Gulf Oil Spill: Obama Orders BP To Give Daily Updates On Cleanup

The Guardian:

The Obama administration directed more fire against BP last night, ordering it to provide daily updates on its efforts to contain the spill and to stop the use of a toxic chemical dispersant to break up the slick.

Read the whole story: The Guardian

Comments

[roger37]

06:29 PM on 05/24/2010

BFD !

[solidtartan]

10:03 PM on 05/23/2010

whoa..he is getting tough now

[PotomacOracle]

08:55 PM on 05/22/2010

He knows they've been covering up to limit their financial liability. Questions the ?Commission won't delve into involve the folowing:

The reason for the BP coverup and refusal to let scientist they don't control near the GUSHER is based on their overall liability determined in part by the flow of crude and other gases harmful to the environment and humans. Part of that flow is methane gas. BP knows that millions of tons of methane are escaping from their gusher and hope that it will subside before it creates catclysmic explosions in the Gulf, and from hurricane winds.

See this to get a sense for the impact of methane explosions when there is ice cover. Then think about the amounts that are escaping in the Gulf with no ice cover.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,524404,00.html

BP also wants to hide the fact that methane inhaled at ground level is really a combination of methane and formaldahyde, a deadly combination. Methane breaks down to this familiar embalming fluid. So when lawyers begin to add up the damages they need to add in all of the direct and indirect effects of methane seepage into the atmosphere.

Lastly, BP knows that the blow out was caused by ch4 dissociation which triggered a chain reaction along the coastal drilling zone, and hundreds maybe 1,000's of old wells were uncapped. the residual oil in those wells may well be what's washing up on the FL and TX beaches.

[From the Raft]

02:31 PM on 05/23/2010

Will the Commission tabulate BP's political donations to federal and state lawmakers and correlated them with voting patterns?

Will the Commission also investigate the actions of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in improvershing the citizens of their state by their efforts to support the oil industry and ignore the needs of their state.

[PotomacOracle]

08:53 PM on 05/23/2010

No to all of the above. Call me a cynic, but Presidential Commissions have their conclusions before the first formal meeting. In this case, just like the SEC investigation od AIG, no criminal charges will be pressed. BP will go the way of AIG, GS and BofA.
and the owners of coal mines.

It's a good thing we weren't operating that rig. Since we're just folks we'd have been thrown under the jail.

[giatny]

08:09 PM on 05/22/2010

Does this mean the Administration hasn't been getting daily updates
before now???? I guess he was just too busy condemning Arizona for
acting in self-defense. One of the few direct powers in the Constitution
given to the Federal government is national defense. He and his cohorts
must stop making this an issue of race or xenophobia because it is not.
It is about Mexican CRIMINAL invaders. If it were Muslims streaming across
the border committing murder, kidnapping etc. would he still refuse to
offer Federal protection?? He has so totally corrupted the discussion by
twisting the truth and making it about immigration alone. Arizona is owed
$$$$ millions for their expenses directly related to the Federal government's
refusal to do its job. PAY them what they are owed and stop making this
a political issue to save Harry Reid. He can't be saved and the American
people are sick of the lies, corruption and dereliction of duty. It's outrageous
watching Obama, the State Department and JANET Napolitano impugn and
hang the victim. The official of INS that said Arizona's illegal CRIMINAL immigrants won't be processed, should be fired on the spot! The Arizona
law is about self-defense period and the American people know it.

[MelanieMatthias]

04:14 PM on 05/23/2010

OT much?

[LinkSync]

07:17 PM on 05/22/2010

Send the navy and get our own damned "updates" dude.

What the hell are you doing "asking" BP for anything as if they are trust worthy?

[kingbuzz]

05:03 PM on 05/22/2010

funny how this happens only weeks after the feds announced plans to control all the water in the country. RON WYDEN is the only voice of reason. WYDEN 2012.

[MyFatCat]

04:39 PM on 05/22/2010

Updates? I'd be curious to compare the effort going into containing the spill compared to the effort going into containing the PR problem.

