skippy the bush kangaroo

more stories that you won't hear about on the talking head shows this morning

oil spill dispersants shifting ecosystem impacts in gulf, scientists warn. - a seemingly feel-good story showed up this week on the nation's front pages and newscasts: the oil that befouled the gulf of mexico for 86 days is vanishing from the surface, leaving workers with little to clean. but scientists warn the oil's ecological impacts are shifting, not ebbing. - greenwire

global warming signs unmistakable, report says. - a new report by 300 scientists has flagged the past decade as the hottest on record and compiled 10 "unmistakable" indicators that the world is getting warmer. - cbc canada

restoring the paradise that saddam destroyed. - saddam hussein drained the unique wetlands of southern iraq as a punishment to the region's marsh arabs who had backed an uprising. two decades later, one courageous us iraqi is leading efforts to restore the marshes. not even exploding bombs can deter him from his dream - der spiegel

this just in: the earth is warming! - the evidence of a warming planet has been around about 20 years now, and despite what you hear from some quarters about global cooling, that evidence has continued to strengthen. - time magazine

making waste pay as methane project close to ok. - thousands of tons of methane billowing out from the county's landfill each year is now burned into oblivion, but could instead generate enough electricity to heat more than 4,700 homes - annapolis capital

radioactive boars on the rise. - as germany's wild boar population has skyrocketed in recent years, so too has the number of animals contaminated by radioactivity left over from the chernobyl nuclear meltdown. - der spiegel

three decades later, effects of ibm spill linger in endicott.- the chemical spill first discovered at the ibm facility more than 30 years ago continues to have a massive effect on the community the computer giant once helped build. there is no end in sight. the lawsuits, cleanup and occupational study are all years away from any kind of closure. - gannett news service

herbicide-tainted manure wilts organic crops across whatcom county.- whatcom county organic farmers and gardeners are reporting severe crop damage that appears to be linked to herbicide contamination in the manure and compost they obtain from non-organic farms and dairies for use as natural fertilizer. - bellingham herald

oil spill victims file class-action lawsuit.- gloria volstromer went to a hospital emergency room saturday afternoon with a rash, a headache and an upset stomach -- all symptoms of overexposure to benzene. now, gloria and her husband eugene are suing enbridge inc., the company responsible for last week's oil spill. - battle creek inquirer

oysters a sign of trouble from puget sound acidity.- pacific oysters in the wild on washington's coast haven't reproduced in six seasons. scientists suspect ocean-chemistry changes linked to the fossil-fuel emissions that cause global warming are helping kill these juvenile shellfish - seattle times

slime to sublime. - "green energy" is a buzz phrase heard a lot these days, but if one state legislator has his way, pennsylvania may soon become the capital of energy that is really green — as in algae. - pottstown mercury

what's happening to bird species? - a new study has provided new evidence that global warming is having a serious effect on natural systems, including the northward and inland movements of north american birds. - fond du lac reporter

farmers in denmark adjust to livestock antibiotic ban. - denmark is to hogs in europe what iowa is in the united states. so the danes can provide lessons for u.s. farmers and the obama administration when it comes to restricting the use of antibiotics on hog farms. - de moines register

floods in china: gushing. - many parts of china have been enduring the worst floods in years, but it is the flood-prone yangzi river that is causing most concern. with the downpours has come an unusual sprinkling of doubts about the ability of the colossal three gorges dam to keep the river in check - economist

u.s. house approves oil spill reform bill. - the us house of representatives on friday approved the toughest reforms ever to offshore energy drilling practices, as democrats narrowly pushed through an election-year response to bp's massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. - reuters

uranium, not kryptonite, worries superman's hometown. - uranium, not kryptonite, has residents of superman's hometown on edge these days. the uranium can be found at the Honeywell plant, located just west of town and, as is frequently pointed out these days, just upwind. - st. louis post dispatch

gulf of mexico oil spill is just the latest blow for delacroix. - just outside the city, within earshot of the vocal crusade to save new orleans' culture after hurricane katrina, communities that were the hub of a unique wetlands culture for 200 years have quietly been slipping into history. - new orleans times picayune

alaskan fishery collapse holds important message for gulf. - the sudden and complete crash of the herring population in the wake of the exxon valdez spill holds a powerful lesson for the scientists and regulators charged with reopening the gulf of mexico's fisheries, according to two scientists who have studied the phenomenon. - mobile press register

big oil's pr machine takes a hit over celeb-backed greenwash.- the organisation behind the "be the one" video was not some cuddly-sounding environmental group, it was one that was funded by major oil companies. - london independent

leaking wellhead in bayou st. denis could be closed sunday. -officials on saturday began moving equipment into place to close a leaking oil wellhead in bayou st. denis in lower jefferson parish as soon as today. - new orleans times picayune

