BP Says Yes: Critics Wonder

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At least due to the watchdog press, the BP legal waiver is dead…

by Glynn Wilson

THE BP DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SLICK ZONE – It has been a gloomy few days since we started hearing last Thursday and Friday about the worst environmental disaster in American history, descending upon us like a giant cloud of doom, different from any hurricane.

The sun came out down here on Monday, however, and attitudes are starting to modify.

The sun is supposed to shine all day Tuesday, and for the rest of the week. But it’s going to be hot, in the mid to upper 80s.

It would be a good time to go to the beach before the sheen gets here, if you don’t have anything better to do, like train to help rescue wildlife, or simply work for a living.

With the winds slowing and shifting from out of the southwest to more out of the west and the northeast, this thing is slowly going to head for Florida’s beaches, according to the best projections to date.

We will be doing overflights this week and working on several investigative angles and news features, as well as more photo essays and videos as we wait to see just how big and bad this disaster grows.

It ain’t good on any level, but I’m just sayin’, there appears to be a glimmer of hope growing in the voices of some experts.

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Let’s Blame Dick Cheney

ALEX PAREENE

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill could end up being the worst American man-made environmental catastrophe of this generation. With the oil still spilling and investigations into the causes yet to come, it’s too early to neatly assign blame to any one person. But for now, let’s hold Dick Cheney personally responsible for the whole thing.

Here’s the evidence: The Wall Street Journal reports that the oil well didn’t have a remote-control shut-off switch. The reason it didn’t have a thing that it seems every single offshore drilling rig should have? According to environmental lawyer Mike Papantonio, it’s because Dick Cheney’s energy task force decided that the $500,000 switches were too expensive, and they didn’t want to make BP buy any.

Is that not enough reason to blame the former Dark Lord of the Naval Observatory? Guess what: Halliburton is involved, too!

The Los Angeles Times reports that BP contracted Dick Cheney’s old company to cement the deepwater drill hole. Cementing the hole was, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, “the single most-important factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period.” And Hallburton is already under investigation for faulty cementing in an Australian well last year.

The spill will very likely destroy the fragile economies of at least five states and it could even plunge the nation back into a recession.

So thanks, Dick.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels was in Louisiana today with a team of experienced hazardous materials professionals leading an effort to ensure that oil spill cleanup workers receive necessary protections from the hazards of this work.

Eleven workers died last week when BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well blew up, caught fire and sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cleanup workers can face potential hazards from oil byproducts, dispersants, detergents and degreasers. Drowning, heat illness and falls also pose hazards, as can encounters with insects, snakes and other wild species native to the impacted areas. OSHA is consulting with BP, as well as federal agency partners, to ensure that workers receive appropriate training and protective equipment.

“Oil spill cleanup workers are on the front lines attacking this disaster,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “It is our top priority to ensure that this is done as effectively, efficiently and safely as possible.”

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Environmental Group Urges More Transparency, Oversight

Waterkeeper Alliance, the global environmental organization, today called on the federal government to contain the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill that threatens to destroy the economy and ecosystems of the Gulf Coast. The group and its member organizations on the Gulf demand transparency in the handling of the spill, a stepping up of oversight and enforcement of existing regulations, and the addition of new safeguards that would prevent similar spills from occurring.

“The government is right to use all means at their disposal to contain the economic and environmental destruction of this oil spill, but that’s just not enough,” said Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Acoustic regulator technology, required in European waters, could have capped this well when disaster struck and should be required here. Ultimately, as the damage we’ve done in the Gulf shows, we as a nation must move away from our deadly addiction to oil.”

While the allied Waterkeeper groups endorse the response of the federal government to contain the disaster through mechanical means, they are further demanding the following:

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BP’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Slick Will Have Devastating Consequences

A John Wathen Video

No only will the entire Gulf ecosystem be impacted, threatening wildlife and vegitation. The economic and human impact will be catastrophic.

An oil slick that threatens to become the Americas’ worst environmental disaster ever has started to wash up along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Mississippi. The head of NOAA, and President Obama, respond…