BartBlog

Author’s note: As I say in the article, I am beginning to think BP and the federal government are conditioning the American people to slowly accept the magnitude of this disaster. I was extremely disappointed with Obama’s speech tonight…WTF!?! He asked us to pray for the shrimpers! Please remind me what century we are living in. And restoring the Gulf to it’s original condition is impossible. It is no coincidence that this new estimate was released on the same day as the feel-good speech. I am getting tired of this hog snot…

Excerpt:
A federal panel of scientists have sharply increased the estimate of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from 210,000 gallons per day to between 1.47 and 2.52 million gallons per day.

According to this new “official” estimate, that means as of Tuesday, up to 116 million gallons have leaked into the Gulf, which is more than 10 times that of the Exxon Valdez spill. Keep in mind that it takes only one quart of oil to poison 250,000 gallons of seawater for all marine life.

Other scientists have claimed as long as a month ago that the actual amount of oil leaking could be even greater than the newly revised estimate.

Ironically, this news comes exactly one month after an article that I published for the Examiner on May 15, which quoted various scientists whom at the time estimated that the leak is far greater than the then “official” claim of 210,000 gallons per day.

As is now evident, scientists a month ago had far more accurate estimates of the magnitude of the leak than both BP and the federal government. Furthermore, subsequent developments such as the discovery of three giant underwater plumes of oil, tar balls washing up in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and the discovery of additional leaks also validate the prior estimates of scientists.

Here’s a snippet of what scientists are saying now:

The estimated super high pressure release of oil from under the earth’s crust is between 80,000 to 100,000 barrels per day. The flow of oil and toxic gases is bringing up with it…rocks and sand which causes the flow to create a sandblasting effect on the remaining well head device currently somewhat restricting the flow, as well as the drilled hole itself. The well head piping is originally about 2 inches thick. It is now likely to be less than 1 inch thick, and thinning by each passing moment. The oil along with the gasses, including benzene and many other toxins, is depleting the oxygen in the water. This is killing all life in the ocean.

Today is the fourth time that the federal government has had to increase the estimate of the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf. It is astonishing that BP and the federal government have any credibilty left at this point, even in the corporate media.

Given the current estimate of the leak, the initial 42,000 and the later 210,000 gallons per day estimate were, at best, a result of utter incompetance or were outright lies. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the American people are being willfully mislead in order to gradually condition them to accept the enormity of this disaster. It is quite possible that the environmental damage will never be able to be reversed, at least in our lifetimes.

One would think that after 57 days, if the technology to stop this leak existed, then that would have been done by now.

Read more and get links here: Orlando Independent Examiner – Federal panel of scientists sharply increase estimate of leaking oil – finally the truth?

Author’s note: This is yet another aspect of the Gulf oil disaster that is vastly under-reported. But what do we expect when BP won’t even let photographers take photos of oil-fouled beaches?

Excerpt:
Toxins that are released into the air from evaporating oil and dispersants may pose a greater health risk to clean-up workers and Gulf residents than oily water when the thickest parts of the oil slick wash ashore.

Media coverage of the BP oil disaster, thus far, has largely focused on the threats to wildlife and the potential economic impacts, while downplaying health risks to Gulf coast residents.

Scientists and researchers, however, are keenly aware of potential health risks to people not only from exposure to oil in the water, but also to fumes in the air. The Institute for Southern Studies (ISS) reported as early as May 10 that, “the latest evaluation of air monitoring data shows a serious threat to human health from airborne chemicals emitted by the ongoing deep water gusher.”

A report published by the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) analyzed data released by the EPA taken from a testing site in Venice, LA between April 26 and And May 26 (see chart). The results show unsafe levels of both Hydrogen Sulfide and VOCs in the air.