Labels: birds, bp, china, climate change, energy, fish, global warming, gulf coast, iraq, lawsuits, louisiana, new orleans, ocean, oil, washington

for those pesky little stories that don't get the attention they deserve on the talking head shows...

dust takes a toll.- dust is nothing new in the southwest. settlers and their livestock started kicking up dust in the region 150 years ago. trecent onslaught of dust in southwestern skies is affecting human health and safety - and also, as scientists are discovering, the region's climate - high country news

'downstream, death of the mighty colorado.'- overpopulation, pollution, damming, global warming and apathy are all affecting the colorado river and the communities that rely on it - marketplace

the poisoning.- capping bp's well in the gulf of mexico, even temporarily, is welcome progress, but it is not the end of the story. since the blowout in late april, up to four million barrels of oil and nearly two million gallons of toxic dispersants have been dumped into the gulf. no one has a clue yet what the longer-term effects of this catastrophe will be - rolling stone

hope you like beets, because the bee crisis could soon be hitting the u.s. food supply. - the effects of colony collapse disorder have been masked by imported bees, but a perfect storm is brewing, and it will leave no grocery store unscathed - daily green

come on in! the water's fine. -when luke borkovich has jumped into lake huron this summer, he has been able to stay in the water longer than usual. that's because the surface water temperature warmed up faster this summer than usual - port huron times herald

satellite spies vast algal bloom in baltic sea. -a potentially toxic algal bloom, covering 377,000 sq km in the baltic sea, could pose a risk to marine life in the region, warn scientists. they added that a lack of wind and prolonged high temperatures had triggered the largest bloom since 2005 - bbc

osha cuts outdated air quality rule from oil worker training. -oil cleanup workers on offshore vessels are getting additional safety training, but the training curriculum referred to air quality standards that the head of the occupational safety and health administration has acknowledged were “outrageously out of date. - propublica

usf scientists confirm underwater plumes came from bp spill. -the plumes of oil snaking through the depths of the gulf of mexico definitely came from bp's deepwater horizon gusher, scientists at the university of south florida announced friday, marking the first official confirmation of the source of the undersea oil - st. petersburg times

in gulf, epa’s water sampling found possible risk to aquatic life. -epa air sampling along the gulf coast has shown moderate pollution levels. that’s not all the epa has found. water sampling has also turned up a concentration of nickel that exceeds "chronic water benchmarks," meaning there's “the possibility of harm or risk” to aquatic life - propublica

ban sought for pesticide used widely by california farms. - two national groups sued the u.s. environmental protection agency this week in an effort to ban the use of chlorpyrifos, a chemical sprayed on wine grapes, walnuts, almonds and scores of other crops - sacramento bee

taxpayers stuck with $100 million mess - federal and state environmental agencies today list six major sources of groundwater pollution in the region northwest of delaware city. some contamination sources date back nearly 50 years - wilmington news journal

dirty little secret.- more than 33 million gallons of raw sewage entered allentown's little lehigh creek from 1999 to 2008, a morning call review of state and federal records shows. the pollution equates to someone flushing a toilet directly into the little lehigh about once every 14 seconds for nine years - allentown morning call

counties face water crisis, study warns. - a study released this month projects that one-third of U.S. counties, and all but two in arizona, face high to extreme risks of water shortages by 2050 because of climate change. the study was written by environmental consultant tetra tech corporation for the nonprofit natural resources defense council. - green valley news

ex-workers' lawsuit blames motorola for birth defects. - a group of former motorola workers and their children filed a lawsuit friday against the schaumburg-based company, claiming toxic substances used to make motorola products caused serious birth defects in at least 30 children born to workers employed by the company since the 1960s - chicago sun times

gulf fisheries' future in doubt. - many fishermen and their boats are now working with bp in the oil spill cleanup effort, and the coastal waters which provide some of the most productive fishing are still closed. even after all the oil is gone, it will likely be years before the gulf fishing industry is as productive as it once was - weekend edition

alabama shrimp season opens, but few shrimp boats on water. -maybe they were all working for bp. or perhaps the surprise opening of alabama's shrimp season caught a lot of folks off guard. either way, it was hard to find a shrimp boat working the waters of mobile bay on friday morning as an oil-delayed season began. - mobile press register

young giver sells lemonade to help pelicans. - at first, 4-year-old jonathan bush wanted to sell all of his toys to help save the oiled pelicans. at his mother's suggestion he settled for lemonade, adding that he cannot help directly with the cleanup "because (the oil will) get in my eyes and ears and nose and mouth. - new orleans times picayune

