It's been almost a month since oil last gushed into the Gulf from BP's Macondo well. That's a good thing. We still can't say for sure whether BP has plugged the well for good. The "top kill" seems to be holding, but the last bit of drilling on the relief well for a "bottom kill" was delayed by bad weather. For now, though, it's looking like the end to this chapter might finally be in sight.
But it would be a big mistake for anyone to start hanging "Mission Accomplished" banners.
Thousands are still out of work in the Gulf as a result of this disaster. Miles of coastal wetlands have been covered with oil, and we don't yet know what long-term damage fisheries and marine life will suffer as a result of the oil and chemical dispersants.
There's a real temptation to paint a rosier picture, though. Last week, the White House reported that three-quarters of the oil that was dumped in the Gulf was now accounted for. "The vast majority of the oil is gone," said Carol Browner on the Today show.
First of all, there's skepticism among experts about that figure. A quarter of the "gone" oil is marked as "dispersed," for instance. Dispersing oil is not the same as making it disappear. It's still in the ecosystem, along with the chemicals used to disperse it.
Even if you accept the government's numbers, that still leaves 100 million gallons of oil still in the Gulf, either on the surface, dispersed, or unaccounted for.
That's a lot of oil. It's nearly ten times more oil than was released during the Exxon Valdez spill, which -- twenty years later -- is still doing damage along hundreds of miles of Alaska's shoreline.
Stopping the oil and cleaning it up have always been the immediate priorities. But there's much much more that needs to happen:
BP still needs to address the damage done to the Gulf's economy, communities, shorelines, and marine life as a result of its carelessness.
Our leaders need to make sure that BP stays accountable. The Senate can start by picking up the ball it dropped before its recess and passing a strong oil-spill response bill.
Congress must address the root cause of this disaster by delivering transportation and clean-energy measures that can end our dependence on oil.
And, perhaps most of all, America needs a comprehensive 21st-century energy plan that will create jobs, boost the economy, and avoid any more disasters.
Follow Michael Brune on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bruneski
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Stop railing against BP OIl and cheerleading BP Wind and BP Solar - they are exactly the same people doing exactly the same thing - killing wilderness so they can monopolize our power and rip us off. WE should own the renewable revolution and it should be WITHIN OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT. Not only would it be way better for fragile interconnected ecosystems, scarce groundwater and endangered species BUT IT WOULD ALSO REDUCE GHGS MUCH MUCH MORE than Big Solar and Big Wind, which, after all the math is done, don't actually reduce GHGs much, if at all.
STOP the greenwashing of BP, Chevron and Goldman Sachs and START doing something meaningful about getting us a German-style Feed In Tariff so WE can be paid for producing clean power where it is needed! Don't just show up at solar conferences muttering platitudes then direct local chapters to stop protesting the massive industrialization of wilderness!
Sierra Club is choosing Big Energy over wilderness. Stop
If every household in America had a 5 KW solar panel mounted it would provide less than 2% of Americas energy needs not including vast expeditures for transmission and storage. For the same cost mass produced nukes would provide all of Americans energy needs.
http://geology.com/nasa/oil-seeps/
ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news and science breakthroughs -- updated daily
Science News
Scientists Find That Tons Of Oil Seep Into The Gulf Of Mexico Each Year
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/01/000127082228.htm
Twice an Exxon Valdez spill worth of oil seeps into the Gulf of Mexico every year, according to a new study that will be presented January 27 at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
But the oil isn't destroying habitats or wiping out ocean life. The ooze is a natural phenomena that's been going on for many thousands of years, according to Roger Mitchell, Vice President of Program Development at the Earth Satellite Corporation (EarthSat) in Rockville Md. "The wildlife have adapted and evolved and have no problem dealing with the oil," he said.
Oil that finds its way to the surface from natural seeps gets broken down by bacteria and ends up as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. So knowing the amount of fossil fuel that turns to carbon dioxide naturally is important for understanding how much humans may be changing the climate by burning oil and gas.
Michael, your thoughts on how to end our addiction to oil are good, but they are a long haul down the road to energy reformation. There are several things that could be done right now to help that cause along. Firstly, a complete and total ban on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico until extensive scientific research can be done to understand the damage its causing to the ecosystem. In other words, indefinately. The drilling of holes in the seafloor for oil should never have been allowed. Additionally, there needs to be a lot more environmental and safety oversight on the oil industry. What we have now is disgusting! We must find a way to get around the oil lobby and political corruption so that meaningful legislation can be passed to weaken the oil monopoly.