A more recent report published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) analyzes offshore air quality data released by BP. The findings replicate conclusions in earlier reports that the level of toxins in the air is unsafe for humans. “Nearly 70% (275 out of 399) of offshore air samples had detectable levels of hydrocarbons and nearly 1 in 5 (73 out of 399) had levels greater than 10 parts per million (ppm), which is an EPA cutoff level for further investigation. 6 samples exceed 100 ppm which in a previous monitoring summary was labeled as the action limit.”

The report also notes that “the BP sampling plan focuses only on workers on the large ships, and appears to not include monitoring for the people on the approximately 1,500 small fishing boats helping to clean up the spill. These people are dismissed as of ‘Reduced Priority’ on page 4 of the BP sampling plan.” It is unclear what sort of priority BP places on Gulf coast residents.

These reports suggest that the gravest threat to Gulf residents from the BP oil disaster may be lurking unseen, in the air. There have been rumors, reports and talk of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developing plans to evacuate the Gulf coast for up to 200 miles inland if the air becomes too toxic to breathe. While that would obviously be a worst-case scenario, if it is true that the government is even considering that possibility, then that may be cause for alarm.

Read more, get links and video here: Orlando Independent Examiner – Toxins in air from evaporating oil may pose greater threat to Gulf residents than oily water

Author’s note: Not much of my own writing in this one, but there are two very disturbing articles referenced. When are people in FL going to realize how bad this is?

Excerpt:
An analysis of satellite imagery suggests there may be oil leaks at three separate sites in the Gulf of Mexico, in addition to the possibility of three leaks at the Deepwater Horizon site. Meanwhile, the tar mats creeping closer to Tampa Bay may pose a threat to drinking water and power supplies in many areas of Florida.

According to both The Atlantic and the Alabama Press-Register, the Deepwater Horizon is not the only well that has been leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the last month. In addition to the multiple leaks at the Deepwater Horizon site revealed by Sen. Bill Nelson on MSNBC two days ago, there may be two others.

Kate Sheppard, who covers energy and environmental politics for the Washington bureau of Mother Jones, writes:

John Amos, head of the West Virginia-based nonprofit SkyTruth, was looking at satellite images of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon site when he noticed what appeared to be another small slick of oil about 11 miles off the coast of Louisiana and about 40 miles from the major spill. Amos’ group uses the images to assess environmental problems; he was among the first independent experts to point out that the spill estimates from BP and the government were far too low, which has now been confirmed. Amos reported a “small but persistent leak or oily discharge” at a second site in the Gulf, one that appeared to be coming from platform 23051 in the Gulf of Mexico. It can be seen on multiple satellite images of the region. Minerals Management Service (MMS) records indicate that the platform belongs to Taylor Energy Company.

Amos contacted J. Henry Fair, a New York-based photographer who specializes in artistic renderings of the human impact on the environment. Fair was in the Gulf last weekend taking aerial photos of the spill with the group Southwings, and at Amos’ suggestion sought out platform 23051. Fair found a rig with an oily sheen extending out into the water and snapped a series of photos. But upon closer inspection, it was a different rig – the Ocean Saratoga rig owned by Diamond Offshore. In some of Fair’s photos, a platform is visible in the background, possibly the one he was originally searching for, 23051. Amos couldn’t give an estimate on how much oil might be coming out of either site.

That would mean there are potentially two other operations in the Gulf leaking oil. So just how common are such leaks? The sad reality is, we really don’t know.

Florida residents, however, may be more concerned with this report from Wayne Madsen, another Washington DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. In a piece picked up by the web site, Global Research, Madsen writes:

…Emergency planning sources in Florida have informed [me] that the state faces severe fresh water shortages and power blackouts if the thick crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster clogs sea water intakes at the largest seawater desalinization plant in the United States – the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalinization Plant at Apollo Beach.

The plant, which uses seawater reverse osmosis to turn seawater into 16 to 19 million gallons of drinking water daily for residents of the Tampa Bay area, faces the threat of filtration membranes becoming clogged if oil from the Gulf of Mexico enters its intake pipes. Such an event would render the plant unable to process seawater, resulting in a major fresh water shortage for Tampa Bay.

