Culture of complacency' ruled at companies, oil spill panel's co-chairman says
"William K. Reilly, who was EPA administrator under President George H.W. Bush, said that the panel's investigators had uncovered "a suite of bad decisions," many still inexplicable, involving tests that were poorly run, alarming test results that were ignored, proper equipment sidelined, and safety barriers that were removed at the high-pressure well prematurely. "Each company is responsible for one or more egregiously bad decision," Reilly said in opening comments on Tuesday."
Pew Environment Oil Spill Legislation Ad
Obama Adm,, Salazar Sets Drilling Guidance Post Deep Water Drilling Ban
Oil Traveled Up the Gulf Food Chain, Scientists Say
""We showed with little doubt that oil consumed by marine bacteria did reach the larger zooplankton that form the base of the food chain," Monty Graham, the lead author of the report, said in a news release. These zooplankton are in turn eaten by larger marine organisms like fish and whales. [...] The study did not look for toxicity in the food web; government scientists are studying that question. But it adds to the larger picture of the oil's fate, providing evidence that much of the oil that "disappeared" was, to put it more precisely, eaten."
The Gulf Between Us - Stories of terror and beauty from the world's largest accidental offshore oil disaster
THE ARCTIC
Oil and ice: worse than the Gulf spill?
"In the wake of BP's catastrophic leak in the Gulf of Mexico this spring, Russian officials and experts warn an oil spill under the ice could turn out far worse than one in warmer deepwater climates. Arctic conditions -- remoteness, fragile ecosystems, darkness, sub-zero temperatures, ice, high winds -- make dealing with an oil spill a massive task."
NORTH CAROLINA
Wrightsville mayor concerned about offshore drilling
"Mayor David Cignotti said he's concerned about the potential for the drilling on the North Carolina coast. His main concern is to prevent another spill like the one that happened in the Gulf.
Cignotti also discussed the importance of tourism to Wrightsville Beach and how the industry would be devastated by a spill.
Environment North Carolina said only a two or three month supply of oil would be found off the state's coast."
