about actions taking place across the country on Friday, May 14: http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/wordpress/category/front-page/ …BP and the US Coast Guard need to release to the public EVERYTHING they know about the current situation. The psi of the oil geyser (it isn’t a spill or a leak, a geyser is much more accurate) and all of the technical aspects they know about it. They need to let the public know everything so that the intelligent and educated public can work to come up with solutions. When this accident occurred BP had no plan A. When they came up with their impressive looking (but ultimately ineffective) funnel/containment vessel plan I thought it might work: it didn’t. Now the plan is to shoot golf balls and torn up tires into the leaking area. I am no engineer but I’m going to go ahead and say that that probably will not work. I have yet to hear a plan C (except Russia’s recommendation to use nuclear weapons). So, why not do more than just open a tip line for the public, how about actually providing them with information to come up with USABLE solutions?…” http://artificialproductivity.blogspot.com/2010/05/time-to-take-action-gulf-of-mexico-oil.html
9. Alaska off-shore drilling decision just two weeks away… posted by: Laura Bailey 1 day ago… Saturday, 15 May, 2010… By Laura BaileyAmericans would be foolish not to adamantly oppose Shell Oil’s plans to open another frontier in off-shore drilling in Alaska’s pristine, ecologically wealthy, Arctic waters…. If we allow it, Shell will begin exploratory drilling in the ecologically rich Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off Alaska’s Arctic Coast in less than 50 days…. The only thing left is for them to wait for a May 28 Department of Interior decision that will either allow Shell to proceed or tell them to hold off on the drilling leases that were awarded to Shell during the Bush Administration… What’s so very wrong with these leases is that they put some astoundingly special places and animals at risk, all for an unsustainable source of energy…. The Chukchi and Beaufort seas and their coastal regions are home to roughly half of America’s polar bears, and ninety percent of the entire Pacific walrus population, as well as thousands of seals and whales, including endangered species like humpback and fin whales… All of these magnificent animals would be exposed if an accident were to occur…. Also, drilling in Arctic waters holds vast unknowns compared to those in warm waters. To date there is no technology for cleaning up spills in icy waters….Please help us by signing our petition here. http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/alaska-off-shore-drilling-decision-just-two-weeks-away/
10. Action Alert: Obama’s Crude Awakening: Offshore Oil Drilling Is Ecologically Devastating and Must End U. S. oil addiction is killing American and global ecology. An international wake-up call must be delivered to both the administration and Congress, to focus more effort upon reducing the demand for oil. The risks and costs of offshore oil exploration far outweigh their benefits, and the U. S. would be better off focusing upon promoting alternative energy sources. Will virtually every remaining intact ecosystem be razed to access every last bit of oil before we transition to lower energy use, a low carbon economy and renewable energy? By Climate Ark, a project of Ecological Internet – May 15, 2010 http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=gulf_oil_spill
11. How You Can Volunteer to Clean Up the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill… By Diane Herbst Saturday, May 1, 2010 7:45 PM ET… In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, your help is needed on the shorelines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. Tonic takes a look at the wide array of organizations actively seeking volunteers right now. How You Can Volunteer to Clean Up the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill… By Diane Herbst Saturday, May 1, 2010 7:45 PM ET… In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, your help is needed on the shorelines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. Tonic takes a look at the wide array of organizations actively seeking volunteers right now. http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Threats-to-Wildlife/Oil-Spill.aspx
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B. Ways to keep updated, poems, images, and commentaries (24 in all)
1. SniperTwins — May 24, 2010 — The oil spill covers over 46K Sq Miles of Earth… 36 second chilling juxtapositioning of Nick Drake & BP’s horrors… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMX7etKJrw&feature=player_embedded
2. How many animals dead?…..: There May Be More Wildlife Affected by the Oil Spill Than BP Will Admit…People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc. – is calling on British Petroleum and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to release additional information on the effects to wildlife and wildlife habitats of the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill…. http://www.ppath.org/
3. Also: http://twitter.com/BirdsHateBP
4. 05.21.10 – 9:15 AM This Is Ecocide…”…A new movement seeks to declare ecocide – the extensive destruction of or damage to an ecosystem – a fifth international crime against peace, making corporations punishable by the U.N.’s International Criminal Court. The BP oil spill would be up first; those destroying the Alberta tar sands, the Amazon rain forest and other areas could be next….” http://www.commondreams.org/further/2010/05/21
5. In Photos: Haunting images of the gulf oil disaster…Mon May 24, 8:24 pm ET… Dead sharks and dolphins are washing ashore. Crabs, turtles and birds are being found soaked in oil as the slick sloshes into Louisiana’s wetlands. South of New Orleans, chocolate-like globs of oil have shut down the public beach….Coast Guard officials say the spill’s impact now stretches 150 miles. Some scientists fear the spreading plumes will catch the ocean current to the Florida Keys and up to the eastern seaboard….” http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_sc2199
6. But how big is the spill, really? It’s hard to get a sense of the true size when it’s over the ocean floor. Use the links below to see how large the spill is, as of May 21.
http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/
7. 12 Rigs, Oil And Gas, Launched In U. S. This Week Despite Gulf Oil Spill…05/21/10 05:23 PM AP… “… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/21/12-offshore-rigs-oil-and-_n_585572.html
8. Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deepwaterhorizonresponse/4624487176/
9. InfoGraphic Designed to Illustrate the Oil Catastrophe and the Cost to All: http://www.infographicworld.com/infographics/DeepwaterRig.jpg (click on the image for magification!)
10. Poem: May 17, 2010…5:44 pm “Burning Water”…By Minnie Bruce Pratt, a poet and communist from Alabama and New York…5.12.2010 http://southernleftists.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/burning-water/
11. Poem: 21 May 2010…Poem in Response to Gulf Oil Spill…To the Mother of Waters, To Whom We May No Longer Pray… http://restoringparadise.blogspot.com/
12. Poem: lunes, marzo 24, 2008 Pablo Neruda’s Ode to the Air Ode to the Air… A friend just emailed this poem to me, apropo to the current BP-induced oil choked oceans… A wee caveat… I love Neruda, but I don’t think the water sold itself. I think it’s been stolen & held hostage, but he’s using this as a device to get his point across: “… already the day is coming/when we will liberate/the … light and the water,/earth and men,/and all will be/for all, as you are…” http://zonefornone.blogspot.com/2008/03/pablo-nerudas-ode-to-air.html
13. Updates: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/
14. Democracy Now has an excellent section of their website dedicated entirely to coverage of the BP oil disaster. http://www.democracynow.org/tags/bp_oil_spill
15. Miles Grant… Communications manager, National Wildlife Federation Posted: May 15, 2010 10:31AM… What’s It Like On The Surface Of The BP Oil Slick? (VIDEO) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-grant/whats-it-like-on-the-surf_b_577444.html
16. PHOTOS: May 12, 2010… Disaster unfolds slowly in the Gulf of Mexico In the three weeks since the April 20th explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the start of the subsequent massive (and ongoing) oil leak, many attempts have been made to contain and control the scale of the environmental disaster. Oil dispersants are being sprayed, containment booms erected, protective barriers built, controlled burns undertaken, and devices are being lowered to the sea floor to try and cap the leaks, with little success to date. While tracking the volume of the continued flow of oil is difficult, an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil (possibly much more) continues to pour into the gulf every day. While visible damage to shorelines has been minimal to date as the oil has spread slowly, the scene remains, in the words of President Obama, a “potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.” (40 photos total) http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/disaster_unfolds_slowly_in_the.html
