The Day Gulf of Mexico Was Mortally Wounded

How Energy Industry Sickened the Planet

On the First Anniversary of the BP Assault on America

‘State of the art,’ semisubmersible Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig on Fire, April 20, 2010 at approximately 10:00 p.m. central time. Photo: Scott Lloyd/United States Coast Guard.

A year ago today the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded killing 11 workers, injuring 17 others, 3 of them critically, spilling at least 205.8 million gallons of crude oil into Gulf of Mexico, and destroying its fragile ecosystems.

BP also dumped about 2 million gallons of dispersant in the Gulf.

Today, dead baby dolphins, dead sea turtles, dead birds and other dead marine animals, tarballs and sticky substance are still washed ashore.

Designer Red Snapper

Red Snapper fished in Gulf of Mexico. “The fish have a bacterial infection and a parasite infection that’s consistent with a compromised immune system,” said Jim Cowan, an oceanographer at Louisiana State University, who has been examining them. “There’s no doubt it’s associated with a chronic exposure to a toxin.” Courtesy of Jim Cowan, Louisiana State University/via tampabay-dot-com]

Who’s Dr Robichaux

Dr. Michael Robichaux, who practices medicine in coastal Louisiana, “says the blood of Gulf residents who were tested showed 35 times more ethyl benzene, a highly toxic oil component. The health risk could be compounded by toxic poisoning from the chemical dispersants sprayed on the oil slicks, he adds,” Public News Service reported.

One year after the Deepwater Horizon disaster

“One year after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Gulf Coast residents are reporting a litany of debilitating illnesses, including tumors, anemia, brain lesions, tremors and seizures – but it’s not getting much attention from the media, and many doctors don’t seem to know how to deal with it.” More …

Death Toll from BP Spill Still Rising as Residents Die from Spill-Related Illnesses

Searching for treatment, the symptoms rage on

The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spills will never be the same!

Oil leak from Deepwater Horizon covers the Mississippi Delta. Image taken by MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite on May 24, 2010.

Related Links

• Disasters Caused by Oil and Gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Polluting Land, Water and Air
• One Year Later, Did Gulf Oil Spill Hurt People? 
•  http://BPdrillingdisaster.org

• 1 year memorial trip to Bay Jimmy: BP Drilling Disaster
• BP says it’s not responsible for paying to reseed oyster beds

• Hundreds of Days, Thousands of Questions, Millions of Gallons later

Last Updated: April 21, 2011 at 00:35UTC

Gulf of Mexico: 10cm layer of dead animals and oil

NO SIGN OF SEALIFE

Deepwater Horizon oil leak “devastated” life on and near the seafloor:  Marine scientist

A research submersible discovered a 10cm thick layer of dead animals and oil in places, said Samantha Joye, a marine scientist  at the University of Georgia.

It’s implausible that the Gulf of Mexico will recover by the end of 2012, she said disputing BP’s assessment, a report said.

“Knocking these animals out of the food chain will, in time, affect species relevant to fisheries.”

Professor Joye told the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Washington that it may be a decade before the full effects on the Gulf are apparent.

She said they concluded the layers had been deposited between June and September 2010 after it was discovered that no sign of sealife from samples taken in May remained.

Professor Joye and her team, using the Alvin submersible,  examined the bottom-most layer of the water close to the well head, known as the benthos.

“The impact on the benthos was devastating,” she told BBC News.

“Filter-feeding organisms, invertebrate worms, corals, sea fans – all of those were substantially impacted – and by impacted, I mean essentially killed.

“Another critical point is that detrital feeders like sea cucumbers, brittle stars that wander around the bottom, I didn’t see a living (sea cucumber) around on any of the wellhead dives. They’re typically everywhere, and we saw none.” More…

Related Links:

• Oil Disasters

Massive Coral Die-Off

Massive deep-sea coral die-off found near BP oil disaster source in GOM

Large colonies of bottom-dwelling coral were found covered in a black substance, most probably crude oil, at a depth of about 1,400m (4,600 feet) near the damaged Macondo wellhead, NOAA scientists said.