Similarly, oil clogging the water cooling intakes at the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant on the Gulf of Mexico coast, some 80 miles north of Tampa, could force the shutdown of the Unit 3 pressurized water nuclear reactor. Such an event would result in power shutdowns in the Florida areas served by the power plant.

According to these sources, there is much more at stake for Florida residents than fouled beaches and dead marine life. When BP’s oil hits the coast of Florida, it may become an economic disaster of epic proportion.

Get imagery, links and video here: Orlando Independent Examiner: Three oil leaks in Gulf possible, FL power and water supplies may be at risk

Author’s note: Here we go again, the oil disaster. I think people in FL are finally getting a clue as to how bad this is. I did not include this link in my article. It’s from Think Progress, and it basically says BP has bought the word “oil” from search engines. That means that any time you type in “oil” it will pull up BP’s propaganda first. That’s why I call it tar balls in this one. It’d be cool if they had to buy and own “tar balls” too.

Excerpt:
Tar balls from the BP oil leak in the Gulf began to wash up on the beaches of the Florida panhandle on Friday. For many Florida residents, the oily predictions that were just news for the past few weeks are now reality.

Swimmers at Pensacola Beach rushed out of the water after wading into the mess while children played with it on the shore. Others inspected the clumps with fascination, some taking pictures. Instead of a clean ocean breeze, an oily smell was in the air.

With Americans across the nation seeing images of dead and dying marine life, as well as oil fouling pristine beaches, a recent Washington Post – ABC News poll reported that 64 percent of respondents say the government should pursue legal action against BP.

Chances of a ruling against BP in Federal court in the Gulf states, however, is less than 50 percent, since the AP also reports that 37 of the 64 active or senior judges in key Gulf Coast districts in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida have links to oil, gas and related energy industries, including some who own stocks or bonds in BP PLC, Halliburton or Transocean. Others regularly list receiving royalties from oil and gas production wells, according to the reports judges must file each year. The AP reviewed 2008 disclosure forms, the most recent available.

Meanwhile, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward told the BBC Sunday that the cut-and-cap maneuver is now collecting 420,000 gallons of oil a day – 40 percent more than it was collecting Saturday. According to the Christian Science Monitor, he said he thought the cap was now collecting “the majority, probably the vast majority of the oil.” The poll shows, however, that most Americans have heard enough from Hayward after:

• Hayward said there was a 60 percent to 70 percent chance that the “top kill” maneuver of two weeks ago would seal the well. It failed.
  The use of a siphon stuck into the riser pipe three weeks ago prompted Hayward to say: “I do feel that we have, for the first time, turned the corner in this challenge.” The siphon was later abandoned.
• Early estimates of the oil flow rate were pegged at 210,000 gallons a day or about 5,000 barrels, which according to current estimates, might have been four times lower than the actual rate. Some scientists say that even the current estimates are conservative.
• Steve Wereley, an associate professor at Purdue University, told Congress the actual spill rate of the BP oil disaster is about 3 million gallons a day – 15 times the official guess of BP and the federal government.

The news went from bad to worse when Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) was interviewed by Andrea Mitchell yesterday morning on MSNBC and confirmed reports of oil seeping up from additional leak points on the seafloor. That means that BP’s recent cap is only catching a small fraction of the oil gushing from the sea floor of the Gulf.

It gets even worse when one considers that many technical experts have said that the first attempts to complete the relief well in August could miss entirely on the first try, as it is difficult to intersect the blown-out well at the precise location and angle needed. In that case, the leak(s) may continue gushing until late summer or early fall.

Can it get any worse? The answer is yes, because the wild card is hurricane season. According to at least one scientist interviewed on MSNBC, Michio Kaku, a hurricane this summer could pick up oil and rain it down hundreds of miles inland and “dump it all over the south.”

Read more, get links and video here: Orlando Independent Examiner: Tar balls wash up on FL panhandle, situation angering most Americans