17. Truthdig…BP and the ‘Little Eichmanns’ Posted on May 17, 2010…By Chris Hedges… “…The corporations, and those who run them, consume, pollute, oppress and kill. The little Eichmanns who manage them reside in a parallel universe of staggering wealth, luxury and splendid isolation that rivals that of the closed court of Versailles. The elite, sheltered and enriched, continue to prosper even as the rest of us and the natural world start to die. They are numb. They will drain the last drop of profit from us until there is nothing left…. “No communication was possible with him, not because he lied but because he was surrounded by the most reliable of all safeguards against words and the presence of others, and hence against reality as such.”…Corporations make no distinction between our personal impoverishment and the impoverishment of the ecosystem that sustains the human species. And the abuse, of us and the natural world, is as rampant under Barack Obama as it was under George W. Bush. The branded figure who sits in the White House is a puppet, a face used to mask an insidious system under which we as citizens have been disempowered and under which we become, along with the natural world, collateral damage. As Karl Marx understood, unfettered capitalism is a revolutionary force. And this force is consuming us….” https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/bp-and-the-%E2%80%98little-eichmanns%E2%80%99-by-chris-hedges/
18. Posted by grantlawrence at 5:04 pm…May 20, 2010…What Would Happen to You if You Destroyed the Gulf of Mexico?…”… Ask yourself this… What would happen to you if you killed 11 people, while destroying the marine and coastal life of the Gulf of Mexico, because you wanted to save a few bucks by willfully engaging in reckless business practices?… What if you had a history of doing these things?…” http://blogs.alternet.org/grantlawrence/2010/05/20/what-would-happen-to-you-if-you-destroyed-the-gulf-of-mexico/
19. Link to NOAA’s daily updates and prediction maps from their Office of Response and Restoration:
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id%2Csubtopic_id%2Ctopic_id&entry_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=809&subtopic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=8&topic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=1
20. Animation: Gulf of Mexico oil spill growth and movement By From the Times-Picayune May 01, 2010, 9:13PM…By Dan Swenson…This animation of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was created using actual overflight information and forecast models from the NOAA and Unified Command. http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/animation_gulf_of_mexico_oil_s.html?utm_source=API&utm_medium=twitter
BP Oil Spill – One Month and Counting A look back at the last month’s events and the spill’s impacts to date…05-20-2010 // Aislinn Maestas… “…In the month since it began, the BP oil spill has revealed the true cost of America’s addiction to oil, and its effects have rippled from the shores of Louisiana to the halls of Congress. As National Wildlife Federation continues to build a comprehensive Gulf recovery and restoration plan, here is a look back at the last month’s events and the spill’s impacts to date: Eight times bigger than Exxon Valdez (and growing)…” http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Wildlife/2010/05-20-10-Oil-Spill-One-Month.aspx
21. Feds order BP to put all Gulf oil spill data on Internet By David Hammer, The Times-Picayune May 20, 2010, 3:34PM Oil Leak in Gulf of Mexico Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune MICHAEL DeMOCKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE…”…As it becomes clear that BP has under-reported the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from its blown-out well, the federal government is now demanding that the company publicly share all of its plans, reports and video on the Internet…”
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/feds_order_bp_to_put_all_spill.html
22. Nfld. regulators put freeze on Chevron’s deep-sea drilling plans…By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service May 20, 2010…”…Chevron began exploratory drilling this month in the Orphan Basin, about 430 kilometres northeast of St. John’s. The project is known as Lona O-55. At 2,600 metres below sea level, it will set a record for the deepest offshore project ever drilled in Canada…However, environmentalists and some industry observers have raised questions about whether the company has adequate safeguards in place to prevent a major oil spill. This week, Canwest News Service revealed that the company warned regulators five years ago that it would be able to clean up at most 12 per cent of a large spill…On Thursday, the Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board announced it is imposing “special oversight measures” on the project “in light of the situation unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico and heightened public concern over drilling operations currently underway in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area…” http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Nfld%20regulators%20freeze%20Chevron%20deep%20drilling%20plans/3053276/story.html
23. Commentary: BP Gulf catastrophe typifies corporate behavior in America…Tuesday, May 25, 2010…by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger…Editor of NaturalNews.com… “…If you really want to clean up the planet, we should stop tossing chemical dispersants into the Gulf and just start tossing greed-minded corporate executives into the ocean and see how far they can swim when they’re coated with oil…That would be planetary justice, my friends, and it would send a powerful message that corporate executives who cause harm to the world around them may end up swimming in the very same cesspools of greed they themselves created…” http://www.naturalnews.com/028863_British_Petroleum_Gulf_of_Mexico.html
24. Energy & Environment EPA Officials Weigh Sanctions Against BP’s U. S. Operations by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica – May 21, 2010 1:27 pm EDT…”…Several former senior EPA debarment attorneys and people close to the BP investigation told ProPublica that means the agency will re-evaluate BP and examine whether the latest incident in the Gulf is evidence of an institutional problem inside BP, a precursor to the action called debarment….”
http://www.propublica.org/feature/epa-officials-weighing-sanctions-against-bps-us-operations
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C. Articles on how the BP empire commited this crime against the earth and our people–YUP, a whole new collection to muck around in the BP gunk… (33 in all)
1. WWLFirstNews — May 21, 2010 — WWL’s Garland Robinette outlines 14 scary truths about the BP Gulf Oil leak and issued a stern warning to Americans that their security is at risk as oil washes into fragile ecosystems all over South Louisiana and the leak develops into a full blown ecological calamity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXIo8fGkNJo
2. White House Allowed BP to Keep Video of Gushing Pipe from Public for Three Weeks By: Michael Whitney Friday May 14, 2010 6:51 am…”…The White House allowed BP to hide its video feed of a gushing oil pipe in the Gulf of Mexico from the public for three weeks, all the while that same video played live in the White House Situation Room, ABC reports…This startling revelation comes just as Obama prepares to get really angry in public about the spill – just in time to cover up his administration’s collusion with BP to hide the true extent of the massive disaster in the Gulf….” http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/47660
3. Andy Borowitz…BorowitzReport.com…Posted: April 30, 2010 01:25 PM…Goldman Sachs Reveals it Shorted Gulf of Mexico …NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) -“… In what is looming as another public relations predicament for Goldman Sachs, the banking giant admitted today that it made “a substantial financial bet against the Gulf of Mexico” one day before the sinking of an oil rig in that body of water….” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/goldman-sachs-reveals-it_b_558774.html
4. Nature Conservancy faces potential backlash from ties with BP…Cleanup and containment efforts continue at the Gulf of Mexico site of the oil spill following the Deepwater Horizon explosion….By Joe Stephens…Monday, May 24, 2010 “…What De Leon didn’t know was that the Nature Conservancy lists BP as one of its business partners. The Conservancy also has given BP a seat on its International Leadership Council and has accepted nearly $10 million in cash and land contributions from BP and affiliated corporations over the years….”Oh, wow,” De Leon said when told of the depth of the relationship between the nonprofit group she loves and the company she hates. “That’s kind of disturbing.”…” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/05/22/ST2010052203644.html?sid=ST2010052203644
5. For BP to Survive, The Gulf Must Die by Dartagnan Digg this! Share this on Twitter – For BP to Survive, The Gulf Must DieTweet this submit to reddit Share This Sun May 23, 2010 at 06:30:50 AM PDT “…It’s become increasingly obvious that everything BP says or does at this point is being vetted through the prism of litigation strategy….BP already has armies of lawyers and experts prepared to point the finger as to the actual cause of the explosion, who bears responsibility, and most importantly, who should pay. They are prepared to fight that battle, which will degenerate into a “he said, she said” contest. But BP’s goal now is to contain their exposure. The only way to do that is to keep failing until that relief well is drilled….” http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/23/869092/-For-BP-to-Survive,-The-Gulf-Must-Die
6. Investigator Warned MMS in 2009 About Deepwater Gas Blowouts in Gulf of Mexico…Sixty-page report points to record of almost 40 deepwater blowouts, and culture of dangerous risk exposure…by David Sassoon – May 24th, 2010… “…Between 1992 and 2006, almost 2,500 deepwater wells were drilled — more than three times as many as in the previous 20-year period. There were 39 blowouts during that period — 38 of them in the Gulf of Mexico — recorded in MMS accident investigation reports….Most were in shallow water, short-lived and “environmental impacts were negligible,” according to an MMS analysis. Because the fatality rate of these blowouts showed a decrease, the analysis was touted as pointing to an improving safety record. (See “Absence of Blowout Fatalities Encouraging in MMS OCS Study 1992-2006.”)…Yet the analysis revealed that problems with cementing caused most of the blowouts; and that the chances of a blowout were better than 1 in 400. These facts did not set off any alarm bells, or raise concern about the possibility that a blowout in deepwater could one day be catastrophic….” http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100524/investigator-warned-mms-2009-about-deepwater-gas-blowouts-gulf-mexico