Labels: bees, bp, climate change, colorado, drought, environment, epa, food, food safety, gulf coast, new orleans, ocean, rivers, taxpayers, toxins, water

yet another classic twitter bon mot from those crazy folks

@bpblogalpr

yes, we disabled the alarms on the deepwater horizon. oh, like you've never hit the snooze button? http://ow.ly/2fQ6x

Labels: bp, comedians, humour, oil, tweet of the day, twitter

from the folks who make us howl....

@bpglobalpr

the @dosomething awards are tonight at 9pm est on @vh1. bpglobalpr is nominated. if we lose, we're uncapping the well.

Labels: bp, tweet of the day, twitter

no. not the gusher of the gulf. many years ago, little avila beach (just north on the 101 from santa barbara) had to be completely remade. avila beach has recently been named as one of america's "best little beach town" by travel & leisure. wonder if t&l knew the history of the destructive oil seepage that changed the face (and sand) of little avila.

...in the 1990s, engineers partnered with a multitude of regulatory agencies to accomplish an environmental cleanup that set a new standard for the petroleum industry. and now, the town is emerging from the cleanup, and the rebuilding that accompanied it, to put on a pretty face and reestablish its identity.

....it all traces back many decades to unocal, the petroleum giant founded in the late 1800s and known at one time as union oil company. the company became a major part of the economic fabric of california’s central coast. just prior to world war 2, its avila beach operations made the tiny town the world’s largest oil port.

for 100 years, oil pumped from fields in central and coastal california — in some cases several hundred miles away — was piped to huge tanks atop a bluff overlooking avila beach. crude oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel flowed downhill from that storage facility, through pipelines under the town, and out the company pier to waiting tanker ships for transport. over time, the pipelines leaked, and a huge spill of petroleum products on the order of a half million gallons developed under avila beach and began moving toward the ocean.

church was one of the first involved when the spill began to rear its ugly head. in 1988, a business owner tried to expand his building and found the lot so heavily pooled with gasoline beneath the surface that testing engineers feared if anyone lit a cigarette, they would all be blown away. in 1977, just such an explosion occurred in the same area when two college students painting their basement apartment were blasted out a window after the pilot on a water heater ignited fumes. church connected the two events and became certain the gases had to come from the same source — pipelines under the street. - progressive engineer

in a decision that still evokes much heartache, san luis obispo county and the regional water quality control board voted to dig up the contaminated soil and rebuild the town's beachfront from scratch. unocal did not want to excavate, preferring alternative methods such as using oil-eating microorganisms to clean the contaminated soil.

but after a furious debate that divided neighbors, workers last fall began to demolish the entire beachfront. after the buildings are razed, excavators will remove enough contaminated soil to pile a football field 60 feet high.

little is left of the town's commercial hub except deep, gaping holes and mounds of sand and dirt piled 20 feet high. a thin sheen of oil rises from the sand that once welcomed generations of sunbathers and family picnickers. - seattle pi

Labels: bp, california, disasters, oil

yep. for those pesky little stories that won't be talked about on the talking head shows this morning.

the other oil spill. -the gusher in the gulf isn't the only "oil" fouling the sea. plastic trash, which is also petroleum-based, is plaguing the world's oceans in record amounts. most of us have heard of the great pacific garbage patch - but the north pacific isn't the only ocean with a plastic problem. - living on earth

failed safety device on deepwater horizon rig was modified in china. - the blow-out preventer – a crucial piece of the deepwater horizon rig's safety equipment – was overhauled in china at bp's request rather than in the us - london observer

joe the plumber (not that one) says he helped stop gulf oil spill leak. - a kansas man says he's the 'mystery plumber' who influenced the bp containment cap design that stopped the gulf oil spill leak. bp says joe caldart's sketch may have been one of many it's used. -christian science monitor

