Pressure From the Press Breeds Transparency

The oil and gas stream from the riser of the Deepwater Horizon well May 11, 2010. This video is from the larger of two existing leaks on the riser. This leak is located approximately 460 feet from the top of the blowout preventer and rests on the sea floor at a depth of about 5,000 feet, according to DeepwaterHorizonJIC

Saturday in Greene County

Rep. Earl Hilliard, Jr., announced a Community Health Care Fair to be held Saturday, May 15, at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Mt. Hebron, Ala., from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

The Community Health Care Fair will offer free blood pressure screening, cholesterol screening, HIV, screening, blood glucose testing, and hearing screening. The Fair will provide food and award door prizes, as well as a Moon Walk for children.

Dr. J. Walden Retan, M.D., will hold informal discussions about the provisions of President Obama’s new health care law and what they mean for the public at large. These new provisions will be implemented on a schedule, and Dr. Retan will provide it to those who attend the Fair. Dr. Retan is the founder of Healthcare for Everyone – Alabama, an organization dedicated to health care reforms that benefit the public interest.

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NOAA

[Click on the image for a larger view]

Winds are forecast to be persistently from the southeast throughout the week, according to the latest 72-hour forecast issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These moderately-strong onshore winds (up to 15 knots) have the potential to move new oil onshore.

The Mississippi Delta, Breton Sound, the Chandeleur Islands and areas directly north have a potential for shoreline contacts throughout the forecast period. Oil observed to the west of the Delta offshore of Timbalier Bay could threaten shorelines as far west as Atchafalaya Bay by Thursday, according to the NOAA forecast.

BP’s Deep Horizon Oil Rig Still Leaking Into the Gulf

Sporadic quantities of tarballs were found washed up on the beach yesterday in areas between Lagoon Pass in Gulf Shores west to Fort Morgan.

Contracted crews immediately went to work to clean the affected areas, and as of this morning, beaches across the island are clear, according to the Alabama Gulf Coast Facebook page.

There have been no reports of oil odor along the beaches of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or Fort Morgan. At its closest point, the slick is approximately 50-60 miles away from the most western tip of Pleasure Island.

The Alabama Department of Public Health and Alabama Department of Environmental Management said that there is no foreseeable need to close beaches and, short of a drastic change, they have no plans to do so.

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Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Tours Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge

Videography by Stew Jones

Produced by Glynn Wilson

It took about 17 days after the BP Deep Horizon oil well blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, but Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar showed up on the Gulf Coast on Friday, May 7 on a fact finding trip and to help manage the Obama administration’s response to perhaps the biggest and worst man made environmental disaster in U.S. history.

I asked the question and broke the story that is now national news on the fact that the Minerals Management Service granted the Deep Horizon a permit without an Environmental Impact Study as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Read the story that goes with the video here…

Interior Department Permitted Deep Horizon Without Impact Study