GULF OIL DISASTER
Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
"How will Congress deal with offshore drilling? Right now, it's unclear. The momentum to pass an oil spill response bill is gone, and with it go the prospects that we'll see stand-alone legislation on the issue."
"After Nov. 2, the new political establishment will ignore all those secular worries about melting polar caps, massive wildfires, dust storms, ocean dead zones and a rising sea that could inundate much of the Florida peninsula. So much for worries about preventing future deep-water spills. So much for carbon-cutting measures that might slow global warming. If climate scientists are right about rising sea levels, and the tea partiers are wrong, so much for Florida."
BP Profit Drops After Taking Further Charge on Gulf Spill
Despite $40 billion in costs associated with their response to the oil disaster, BP reported a quarterly profit of $1.8 billion, or about $20 million per day.
Fort McRae oil very toxic to humans
"A lab experienced in testing petroleum products determined that the oil's toxicity levels are sky-high.
"In its natural state, the numbers are off the chart," said Heather Reed, the environmental expert for the City of Gulf Breeze who made the discovery. "It's extremely toxic to human health."
Lab workers had to dilute the sample 20 times just to get a reading. Reed said samples are usually diluted only once.
"The oil is very well preserved," Reed added. "It smells very strong when pulled out of the water. It made me nauseated." Reed in late September discovered a significant amount of oil buried in submerged sediment near Fort McRae in Escambia County while conducting independent research.
"The oil was in about 3 feet of water and was buried pretty deep in the sediment," Reed recalled. "The mats where between 6 inches and a foot in diameter, but some were more than 2 feet in diameter. I kept digging and finding more and more."
Gulf Seafood Is Safe, Officials Say
"Of 1,735 tissue samples analyzed, only 13 showed trace amounts of dispersant residue, in concentrations well below safety thresholds established by federal agencies."
ALTERNATIVES TO OIL
Lease fears for offshore wind farms
[In waters off the coast of England] "Wind farm operators building offshore risk having their leases terminated without compensation if oil and gas companies decide they need the seabed plot for exploration, drilling or pipelines." "As wind farms get bigger, the potential for them to come into conflict with oil companies increases. Obviously, the powers that be felt that oil and gas should be given the priority.""