prozac pollution making shrimp reckless. - there's no happy ending for shrimp exposed to the mood-booster prozac, according to a new study. remnants of antidepressant drugs flushed into waterways worldwide are altering shrimp behavior and making them easier prey, experts say. - national geographic news

global temperatures rise to record levels. - the world is enduring the hottest year on record, according to a us national weather analysis, causing droughts worldwide and a concern for us farmers counting on another bumper year - reuters

sea-level rise will be worse for some, we just don’t know who. - the fact that oceans will rise in a warming world is well established, but depending on how wind patterns change, climate change could mean quick inundation or more beach space for different coastlines - wired

the flying prius. - the future of the passenger jet may look surprisingly like a larger version of the hybrid automobile. - newsweek

alaskan glacier detaches itself from seafloor, goes rogue. - an alaskan glacier has lost its footing with the seafloor and is floating in the ocean, new first-of-their-kind observations show. - christian science monitor

sunk in the easy cushion of habit. - plenty of us feel a bit of guilt but don't alter our behavior because it isn't convenient. we guzzle electricity as if it arrived by magic, not from polluting coal plants. and not even the massive disaster in the gulf, caused by our national thirst for oil, has made most of us change our ways. - charlotte observer

blumenauer demands that pentagon explain pentagon immunity deal. - u.s.. rep. earl blumenauer is demanding that the pentagon explain how war contractor kellogg, brown and root may have been granted immunity from harming any soldier or civilian in iraq. - portland oregonian

drought is bad news for anglers in scotland. - the worst summer drought in more than 30 years has dried up some of scotland's top salmon rivers, leading to unusually low catches and fish found with bellies rubbed raw by gravel - edinburgh scotsmans

which infant formulas contain secret toxic chemicals? - even though artificial human milk is regulated by the fda, researchers from the cdc found last year that a thyroid-affecting chemical used in rocket fuel contaminates 15 brands of powdered infant formula, including two that accounted for 87 percent of market share in 2000 - mother jones

hydrocarbons in cereal stoke new debate over food safety. - when kellogg co. pulled about 28 million cereal boxes from store shelves last month, the company said only that an "off-flavor and smell" could cause nausea and diarrhea. but the culprit behind the recall is a class of chemicals now making news in the gulf of mexico: hydrocarbons, a byproduct of oil - greenwire

Labels: alaska, bp, china, climate change, congress, drought, environment, fish, food safety, global warming, offshore drilling, oil, pentagon, toxins

a little "light and cheery" story to start off the week. as crunch gear puts it...sorry for harshing on your buzz.

ominous reports are leaking past the bp gulf salvage operation news blackout that the disaster unfolding in the gulf of mexico may be about to reach biblical proportions.

251 million years ago a mammoth undersea methane bubble caused massive explosions, poisoned the atmosphere and destroyed more than 96 percent of all life on earth. experts agree that what is known as the permian extinction event was the greatest mass extinction event in the history of the world.

...those subterranean seas of methane virtually reshaped the planet when they explosively blew from deep beneath the waters of what is today called the gulf of mexico.

now, worried scientists are increasingly concerned the same series of catastrophic events that led to worldwide death back then may be happening again-and no known technology can stop it. - helium

Labels: bp, disasters, oil, science, youtube

and we need to start dealing with the reality of the financial catastrophe that will occur if we don't acknowledge and change the way we operate.

the lloyd's insurance market and the highly regarded institute of strategic studies (iss, known as chatham house) says britain needs to be ready for "peak oil" and disrupted energy supplies at a time of soaring fuel demand in china and india, constraints on production caused by the bp oil spill and political moves to cut co2 to halt global warming.

"companies which are able to take advantage of this new energy reality will increase both their resilience and competitiveness. failure to do so could lead to expensive and potentially catastrophic consequences," says the lloyd's and iss report "sustainable energy security: strategic risks and opportunities for business".

