Tuesday, June 29, 2010

162 cases of illness linked to oil spill reported in Louisiana
~Hat Tip~The Political Carnival

Oil, Dispersant may pose long-term health risks and require a getaway plan
~Green Heritage News



~Thank you so much~ Gulf Restoration Network our Gulf Future
~Hat Tweet~HealthyGulf Amidst BP Drilling Disaster, 2010 #DeadZone Predicted to be Size of New Jersey | #oilspill | Read More: http://bit.ly/brHAa6

Lake Woebegon, where all the dead fish are above-average ~Library Chronicles~Also: Gas station owners say it's safe to drill at any depth. Lifeguard says there are no sharks near his beach. Star Trek fan club president certifies Space Shuttle external fuel tank. Ivor Van Heerden says levees are fixed. Les Miles says two-minute drill is running smoothly.

EPA plane sanctioned to spot oil in MS waters ~Anita Lee
~After persevering into a third day, U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor got a commitment from the Coast Guard command Monday afternoon to deploy a specially equipped Environmental Protection Agency plane that will spot oil in the Mississippi Sound and relay coordinates for cleanup.
Taylor, D-Miss., worked through the weekend to win permission for the specially equipped plane to fly over Mississippi waters as oil from the Deepwater Horizon streamed onshore along Jackson and Harrison County beaches. Infrared equipment on the plane located masses and streams of oil in the Mississippi Sound on Monday morning and over the weekend.

Meet Judge Helen “Ginger” Berrigan. Another Louisiana Eastern District Judge with a recusal problem ~slabbed

Potential gains on BP 'very high', says leading fund manager

BP has options before bankruptcy, lawyers say
~Editilla sayz~ Like Pay Your Fucking Bar Tab You Losers!

Today in BP Oil Disaster: Day 71
~Kevin Allman, Gambit


Ten Myths About The Deepwater Spill, Busted By Oceana
~6) Don't we need to drill for jobs?
Answer: This [Deepwater rig disaster] proves one thing: if you thought ocean drilling was good for jobs, you were wrong.
Three hundred thousand recreational fishing jobs in the Gulf have been lost already. Clean investments provide 3 times the jobs per dollar invested.


Oystermen in Louisiana: Nothing to do but wait for the end~The Ladies Guide to the Apocalypse

US raps on Asian shrimpers' doors after oil spill


Vietnamese community struggles with effects of oil spill
~Julian Brunt


BP Oil Disaster: Sputnik II?
~Jeffrey Toney

2 comments:

K. said...

Re the 10 myths:

1. In addition, airlines take great pains to ensure that their planes are safe. They don't cut corners, they don't cozy up to regulators to save costs by putting a dangerous product in the sky. Moreover, if the FAA has a shortage of inspectors, I've never heard about it. There's something screwy when there are ten inspectors for California's 23 rigs and less than 50 for 3600 rigs in the Gulf. Show me the person who thinks that Mary Landrieu, Haley Barbour, David Vitter, Bobby Jindal et al don't want it that and I'll sell him some ocean front property in Iowa.

6. It's not enough to say that clean energy jobs are better and more plentiful: Environmentalists and policy makers must draw a clear and convincing path of migration from extraction jobs to green jobs. (And environmentalists have to show that they care, which isn't always evident.) Otherwise, it comes across as pie in the sky.

Horatio Algeranon said...

The use of dispersants (particularly Corexit 9500) on such a massive scale and in novel ways (application at 5000 feet below the surface) is essentially a gigantic biochemistry experiment.

The US National Academy of Sciences came out with a report in 2005 entitled "Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects".

Nearly every one of their 14 key findings includes one of the following qualifiers:

"yet to be fully determined"

"significant weaknesses"

"not sufficiently understood"

"insufficient information'

"Better information is needed"

'important, unanswered questions'

"no wave-tank or laboratory studies"

"insufficient understanding'

'limited understanding'

'poorly understood'

'not adequate'

Note that there are 11 qualifiers out of the 14 key Findings!!!

In other words, you might as well just put a gigantic question mark on the Gulf at this point.