This dying coral was found covered in a dark substance, near the damaged Macondo wellhead. Could it be oil from the BP oil disaster in GOM? Image source: NOAA

“Corals do die, but you don’t see them die all at once,” said cruise lead scientist Charles Fisher of Penn State University. “This … indicates a recent catastrophic event,” he told National Geographic News.

“The proximity of the site to the disaster, the depth of the site, the clear evidence of recent impact, and the uniqueness of the observations all suggest that the impact we have found is linked to the exposure of this community to either oil, dispersant, extremely depleted oxygen, or some combination of these or other water-borne effects resulting from the spill,” Fisher said.

Related Links

• Oil Disasters
• Fisher Deep-Sea Lab

GOM Oil Disaster – Satellite Images – Headlines

GOM Oil Disaster: Day 87

Above photo-like image was captured by MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite at 18:55 UTC on July 14, 2010,. Source: NASA E/O. Click image to enlarge.

Related News Headlines

• Lawmakers want to avoid “Agent Orange” in spill dispersants

“U.S. lawmakers on Thursday pressed the Environmental Protection Agency for assurances that BP was using safe agents to disperse its massive oil spill, saying they didn’t want the chemicals to become another ‘Agent Orange.'”

• BP says it has stopped oil leak in GoM

“Oil is no longer spewing into the Gulf of Mexico — at least temporarily — as BP Plc said it choked off the flow from its undersea well that ruptured in April and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.”

Related Links:

• Deadly Oil Continues to Gush in the Gulf – Satellite Images
• Gulf Oil Disaster: Predictable and Preventable
• Gulf of Mexico: Different Shades of Crude Oil
• Mississippi Barrier Islands Attacked by Oil Slick
• BP Oil Disaster – Latest Satellite Images

• Oil Disasters

Resentment Brewing Among Gulf Coast Communities

THEY ARE ANGRY!

BP + Obama + Scientists + Academia + Economists + Energy Dinosaurs … Put them Out of Business

Gulf Coast communities are resentful and angry, and this is just the starters!

Image of the Day:

A roadside sign expresses the fishing communities’ take on British Petroleum (BP) and U.S. President Barrack Obama over the  Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, in Grand Isle, Louisiana May 30, 2010.  Credit: REUTERS/Lee Celano. Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

Related Links:

• Oil Disasters
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters

BP Oil Leak: Mega Disaster Enters New Dimension

Oil Spill Expected to Enter Gulf Stream

The oil leak from Deepwater Horizon ruptured wellhead is closing in on a  circulating current in the Gulf of Mexico called the Loop Current, and it’s feared that it will enter the Gulf Stream possibly by early next week.

The University of South Florida College of Marine Science Ocean Circulation Group (OCG/CMS/USF) has prepared  a video showing the trajectory of the oil spill (4 -8 May) and the how the Gulf currents are being impacted.  See animation update here (18 – 21 May 2010).

Trajectory of the oil spill – Actual and Forecast (OCG/CMS/USF)

Click Here to See Animation

Projected Movement of BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (4 – 8 May 2010)

New Lawsuit Targets Federal Officials

The environmental law firm Earthjustice has  filed a new lawsuit on behalf of Gulf Restoration Network seeking to reverse what it called an illegal waiver of safety regulations, which was granted to BP (It also covered other oil companies drilling off the coasts o Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi) in 2008 and runs through 2013.

The suit names Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Assistant Interior Secretary Wilma Lewis and the MMS Director Elizabeth Birnbaum as plaintiffs, and is one of at least 10 dozen various suits filed against BP Plc.

To Earthjustice Law Firm: How much more evidence of corruption and/or incompetence will you need to sue the entire U.S. Administration out of office? Please respond!

Related Links:

• BP Leak Already Biggest Oil Disaster in U.S. History
• Nightmare Plume and ‘Cozy Relationship’
• Gulf Oil Disaster Like Apollo 13 Explosion: BP CEO
• Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster – Oil Leak Estimate
• Fire-Earth Oil Spill forecast
• Gulf of Mexico: A Waiting Disaster
• Oil Disasters [Index Page includes links to other oil spills, news and information]

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BP Leak Already Biggest Oil Disaster in U.S. History

About 1.4 million barrels of crude may have already spewed into the Gulf of Mexico

[NOTE: Fire-Earth estimate for the amount of crude oil already leaked into GOM is about 700,000 barrels as of May 18.]

BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has already exceeded by a factor of 2.5 to 5 the magnitude of Exxon (Exxon Valdez) disaster in Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska in 1989.

In the Exxon Valdez disaster an estimated 11 million gallons (262,000 barrels) of crude oil were released into the Alaskan waters. An estimated 30,000 gallons of crude still remains in the sand and soil.

Even at NOAA’s hugely underestimated calculation of 5,000bpd, the spill total now stands at 140,000 barrels (6 million gallons and counting).

Oil disasters are usually measured in terms of how many barrels of oil are spilled into the waters; however, the plight of so many millions of people whose livelihood depends on what was already an ailing body of water, has added a new socioeconomic dimension.

What BP Says:

BP Plc says its “quick fix” is sort of working. Using undersea remote control devices [‘robots,’]  their technicians have inserted a mile-long tube into the leaking riser, the  massive ruptured pipe, and are  siphoning about a fifth of the oil that is gushing out of the well.

GULF of MEXICO – Gas from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon wellhead is flared by the drillship Discoverer Enterprise May 16, 2010. A fraction of the gas and oil from the wellhead are being brought to the surface via a narrow siphoning tube that was placed inside the much wider damaged riser. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley. [Caption edited by FEWW]

“I do feel that we have, for the first time, turned the corner in this challenge,” BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said in Florida.

“Over the last 48 hours, we’re beginning to meet with some significant success.”

Clearly the criteria for success in BP minds is different to the rest of us. WE see the leak as still continuing.

Center for Public Integrity has released a new paper that shows 2 of the BP-owned U.S. refineries were responsible for 97 percent of the worst refining industry safety violations in the past three years, according to federal inspectors.

Let the federal inspectors call it safety violations, what BP has done in the Gulf of Mexico is corporate terrorism.

The suspected terrorist who left a car in New York’s Time Square recently which reportedly contained propane gas cylinders, which may or may not have exploded, and may or may not have killed anyone, would probably spend the rest of his life in a federal prison.

BP executives who have already killed 11 people, devastated at least twice as many families and left a number of orphans behind, on the other hand, are walking freely and discussing their next deepwater drilling project.

How Badly is Louisiana Affected?

Meanwhile, hundreds of shrimpers in Louisiana as well as many others whose income depends on fishing, tourism and related industries, have already lost their jobs, and are barely surviving, making ends meet by doing odd jobs where available.

And Florida?

US Coast Guard  Rear Adm Peter Neffenger is on record as saying that the oil could be swept up into the “loop current” and move around Florida coastline.

“Currently it shows to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50 miles [65km-80km] from the southern edge of the spill,” he said.

“We are watching that carefully and as a result of that we are preparing for potential impact on the southern Florida coast and impacts around the southern Florida coast.”

Related Links:

• Nightmare Plume and ‘Cozy Relationship’
• Gulf Oil Disaster Like Apollo 13 Explosion: BP CEO
• Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster – Oil Leak Estimate
• Fire-Earth Oil Spill forecast

• Gulf of Mexico: A Waiting Disaster
• Oil Disasters [Index Page includes links to other oil spills, news and information]

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Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak – Update Apr 27

Mississippi Canyon Block 252 Oil Well Still Leaking Heavily

On April 24, Fire-Earth Moderators said: “… oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire.”

BP Map of northern section of Gulf of Mexico. Approximate location of the oil slick marked by Fire-Earth. Click image to enlarge.

Facts, Near Facts, Diluted Facts …

• The sunken Deepwater Horizon [Deepwater Deadzone?] oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico about 66 kilometers (41 miles) off the coast of Louisiana is leaking crude oil at a rate of about 1,000 barrels per day.

• BP is fully responsible for the massive mess.

• BP, the leaseholders of both the well and the drilling platform, or other sources involved in the “clean-up” operation, were quoted as saying two days ago that the well could be capped within “two to three days). These are probably the same people who declared on April 23 that the well posed “no threat” of leaking.

• On April 24, Fire-Earth Moderators said: “… oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire.”

• “Right now, we are focusing on securing the well,” said Admiral Landry in Charge of the regional Coast Guard. “But absolutely, we are monitoring 24/7 to make sure there is no additional leak beyond the 1,000 barrels a day.”