...the review is groundbreaking because it comes from the heart of the city and contains the kind of dire warnings that are more associated with environmental groups or others accused by critics of resorting to hype.- the guardian

Labels: bp, financial markets, insurance, oil, peak oil

for those pesky little important stories that no one on the talking head shows this mornings really wants to talk about.

growers, environmentalists spar over proposed water quality rules. - proposed rules to clean up central coast waters could damage agriculture and put thousands of farmworkers out of work, according to growers. - santa cruz sentinel

switch off desal, say water utilities. - power-hungry desal plants should be mothballed when dams are full to protect against soaring bills, the nation's water utilities say - sydney australian

water: act now to conserve the new oil. - water is the new oil. in the same way that the 1973 oil crisis forced americans to scrutinize their reliance on fossil fuels, today's water shortages and rising occurrence of contaminated water supplies are shining a spotlight on our seemingly ubiquitous supply of h20. - fortune

bolivia wildfire threatens world's largest wetland. - a huge wildfire in bolivia threatened wednesday parts of the pantanal, the world's largest wetland which is a popular tourist attraction and home to thousands of species of plants and animals - afp

a river's reckoning. - chicago likes to think of the filth flowing in its namesake river as nobody's business but its own, and for most of the last century that might have been true. but today that dirty water has become a problem for all the great lakes - the world's largest freshwater system and a drinking water source for 40 million people. - milwaukee journal sentinel

beekeepers credit healthy hives to protection from pesticides. - the usda has released a report stating that ccd may be caused by a fungus and a group of viruses — something beekeeper phillip raines believes comes from migratory bees being exposed to numerous amounts of chemicals and pesticides - rockford register star

a truly toxic issue. - modern life is saturated with carcinogenic chemicals. but without regulation, just how are we supposed to avoid them? - london guardian

dna patent ruling hinders monsanto. - a decision by the european court of justice on a dna patent held by global seed company monsanto has caused a stir in the biotechnology industry, with concerns that the ruling could limit the protection companies enjoy on their european patents. - nature

in the panhandle, the 'summer of oil' seems endless. - in ways big and small, the deepwater horizon disaster is reshaping the gulf coast. it's doing more than damaging the tourism and fishing industries; it's permeating the air people breathe and the way they think and feel, altering habits formed over a lifetime. - st. petersburg times

attorney general hints bp's partners may face criminal investigation. - companies partnered with bp in developing the crippled macondo well in the gulf of mexico could possibly also be targeted in the sweeping criminal investigation under way in washington, according to eric holder, the us attorney general. - london independent

presidential commission seeks 'to give voice to the region.' - an independent commission formed by president barack obama to look at the root causes of the gulf of mexico oil disaster and the proper process for combating such catastrophes in the future holds its first public hearing monday in new orleans - nola times picayune

how-to limit your bpa exposure plus healthy alternatives. - for twenty plus years, scientists have proven the harmful effects of bisphenol-a, a synthetic estrogen found in everyday products - london independent

political landmark for bpa ban. - when a bill to ban a common plastic additive in feeding products for young children passed the assembly on july 1, it marked a milestone in state legislative efforts to regulate bisphenol a - contra costa times

fda nears approval of genetically engineered salmon. - they may not be the 500-pound "frankenfish" that some researchers were talking about 10 years ago, but a massachusetts company says it's on the verge of receiving federal approval to market a quick-growing atlantic salmon that's been genetically modified with help from a pacific chinook salmon. - mcclatchy

fish rescued as rivers dry up in drought. - experts say the last six months have been the driest since 1953, leaving large swathes of wales, the lake district and most of scotland in the grip of drought.

eco warrior's pacific journey shows how 'dumb plastic' is killing our seas. - david de rothschild set out on a mammoth ocean crossing aboard his recycled yacht to highlight pollution of earth's waters – but even he was shocked by what he found. - london observer

tuvalu faces uncertain future. - the tiny island nation of tuvalu is the lowest lying nation on earth and is struggling with the effects of rising sea levels and frequent storm surges. but there are plenty of other problems facing its inhabitants, whose home could be seen as the canary of the pacific. - new zealand press association

six lessons from the bp oil spill. - the tragedy of the bp oil spill has taught us about regulations, technology, and how our energy diet must change - christian science monitor

Labels: australia, bees, bp, chemicals, drought, ecology, energy, environment, fda, fires, fish, florida, great lakes, ocean, oil, plastics, rivers, water

again from those folks @bpglobalpr

attention lazy fishermen! if you won't clean our mess, we're taking your money. fair is fair. http://ow.ly/27SJF

Labels: bp, tweet of the day, twitter

for those pesky stories you probably won't see on the talking head shows this morning...or above the fold on the front page.

