BP Spill: Has the damage been exaggerated?

[MannyIsGod]

LOL. I used to eat blue crabs out of the Houston ship channel. That water always smelled of oil.


p.s. Oil is not mercury.

Well, this could explain a whole of a lot.

[boutons_deux]

Gulf Oil Spill Update: Scientist Finds Gulf Bottom Still Oily, Dead

WASHINGTON — Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist's video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.

That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012.

At a science conference in Washington Saturday, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She went to places she had visited in the summer and expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. It wasn't.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...tml?view=print
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As Wikileaks showed, the govt is always lying.

And what about the $35/barrel spilled = $21B fine?

People are sick all along the Gulf Coast.

[Wild Cobra]

my uncle who is a marine biologist said that oil is always leaking up through the ocean floor and that organisms in the water have a way of breaking it down, and that's what's happening to all the oil from the gulf spill

That's just it.

Just because there is oil there doesn't mean it came from that leak.

But no....

The lemmings will believe anything their masters tell them.

[boutons_deux]

Mystery Illnesses Plague Louisiana Oil Spill Crews

RACELAND, Louisiana — Jamie Simon worked on a barge in the oily waters for six months following the BP spill last year, cooking for the cleanup workers, washing their clothes and tidying up after them.

One year later, the 32-year-old said she still suffers from a range of debilitating health problems, including racing heartbeat, vomiting, dizziness, ear infections, swollen throat, poor sight in one eye and memory loss.

She blames toxic elements in the crude oil and the dispersants sprayed to dissolve it after the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010.

"I was exposed to those chemicals, which I questioned, and they told me it was just as safe as Dawn dishwashing liquid and there was nothing for me to worry about," she said of the BP bosses at the job site.

The local doctor, Mike Robichaux, said he has seen as many as 60 patients like Simon in recent weeks, as this small southern town of 10,000 bordered by swamp land and sugar cane fields grapples with a mysterious sickness that some believe is all BP's fault.

Andy LaBoeuf, 51, said he was paid $1,500 per day to use his boat to go out on the water and lay boom to contain some of the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spewed from the bottom of the ocean after the BP well ruptured.

But four months of that job left him ill and unable to work, and he said he recently had to refinance his home loan because he could not pay his taxes.

"I have just been sick for a long time. I just got sick and I couldn't get better," LaBoeuf said, describing memory problems and a sore throat that has nagged him for a year.

Robichaux, an ear, nose and throat specialist whose office an hour's drive southwest of New Orleans is nestled on a roadside marked with handwritten signs advertising turtle meat for sale, says he is treating many of the local patients in their homes.

"Their work ethic is so strong, they are so stoic, they don't want people to know when they're sick," he said.

"Ninety percent of them are getting worse... Nobody has a clue as to what it is."

According to a roster compiled by the National Ins ute for Occupational Safety and Health, a total of 52,000 workers were responding to the Gulf oil spill as of August 2010.

The state of Louisiana has reported 415 cases of health problems linked to the spill, with symptoms including sore throats, irritated eyes, respiratory tract infections, headaches and nausea

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/150637

[boutons_deux]

"Spillionaires": Profiteering in the Wake of the BP Oil Spill

The oil spill that was once expected to bring economic ruin to the Gulf Coast appears to have delivered something entirely different: a gusher of money.

Some people profiteered from the spill by charging BP outrageous rates for cleanup. Others profited from BP claims money, handed out in arbitrary ways. So many people cashed in that they earned nicknames -- "spillionaires" or "BP rich." Meanwhile, others hurt by the spill ended up getting comparatively little.

In the end, BP's attempt to make things right -- spending more than $16 billion so far, mostly on claims of damage and cleanup -- created new divisions and even new wrongs. Because the federal government ceded control over spill cleanup spending to BP, it's impossible to know for certain what that money accomplished, or what exactly was done.


Do ents show that local companies with ties to insiders garnered lucrative cleanup contracts and then charged BP for every imaginable expense. The prime cleanup company, which had a history of bad debts and no oil-spill experience, submitted bills with little do entation or none at all. A subcontractor charged BP $15,400 per month to rent a generator that usually cost $1,500 a month. A company owned in part by the St. Bernard Parish sheriff charged more than $1 million a month for land it had been renting for less than $1,700 a month.

Assignments for individual fishermen followed the same pattern, with insiders and supporters earning big checks.

"This parish raped BP," said Wayne Landry, the chairman of the St. Bernard Parish Council, referring to the conduct of its political leadership. "At the end of the day, it really just frustrates me. I'm an elected official. I have guilt by association."