7. AP INVESTIGATION: Oil self-regulates around globe Gallery Oil spill cleanup, containment efforts, hearings in wake of gulf disaster Cleanup and containment efforts continue at the Gulf of Mexico site of the oil spill following the Deepwater Horizon explosion…STOCKHOLM — “The U. S. government is not alone in ceding responsibility to the oil industry for the design of key safety features on offshore rigs, a trend coming under scrutiny worldwide following the deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico….Across the globe, industry-driven regulation is the norm, not the exception – and critics are calling for a re-examination of a system that puts crucial safety decisions into the hands of corporations motivated by profit….” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/20/AR2010052000834.html
8. David Pettit’s Blog The Coast Guard Is In Charge In The Gulf Print this page David Pettit…Posted May 23, 2010 in Moving Beyond Oil, U. S. Law and Policy…”…In the last week or so, I’ve been getting calls asking whether the U. S. Government has the legal authority to take control of the Gulf oil spill away from clueless British Petroleum (BP)….It does. …The background for this authority starts, as many oil spill-related laws seem to, with the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989. That led Congress to pass the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), which I’ve blogged about here. …There you have it. If Admiral Allen says “jump,” he can make BP say “how high, sir?” The Coast Guard could take over every aspect of the response to the Deepwater Horizon incident — if it wants to. At the end of the day, the Coast Guard has the legal authority to do so and has boats with guns; BP does not….” http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dpettit/the_coast_guard_is_in_charge_i.html
9. Note: This is a FOUR page report. This link goes to page ONE: U.S….Inspector General Faults Minerals Management Service…By IAN URBINA…Published: May 25, 2010…”…The report, which describes inappropriate behavior by the staff at the Minerals Management Service from 2005 to 2007, also found that inspectors had accepted meals, tickets to sporting events and gifts from at least one oil company while they were overseeing the industry…Although there is no evidence that those events played a role in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the report offers further evidence of what many critics of the Minerals Management Service have described as a culture of lax oversight and cozy ties to industry…The report includes other examples of troubling behavior discovered by investigators…In mid-2008, a minerals agency employee conducted four inspections on drilling platforms when he was also negotiating a job with the drilling company, a cover letter to the report said…And an inspector from the Lake Charles office admitted to investigators that he had used crystal methamphetamine, an illegal drug. Investigators said they believe the inspector may have been under the influence of the drug during an inspection…The report was provided to The New York Times by a person familiar with the investigation who is not authorized to speak to reporters. Previous inspector general investigations of the minerals agency have focused on inappropriate behavior by the royalty-collection staff in the agency’s Denver office…The new report describes similar activities and improper relationships with industry representatives in the leasing and inspections staff in an agency gulf region office in Louisiana…” http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=600488&f=21
10. Gulf oil well disaster could mean explosive profits for Halliburton…May 3, 11:26 PM Kansas City Business Commentary Examiner Romona Paden http://www.examiner.com/x-38929-Kansas-City-Business-Commentary-Examiner~y2010m5d3-Gulf-oil-well-may-make-for-explosive-profits-for-Halliburton
11. 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill…New permits for shallow-water oil wells should be allowed amid deepwater investigation, industry spokesmen say…By Jonathan Tilove May 20, 2010, 8:17PM… http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/new_permits_for_shallow-water.html
12. Rand Paul’s oily defense of BP…By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist…Rand Paul issued an outrageous defense Friday of BP for its handling of the ever-growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico….The Kentucky Republican U.S. Senate candidate — and tea party favorite — seems to be unwisely using up his 15 minutes of fame….Really, you want to get in bed with an oil company whose product in polluting hundreds of miles of water and could wash up on miles of beaches in the Gulf?…No, that’s probably not the best way to win a Senate seat….Read more: http://voices.kansascity.com/node/9085#ixzz0oxbLADXq
Oil is a Powerful Thing……May 21, 2010 …Guest post by Callie Casstevens, LABB intern”…He said one thing at the end of our conversation that has stayed in my head, like an echo I can hear his voice over and over again as I research more on the situation. He said, “Oil is a powerful thing I guess, it makes these companies lots of money…so what’s a bunch of fishermen like us compared to oil?” So BP, what are these men and women’s lives worth compared to oil?…” http://labucketbrigade.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/oil-is-a-powerful-thing/
13. keithmsnbcer — May 24, 2010 — On Hardball with Chris Matthews, Mike Papantonio talks about the Gulf oil spill. 5/24/10…In brief, “I hate … this talk from David Axelrod..’we’re all in this together’ and ‘everything is going to be ok’… tired of the Gandhi speech. We’re tired of singing kumbaya. You can even taste the anger… down here.” http://tinyurl.com/3yk8kpr More below…More from Papantinio on Hardball:…”Look, the bad news is you have people like Matthew Simmons — very well respected — says unequivocally that you can’t stop this lead…until the two pressure gradients match up or until the well goes dry. You can talk about it [a solution] but the truth is …this won’t stop…. See MoreI hate to hear this talk from David Axelrod like ‘we’re all in this together’ and ‘everything is going to be ok’. There are two different issues here: stop the leak and the other issue is clean up the mess….They know how to clean up the mess…back in Saudi Arabia in 1994 they had a 700 million gallon spill…and you know what they did, Chris? They brought in tankers from all over the world and they sucked it up from out of the base and they treated it…and it cleaned up 85% of it. Do you know where those tankers are right now? They’re filled up and they’re waiting for the markets to change so they can go to Asia and Europe. Those tankers have the knowledge and the ability to suck it right out of the water and treat it.” Mike Papantonio on Hardball-“Bring In Tankers To Siphon Up The Oil”-5/24/10
14. Gulf of Mexico oil spill reinforces the industry’s bad will for American Indians…By The Associated Press…May 18, 2010, 6:55AM…”…Since the 1930s…”If you see pictures from the sky, how many haphazard cuts were made in the land, it blows your mind,” said Patty Ferguson, a member of the Pointe-Au-Chien tribe. “We weren’t just fishermen. We raised crops, we had wells. We can’t anymore because of the salt water intrusion.”…As companies intensified their search for petroleum in the 20th century, communities where the Choctaw, Chitimacha, Houma, Attakapas and Biloxi tribes married Europeans in the 1800s have seen their way of life disappear….”This is not a two-week story, but a hundred-year story,” said Michael Dardar, historian with the United Houma Nation tribe. “Coastal erosion, land loss and more vulnerability to hurricanes and flooding all trace back to this century of unchecked economic development.”…Oil wells also discharged about a billion gallons daily of brine, thick with naturally occurring chemicals like chlorides, calcium and magnesium, as well as acids used in drilling…To many Indians, oil has meant an unmitigated disaster…In addition, American Indians say land and oil companies seized swamps that rightfully belonged to them. They’ve sued unsuccessfully to regain vast areas now owned by large landholding and energy companies…” http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill_reinf.html
15. Low estimate of oil spill’s size could save BP millions in court…Thursday marked one month since the start of the oil spill…By Marisa Taylor, Renee Schoof and Erika Bolstad McClatchy Newspapers…WASHINGTON — “…BP’s estimate that only 5,000 barrels of oil are leaking daily from a well in the Gulf of Mexico, which the Obama administration hasn’t disputed, could save the company millions of dollars in damages when the financial impact of the spill is resolved in court, legal experts say…”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/20/94581/low-estimate-of-oil-spills-size.html?storylink=addthis
16. Republican senator blocks higher liability cap on oil spills Democrats’ move to increase the maximum fine for oil spills to $10 billion is foiled by Sen. James M. Inhofe. By Richard Simon and Margot Roosevelt…May 19, 2010 9:46 a. m….”…Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was seeking the unanimous consent of the Senate to move forward on the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act, which would retroactively boost the legal cap of $75 million on how much companies must pay for economic damages…But Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) blocked the effort, saying it would make drilling too expensive for smaller companies. “Big Oil would love to have these caps there so they can shut out all the independents,” he said, echoing the argument of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who halted an identical move last week…”http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-20100519,0,1169385.story