I want the NOAA to get off its butt and estimate how much oil is in the Gulf. I want to know why this information isn't available. I absolutely don't believe there weren't any engineers at BP who didn't know how much oil was spewing into the water--this has the feel of management trying to prevent information from getting out.

[LynnW49]

04:03 PM on 05/22/2010

"ordering it to provide daily updates on its efforts to contain the spill"

Say what? This wasn't happening from day one? Updates 5 times a day from day one should have been the norm. And THOSE updates should have been given to a team of experts, from Thad Allen to US scientists and experts.

[pj-smith]

03:15 PM on 05/22/2010

Obama: worse than bush.
There, I said it.

[DeeFromTheD]

04:28 PM on 05/22/2010

Funny, I don't remember President Obama saying that about bush.

[booki]

02:09 PM on 05/22/2010

I WANT TO HEAR THE UPDATES ............WHAT WE ARE DOING TO STOP THIS!
(shall i say BP)
this is far beyond the point of pathetic, ludicrous........sad.........

so now, BP can not do anything until Tuesday, are they taking a long week end.?
as we view the flow and destuctiion....
sorry, i don't get it!

[LisaSt]

01:02 PM on 05/22/2010

This is not change I believe in. Obama and the wimps in charge of this spill at Interior, Homeland Security, NOAA, and the Coast Guard have completely surrendered to the oil industry and even Halliburton! Lots of pretty speeches of course but it's getting uglier by the hour for those directly impacted by this disaster. Another ridiculous presidential commission is not going to solve the problem of all the people losing their livelihoods or the rapidly escalating and unprecedented environmental crisis.Where's the anger in this country? Why aren't more of us, including Gore, speaking out. (I guess Gore has made too much money in the private sector for his voice to be of any use going forward.) I even sympathize with Jindal to a certain extent although he was also days late in stepping to the plate.

[mountainweb]

12:46 PM on 05/22/2010

BP is getting just what they paid for in obama, a wet noodle. Yet another pompous speech most likely cleared with the CEO of BP to make sure the demand was something they approved...

[Cheryl Greco]

02:29 PM on 05/22/2010

Grow up with your attitude about the President. Sounds like you wished someone else was president...well I wouldn't advice voting for any Palin ticket in 2012 if you feel that way!!!
How LONG has this nasty business been going on....no other president has dealt with it at all except taking money and giving oil co's subsities, etc.,etc.
I'm sure the President, like alll before him, believed the documents and info given them ,that the oil companies could handle ANY problem (or we wouldn't have let them drill the damn thing in the first place--deeper than proven safe!) that arose. That was 6-7years ago! United States does not make the "profit" for Oil, the Oil business IS the experts supposedly. Do you think we own and operate a "huge gusher disaster repair company"???? (We SHOULD...and they should pay to set it up- we let them drill-that's enough.)
Priority- STOP LEAK - get it cleaned up- ask ALL to help NOW!!!!
You can rip the President later, first things first - let him know how you feel but lets be constructive if we can - emergency mode!!!
United we stand.....we can always "fall divided" later.... if you insist!

[WhatChanged]

11:59 AM on 05/22/2010

Obama orders... what a joke. Orders or what?

[gakabani]

11:38 AM on 05/22/2010

Deliver the man a gallon of oil every day! Let him taste the flavor of FAILURE!

[itjustis]

12:02 PM on 05/22/2010

Didn't read anywhere that when Obama and Calderon said anything about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Instead of collaborating on each other’s talking points about Arizona, you'd think they could have talked about a joint effort on controlling future spills in Gulf. But that wouln’t have been advantageous to either one. What a Commander in Chief?...Clueless...Pathetic

[gakabani]

02:14 PM on 05/22/2010

I agree 100%, he is a big disappointment and a failure!

[Cheryl Greco]

02:36 PM on 05/22/2010

Clueless? Pathetic? Your post!

[jimmccau]

10:55 AM on 05/22/2010

After one month, the administration is now asking for a daily report. Someone in the White House should be getting 3-4 short briefings a day.