GULF OIL DISASTER
BP to Keep Damaged Gulf Oil Well Sealed Today, Government Says
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-21/bp-to-keep-damaged-gulf-oil-well-sealed-today-government-says.html
Before rig explosion, BP pumped chemical mixture into well, contractor says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/20/AR2010072002038.html
“The injection of the dense, gray fluid was meant to flush drilling mud from the hole, according to the testimony before a government panel investigating the April 20 accident. But the more than 400 barrels used were roughly double the usual quantity, said Leo Lindner, a drilling fluid specialist for contractor MI-Swaco. BP had hundreds of barrels of the two chemicals on hand and needed to dispose of the material, Lindner testified. By first flushing it into the well, the company could take advantage of an exemption in an environmental law that otherwise would have prohibited it from discharging the hazardous waste into the Gulf of Mexico, Lindner said. “
BP Supervisor Says Rig Safety Device Flawed
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704723604575379451589727916.html
“…workers detected a leak in the hydraulic system that controls the blowout preventer, the huge stack of valves on the sea floor that is supposed to shut down a well in an emergency.”
BP Didn’t Stop Drilling After Leaks on Blowout Preventer
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/bp-worker-bp-failed-to-stop-operations-when-leaks-were-found-weeks-prior-to
Deadly Gulf blowouts persist
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/deepwaterhorizon/7115411.html
“In the last 10 years, blowouts triggered explosions on five rigs in the Gulf, a minefield of Mississippi mud deposits, and caused the evacuation of 17, according to the Chronicle's examination of scores of documents. Blowouts, known technically as "loss of well control incidents," range in seriousness from slow old leakers to explosive killers that can open the earth and swallow a rig while spewing gas, drilling mud, water vapor, sand and oil. There are so many man-made holes in the Gulf, 50,000, that the government has lost track of at least 4,500 old wells, records show.”
House Seeks To Promote Better Offshore Drilling Procedures
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000003706425
DEEPWATER DRILLING MORATORIUM
ENSCO Files Suit Against Drilling Moratorium, New Regulations
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=96328&hmpn=1
WILDLIFE, HUMAN AND ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS
Efforts to save Gulf coastline slog on in face of massive oil disaster
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/efforts_to_save_gulf_coastline.html
Cleanup expert says undersea oil is the biggest threat
Where Will All This Oil Be in August?
Slate's interactive models of the Deepwater Horizon spill
http://www.slate.com/id/2260733/#map
Also see this earlier plume model
Gulf Oil Spill Tracker Now Can Be Used to Report Human Health Impacts
Do you believe your health has been impacted by exposure (inhalation, dermal exposure, ingestion) to oil and related chemicals in the air or water from the Gulf oil spill? You can now report these incidents at the Gulf Oil Spill Tracker website.
FLORIDA
Florida Legislature adjourns, rejecting vote on constitutional amendment banning oil drilling
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/article1109979.ece
“The Florida House abruptly adjourned a special legislative session after 49 minutes Tuesday, rejecting Gov. Charlie Crist's proposal to let voters place a permanent ban on offshore drilling in the Florida Constitution. The party-line vote to adjourn the session was 67 to 44, with Republicans supporting adjournment and Democrats in favor of continuing the debate. A heckler from the visitors' gallery shouted that all 67 were "in the pocket of BP."”
CHINA
China oil spill doubles in size, is deemed 'severe threat'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38337393/ns/us_news-environment/
Horrifying photos