• “The safety of the people working offshore is our top priority and the improved weather has created better conditions for our response,” said BP Group Chief Executive Tony Hayward. “This, combined with the light, thin oil we are dealing with has further increased our confidence that we can tackle this spill offshore.”

• BP CEO for Exploration and Production Doug Suttles told reporters that his company was trying hard to determine what caused the explosion that lead the sinking of Deepwater Horizon, and the ongoing leak.

• BP plc is a  the third largest multinational energy company and the 4th largest corporation in the world.

• “We are also working with industry experts to devise and deploy a method to collect the oil close to the sea bed to minimize spill impacts,” said Doug Suttles.

• The perfidious oil Goliath has been operating for 101 years, and still can’t suck an egg?

• The overall size of the leak is about 50km (32 mile) by 50km.

• The areas of emulsified crude oil are located about 38 miles offshore.

Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico

Download large image (2 MB, JPEG) –  acquired April 25, 2010

Download large image (4 MB, JPEG)  – The above images of the affected area were captured on April 25 by MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite (top, wider view) and the ALI on NASA’s Earth EO-1 satellite (bottom, close up). In the top image, the Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl to the right. The oil slick may be particularly obvious because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look. The close-up view shows waves on the water surface as well as ships, presumably involved in the clean up and control activities. [Note the oil spill is now larger by at least 2,500 barrels since the above images were acquired.] Image and caption: NASA [Edited for brevity by Fire-Earth.]

Current location of oil sheen according to Unified command graphic (DATE: April 26, 2010 18:34:16 EST)

• Click here for the largest image released

Related Links:

• Louisiana Coast Oil Leak Disaster Underway

• Gulf Sunken Rig: No Major Spill Yet—Reports
• Deepwater Horizon Still Burning – UPDATE
• Offshore Oil Rig Explodes
• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution
• Want a Mandate to Kill Life on the Planet?

• Chevron-BP Pipeline leaks Oil into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge
• Oil Refinery Explodes in Washington State
• Obama: A Serious Self-Hater

• NASA Satellite Images (disappointing, as usual, but meant as a record)

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Louisiana Coast Oil Leak Disaster Underway

Offshore Louisiana Well: “very serious spill”

Oil Well Beneath Sunken Deepwater Horizon Leaking 1,000 BPD

We thought it was a fairy tale as far as the capping of the well story went …

The oil well that was being pumped out by the doomed Deepwater Horizon oil rig is spewing crude oil at a rate of 1,000 barrels per day (bpd),  the U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday.

[Note: 1,000 barrels = 42,000 US gallons, or ~ 160,000 liters]

The well, located on the ocean floor, some 1,500m (~5,000 feet) beneath the ocean surface,  is causing what the Coast Guard called a “very serious spill.”

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said a  remote-controlled submarine detected oil leaking from both the riser and drill pipe.

“We are classifying this as a very serious spill and we are using all our resources to help contain it,” the Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said.

The ill-fated Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd and operated by the oil Goliath BP, sank on Thursday. The rig had been burning for two days after exploding  at about 10 p.m. CDT on Tuesday (02:00UTC Wednesday), about 66km (~ 41 miles) off the Louisiana.

The search for 11 crew members was abandoned on Friday. Four of the 17 crew members who were injured were said to be in critical condition.

As of Sunday an oil slick measuring about 1,600 square kilometers (~ 600 square miles), covered an area close to the US coast line. The slick is spreading north moving toward Mississippi and Alabama coastline, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.

On Saturday Fire-Earth Moderators said: “This situation, of course, could change because oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire.”

Related Links:

• Gulf Sunken Rig: No Major Spill Yet—Reports
• Deepwater Horizon Still Burning – UPDATE
• Offshore Oil Rig Explodes
• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution
• Want a Mandate to Kill Life on the Planet?

• Chevron-BP Pipeline leaks Oil into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge
• Oil Refinery Explodes in Washington State
• Obama: A Serious Self-Hater

• NASA Satellite Images (disappointing, as usual, but meant as a record)

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Gulf Sunken Rig: No Major Spill Yet—Reports

The sunken drilling rig and damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico not leaking for now: The U.S. Coast Guard

The initial oil spill from Deepwater Horizon is about 200 barrels (8,400 gallons/31,800 liters), which is regarded as a “minor spill,” according to the said Coast Guard

The slick was estimated at about 13 kilometers long (8 miles) and 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) wide and  at the last flyover by the Coast Guard, a US Coast Guard spokesman said.

