GULF OIL DISASTER
BP Controls Gulf Well That Caused Record Oil Spill
In gulf, crews begin 'static kill' attempt
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/03/AR2010080300431.html?hpid=topnews
BP / Gulf Oil Spill - How Big? Just Got Bigger. Again. (Skytruth.org)
http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/08/bp-gulf-oil-spill-how-big-just-got.html
US Senate postpones action on scaled-back energy bill
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iRCCzbpaOUAX3BuuL8tpNL4iPhyA
DEEPWATER DRILLING MORATORIUM
Offshore-Drilling Overseer Vows Tough Probes of Oil Companies
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100803-719608.html
“Michael Bromwich, sworn in less than two months ago as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, also told reporters Tuesday the Obama administration hopes to be able to end a moratorium on deepwater drilling well before Nov. 30, when it is currently scheduled to expire. But Bromwich said any recommendations he makes on the ban will depend on what he learns from experts his agency is consulting in a series of public hearings over the next few weeks about the how much the industry's safety and preparedness have improved.”
WILDLIFE, HUMAN and ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS
Success on Surface, Questions Below
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704499604575407530141312808.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
“In the Gulf, the U.S. accepted dispersants as a cost-effective and reliable way to keep spilled oil off shorelines. The chemicals break the oil into tiny particles that drop below the water's surface, where natural bacteria can eat them. But dispersants present an environmental trade-off, putting oil in the path of organisms that live underwater. Regulators discussed risks to marine life: that the oil particles could reduce underwater oxygen levels, or be eaten by fish, or get into their skin. But faced with the alternative of oiled beaches and marshes, they allowed the chemicals to be sprayed at unprecedented levels—about 1.8 million gallons overall.”
La. marshes damaged by oil, but surprisingly resilient
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-08-02-1Amarshes02_CV_N.htm
U.S. Finds Most Oil From Spill Poses Little Additional Risk
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/science/earth/04oil.html
“The government is expected to announce on Wednesday that three-quarters of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, been captured or otherwise eliminated — and that much of the rest is so diluted that it does not seem to pose much additional risk of harm. A government report finds that about 26 percent of the oil released from BP’s runaway well is still in the water or onshore in a form that could, in principle, cause new problems. But most is light sheen at the ocean surface or in a dispersed form below the surface, and federal scientists believe that it is breaking down rapidly in both places.”
Also see: Nearly 3/4 of BP spill oil gone from Gulf
Environment America Statement on New Report: Where Has All the Oil Gone?
http://www.environmentamerica.org/news-releases/healthy-oceans/healthy-oceans/environment-america-statement-on-new-report-where-has-all-the-oil-gone
“We are extremely concerned about environmental impacts of the large amount of oil that is still floating around the Gulf of Mexico. In contrast to administration statements, we believe the report today shows that almost half the oil released by the BP well (total released is 4.9 million barrels) is still floating around the Gulf. The report shows that 26% of the oil released is unaccounted for and called ‘residual’. Another 24% is reported to have been chemically and naturally dispersed into the Gulf. So half the oil, approximately 2.5 million barrels, is still floating around the Gulf as small dispersed droplets, floating balls below the surface, sinking to the bottom of the ocean or coming ashore in marshes or beaches. Oil in tiny droplets may be easier to degrade by bacteria but it is also more available to be taken up by algae, larvae and other small things at the bottom of the Gulf’s food chain. We are concerned that this oil and its breakdown products will get into the food chain and affect the behavior, growth, reproduction, and health of the Gulf’s wildlife.”
Defenders reacts to NOAA report on Gulf oil disaster
"The conclusions of this report are troubling in many ways. Based on these estimates, up to 75 percent of the oil from BP's Gulf oil disaster still remains in the Gulf environment. Terms such as 'dispersed,' 'dissolved' and 'residual' do not mean gone. That's comparable to saying the sugar dissolved in my coffee is no longer there because I can't see it.”
BP / Gulf Oil Spill - How Much Oil Underwater? (Skytruth.org)
http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/08/bp-gulf-oil-spill-how-much-oil_03.html
“This suggests that at least 43% of the oil that leaked from the well remained under water or was driven back under water by dispersants, out of sight to satellite images and Coast Guard observers. Given a total spill of 172.2 million gallons, if we extrapolate from that first week we can conclude that at least 43% of that oil - 74 million gallons - may still be lurking beneath the surface in the Gulf.”
ALABAMA
Tests suggest oil dispersant washing up on Alabama beaches
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/tests_suggests_oil_dispersant.html
Director Bromwich to Host Forum in Alabama to Discuss Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containment and Spill Response
August 10, 2010: Mobile, Ala.
Renaissance Mobile Hotel
26 North Royal Street
Mobile, AL
Doors open at 8 A.M., event begins at 9 A.M.
ALASKA
Obama administration seeks seismic testing for oil drilling in Arctic Ocean
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arctic-drilling-20100804,0,1295899.story
“In a rare recent case of siding with the oil industry, the Obama administration has asked a federal judge to allow a major oil company to take some exploratory steps toward drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean. Late last month, a district judge in Alaska blocked all drilling-related activities in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea, citing gaps in the government's environmental impact assessments for drilling leases auctioned off during the Bush administration. The filing last Friday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar did not challenge the broad finding that the government failed to follow the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. But Salazar asked the court to narrow the ruling to allow drilling giant Statoil, which owns several Chukchi leases, to commence seismic testing in the area. Seismic tests are conducted before actual drilling begins. Environmental groups said they were stunned by the administration move, which they said undercuts the administration's recent decisions to put the brakes on Arctic exploration in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.”
FLORIDA
Director Bromwich to Host Forum in Florida to Discuss Deepwater Drilling Safety, Containment and Spill Response
August 11, 2010: Pensacola, Fla.
New World Landing
600 S. Palafox St.
Pensacola, FL
Doors open at 8 A.M., event begins at 9 A.M.
