GULF OIL DISASTER

Oil spewing from well near Louisiana marsh

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38429966/ns/us_news-environment/

From NOAA:

“NOAA ERD is working a well blow out that occurred when  a tug hit an orphaned well in Mud Lake at 1:00 AM this morning.  This area is the upper portion of Barataria Bay and in the Deepwater Horizon Spill area.  The well is releasing oil 30 to 40 feet into the air.  The NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator is working with Sector New Orleans on this Incident.”

BP Resumes Work to Kill Damaged Well With Cement

bp-resumes-work-to-kill-damaged-well-with-cement.html

Transcript – Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, July 26

http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/38050/transcript_%E2%80%93_press_briefing_by_national_incident_commander_admiral_thad_allen.html

“Between now and Wednesday, two things are going to happen. First of all, we're going to latch up with the lower marine riser package with the existing well, and that's being done today. At that point, we're going to run two different drill strings. The first drill string will be run down to pick up the subsea containment device – or what they call a packing device that was left there to protect the well when we vacated. Once that's happened, we are going to flush the system, check the blowout preventer, and then make sure the well is ready for further activity. At that point, we will then make up a new drill string around it clear to the bottom of the well bore, and then we will run fluids down through the drill pipe and back up to make sure we flush out any sediment from the formation.

This is all in advance of being able to lay the final casing run. That will take place between Monday and Wednesday of this week. Starting on Wednesday, we hope to run the final casing or that internal pipe that provides well integrity. That will be about a 2,000-foot casing run. It will begin on Wednesday and will probably take through Saturday or Sunday, when we will cement the casing into place and will take the cement about 8 to 12 hours to set up. At that point, we will be ready to move on to do two things. First of all, we will then shift to pumping mud and cement down the top of the well, what we call the static kill. That's an attempt to fill the inside of the well from the top down with mud and then cement to secure it and make it stable. That will be followed then by drilling into the annulus, which is the area outside the casing pipe at the base of the Macondo well, and we will attempt to then kill it from the bottom. That will take place probably five to seven days after we cement the casing in next Monday, so the sequence of events as follows. Monday through Wednesday of this week, preparing the well. Wednesday through Saturday and Sunday, running the casing pipe to be in a position on Monday, the 2nd of August, to begin the static kill, and then approximately five days later to begin the bottom kill. So at the end of week after next, we have the potential to enter the annulus and begin killing the well.”

Conference Call to Discuss Upcoming Forums on Offshore Drilling

“Please join us Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 4:30pm EDT (1:30 PDT) to discuss the upcoming public forums on Offshore Drilling. Forums will be held in New Orleans, LA; Lafayette, LA; Mobile, AL; Pensacola, FL; Santa Barbara, CA; Anchorage, AK; Biloxi, MS and Houston, TX. Further information and details will be shared on the conference call.

Please RSVP to Stacy Shannon at Stacy_M_Shannon@ios.doi.gov”

DATE: Thursday, July 29, 2010

TIME: 4:30 P.M

CALL-IN 888-989-3481 Passcode: 30728

BP oil spill to cost U.S. taxpayers almost $10 bln

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE66Q0LM20100727

Fight brews over drilling watchdog

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/26/news/economy/mms_reform/

Garamendi & Farr: It’s Time to Stop Offshore Drilling

http://www.rollcall.com/features/Climate_Energy/energy_environment/48602-1.html

“Climate change and global economic competition require us to green our economy. Clean, renewable sources of energy are our inevitable future, and the longer we drag our feet, the more our economy slips to the back of the pack. We can drill and spill our economy into decline, or we can invest in the renewable energy sources that will determine the victors of 21st century economic development. We hope this great nation makes the right choice.”

WILDLIFE, HUMAN and ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS

Susan Shaw: The oil spill's toxic trade-off (16 minute video presentation)

http://www.meriresearch.org/NEWS/CrisisintheGulfofMexico/tabid/249/Default.aspx

“Break down the oil slick, keep it off the shores: that's grounds for pumping toxic dispersant into the Gulf, say clean-up overseers. Susan Shaw shows evidence it's sparing some beaches only at devastating cost to the health of the deep sea.”

Also see: Consensus Statement: Scientists oppose the use of dispersant chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico

BP Health Tests on Offshore Workers May Overstate Chemical Exposure

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/07/26/26greenwire-bp-health-tests-on-offshore-workers-may-overst-74903.html

In Gulf oil disaster, cameras can't capture the human toll

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/26/mental.health.gulf/?hpt=Mid

FLORIDA

Oil roils politics in Florida

http://m.nwfdailynews.com/nwfdailynews/pm_19193/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=EA3F7B333ED49D6335AFFC96488041C2?contentguid=EiUFYAUN

MICHIGAN

845,000 Gallon crude oil spill in Michigan's Kalamazoo River

http://current.com/news/92570376_845-000-gallon-crude-oil-spill-in-michigans-kalamazoo-river.htm