17. Big Oil Trade Group Defends Move To Punish Tulane For Environmental Law Clinic…First Posted: 05-19-10 03:53 PM Updated: 05-20-10 10:55 AM… “…UPDATE 5/20 8:30 AM: Louisiana Chemical Association president Dan Borne replied via email to questions from HuffPost. He said that in the wake of the Louisiana legislature’s decision to defer a bill that would strip funds from Tulane University if its environmental law clinic sues a government agency or business, the chemical and oil trade group is “assessing our options,” explaining that the legislature does not adjourn until June 21st….Asked whether there are any cases brought by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic that he approves of, he replied:…: We are focusing on cases that directly impede economic growth in the state. …And Borne demanded to know if Tulane University has contributed any settlement money from cases launched by the clinic to the Tulane Education Fund or other university entities….” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/big-oil-trade-group-seeks_n_581842.html?ref=fb&src=sp
18. BP Cited for Worst OSHA Safety Violations Among U. S. Refiners… FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…May 17, 2010…7:56 AM…CONTACT: Center for Public Integrity (CPI)…Steve Carpinelli (202) 481-1225…WASHINGTON – May 17 – Two refineries owned by oil giant BP account for 97 percent of all flagrant violations found in the refining industry by government safety inspectors over the past three years, a Center for Public Integrity analysis shows. Most of BP’s citations were classified as “egregious willful” by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and reflect alleged violations of a rule designed to prevent catastrophic events at refineries…BP is battling a massive oil well spill in the Gulf of Mexico after an April 20 platform blast that killed 11 workers. But the firm has been under intense OSHA scrutiny since its refinery in Texas City, Texas, exploded in March 2005, killing 15 workers. While continuing its probe in Texas City, OSHA launched a nationwide refinery inspection program in June 2007 in response to a series of fires, explosions and chemical releases throughout the industry….” http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/05/17
19. Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010…BP withholds oil spill facts — and government lets it…By Marisa Taylor and Renee Schoof McClatchy Newspapers…WASHINGTON — BP, the company in charge of the rig that exploded last month in the Gulf of Mexico, hasn’t publicly divulged the results of tests on the extent of workers’ exposure to evaporating oil or from the burning of crude over the gulf, even though researchers say that data is crucial in determining whether the conditions are safe….Moreover, the company isn’t monitoring the extent of the spill and only reluctantly released videos of the spill site that could give scientists a clue to the amount of the oil in gulf…. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/18/94415/bps-secrecy-keep-facts-on-gulf.html#storylink=omni_popular
20. Coast Guard and BP threaten journalists with arrest for documenting oil spill Meanwhile, oil washes up on shore as Louisiana governor says he was unable to get funding for an emergency retaining wall. Tue, May 18 2010 at 11:49 PM EST… “…These marshlands are often referred to as “the nursery” for good reason — they are the breeding ground for hundreds of species of birds and marine animals and the womb of Louisiana’s fishing industry. They are also the state’s primary buffer against hurricanes. But sadly Jindal’s pleas fell on deaf ears, and this morning around 8 a. m., oil washed up onshore….The Obama administration, it appears, has higher priorities … namely helping BP in its frantic efforts to keep the public in the dark…Contacts in Louisiana have given me numerous, unconfirmed reports of cameras and cell phones being confiscated, scientists with monitoring equipment being turned away, and local reporters blocked from access to public lands impacted by the oil spill. But today CBS News got it on video, along with a bone-chilling statement by a Coast Guard official: “These are BP’s rules. These are not our rules.” …But wait … isn’t that a public beach? From my viewpoint, it looks as if the Coast Guard* has been given direct orders to protect BP’s PR interests above safety concerns over air and water quality, above the outcries of local governments in need of aid, and (worst of all) above the need for the American public to be informed about what is really going on in the Gulf….It’s a well-known fact that President Obama received a hefty campaign contribution from British Petroleum (the largest of any of the candidates) and in the oily aftermath of a thoroughly un-American corporate cover-up, Obama’s credibility as the people’s president is quickly eroding. In the next few days — as the Gulf current pulls miles of black ooze up the Eastern seaboard (the first tar balls landed today in the Florida Keys) — BP’s federally subsidized media containment operation may soon become impossible to maintain….” http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/coast-guard-and-bp-threaten-journalists-with-arrest-for-docume
21. Arctic Drilling Proposal Advanced Amid Concern…By WILLIAM YARDLEY…Published: May 19, 2010… The lack of clear guidance in the environmental review process was exacerbated by high turnover among scientists at the agency, many of whom said in interviews that they left for other jobs because they had been pressured to rewrite their work or had it rewritten for them and that they were perceived as obstacles in the way of drilling. Managers, on the other hand, tended to stay…“My impression was they had predetermined decisions and if you didn’t get with the program you were sort of labeled and ostracized, really,” said one former minerals agency scientist. “But if you went along with the program and didn’t do anything to obstruct anything, they would treat you well, promote you, give cash awards.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/science/earth/20alaska.html?hp
22. Scientists Fault Lack of Studies Over Gulf Oil Spill…By JUSTIN GILLIS…Published: May 19, 2010…”…The scientists point out that in the month since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, the government has failed to make public a single test result on water from the deep ocean. And the scientists say the administration has been too reluctant to demand an accurate analysis of how many gallons of oil are flowing into the sea from the gushing oil well…“It seems baffling that we don’t know how much oil is being spilled,” Sylvia Earle, a famed oceanographer, said Wednesday on Capitol Hill. “It seems baffling that we don’t know where the oil is in the water column.”…” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/science/earth/20noaa.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
23. May 20, 2010 — Kelly Cobiella reports that a CBS News team was threatened with arrest by Coast Guard officials in the Gulf of Mexico who said they were acting under the authority of British Petroleum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx4rgZpIIfE
24. One Billion Dollars to TransOcean Shareholders for Fucking Up the Oceans, 22 days after the disaster!: (Rachel Maddow RE seeking justice for the BP oil disaster)… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37223363#37223363
25. BP Smoking Gun? Oil Giant Skipped Critical Testing Hours Before Explosion…First Posted: 05-20-10 02:15 PM Updated: 05-20-10 06:10 PM…”…BP hired a reputable oilfield service company to test the strength of cement linings on the well, but then sent the company’s workers home 11 hours before the explosion on April 20 — “without performing a final check that a top cementing company executive called ‘the only test that can really determine the actual effectiveness’ of the well’s seal,” reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune:…A spokesman for the testing firm, Schlumberger, said BP had a Schlumberger team and equipment for sending acoustic testing lines down the well “on standby” from April 18 to April 20. But BP never asked the Schlumberger crew to perform the acoustic test and sent its members back to Louisiana on a regularly scheduled helicopter flight at 11 a. m., Schlumberger spokesman Stephen T. Harris said…”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/bp-smoking-gun-oil-giant_n_583590.html
26. 60 Minutes: Critical equipment damaged weeks before blowoutTweet this submit to reddit Share This Sun May 16, 2010 at 05:39:58 PM PDT…Keith Pickering’s diary…”…Early on while drilling the second well (the one that eventually blew up) an accident damaged part of the blowout preventer (BOP). According to Williams, they were conducting a routine test of the annular, a ring of rubber that closes around the well at the top of the BOP stack. While the annular was closed, thus closing off the well, a driller accidentally pushed a joystick, which pulled the pipe casing up through the rubber seal at very high pressure. A short time later, after drilling had resumed, pieces of rubber began coming up from the bottom of the well. A drilling supervisor told Williams that the rubber debris was “no big deal”…The bottom line: the blowout was caused by gross negligence on the part of BP. There is no other way to spin it…”
