Friday, May 07, 2010

Oil spill has washed up on the western side of North Island, the northernmost sliver of the Chandeleur and Breton Island Chain.

OIL FINALY COMES ASHORE ON CHANDELEUR ISLANDS

Friday, May 07, 2010
By Mark Schleifstein
Staff writer
Orange-colored oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has washed up on the western side of North Island, the northernmost sliver of the Chandeleur and Breton Island chain, and officials with BP and federal and state agency say they have drafted a strategy to begin cleaning it up.
"On a small section of the northernmost island, we could see a pretty significant buildup of oil," said Times-Picayune photographer John McCusker, after an aerial tour of the spill on Thursday. "It's not inundated, but oil has definitely reached the island."
Oil was spotted at several other locations along the curved sand archipelago on Wednesday by two teams of scientists who flew over the area, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association scientist Jacqui Michel told reporters during a teleconference Thursday afternoon.


We should be grateful for mud evidently.  I would prefer to be grateful for fish !!!!!

Safety fluid removed before rig exploded

Mud may have slowed gas from racing up to platform
Friday, May 07, 2010
By David Hammer
and Dan Shea%%par%%Staff writers
The investigation into what went wrong when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and started spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico is sure to find several engineering failures, from cement seals that didn't hold back a powerful gas bubble to a 450-ton, 40-foot-tall blowout preventer, a stack of metal valves and pistons that each failed to close off the well.
There was, however, a simpler protection against the disaster: mud. An attorney for an eyewitness says oil giant BP and the owner of the drilling platform, Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd., started to remove a mud barrier before a final cement plug was installed, a move industry experts say weakens control of the well in an emergency.
When the explosion occurred, BP was trying to seal off an exploratory well. The company had succeeded in tapping into a reservoir of oil, and it was capping the well so it could leave and set up more permanent operations to extract its riches.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1273214445121340.xml&coll=1


This better work, otherwise, BP needs to get out of the way and drastic action should be taken !!!  The USA cannot allow this to continue past any more reasonable outcomes by BP.  This is outrageous enough right now to think the citizens have been made to suffer for this company's attempt at continued profitability.


Dome may start catching oil from one leak Monday

But that would be a best-case scenario, officials warn
Thursday, May 06, 2010
By Rebecca Mowbray
Business writer
If all goes well, on Monday BP will begin capturing oil in a containment system and pumping it up to a drill ship to limit the amount of new oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.
But there are a lot of steps to take between now and then, and both BP and the Coast Guard took great pains to manage expectations Wednesday about the prospects for sealing the leaks from an offshore BP well that exploded April 20.
"I know we are all hoping that this containment system will work, but we have to remember that this containment system is the first of its kind in 5,000 feet of water. I wanted to manage expectations," Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said in a conference call Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1273127534318310.xml&coll=1


Spill confuses summer vacation plans

Some locals afraid to book in advance
Thursday, May 06, 2010
By Katy Reckdahl
Staff writer
Jim Johnson of Slidell has five days to cancel his family's weeklong vacation on Navarre Beach, Florida.
"If you had a vacation that began on June 12, what would you do?," he asked, agonizing about whether to cancel his condominium reservations because of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He'll only lose 10 percent of his reservation cost if he cancels more than 30 days in advance. After that, he'll be on the hook for all of the lodging costs.
On Wednesday, Johnson called the real-estate agency that rented him the condo and said, "I guess you know why I'm calling." He was told only that the agency was sticking with its cancellation policy but that if the government closed the beach, he would be get a refund.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1273127591318310.xml&coll=1


Landrieu is a danger to her own constituency.  BP money must line the pockets well !  When a plane falls out of the sky it doesn't wipe out the living of fisherman along the Gulf Coast.  

No analogy.  

None!  

Not even close !  

The delegation from Louisiana needs a huge reality check.  

What to go for a swim Mary?  I know just the place.  

Maybe a little seafood and endangered turtle ribs?  What do you say?


....The federal government should proceed with investigations into the rig accident but should stop short of shutting down future harvesting of the oil fields beneath the waters, members said.
“It’s appropriate to put up some yellow lights, not red lights,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
Landrieu has caught some national flak for a speech she made last week on the U.S. Senate floor that critics said minimized the catastrophe. The nation uses 21 million barrels of oil a day and the leak is 5,000 barrels a day, Landrieu said.
Popular television show host Jon Stewart repeatedly showed snippets of speeches that Landrieu gave supporting the oil industry. Landrieu stood by her comments Wednesday, noting that at least 1,000 wells exist in the gulf.
“When a plane falls out of the sky, you don’t ground every airplane,” Landrieu said.
Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander of Quitman agreed....

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/92934639.html

I have to admit though, Mary knows how to work a crowd.  She is calling for a payoff for fisherman to exonerate the tragedy from effecting oil drilling offshore.  That should shut them up, huh?

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Landrieu renews call for BP to issue aid package to commerical fisherman

...“Gulf Coast commercial fishermen are in desperate need of immediate and direct assistance from BP,” Sen. Landrieu said. “I have urged BP officials to honor the fact that this unprecedented disaster has, at least temporarily, put many of our fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen out of business. What these fishermen need is a financial support package from BP to help pay their bills and provide for their families, as we learn more about the environmental damage caused by this oil spill. I have every reason to believe that BP is willing to step up and assist these families and businesses, and that support must continue so long as their livelihoods are being affected by this disaster.”...

http://www.shreveport.thedailyyou.com/news/2010/may/06/bp-fisherman-louisiana-oil/