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Archive for May, 2010
Proven Success – Bioremediation Video
May 31st
This video clearly shows that bioremediation not only works, but works safely, effectively and without destroying all marine life and precious marshland. We must DEMAND that BP use these now and stop using Corexit. If they will not we must demand that the government that represents us seize control and do so, immediately. The health of our nation and the survival of our oceans are hanging in the balance. By the way THIS is what Corexit is doing and will continue to do until we come together and demand immediate change!
St. Bernard Needs Skimming Boats
May 30th
If you are near the St. Bernard area with a boat matching the needs described below, consider this. However, please do NOT go on any mission without full protective gear, including and especially high quality ventilation masks. We need this cleaned up, but not at the risk of any of your lives. More >
Ban Corexit Now: Join Us, Send a Clear Message!
May 29th
As stated in the prior post, one of our top priorities today is to send a clear message to the EPA to ban Corexit IMMEDIATELY. BP MUST stop using this product. Today more workers were hospitalized More >
Oil Spill Response: What We CAN Change
May 29th
There are two very distinct missions right now, related to the BP oil catastrophe on the gulf coast. About one, we can do very little, and so for our purposes are setting it aside. About the other, we can affect great change, so that is where we focus.
Stopping the leak
This is the one place I actually believe BP is doing everything it can. Mostly I believe BP is throwing a series of attempts they know won’t work at the problem, simply to buy time and placate people until the relief well gets drilled. Just as in 1979, the old tricks are exactly the same. Teams of scientists are working 24/7 to stop this devastation, which BP created through its own negligence, and under the watch of its cozy bed buddies in the MMS and related agencies. There is much accountability to be held here, but the finger pointing and blame games must be set aside while we focus on the most critical piece: “plugging that damn hole”.
Cleaning up the oil
Here there is much we can be doing… we MUST be doing.
Eliminate Corexit! Making a bad situation much worse BP moved quickly to dump massive amounts of toxic dispersant Corexit into the Gulf. BP might want you to believe this is their earnest effort to help clean their mess. But make no mistake, this move came in part to limit BP’s liability. BP knew from day one that sophisticated satellite imagery was picking up and monitoring the oil appearing on the surface of the Gulf.
BP then More >
How To Find Your State Representative
May 28th
Here is a list of all of the US Representatives. Find yours, click on their name and it will link you to their site. Email them, call them, visit them, but send them our message.
- Demand BP stop using Corexit immediately – whatever it takes.
- Demand they start buying (on your local level) the products we already know work (like the Aabaco product described on the site).
- Demand that the USCG step aside and allow access for all citizens (including and especially the press) to the damaged site to document and tell us all the truth about the extent of damage.
You can find the southeastern senators and governors with contact information listed here. If you ever wanted to get involved this is HOW and the time is NOW.
For those of you wishing to donate, thank you for all the messages of support. We are still squaring away critical organizational details and want to ensure everything is in line before accepting donations. The link to do so will be live again ASAP. Thanks and stay tuned!
SkyTruth on Oil Spill
May 28th
I have really liked SkyTruth’s site for oil spill information from the beginning. Here’s a video of John Amos, of SkyTruth, talking about how the size of the oil spill and how they calculate. Good stuff.
Finally, A Way To Do Something
May 28th
After a week or two of reading, obsessing, fretting and wondering aloud where all our leaders are, I finally looked in the mirror. Remembering life following Hurricane Katrina, I thought of how, as we all watched the non-response by government in horror, a small group of local citizens decided to take action. From the idea of one man to implementation we had a self-funded fleet of buses leaving Baldwin County, Alabama and driving into the hurricane-damaged areas. We had dozens of doctors and nurses on board, donating their time and supplies. After a small local news story that mentioned we’d be stopping at an area Walmart on our way out of town, we were overwhelmed with individuals coming out to the buses with grocery carts full of supplies they had just purchased themselves and were donating to the cause. We received so many donations that morning we actually had to turn people away because the buses were full.
I’m from the gulf coast, and THIS is how we get things done. We do them ourselves. We take care of our own. And now, after almost 6 horrifying weeks, I realized it’s that time again. There are a lot of really good options on the market today that will treat and clean up the oil from our coast line, naturally, safely and effectively. I am talking about biodegradable substances that work, and won’t make us all sick in the process.
BP knows about these products, The local government knows about these products. The first product we will buy was developed with research teams from LSU – so southern Louisiana knows about these products, and so does Bobby Jindal’s office.
I guess everyone is waiting for BP to do something. BP already is – they are dumping immeasurable amounts of the highly toxic Corexit on top of the oil. Corexit, which was banned in Britain more than a decade ago, is labeled by BP: “potential human hazard: high”.
The local governments should be buying these safer products themselves and using them IMMEDIATELY. Settle up with BP later. Save your bureaucracy for another day. Shut up and take care of the problem, NOW. To that end, we are making available a list of local representatives. Call and email yours every day and tell them to stop talking and start acting. No more excuses.
Then, click on the DONATE button on the right and help us fight this ourselves, the only way we know how: by rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done. Read more details on the product and our use of funds on the Mission page. And finally, if you have information or would like to help us, please let us know. We need all of you – together we are better.
New Oil Plume: More Evidence of BP Deception
May 28th
A new plume, 22 miles wide and headed for Mobile Bay has been discovered by scientists and detailed in this article.
The thick plume was detected just beneath the surface down to about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters), and is more than 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) wide, said David Hollander, associate professor of chemical oceanography at the school.
Hollander said the team detected the thickest amount of hydrocarbons, likely from the oil spewing from the blown out well, at about 1,300 feet (nearly 400 meters) in the same spot on two separate days this week.
The discovery was important, he said, because it confirmed that the substance found in the water was not naturally occurring and that the plume was at its highest concentration in deeper waters. The researchers will use further testing to determine whether the hydrocarbons they found are the result of dispersants or the emulsification of oil as it traveled away from the well. More >
No Spin Zone
May 28th
If you listen to BP or many of our elected officials on the topic of the oil spill for long, you might fall down from all the spinning action going on in front of you. Here are some VERY important facts that everyone must know about the BP oil catastrophe. In this article by Daniela Perdomo from Alternet, you can read 10 almost incomprehensible truths about the events surrounding BP’s crime scene. Some of the highlights:
Oil rig owner has made $270 million off the oil leak
This experience undoubtedly influenced Transocean’s decision to insure theDeepwater Horizon rig for about twice what it was worth. In a conference call to analysts earlier this month, Transocean reported making a $270 million profit from insurance payouts after the disaster. It’s not hard to bet on failure when you know it’s somewhat assured.
On BP’s (not so) safety record: More >