27. 60 Minutes direct link: May 16, 2010 Blowout: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster A Survivor Recalls His Harrowing Escape; Plus, A Former BP Insider Warns Of Another Potential Disaster…”…He says the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon had been building for weeks in a series of mishaps…”
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/60-minutes-deepwater-horizons-blowout/
28. MrHereistruth — May 17, 2010 — BP Fails Booming School 101, creates environmental disaster and is failing to take lead in cleanup. But our federal government is also failing. Please Mirror this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx8kMXufu3w
29. How Bush’s DOJ Killed a Criminal Probe Into BP That Threatened to Net Top Officials…Wednesday 19 May 2010…by: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t Report…”…”We were concerned about our recommendations being ignored and disregarded… We were concerned about BP’s cost cutting efforts undermining our ability to respond to emergencies and reducing the reliability of critical safety systems. We were concerned about the lack of preventative maintenance on our equipment,” the BP employees’ letter said. “We had suffered a major fire, which burned a well pad module to the ground and nearly cost one of our operators his life…”It is clear that BP Management has one priority and that is cost reduction … Perhaps you may know some way of getting our concerns heard and addressed. If these concerns are not addressed, we feel that a major catastrophe is imminent. We have only our lives and our futures at risk here.”…The employees were slapped down. They were given a lot of grief for having raised these issues. The BP culture is keep your mouth shut and your head down because nobody at BP wants to hear about it…”That’s why I knew this was a criminal case,” West said. “BP turned a blind eye and deaf ear to their experts who predicted a major spill. It wasn’t an intentional act to put oil on the ground, but it was intentional act to ignore their employees. That’s negligence and its criminal. “…”
30. Posted by Michael Tomasky Monday 3 May 2010 13.38 BST guardian. co. uk…Dick Cheney and the oil spill…”…the environmental lawyer, Mike Papantonio, said on the Schultz show in an interview you can watch here that it was Cheney’s energy task force – the secretive one that he wouldn’t say much about publicly – that decided that the switches, which cost $500,000, were too much a burden on the industry. The Papantonio segment starts at around 5:00 in and lasts three minutes or so…”
http://readersupportednews.com/off-site-opinion-section/60-60/1638-dick-cheney-and-the-oil-spill
31. More on Scott West whistleblower: Fmr. EPA Investigator Scott West: US Has Told BP “It Can Do Whatever It Wants and Won’t Be Held Accountable” Bp-logo-tar…One month after the BP oil spill, we speak to Scott West, a former top investigator at the Environmental Protection Agency who led an investigation of BP following a major oil pipeline leak in Alaska’s North Slope that spilled 250,000 gallons of oil on the Alaskan tundra. Before West finished his investigation, the Bush Justice Department reached a settlement with BP, and the oil company agreed to pay $20 million. At the same time, BP managed to avoid prosecution for the Texas City refinery explosion that killed fifteen workers by paying a $50 million settlement. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/20/fmr_epa_investigator_scott_west_us
32. New permits for shallow-water oil wells should be allowed amid deepwater investigation, industry spokesmen say By Jonathan Tilove May 20, 2010, 8:17PM
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/new_permits_for_shallow-water.html
33. Conflict of Interest Worries Raised in Spill Tests…By IAN URBINA Published: May 20, 2010…”…“Everywhere you look, if you look, you start seeing these conflicts of interest in how this disaster is getting handled,” Mr. Kirschenfeld said. “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but there is just too much overlap between these people.”…The deadly explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig last month has drawn attention to the ties between regulators and the oil and gas industry. Last week, President Obama said he intended to end their “cozy relationship,” partly by separating the safety function of regulators from their role in permitting drilling and collecting royalties. “That way, there’s no conflict of interest, real or perceived,” he said…Critics say a “revolving door” between industry and government is another area of concern. As one example, they point to the deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the Interior Department, Sylvia V. Baca, who helps oversee the Minerals Management Service, which regulates offshore drilling…”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/earth/21conflict.html
*********
D. Again, as last time, the measure of the gushing blood of the planet: How bad it is, how bad it could get… (45 in all)
1. Oil Spill in the Gulf – Live Cam…BP Oil Spill Live Video Feed…
http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam
2. May 16, 2010 — Defenders of Wildlife Florida Program Coordinator reports on preparations for the aftermath of the Gulf oil disaster from the J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Located on the subtropical barrier island of Sanibel in the Gulf of Mexico, “Ding” Darling is home to sea turtles, manatees and other threatened wildlife. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWpygZF4cw
3. First Birds Rescued from Gulf Oil Spill Released in Florida… by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 05.16.10… Business & Politics (news) http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/first-birds-rescued-gulf-oil-spill.php
4. Global Extinction Event Linked to BP Gusher May 22nd, 2010…In the past wk, since last compilation of articles RE the Gulf Oil Hemmoraghe, I’ve read over 125 articles, all devastating. I’m sharing this 1, a dystopic “parody” of the future, quoting “from the future”, bec. it speaks 2 the insanity of this time & event, & @ times like this, as in places like the Niger Delta, where Shell… Oil has made an extinction event a *daily* reality 4 decades, it’s crucial that we consider the possibilities we do not want 2, & evaluate how we plan the future. Tagging 6 friends, & below, in comments R 6 profoundly important quotes from ea. of them, critical points 2 B shared. “…AP, December 21, 2012 – As BP Oil continues its efforts to stem the flow of oil it triggered in a deep-water drilling accident in April of 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico, drought conditions have now reached a global scale….Precipitation rates have dwindled to less than 10% of normal for all regions reporting this month, said NOAA meteorologist Kevin Goodweather.via BP’s Gulf Gusher…” http://www.3sigma.com/global-extinction-event-linked-to-bp-gusher/
5. mmflint — May 24, 2010 — “… like sniffing gasoline or something, and still my ears are still popping right now. I’m still coughing up stuff. I feel real weak. All the tingling.” — Gary Burris, Gulf Coast fisherman…”The volatile, organic carbons, they act like a narcotic on the brain. At high concentrations, what we learned in Exxon Valdez from carcasses of harbor seals and sea otters, it actually fried the brain, (and there were) brain lesions.” — Marine toxicologist Riki Ott on chemicals used by BP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fWpFiGkoCM
6. ******OLDIE, BUT GOODIE*****: Methamphetamine fuels the West’s oil and gas boom…- From the October 03, 2005 issue of High Country News by Patrick Farrell…”…So early this year, Grinstead, a solid Republican with friends and family in the energy business, made a radical suggestion. At a February county commissioners’ meeting, he called for random drug testing of all oil and gas workers. With that request, he publicly declared that the county’s oil and gas industry — one of its main economic engines — has a drug problem that it can’t or won’t control…”I’m not saying everyone in oil and gas is a druggie,” says Grinstead, “but these traveling drill crews seem to have a problem.”…You’re wired or you’re fired…To confirm that meth use is widespread in the oil and gas fields, go no further than Grinstead’s jail, and ask Tony Peck, a wiry, shaggy-haired inmate currently doing six months for violating probation for meth possession. In recent years, Peck has found steady work as a roughneck. It’s a tough job, and to get him through the 12-hour days of drilling, he has often turned to meth. Known as “poor man’s cocaine,” the drug delivers a similar euphoric high. A hit of meth can keep a user awake for hours, even days — at least at first….” http://www.hcn.org/issues/307/15811
7. UPDATE: Gas Leak 3000 Times Worse Than Oil – Updated Math by innereye Digg this! Share this on Twitter – UPDATE: Gas Leak 3000 Times Worse Than Oil – Updated MathTweet this submit to reddit Share This Sun May 16, 2010 at 09:00:12 AM PDT.”..This repost of a diary from 2 days ago describes the fact that there is 3000 times more natural gas coming out of the leak than oil. All of the gas is currently staying in the water because the ocean has the capacity to hold large quantities of methane in solution….When methane breaks down it depletes oxygen in the water. Then, when it continues to break down it produces hydrogen sulfate..After some discussions with people who are currently working to determine the extent of this undersea damage, I decided we need to revisit this topic: The damage of the massive amounts of Gas being released into the gulf is worse than the oil….”
8. Spill imperils a distinctive culture: ‘There’s a sense of doom’…By Drew Jubera, Special to CNN…May 25, 2010 10:31 a.m. EDT…”…Fillinich’s dad fished here. Now his son fishes here…Beyond that:…”My days are numbered, it doesn’t matter about me,” he says, his own boat across the two-lane in front of his house, bobbing in Bayou Lafourche. “But my son, he’s 41. And he has a son….”It looks like it’s going to stop there.”