The economic benefits that rippled through St. Bernard Parish were seen in varying degrees throughout the Gulf. In the six months after the spill, sales tax receipts [8], a key measure of economic activity, rose significantly in eight of the 24 most affected communities from Louisiana to Florida, despite the national recession. Only one community, in Mississippi, saw its receipts dip significantly. Local governments also profited. A recent story by the Associated Press [9] found that governments along the coast used BP money to buy SUVs, Tasers and other equipment not necessary to clean up oil.

According to sales tax collections, Louisiana made out better than anywhere. Sales tax collections from Plaquemines Parish rose more than 71 percent, while St. Bernard saw the biggest jump of all. The parish collected almost $26.8 million in sales and lodging tax receipts in the six months after the spill, almost twice as much as over the same period in 2009. Flush with cash from cleanup and claims, many fishermen bought new toys, boats and trucks. Sales at the nearest Chevrolet dealer rose 41 percent.

Some of the influx of money can be traced to the efforts of St. Bernard's parish president, Craig Taffaro Jr., a 45-year-old psychotherapist with a wrestler's build, a cue-ball head and a trimmed goatee.

Just days into the crisis, Taffaro did what many parish presidents did: He invoked a Louisiana law that allowed him to declare a 30-day emergency and handle the crisis without most normal government checks and balances. But Taffaro used his powers more broadly than most, saying that he wanted to put money back into the community. Unlike the leaders of other Gulf communities, Taffaro -- not BP -- chose the prime contractor that supervised the cleanup. He and his allies also decided which fishermen would be hired to put out boom and search for oil. At one point, Taffaro hired his future son-in-law to work in the finance department and help on the spill.


As the money flowed, complaints spread. Some beneficiaries didn't necessarily suffer from the spill but had social or political connections. Subcontractors said those at the top of the cleanup creamed off money for doing very little, while those at the bottom earned much less for doing the actual work.

At first, everyone was angry with BP. But as the months wore on, some St. Bernard residents directed their frustration at Taffaro, blaming him for handing out jobs and money to a small group of insiders.

Meanwhile, Taffaro was attacking BP and the federal government in the media, appearing on TV alongside Gov. Bobby Jindal and testifying in Congress. His outrage was palpable. There wasn't enough boom, coordination or respect for the local government. BP wasn't making good on its obligations.

The pressure paid off. Taffaro at one point boasted that St. Bernard had doled out more BP cleanup money to commercial fishermen than any other Louisiana parish. His claim is impossible to verify, because neither Taffaro nor anyone else would provide details about the spending numbers.

BP gave only limited information to ProPublica, and declined to comment on allegations it had been overcharged.

Taffaro and other St. Bernard officials refused to respond to the public-records requests ProPublica began filing in November.

"I'm in the process of really, truly trying to assist you," said Dysart, who is also the parish interim chief administrative officer.

In response to questions submitted by ProPublica last month, Taffaro said through his spokeswoman that he can approve overtime for salaried employees in extenuating cir stances and that Dysart eventually decided to stop taking overtime. Taffaro said there was no law against hiring his future son-in-law because he was not yet married, and that paying overtime for picking up dog food was necessary because the spill had caused fishermen to abandon their dogs.

Taffaro also said that the tax receipt bubble was "a false economy," similar to what happened after Hurricane Katrina.

****

Many companies and people earning big money from the spill had connections to parish powerbrokers, according to court do ents, parish records and interviews done by ProPublica.

But the price Amigo charged BP for the land was astronomical. Amigo had been leasing the land for less than $1,700 a month from the Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc., according to the nonprofit's most recent tax returns. The company billed BP more than $1.1 million a month, said BP spokesman Joe Ellis.



http://truthout.org/print/1160

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And what about the Federal fines of $35/barrel spilled? Should be $20B+

[Winehole23]

A broken underwater wellhead has been dumping 4,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico for seven years, and neither its owner nor state or federal governments have informed the public or seriously tried to stop it, six environmental groups claim in Federal Court.

Lead plaintiff Apalachicola Riverkeeper sued Taylor Energy Co., acting with its co-plaintiffs as the Waterkeeper Alliance.

"This lawsuit is necessary because of Taylor's slow pace in stopping the flow of oil from its well(s) into the Gulf," the complaint states." To the best of the Waterkeepers' knowledge, this contamination continues after seven (7) years of flow.

"This lawsuit is also needed because of the secrecy surrounding Taylor's response to a multi-year spill that threatens public resources. Such secrecy is inconsistent with national policy that 'Public participation in the ... enforcement of any [Clean Water Act or RCRA] regulation ... shall be provided for, encouraged, and assisted." (Brackets in complaint.)

