GULF OIL DISASTER
A gathering storm halts Gulf oil well work
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7119099.html
This is now Tropical Depression Three. The projected track is NW toward the TX/LA border (bad), but the max projected wind speed is only 45 KT.
Experts Ask Why BP Delayed Cap
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954804575381241624701892.html
BP defends CEO, eyes new option for plugging well
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100721/ts_nm/us_oil_spill
Oil Majors Building Disaster-Response System
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704684604575381422950478384.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
Also see: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/energy-environment/22response.html?_r=1
Support For Offshore Drilling Reaches New Low
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/61133
“Predictably, Rasmussen leaves most of the useful information out of their analysis. In their polling immediately prior to the rig explosion in the Gulf, 72% of likely voters supported offshore drilling. Even with Rasmussen’s skewed likely voter model, this represents a 16% shift in just 11 weeks. The current level of support among likely voters, 56%, is the lowest ever recorded by Rasmussen for this question. Moreover, support among Democrats for offshore drilling has dropped from 54% in early April to just 29% in the latest poll. Support among Republicans remains relatively flat, down just 4%. GOP support for offshore drilling, at 82%, is actually up 8% from its low point in late May.”
Legislation Summary from NRDC
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/legwatch/legislative_watch_july_21_2010.html
DEEPWATER DRILLING MORATORIUM
Gulf Deep-Water Drilling Should Resume on Case-by-Case Basis, Expert Says
Louisiana governor: Let's start drilling
http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/21/news/economy/Jindal_offshore_drilling/
In Defense of the Offshore Drilling Moratorium
“More drilling now would only put this area at risk for a second spill, or a third. Proposing new drilling when the region is still reeling from millions of gallons of oil contamination is a slap in the face to Gulf Coast communities. And while other oil companies are saying this oil disaster is just a mistake by BP alone, the safety issues raised by the BP blowout are not unique to BP. Rather, they are indicative of an industry-wide practice of risky drilling and lax safety measures. […]The most important thing we can do for the Gulf Coast now is make sure an oil disaster never happens again. A moratorium on new deepwater drilling addresses the immediate risk to the Gulf Coast. We also need a long term plan to prevent further oil disasters. We need President Obama to chart a course that will end America's oil dependence in the next twenty years.”
Senators Urge Interior Secretary Salazar to Resume and Expedite Shallow Water Drilling Permits
“Shallow water drilling was originally included in the Obama Administration's imposed an overall drilling moratorium on May 6, 2010. Though the moratorium on new shallow water permits was officially lifted on May 28, a de facto moratorium exists since only one new shallow water permit has been approved in the past 10 weeks.”
Notes: 1) this group of Senators are all from offshore oil drilling states (the Gulf and Alaska) and 2) staff at BOEM have indicated that no shallow water drilling operator has met the requirements yet (i.e., it's not just bureaucracy holding things up) but some will soon.
WILDLIFE, HUMAN AND ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS
NOAA Re-opens Previously Closed Portions of the Gulf of Mexico to Commercial and Recreational Fishing
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/bulletins/pdfs/2010/FB10-066_BP_Oil_Spill_Closure_072210.pdf
Oil, Water and Videotape (from David Helvarg’s Blue Notes #77)
http://www.bluefront.org/wordpress/?p=1350
ALASKA
Federal Court Halts Oil and Gas Activities Under Chukchi Sea Lease Sale
Need for Further Analysis of Missing Information Tops Reasons for Halt
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/chukchi-leases-07-21-2010.html
Also see: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/21/1741164/judge-halts-oil-gas-development.html
And: http://www.adn.com/2010/07/21/1376235/judge-halts-oil-gas-development.html
FLORIDA
The big joke
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100722/OPINION01/7221043/1017
“Bottom line: Our elected legislators didn't trust us, the people who sent them to Tallahassee, to decide whether or not we want to open Florida's offshore waters to oil drilling. The notion that it'll never happen because it's already against the law is a bigger joke than the 48-minute farce that House Speaker Larry Cretul made of the special session on Tuesday. We are tempted to say the legislators who sabotaged the special session broke faith with the people they represent. But clearly they did represent the interests of the people they work for; Big Oil lobbyists and the other special interests that bankroll Florida's political machine.”