“As of right now, the spill is not growing,” He added.

On  Thursday an unmanned submarine inspected the area, but found no leaks of from the sunken drilling rig and no crude oil flowing from the damaged well, a Transocean representative said.

This situation, of course, could change because oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire. [According to an unconfirmed report, the oil well was capped on Friday. Even if true, there’s no guarantee that the seal would hold.]

The oil rig had a supply of 700,000 gallons (2,650,000 liters) of diesel on board, stored for its huge electricity generators, but the authorities don’t know whether the fuel was consumed by the fire or sank with the oil rig.

The slick poses a threat to the Louisiana coastline, depending on the wind pattern

A boat using booms and dispersant chemicals on Friday tries to contain oil slick where the bleeding-edge Deepwater Horizon rig once floated. [The slick, a  mix of crude oil and fuel, was estimated at about 13 kilometers long (8 miles) and 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) wide on Friday. A day earlier, however, officials had said the slick was 5  miles by 1 mile.] Photo credit:  AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice for details.

Statement of Transocean Ltd. CEO Steven L. Newman Following U.S. Coast Guard Announcement

ZUG, SWITZERLAND, Apr 23, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –Following the suspension of U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue efforts to find 11 missing persons in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Steven L. Newman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN), on the ground in New Orleans, expressed his deepest sympathies on behalf of the company to the family members of those lost. The nine Transocean personnel and two employees of a third-party company have been missing since Tuesday, April 20, 2010, when a fire and explosion occurred onboard the semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which sank on Thursday.

“As the nation and everyone in the Transocean family mourns the tragic loss of these people, our deepest sympathies are with their families and friends today,” said Mr. Newman. “Transocean is doing everything we can to meet their needs during this difficult time, and our family response team members are in close contact to provide all necessary support. I would once again like to express our gratitude to the U.S. Coast Guard, BP and everyone involved for their exhaustive search and rescue efforts, despite this very sad outcome.”

For more information about Transocean, please visit our website at http://www.deepwater.com.    SOURCE: Transocean Ltd.

What People Said?

Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg: “Big Oil has perpetuated a dangerous myth that coastline drilling is a completely safe endeavor, but accidents like this are a sober reminder just how far that is from the truth,” said  in a statement.

Louisiana State University environmental sciences professor Ed Overton speaking to the Associated Press. “It’s going to be a … mess for a while … I’m not crying doomsday or saying the sky is falling, but that is the potential.”

Sen. Bill Nelson (D) of Florida: “As a part of the effort to expand drilling, the oil industry as recently as Tuesday was pressing the government agency responsible for leasing offshore lands to quickly proceed with a study of the effects of surveying for oil off the Atlantic coast. That came just hours before the Tuesday night explosion.”

The White House told Washington Post that President B.O. won’t reconsider the offshore oil and gas drilling proposal despite the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Some 858 fires and explosions have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico since 2001, resulting in 69 offshore deaths and 1,349 injuries, the federal Minerals Management Service said.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster comes just days after the Obama administration proposed opening up large blocks of the Gulf for deepwater oil and gas exploration.

The explosion occurred just two weeks after a coal mine explosion in Montcoal, West Virginia killed 29 miners.

These disasters beg the question, what will the administration do next year to meet with the unreasonable, unsustainable rise in energy demands to feed the terminally ill economic system of exponential growth.

While it is certain that the unsustainable system must and will collapse, it’s unclear which few of our ecosystems and how much of their services might survive.

Our world could have survived and thrived on about 8 percent of current energy consumption.

Related Links:

• Deepwater Horizon Still Burning – UPDATE
• Offshore Oil Rig Explodes
• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution
• Want a Mandate to Kill Life on the Planet?
• Chevron-BP Pipeline leaks Oil into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge
• Oil Refinery Explodes in Washington State
• Obama: A Serious Self-Hater

• NASA Satellite Images (disappointing, as usual, but meant as a record)

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