The complaint continues: "The Waterkeepers understand that an underground mudslide began this spill on about September 15, 2004, by destroying a Taylor drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico (Block 20 of the Mississippi Canyon) and burying up to 28 wells. But without details about Taylor's response to this crisis, it is impossible for members of the public to assess the risk that similar events will cause additional multi-year spills, including spills from higher-pressure wells in deeper water. Because such spills may damage the Gulf's eco-system on a scale comparable to or exceeding the BP spill, it is essential that the public learn from the more than 7-year Taylor response. Further, without understanding why it is taking more than 7 years to stop the Taylor spill, it is impossible to assess the reasonableness of Taylor's response."

The waterkeepers say that Taylor, the U.S. EPA and the Department of Interior have been secretive about what, if anything, has been done to stop the leak.

The plaintiffs say Taylor has 28 wells associated with an oil platform 11 miles off the coast of Louisiana, and that at least one of the wells has been leaking a significant amount of oil since September, 2004.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/02/06/43649.htm

[MannyIsGod]

Nice.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

BP's recent commercials makes it seem like it's sunshine and lollipops in the Gulf

[baseline bum]

It's only 1/100th of a Superdome unit volume tbh.

[Winehole23]

thanks, bb.

I was wondering, and briefly considered bumping the Superdome thread.

[MannyIsGod]

BP's recent commercials makes it seem like it's sunshine and lollipops in the Gulf

What irritates me is that they're allowed to use those commercials as advertising. When talking about the gulf and how its back to normal I don't think there should be any ing mention of BP.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

can't let a crisis go to waste

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

I like how they're saying, "Were assuming completely responsibility for cleaning the gulf!" in those commercials as if cleaning up after a mess you made is some amazing, commendable act.

[TDMVPDPOY]

you reap what you sow, including the cleanup wankers who tried to milk BP...

[Wild Cobra]

can't let a crisis go to waste

That's right Rahm.

[DarrinS]

Thousands of gallons of oil per day have been seeping off the coast of Santa Barbara and in the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of thousands of years. They are even visible from space.




We're all gonna die!

[Winehole23]

Bad analogy.

Not fair to compare natural seeps to spills that producers and regulators sweep under the rug.

You're not really advocating complacence about fixing spills, are you Darrin?

[DarrinS]

Bad analogy.

Not fair to compare natural seeps to spills that producers and regulators sweep under the rug.

You're not really advocating complacence about fixing spills, are you Darrin?

They should try to do everything possible to prevent spills, but accidents happen. That said, people still need to be able to put numbers in perspective.

[Wild Cobra]

Bad analogy.

Not fair to compare natural seeps to spills that producers and regulators sweep under the rug.

You're not really advocating complacence about fixing spills, are you Darrin?

I think Darrins point is it happens anyway. i would say the magnitude of the spill matters. Nature will take care of only so much. There is likely natural seepage there anyway.

I have a personal theory that there would be less oil off the coast of California if oil companies were allowed to drill, and relieve the pressure!

[DarrinS]

Manny will be along shortly to compare oil with plutonium.

[Winehole23]

how about fixing blown well heads? worth it in your view? ok to leave it like it is?

[DarrinS]

how about fixing blown well heads? worth it in your view? ok to leave it like it is?

Should be fixed, if possible.

[Wild Cobra]

how about fixing blown well heads? worth it in your view? ok to leave it like it is?

Should be fixed, if possible.

Agreed.

[boutons_deux]

BP surges back into profits, as US criminal trial looms

BP returned to profit with a bang last year, posting net earnings of $23.9 billion on Tuesday, as the British energy giant prepared for a criminal trial over the US Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

BP announced adjusted profit after tax equivalent to 18.2 billion euros for 2011, as higher oil prices offset a drop in production, according to a group statement.

The London-listed energy major also signalled its recovery by hiking its shareholder dividend for the first time since the devastating April 2010 spillage that ravaged the company's fortunes.

BP had suffered a net loss of $4.9 billion in 2010 after an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers, sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the sea and left it with huge compensation costs.

Including changes in the value of BP's energy inventories, net profit hit $25.7 billion in 2011, the group added Tuesday.

"BP is on the right path," the company's chief executive Bob Dudley said in the earnings release.

"2012 will be a year of increasing investment and milestones as we build on the foundations laid last year."

BP said that it had committed $1.0 billion "for the early restoration of natural resources following the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...78654007fe.5a1

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anybody wanna bet BP will NEVER pay the fine of $35/barrel spilled?

[Winehole23]

Should be fixed, if possible.

Why? Oil is far less dangerous than plutonium. Sure you're not overreacting?