climate change is a hot issue in san luis obispo county. - san luis obispo county is emerging as a state leader in the effort to prepare for the effects of global climate change - san luis tribune

churches, nonprofits fight for survival in face of gulf of mexico oil spill. - god only knows what will happen to churches and other nonprofit organizations who say they are struggling for survival because of the gulf oil spill crisis. - ap

bacteria follow rainwater to lake michigan: when e. coli levels spike, swimmers can be at risk. - heavy rains that drenched southwest michigan last weekend acted like a giant liquid broom, officials said, sweeping surface contamination from a number of sources into tributaries and lake michigan itself - kalamazoo gazette

biologist warns of danger from rising sea levels. -peter ward paints a pretty bleak picture of how life on this planet will begin to change dramatically- as early as 2050- as sea levels continue to rise. - all things considered

photographer detained briefly by bp and local police. - a photographer taking pictures for propublica's collaboration with frontline (pbs) investigating the bp oil spill in the gulf of mexico, was detained friday while shooting pictures in texas city, texas. - propublica

low-oxygen dead zone found on seafloor off alabama coast. - recent testing by the press-register indicates that a low-oxygen dead zone is hugging the seafloor in places along the alabama coast, with levels far below the threshold required to support life. - mobile press register

apocalypse now ... niger delta’s oil exploitation tragedy. - the delta of the 2,600-mile-long niger river is one of the richest sources of oil on the planet. it has also been dubbed the world capital of pollution with thousands of recorded oil leaks in recent decades amounting to at least 15 million barrels spilled, according to best estimates. - glasgow herald

obama announces abound solar growth. - northern colorado's abound solar will receive a $400 million federal loan guarantee that will allow the company to expand its manufacturing of thin-film solar panels and create thousands of jobs in northern colorado and indiana, president barack obama announced this morning in his weekly broadcast address - fort collins coloradoan

michael grätzel: give people access to cheap solar power. - michael grätzel is a man with a mission. as the inventor of a low-cost solar cell, he wants to help the world avoid an energy crisis by harnessing the power of the sun - london observer

report: oceans' deteriorating health nearing 'irreversible.' - a sobering new report warns that oceans face a "fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation" not seen in millions of years - mcclatchy

cuccinelli leads challenge to epa finding on warming. - days after taking office, virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli filed a legal challenge to the environmental protection agency's finding that global warming poses a threat to people. a dozen other states have since joined the lawsuit - richmond times dispatch

deadly fungus threatens global wheat crop. - scientists have successfully fought plant diseases over the years, reducing crop failures that had pushed up food commodity prices and triggered hunger. but the accomplishments have led to complacency. the result? old diseases are back and the world’s agriculture is ill prepared. - london financial times

voracious tree-eating beetles invade italy. - the relatively large red palm weevil of asia arrived in southern italy about five years ago. conservationists are calling the tree-eating beetle infestation a national emergency - christian science monitor

tibetan environmentalist jailed for 5 years. - a chinese court sentenced a tibetan environmentalist who organized villagers to pick up litter and plant trees to five years in jail for inciting to split the nation on saturday, his lawyer said - reuters

firm trying to tell bp it can help gulf cleanup. - an alachua company says it has created an environmentally safe product that can remove oil from the gulf shoreline - that is, if scientists from the company could get bp officials to respond to e-mails and phone messages. earth, wind and fire technologies' denexol can break down oil, company officials say. - gainesville sun

Labels: bp, california, climate change, colorado, ecology, energy, environment, global warming, ocean, oil, science, solar

great orange satan diarist park ranger compares the bp oil spill to the wreck of the titanic -- and explains why she's voting democratic in november, too.

Labels: bp, politics

obama announces $2 billion for solar power. okay, we applaud this one. can we make it $4 billion though. send the fossil fuel industry packing. let's move into the future.

Labels: bp, environment, it is what it is, life

just heartbreaking.

Labels: bp, disasters, offshore drilling, oil, youtube

why is british petroleum still involved in cleaning up the mess it made?

look, i'm a student of the "you break it, you bought it" form of schooling, but that doesn't mean i think every student deserves to graduate...

(link credit: badtux...)

