BP Working Together With Government To Assess Gulf Oil Spill Damage

Washington Post:

In recent weeks, the Obama administration has sought to distance itself from BP in handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill -- with one notable exception: When it comes to assessing how badly the spill has harmed the gulf, the two sides are working hand in hand.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[rougebaisers]

04:24 AM on 07/07/2010

This headline should be BP AND GOVERNMENT COVER UP GULF OIL CRISIS.

[maxfax]

11:04 PM on 07/06/2010

British Petroleum is working with government to assess damage? BS

[JohnSawyer]

03:40 AM on 07/06/2010

The damages BP is supposed to be held liable for, will be based not only on observation of damage done to the Gulf, but also on the quantity, as closely as it can be determined, of oil released. Concern has been raised that BP's use of the Corexit dispersant is hiding the true quantity of that oil, making observation of plumes, measurements made some distance from the well, etc. less useful--still important, but not as accurate as a good measurement of the rate of flow coming straight out of the well. Of course, this is why BP didn't use the flow measuring equipment they had, from the start, to measure that flow, and simply released absurdly low figures, and then did some half-hearted measurements later, but much more accurate measurements have been made since then--still not as accurate as they could be if BP would cooperate, and the government would make them, but still the current measurements (though probably requiring adjustment upward), and better ones to come, are probably going to give us the closest figures we're likely to get, rather than relying too much on extrapolations based on observation of oil on/in the water (with or without the use of dispersants). So, as long as actual flow rate out of the well, from start to finish, is what the damages are based on, the role of the dispersant in hiding the quantity of oil released, may be less helpful to BP than some think.

[maxfax]

11:05 PM on 07/06/2010

Corexit the toxic chemical used to hide the oil, forces the oil to fall to the ocean floor, who's to measure it?

[JohnSawyer]

06:42 AM on 07/08/2010

Corexit causes the oil to sink below the surface, but remain suspended in the water column. A number of measurements have been made in Corexit-sprayed areas, in which huge plumes floating not far under the surface have been found. But as I said, even if the oil in the water, wherever it is (on the surface, under the surface, in the marshes, on the animals, etc.) can be measured, it's not going to be as accurate a measurement as the one derived from knowing the rate of flow that comes out of the pipe, from the start of the blowout to its end. That's why BP has tried to hide and misrepresent the rate of flow from the start--one of BP's first statements after the blowout was (paraphrasing): "We don't think knowing the rate of flow would help anyone, including us."

[maxfax]

11:57 AM on 07/05/2010

If you're a resident of the Gulf you know the government works for British Petroleum.

" at risk is the public's right to know, and that deserves protection, too."

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/is_the_coast_guard_working_for.html#comments

Support transparency and a free flow of information.

[caleb36]

03:18 AM on 07/05/2010

On the part of the Gulf Coast where the oil is spreading, a police state has emerged. Private individuals and the press are prohibited from viewing the oil damage and the clean up efforts (or lack thereof), under threat of felony prosecution. Workers involved in the clean up are subject to gag orders. The government is condoning BPs illegal efforts to limit its liability (measured by the number of gallons released) through the use of toxic dispersants which hide the oil but may aggravate the harm it causes. Under apparent orders from BP, OSHA regulations mandating protective equipment for these workers are flagrantly violated. In all aspects of life along the coast, corporate dictates from BP have replaced Constitutional rights and duly enacted laws. Will this police state now spread like a toxic oil spill throughout America?

[LHoney]

08:57 AM on 07/05/2010

Here's Anderson Cooper announcing that the first amendment has been suspended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXsmLMV1CrM

[masher]

11:02 PM on 07/04/2010

Goerge W Obama is really enjoying his third term.

[HisPetGoat]

10:38 PM on 07/04/2010

NRDA: Would you be paying less or more for the damages?

BP: Less, please.

NRDA: Very good, sir.

[LiberalTreeHugger]

09:48 PM on 07/04/2010

Why can't we just take BP's word for it? I'm sure they will do the right thing, they are a huge corporation - corporations can't lie.