It is a an Astroturf organization.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-sierra-club-comes-out-in-favor-of-the-us-natural-gas-industry-reports-oil-and-gas-investor-magazine-56805012.html
Natural gas produces more ghg's than coal per kwh because of distribution leakage and copious amounts of deadly radon gas.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/44113
Meanwhile the one power source that can actually save us from global warming/peak oil - nuclear they hate worse than coal.
This organization is an enemy of Gaia.
The existing well casing is structurally analogous to the World Trade Center, but a lot taller and a lot thinner. Bin Laden figured out that it only had to be weakened at one corner to cause complete collapse.
The BP well casing is only supported vertically by the seal at the bottom, which is of questionable integrity. The tall, thin well casing is also highly dependent on lateral support from geological structure all the way down.
The 'relief wells' could weaken the side supporting structure and breaking into the casing could destroy the load supporting strength of this vertical steel column.
We might still be in for the Battle of the Bulge phase of fixing this well. And with friends like BP, and our own government experts, who needs terrorists?
The OIL SPILL CRISIS MAP is a partnership between Tulane University and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and allows Gulf Coast residents to share personal accounts of oil sightings, health problems, suspicious odors and other relevant information with the public.
You can clearly see the extent and kinds of the DAMAGE in the Gulf. View the Oil Spill Crisis Map here: http://www.oilspill.labucketbrigade.org/
Click on BP Oil Spill and you can see the location of: oil, odor, health effect, harmed marine wildlife, property damage, threatened livelihood and many others
We need to keep this tragedy in the media and visible every day.
1. Information from geologists: Why is BP's Macondo Blowout So Disastrous and Beyond Patch-up:
http://bklim.newsvine.com/_news/2010/07/30/4781973-why-is-bps-macondo-blowout-so-disastrous-beyond-patch-up-
What you don’t see can be covered up. . . BP knew if the gushing well was completely shut at the top, oil and gas would spread beneath the sea floor and gas seeps would appear. With the cap on, it’s easier to manipulate the data. There is no need to prove the well is leaking. It is already a fact.
2. Where’s the oil? It’s Oozing out of the Louisiana Ground
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100803/bs_yblog_upshot/wheres-the-oil-its-oozing-out-of-the-louisiana-ground
A slew of media reports last week asked, "Where is the oil?" angering many along the Gulf Coast, particularly those still seeing oil all over the place.
See this video report that confirms the outrage among Gulf residents who contend it's far too early for BP to scale back its cleanup campaign. It shows oil oozing out of Louisiana's coastal land.
We need to keep this tragedy in the media and visible every day.
"Taser International claimed Butler had several pre-existing cardiac and health conditions that contributed to his injury. However, Scruggs [his lawyer] said most of the scientific and medical research about the adverse effects of electric shock from a stun gun is directly or indirectly financed by the company.
At the time of Butler's injury, the company had never lost a lawsuit."
Today's headlines say Allen says the wellhead has pressure issues and the bottom kill will proceed. Read that to mean there are problems at the wellhead.
Many local news outlets have better articles about what's up with the oil - as well as some posters and bloggers here. This one points to the under estimation of how much oil is still out there. Thanks to the efforts of Southwings.org, officials have had to admit the presence of oil underwater in Mississippi Sound and nearby, http://www.sunherald.com/2010/08/12/2402801/new-emphasis-on-oil-in-gulfs-depths.html, although they deny any in 'state' waters. Wonder where those plumes inside the barrier islands were in the photos we see here:http://theamericanzombie.blogspot.com/
A Shreveport paper said this about the Alabama and Mississippi coasts yesterday:
http://www.shreveport.thedailyyou.com/news/2010/aug/11/oil-sightings-continue-along-gulf-coast-despite-fe/?refscroll=956
You guys at the national level are behind. Why can't you get ahead of this story instead of following obediently behind MSM?
BP ADMITS ROLE IN LOCKERBIE BOMBER'S RELEASE:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-07-16/news/21985586_1_bp-megrahi-transfer-pact