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/24/gulf.coast.cultural.impact/index.html?hpt=C1
9. Op-Ed Columnist…More Than Just an Oil Spill…By BOB HERBERT…Published: May 21, 2010…Hopedale, La….”…This is the bitter reality of the American present, a period in which big business has cemented an unholy alliance with big government against the interests of ordinary Americans, who, of course, are the great majority of Americans. The great majority of Americans no longer matter…” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/opinion/22herbert.html
10. Marine toxicologist and Exxon Valdez survivor RikiOtt. com Posted: May 19, 2010 07:20 PM…Human Health Tragedy in the Making: Gulf Response Failing to Protect People “…But oilmen and fishermen are not being treated the same by BP and other oil companies operating in the Gulf. Oilmen are being evacuated because of high concentrations of dangerous chemicals, according to the fishermen, not fire danger. Meanwhile, fishermen responders are not even being provided with respirators for cleanup work – much less being protected from “fire danger.”…As someone who witnessed the Exxon Valdez disaster, I saw this same charade unfold 20 years ago in Prince William Sound-and the result was literally thousands of sick cleanup workers who thought they had “the Valdez Crud,” or simple colds and flu. Instead Exxon likely dismissed injured workers – and its own responsibility/liability to take care of these people – using an exemption for reporting “colds and flu” in hazardous waste cleanup regulations. 29 CFR (1904.5(b)(2)(viii)…”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/riki-ott/human-health-tragedy-in-t_b_582655.html
11. VIDEO of RikiOtt: WalKnDude002 — May 22, 2010 — AIR UNSAFE Gulf Oil Spill Warning….www. greenopolis. com: Rikki Ott, “…marine toxicologist and Exxon Valdez survivor, talks to GreenopolisTV about the effects of air pollution due to oil spills. Rikki says based on air monitoring conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a Louisiana coastal community, findings show that airborne levels of toxic chemicals like hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds, now far exceed safety standards for human exposure currently in those areas….” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIlyqCDf2hA
12. Exxon Valdez survivors and Gulf residents fight the same battle…by: John Wojcik…May 19 2010…QUOTE: “…4 yrs after the disaster in Alaska the mayor of Cordova took his own life, leaving a note blaming the suicide on his inability 2 do anything about the spill… Picou said that 2 wks ago he heard fro… m a fisherman friend of his in Alaska who had seen pictures on TV of an oiled bird stricken by the BP spill. “The man couldn’t stand 2 watch… He felt nauseous…”… The area affected by the spill here in the Gulf is much larger & much more heavily populated than the area affected in Alaska… Like Cordova, the towns here R small, the people here have a long history of close-knit family & personal ties, they have a unique culture & their economy is heavily, if not exclusively dependent on fishing & a clean marine environment…May, for 300 yrs here in So. Louisiana, has been the mo. when everyone comes out & goes about the business of what they R all about. It was time 2 begin the annual task of hauling in the shrimp, the oysters & the fish..[T]he more a community depends upon a clean environment the more vulnerable it is to total disruption after an oil spill…”We R all family here,” Held said. “We R all in this together. The strong bonds we have with ea. other have helped us pull through some really big hits. This one, though, is going to test us like we’ve never been tested before.”…” http://peoplesworld.org/exxon-valdez-survivors-and-gulf-residents-fight-the-same-battle/
13. Solastalgia – “…How do communities cope (or not) in times of rapid environmental change? Think new (or the closure of) mines, of drought, or housing developments encroaching on urban fringes. Professor of Sustainability at Murdoch University, philosopher Glenn Albrecht, is known as the man who coined the concept ‘Solastal… gia’. Solastalgia is now used by academics worldwide to describe the distress people feel when what they consider ‘their place’ is undergoing dramatic change… http://www.abc.net.au/rn/saturdayextra/stories/2010/2905881.htm right click to download MP3
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2010/05/sea_20100522_0845.mp3
14. Oil leak may be 19 times larger than BP and US government say + Latest Footage of Gas Burn Off Posted on May 20, 2010 by dandelionsalad…
15. Experts testify on grim ecological fallout from Gulf oil spill By Paul Courson, CNN May 21, 2010 6:03 p. m. EDT “There are so many unknowns” about the effects of oil dispersants, researcher Carys Mitchelmore testified Friday. “There are so many unknowns” about the effects of oil dispersants, researcher Carys Mitchelmore testified Friday. …Washington (CNN) — The damaging effects of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be felt all the way to Europe and the Arctic, a top scientist told a congressional panel Friday….Other scientists and researchers — invited to brief members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee — warned that the thousands of barrels of oil still gushing into the Gulf are contributing to a potential ecological disaster of unknown proportions….” http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/21/gulf.oil.spill.environment/index.html
16. From Times Online…May 16, 2010…Scientists find vast unreported oil leak from Deepwater Horizon…”…A plume of oil 10 miles (16km) long, three miles wide and 300ft thick is pouring into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon oil rig…The plume is one of a number that scientists have found gushing into the sea a mile underwater, increasing concerns that the size of the spill could be thousands of times larger than has been previously calculated, according to The New York Times…” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7127904.ece
17. Gulf Oil Leaks Could Gush for Years “We don’t have any idea how to stop this,” expert says. Main Content Oil is seen in the water off the coast of Louisiana…Christine Dell’Amore…National Geographic News…Published May 13, 2010…”…”We don’t have any idea how to stop this,” Simmons said of the Gulf leak. Some of the proposed strategies—such as temporarily plugging the leaking pipe with a jet of golf balls and other material—are a “joke,” he added…”We really are in unprecedented waters.”…”
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100513-science-environment-gulf-oil-spill-cap-leak/
18. Gulf Oil Disaster: A Transatlantic Pollution Catastrophe Looms By Finian Cunningham Posted on May 20, 2010 by dandelionsalad “…Of concern is that Transocean – the operator and owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig contracted by BP – is also the major operator in Ghana’s nascent offshore industry. The New York and Zurich-listed company is the world’s biggest such operator, with over 300 rigs worldwide, according to its website. The company views West Africa as one of its growth areas. [1]…”
19. What If the Oil Leak Can’t Be Stopped? As new estimates suggest much more oil is spewing into the Gulf, experts outline how broad the impact could be…Jessica Marshall By Jessica Marshall Thu May 20, 2010 08:35 AM ET
http://news.discovery.com/earth/oil-spill-gulf-extreme.html
20. Nightmare scene as oil smothers Louisiana wetlands…By Agence France-Presse Thursday, May 20th, 2010 — 8:42 am…”…Oil in the so-called Loop Current could cause tremendous damage to a wide range of marine life, experts warned…”The Loop Current is a super-highway carrying babies of a wide array of fishes and other kinds of marine life from their spawning zones to the places where they will ultimately grow up,” Environmental Defense Fund chief ocean scientist Doug Rader told AFP…In Louisiana, the damage was already being seen, with Jindal telling reporters that “heavy oil” had entered the marshlands. “It’s already here, but we know more is coming.”…” http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0520/nightmare-scene-oil-smothers-louisiana-wetlands/
21. May 24, 2010 Jean-Michel Cousteau is tired of talking, wants action… now! Posted: 06:59 PM ET “…the scope and impact of this disaster extends far beyond what we’ve been told so far by the oil company or the U. S. government…Oil in the Caribbean? Yes. Oil in western Europe? Yes…And if all of that oil settles to the bottom of the sea? Everything dies…Watch this interview with Jean-Michel Cousteau…”
22. Gulf oil spill: ‘Like tracking a serial killer’…Oil spill may be 19 times larger…By Fred Grimm…fgrimm@MiamiHerald.com Posted Thurs 5/20/2010…“This is killing the marsh almost instantly,” said P. J. Hahn, the clearly disheartened director of coastal management for Plaquemines Parish, a rural peninsula south of New Orleans jutting into the Gulf of Mexico. “Everything this touches, it kills.”…“We had hoped we were going to miss this,” Hahn said. Last week, he said, some early signs of oil had disappeared….Hope died this week. The oil reappeared. “This has been like tracking a serial killer,” Hahn said….”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/20/1640387/like-tracking-a-serial-killer.html#ixzz0oxveL4UY
23. NationalWildlife — May 20, 2010 — http://www.nwf.org/oilspill – National Wildlife Federation’s President and CEO Larry Schweiger testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee May 19, 2010 on what he witnessed while on the front lines of the oil spill response effort.