[sheoples]

10:01 PM on 07/04/2010

2X

you KNOW there are suckers in america who WILL do just that.

think of almost half of america who voted for dubbya TWICE!

GAME OVER AMERICA

LEARN CHINESE FAST.

[doctorj2u]

09:13 PM on 07/04/2010

I have really in my heart given up on America. I lived Katrina and the years after. Now I live this oil disaster. There are VERY good people in this country and they CARE. I think the political cast has lost sight of that simple blessing. It is all a show of caring. I do not know the exact point when political America lost its heart, but it happened. Happy fourth, America. I grieve for what is lost.

[sheoples]

10:03 PM on 07/04/2010

2X

8 presidents later and in face of worst ecological disaster in recorded human hisotry and we are no closer to kicking our addiction to oil let alone have a 10 year plan to go 100% green energy.

epic fail for leadership and citizens.

[maxfax]

10:21 AM on 07/05/2010

Something is awfully wrong in Washington, beginning with the White House. We lived through it during Bush's Katrina, now this.

[maxfax]

08:40 PM on 07/04/2010

"In recent weeks, the Obama administration has sought to distance itself from BP in handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill "

The White House spin begins.

[sheoples]

10:05 PM on 07/04/2010

2x

[maxfax]

10:18 AM on 07/05/2010

The truth "In recent weeks, the Obama administration has distanced itself from handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill" j/k

[doctorj2u]

08:29 PM on 07/04/2010

Expect the well to be capped this week.

[sheoples]

09:13 PM on 07/04/2010

i'll believe it when i see it

[doctorj2u]

09:15 PM on 07/04/2010

Inside sources. I hope it is the truth. Please Lord!

[Dolphinfan65]

06:46 PM on 07/04/2010

I just found out ,that B.P. is almost bankrupt!! ABC NEWS tonight!! I knew it!!!!!! I knew it!!!!!!!!, we will be left with the BILL!!!

[BikeFreak]

06:56 PM on 07/04/2010

We were ALWAYS going to get stuck with the bill.

[doctorj2u]

08:33 PM on 07/04/2010

Actually it is the people of the Gulf Coast that are stuck with the real bill.

[sheoples]

10:06 PM on 07/04/2010

2x

[LHoney]

08:21 AM on 07/05/2010

This is an accounting trick... remember Enron? Now most large corporations have several sets of books, just like the mafia.

[rollingrock]

06:25 PM on 07/04/2010

Is anyone surprised? BP has been calling the shots since day one and will continue to do so every step of the way. Obama keeps himself busy these days playing golf. He's a sock puppet like his predecessor.

[BikeFreak]

06:55 PM on 07/04/2010

Sadly, you are correct.

[maxfax]

08:46 PM on 07/04/2010

Like you I'm not surprised at all. The administration is clueless to what is happening in the Gulf, or more accurately, what is NOT happening. According to recent reports, another gem, the fishermen and businesses affected by the spill are being denied loans from the SBA by up to 70%. There's no coordination in this effort, how could they possibly be able to assess anything in the Gulf from Washington, impossible.

[whitebeach]

06:09 PM on 07/04/2010

I love HP, have visited the site almost daily for long, long, long, but these deceptive headlines are getting to be a real problem for me.

[RudyHaugeneder]

05:03 PM on 07/04/2010

Nature is about to assess the BP damages.
Doubt it? Check the National Hurricane Centre's latest weather map and see for youself: www.nhc.noaa.gov.
Well, what do you think about the next few days to week? And we're still early into what looks to become a very bad Hurricane season.
A Whale is apt to become a beached whale.

[whitebeach]

06:15 PM on 07/04/2010

Am I mistaken, or are you actually pretty gleeful at such a prospect? If so, why? In any case, there seems to be very little threat from either of these systems, although certainly as summer moves along we can probably expect some of the really nasty boys and girls to arrive in the Gulf.