Labels: bp, it is what it is, politics

it's all about the oil these days. but let's hear from some of not "the usual corporate media suspects."

under the u.s. supreme court: squeezing bp for damages. - now that the obama administration has wrested a $20 billion recovery fund from bp to compensate economic victims of the gulf oil spill and clean up the huge mess, congress must lift the federal liability cap - upi

birds could bring gulf misery here. - gulf oil spill threatens great lakes migratory birds. "minnesota's state bird — the common loon — and the endangered piping plover are among many great lakes species that ride out the winter months along the southern coast. - traverse city record eagle

new efforts aim to keep cleanup workers safer. - a new safety program for fishermen and others cleaning up the deepwater horizon oil spill was put in place last week after officials learned that not all workers received proper training on the risks of heat stroke and other problems. - houma today

gulf oil leases get waivers. - despite president obama's promises of better safeguards for offshore drilling, federal regulators continue to approve plans for oil companies to drill in the gulf of mexico with minimal or no environmental analysis. - mcclatchy

senators want to stiffen ’90 spill law. - sens. bob menendez and frank lautenberg, both d-n.j., are leading the fight to change part of a 1990 law that they say opens the door for taxpayer bailouts of businesses and families hurt by the massive gulf of mexico oil spill. - everett herald

anxious monitoring near florida coral reefs for oil spill. - a team of scientists and divers for 20 days has been monitoring the world's third largest coral reefs at florida's dry tortugas islands for signs of the gulf of mexico oil spill. verdict: so far, so good. - afp

don't let disaster strike here. - oil refineries could dramatically increase around the great lakes as more oil is piped to and through wisconsin from the tar sands of alberta. it's time to redouble our efforts to protect the great lakes - the world's largest freshwater system - so threats are diminished before disaster can strike. - madison wisconsin state journal

drillers should earn liability protection. - the damage done to the gulf of mexico when bp's deepwater horizon blew out will rise into the billions of dollars and will be felt for many years to come. yet, under the liability caps enacted by congress in 1990, deep-water ports, have the potential to limit their owners' liability for the fallout to $75 million. - memphis commercial appeal

as our gulf painfully weeps, so do we. - one hundred years ago, communities would weep for joy upon hearing news of nearby gushers of oil. today in florida we weep with heartbreak at the news of the gusher erupting near our pristine coastline. the gulf is weeping, too. - tampa tribune

hand of god or man's mistakes? - as we find out more about this "accident," which could devastate the gulf coast's environment and economy for decades, it seems to be the inevitable result of a very human trait: greed. - lexington herald leader

new documents show bp made little progress on alaska safety issues from 2001 to 2007. - six years after a scathing 2001 internal review of jbp's alaska operations found that the company wasn't maintaining safety equipment and faced "a fundamental lack of trust" among workers, a follow-up study concluded bp had made little headway in addressing those concerns - propublica

as oil gushes in gulf, eyes are on sands to north in alberta. - even as millions of gallons of oil billow into the gulf of mexico from the bp spill, trillions lie in wait beneath the surface in northeastern alberta and western saskatchewan. canadian oil and government officials fervently deny they're trying to capitalize on the gulf crisis. - missoula missourian

seafood safety concerns take toll in restaurants nationwide. - restaurateurs, chefs and seafood suppliers across the country continue to struggle with the perception that louisiana seafood in particular and gulf seafood in general is tainted by the oil spill. - new orleans times picayune

drilling insurance costs set to skyrocket. - insurance costs for deepwater drilling are poised to rise by as much as 50 percent after the deepwater horizon disaster, and the increases are sharp enough that it could make some exploration and production projects too expensive no matter what happens with new regulations in washington - new orleans times picayune

lots of sharks, lots of oil seen off bon secour. - a two-inch layer of submerged oil hugged portions of the gulf seafloor off the bon secour national wildlife refuge on friday, a week after a smothering layer of floating crude washed ashore there - mobile press register

life aboard the drilling rig that's the gulf's last hope. - on saturday, a handful of journalists were flown from a helipad in houma, la., to the development driller 2 rig, about 40 miles offshore. it was the first media tour of one of the drilling rigs, the last hope for finally plugging the gushing underwater well. - mcclatchy

Labels: bp, canada, congress, ecology, environment, great lakes, louisiana, mississippi, ocean, offshore drilling, oil

brought to you by bp.

Labels: bp, ocean, offshore drilling, oil, pollution

from @ebertchicago

(yes...that ebert)

some "socialists" now propose nationalizing bp's us operation. explain to me again why we pay them to sell us our own oil.

Labels: bp, movies, oil, tweet of the day, twitter

big greedy corporation vs. big leviathan of the deep. one of them is dying from the oil gusher in the gulf (can we stop calling it a "leak"...it's no freakin' leak.)

experts have spent decades studying the dangers oil development may pose to whales; now the day of reckoning has arrive. - national wildlife

Labels: bp, disasters, offshore drilling, oil

just tells it as he sees it....bless him

Labels: bp, comedians, teevee, youtube