“The Gulf is a Crime Scene” – Oil Spill Hearing Testimony from NWF’s Larry Schweiger
24. Oil and the Dead Zone…by Lauren Schenkman with reporting by Robert F. Service and Erik Stokstad on May 19, 2010 5:38 PM… “…Fertilizer and urban runoff into the Mississippi River dump nutrients into the Gulf of Mexico. In the spring, higher flows contribute a pulse of nutrients that triggers huge blooms of algae. When the algae dies and sinks to the sea floor, it is consumed by bacteria that guzzle oxygen from the water. If oxygen levels drop too low, shrimp, fish, and other sea life must flee or die, leaving a dead zone that sometimes grows to the size of the state of New Jersey….” http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/05/oil-and-the-dead-zone.html
25. Despite Leak, Louisiana Is Still Devoted to Oil…By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON…Published: May 22, 2010 “…“Our state has carried the torch for the country in terms of the oil and gas for years,” Mr. Graves said. “It’s part of the culture.”…In this he echoed a common refrain: as long as the country maintains its insatiable appetite for oil, Louisiana will be willing to bear many of the risks. The awareness of those risks does not seem to change the state’s vigorously pro-industry outlook, though it does reinforce a belief that Louisianans should be compensated for the downsides….The land trust she manages includes much of Port Fourchon, the largest onshore support harbor for the deepwater industry in the gulf, but also pristine beaches and mangrove marshlands where, to her horror, she has seen tar balls, sheen and even emulsified crude. Ms. Norman’s late husband, Shea Penland, a geologist who died in 2008, was one of the country’s most forceful advocates for preservation of the Louisiana’s coastal wetlands….“We are a working coastline,” Ms. Norman said. “Part of the reason that we are so prolific is because of the delta and because of the geology and geography of the area. It all fits in. It is what we are.” …” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/us/23drill.html
26. Monday, May 17th, 2010 — 1:43 pm…Raw Story / By Agence France-Presse Oceans’ fish could disappear in 40 years: UN The world faces the nightmare possibility of fishless oceans by 2050 without fundamental restructuring of the fishing industry, UN experts said Monday. “If the various estimates we have received… come true, then we are in the situation where 40 years down the line we, effectively, are out of fish,” Pavan Sukhdev, head of the UN Environment […] http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0517/oceans-fish-disappear-40-years/
27. Substantial safety concerns raised about the Atlantis, another BP oil rig PHOTOS Previous Next… By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post staff writer Saturday, May 15, 2010…11:47 PM … In February, two months before an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, more than a dozen members of Congress called on the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling, to investigate Abbott’s complaints. An agency probe is ongoing… According to one document unearthed in the course of a dispute between Abbott and the oil company, BP production member Barry C. Duff wrote in an August 2008 e-mail that “hundreds if not thousands” of engineering documents were incomplete, and suggested these insufficient safety records “could lead to catastrophic operator errors.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/15/AR2010051502163.html
28. Oil spill imperils an unseen world at the bottom of the gulf Gallery Oil spill hearings, cleanup, containment efforts in wake of gulf disaster As cleanup and containment efforts continue at the Gulf of Mexico site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil executives are in Washington to answer to a Senate committee. » LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY Network News X Profile View More Activity Graphic What lies beneath…”This is the unseen world imperiled by the uncapped oil well a mile below the surface of the gulf. The millions of gallons of crude, and the introduction of chemicals to disperse it, have thrown this underwater ecosystem into chaos, and scientists have no answer to the question of how this unintended and uncontrolled experiment in marine biology and chemistry will ultimately play out. “By Joel Achenbach Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 16, 2010 http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=gulf_oil_spill
29. Of Crude Oil, Ecosystems, and Liabilities News Type: Event — Fri May 7, 2010 2:44 PM EDT…”…What happens in an oil leak in the ocean? When oil is mixed with water, it immediately begins to spread and disperse. Thankfully, oil becomes less toxic with time—but it usually takes a long time. Some of the components of the oil, the volatiles, evaporate. Once the volatiles are gone, tar-like balls of the emulsified oil form, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, where it releases hydrocarbons into the water. Bacteria in the water will attack the tar-like balls, digesting the oil….Plankton, (very small floating plants and animals), eat the bacteria. When fish, corals, crustaceans, whales, and other animals eat the plankton, they, of course, also eat the oil that the plankton has digested. The oil then becomes dispersed through out their tissues, shells, etc. When these animals are eaten, the hydrocarbon molecules become a part of the tissues of that animal– all the way up the food chain. The tar blobs may also coat the plants that live in the ocean, lowering their ability for photosynthesis and germination. Animals that eat these plants may ingest the oil directly from the leaves of the plants….Each tier of the marine food chain is affected, from the smallest, single-celled organism, to the largest animal on earth, the whales. The effects of the oil are immediate, and long-lasting. Since the components in oil are carcinogens, the effects may result in different forms of cancer and even genetic mutations. These mutations may not be seen for generations….” http://mtmeyer1.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/07/4254737-of-crude-oil-ecosystems-and-liabilities
30. Gulf Spill Oil Driven by Complex Ocean Currents and Eddies… Saturday 15 May 2010… by: Pete Spotts The Christian Science Monitor… The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is far different than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. The complex marine environment has currents and eddies that could carry the oil anywhere in the Gulf…. The system is chaotic enough that given enough time, say 90 days, oil in some form could wind up anywhere from the Mexican Coast to Palm Beach, research suggests…. “We call it a mini ocean,” says Steven DiMarco, an oceanographer at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. “Many of the processes that occur in the Gulf of Mexico occur in the much larger basins like the Atlantic and the Pacific.”… The main oceanic feature is the so-called loop current, essentially the Gulf’s section of a much longer current that forms the Atlantic Ocean’s so-called conveyor belt…. The belt, which drives warm tropical waters north toward Greenland, where it sinks and cools, begins in the equatorial Atlantic off Brazil. The current snakes into the Caribbean and then north between Cuba and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula…. The volume of water moving through the Yucatan Straight is so enormous and travels with such speed – essentially at the pace of a brisk walk – that it forms a loop that meanders north of Cuba, then makes a U-turn southward toward the island before heading out through the Florida Straights to form the Gulf Stream…. Below about 1,000 meters (3281 feet), however, the regime shifts…. Circulation runs counterclockwise as seawater spills over a sill spanning the Yucatan Straight. In a kind of watch-your-step plunge, water flows over the sill and into the deepest reaches of the Gulf. http://www.truthout.org/gulf-spill-oil-driven-complex-ocean-currents-and-eddies59528
31. Oil Spill Florida Keys: Scientists Think Oil Has Entered Loop Current And Poses Grave Threat To Reefs…JASON DEAREN and MATT SEDENSKY 05/17/10 12:31 PM… “…NEW ORLEANS — Delicate coral reefs already have been tainted by plumes of crude oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, including a sensitive area that federal officials had tried to protect from drilling and other dangers…And marine scientists are worried even more of the deep-sea reefs could be damaged as the thick goo creeps into two powerful Gulf currents. The oil has seeped into areas that are essential to underwater life, and the reefs tend to be an indicator for sea health: when creatures in the reefs thrive, so do other marine life…” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/oil-spill-florida-keys-sc_n_578318.html?ref=fb&src=sp
32. Louisiana beach remains closed as BP accused of hiding oil gusher’s true size…By Agence France-Presse…Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 — 10:50 am… http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0522/louisiana-beach-remains-closed-bp-accused-hiding-oil-gushers-true-size/
33. Op-Ed Contributors The Measure of a Disaster By IAN R. MacDONALD, JOHN AMOS, TIMOTHY CRONE and STEVE WERELEY Published: May 21, 2010…”ON Thursday, BP was finally forced to acknowledge that far more oil is escaping from its damaged well into the Gulf of Mexico than the oft-repeated estimate of 5,000 barrels per day. Nonetheless, the company still insists that an accurate measurement of the spill rate is neither necessary, as it would do nothing to alter their response efforts, nor is it possible with existing science….It is our view that accurate, continuously updated measurements are not only possible, but absolutely essential if we are to respond effectively to this and future disasters. That is why we are conducting satellite image analysis and image-based fluid-flow analysis to provide an independent assessment of the oil spill. …” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/opinion/22macdonald.html
34. Sunday, May 23, 2010 The Big Picture: Why Is It So Hard to Stop the Oil Gusher, and Why Was Such Extreme Deepwater Drilling Allowed in the First Place?…”…The government failed to properly ensure that BP used adequate safety measures, BP and their contractors were criminally negligent for the oil spill, and BP has tried to cover up the problem….But why hasn’t BP stopped the leak?…Some people assume that BP hasn’t stopped the oil leak because it’s people are wholly incompetent….Others have asked whether BP’s $75 million liability cap is motivating it to stall by taking half-hearted measures until it’s relief well drilling is complete….But there is another possible explanation: the geology – as well the deepwater pressures – at the drilling site makes stopping the leak more difficult than we realize….Does the Geology of the Spill Zone Make It Harder to Stop the Oil Spill?…We can’t understand the big picture behind the Gulf oil spill unless we know the underwater geology of the seabed and the underlying rocks…” http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/05/big-picture-why-was-deepwater-drilling.html
35. Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible…By The Associated Press…Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 — 11:13 pm… “…Oil in the marshes is the worst-case scenario,” said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the head of the federal effort to contain and clean up the spill….” My EDITORIAL Note: Guess what? THE OIL HAS HIT THE FUCKING MARSHES!!! http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0522/cleaning-oilsoaked-wetlands-impossible/
36. Ecosystem in Peril after Gulf Oil Spill… By Matthew Cardinale… Bird washed ashore in Perdido Key, Florida. / Credit: Susan Keith/IPS… Bird washed ashore in Perdido Key, Florida…. Credit: Susan Keith/IPS… ATLANTA, Georgia, May 14, 2010 (IPS) – With engineers giving a best-case scenario of “weeks” before the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is sealed, some scientists are warning that the region’s ecosystem could face major long-term damage. She said that studies of dead herring after the Exxon Valdez spill found that parasites that normally lived in the fish’s stomach had migrated into the muscle tissue to avoid toxic exposure, thus weakening its immune system and causing reproductive problems…. Some “99.9 percent of herring eggs exposed to oil died”, she explained…. Ott added that the continental shelf ecosystem and open ocean ecosystem are linked very closely. “The shrimp that depend on wetlands and marshes for nurseries, when they migrate offshore, they become food for red snapper and grouper,” she said….”It’s too much oil, too fast, not to have a pretty big impact on generations of wildlife that’s in the water column. Birds eating shellfish getting sick and dying, marine mammals… and land mammals getting sick and dying. You have birds feeding oiled fish to their chicks, the chicks have stunted growth,” Ott said…. Meanwhile, families who depend on the fishing industry are seeing their livelihoods in jeopardy….” http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51441
37. BIODIVERSITY… Oil Spill Will Devastate the North Sea Warn Experts… By Julio Godoy… BERLIN, May 14, 2010 (IPS) – If an oil spill similar to that in the Gulf of Mexico were to happen in the North Sea, it would devastate the Wattenmeer, one of the most fragile and important biodiversity hotspots in northern Europe…. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51437
38. By JASON DEAREN and MATT SEDENSKY (AP) – 5 hours ago On Sunday, researchers said computer models show oil has already entered the loop current that could carry the toxic goo toward the Keys, the third-longest barrier reef in the world.-Mon-17-May-10…”The depth of the gushing leaks and the use of more than 560,000 gallons of chemicals to disperse the oil, including unprecedented injections deep in the sea, have helped keep the crude beneath the sea surface. Marine scientists say diffusing and sinking the oil helps protect the surface species and the Gulf Coast shoreline but increases the chance of harming deep-sea reefs, which are seen as bellwethers for sea health…”At first we had a lot of concern about surface animals like turtles, whales and dolphins,” said Paul Montagna, a marine biologist at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi who studies Gulf reefs. “Now we’re concerned about everything.”… Deep sea oil plumes, dispersants endanger reefs…” http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkizwl1juq5nw6XDJ9UTfq9bY0dwD9FOHA600
39. Peak oil production coming sooner than expected… Media, public, governments unprepared for the End of the World (As We Know It)… May 15, 2010…”A storm is quickly approaching, and the world is not ready for it… The permanent end of the era of cheap oil is coming as soon as next year, according to a raft of official reports that have made their way into energy media over the last few months. Governments are now beginning to acknowledge the looming crisis. Yet, perhaps because they waited too long to prevent it, leaders are not yet alerting the public… The entire world economy is built on cheap oil, A permanent oil production shortage will thus lead to The End of The World (As We Know it)”…” http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/15/peak-oil/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:%20climateprogress/lCrX%20%28Climate%20Progress%29
40. Matthew Stein…Author of When Technology Fails Posted: May 19, 2010 10:00 PM…The Perfect Storm: Six Trends Converging on Collapse… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-stein/the-perfect-storm-six-tre_b_582779.html
The STOOOPID Ideas:
41. Florida Gulf oil spill: Plans to evacuate Tampa Bay area are in place…May 9, 8:56 PMHernando County Political Buzz ExaminerMaryann Tobin…
http://www.examiner.com/x-17299-Hernando-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m5d9-Gulf-Oil-Spill-2010-Plans-to-evacuate-Tampa-Bay-area-expected-to-be-announced
42. Monday, May 24, 2010…Black clouds over the Gulf: Is burning the BP oil slick really a good idea? (video)… http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/2010/05/black-clouds-over-gulf.html
43. The ProPublica Blog…With lead blogger Marian Wang, we’re re-mixing today’s accountability stories. We’re also just starting this, so e-mail Marian your ideas. In Gulf Spill, BP Using Dispersants Banned in U. K. by Marian Wang, ProPublica – May 18, 2010 3:24 pm EDT…The two types of dispersants BP is spraying in the Gulf of Mexico are banned for use [1] on oil spills in the U. K. As EPA-approved products [2], BP has been using them in greater quantities than dispersants have ever been used [3] in the history of U. S. oil spills….BP is using two products from a line of dispersants called Corexit [4], which EPA data [2] appear to show is more toxic and less effective [5] on South Louisiana crude than other available dispersants, according to Greenwire….We learned about the U. K. ban from a mention on The New York Times’ website. (The reference was cut from later versions of the article, so we can’t link to the Times, but we found the piece [6] elsewhere.) The Times flagged a letter [7] that Rep. Edward Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, sent to the EPA on Monday. The letter pointed out that both the Corexit products currently being used in the Gulf were removed from a list of approved treatments for oil spills in the U. K. more than a decade ago. (Here’s the letter [7].) http://www.propublica.org/ion/blog/item/In-Gulf-Spill-BP-Using-Dispersants-Banned-in-UK
44. Experts debate diverting Mississippi to fight oil spill…By Clement Sabourin Posted Sun May 16, 2010 4:13pm PDT … “…Trying to keep the spreading oil at bay, authorities have diverted the river into dozens of canals. But fishermen and ecologists are concerned an environmental disaster could be in the offing…With the outflow measuring between 7,000 and 20,000 cubic meters of water per second, the Mississippi represents a powerful natural ally of US authorities scrambling to control what could become the worst oil spill in US history…The appearance of oil in new locations highlights the urgency of efforts to contain the spill, which experts warn may be growing at a rate close to 70,000 barrels (2.9 million gallons) a day, more than 10 times faster than previous Coast Guard estimates…The new findings suggest the spill has already eclipsed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, the worst environmental disaster in US history…In the face of the catastrophe, US authorities have decided to open the locks at some of the canals to increase the outflow to maintain the oil slick away from the ecologically fragile delta…But ecologists and fishermen worry this decision could backfire at a time when many fish and shellfish have entered their reproductive season…”It pushes the juvenile shrimp right into the oil, and we are going to lose them all,” complained Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimpers Association…He said the water coming out from the Mississippi was of low purity and untreated…” http://green.yahoo.com/news/afp/20100516/ts_alt_afp/usblastoilenergypollutionmississippi.html
45. Barack Obama sends nuclear experts to tackle BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil leak The US has sent a team of nuclear physicists to help BP plug the “catastrophic” flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from its leaking Deepwater Horizon well, as the Obama administration becomes frustrated with the oil giant’s inability to control the situation…By James Quinn in Louisana Published: 7:57PM BST 14 May 2010… http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7726142/Barack-Obama-sends-nuclear-experts-to-tackle-BPs-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-leak.html
see
Oceans of Oil by Roxanne Amico
Below the surface of oil hemorrhage by Roxanne Amico – Part 2
CODEPINK goes naked in a protest against BP
Oil leak may be 19 times larger than BP and US government say + Latest Footage of Gas Burn Off
Dandelion Salad 
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Dear Dabra,
Thank you, so much for your kind comment! I am glad that my work here has meaning for you, and I hope for others, too. It is helpful to hear encouraging comments like yours–thank you! And thanks for the link to healing sounds!
Cheers,
Roxanne
Dear Roxanne,
Your effort and ability to take all this information and string it together coherently, and with heart is remarkable, commendable and even enviable. Thank-you Roxanne, and yes take that time to “clean my brain out with a long walk and then a long intense bike ride, to remember whatever clean air is available to breathe.”
This may seem unorthodox or off the beaten track, but if/when you are in need of a bit of a “human instrument tune-up” in the course of your day, you can get one quickly here just by listening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftlp8aEW4yA
Please continue to continue, and know that you are speaking for many and the universe is behind you too.
Pingback: Kucinich: Oily Apocalypse or Green Wave? + Why Do We Distance Ourselves from the Oil Disaster? « Dandelion Salad
Thank you, Lo! Nice lay out, great photos. I like the bold highlights! Really appreciate your posting it on your fine site!
xo
Cheers,
Roxanne
Thanks, Roxanne, and thank you for all your time and energy putting this together. Lots of great info and links here.