Do we need a Better Reason for Energy Alternatives? Gulf Spill Update.

Photo credit: NOAA

It would be nice to provide overall good news regarding the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has been gushing oil into the sea for over a month, but that is not the case this morning. BP seems to be incapable of stopping the oil from gushing into the Gulf and of telling the truth about anything regarding the spill!

Below is the latest information about the Gulf spill being reported around the world:

• BP today admitted that is capturing less oil from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico than previously estimated, raising fresh questions over the success of its rescue operation. The oil giant told the City this morning that the mile-long siphon tube inserted into the damaged well has been capturing an average of 2,010 barrels a day. Last Thursday, BP told shareholders it was managing to siphon off around 3,000 barrels each day, while a BP spokesman in Houston told reporters that the siphon had actually been collecting 5,000 barrels of oil in a day(Source: Guardian.co.uk).
• The Environmental Protection Agency informed BP officials late Wednesday that the company has 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to government sources familiar with the decision, and must apply the new form of dispersants within 72 hours of submitting the list of alternatives. So far, 715,000 gallons have been pumped on to the massive oil slick. BP refused to comply with the EPA order. Under the guise of “commercial secrets”, BP is adamantly refusing to reveal the contents of its response to the EPA. Critics have repeatedly accused BP of trying to keep the public in the dark about the full scale of the disaster, and its role in it.( The Independent).

EPA Disbursant Data. The lower the toxicity number, the more toxic it is!

• The Coast Guard said on Sunday that over 65 miles (110 kms) of Gulf Coast has experienced “shoreline impact” and less than half of it could be cleaned up relatively quickly, underscoring the growing ecological toll of the disaster.
• Many scientists believe the Gulf spill has already eclipsed the 11 million gallons (41 million litres) spilt by the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker accident in Alaska. They warn the spreading oil could be caught in a powerful ocean current that could take it to the Florida Keys, Cuba and the U.S. East Coast.
• U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Washington is frustrated and angry that BP Plc missed “deadline after deadline” in its efforts to seal the well more than a month after an oil rig explosion triggered the disaster. “If we find they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, we’ll push them out of the way appropriately,” he told reporters.( Reuters)
• Venezuela has sent a team of experts to Cuba to help the island prepare in case the Gulf of Mexico oil spill reaches its shores, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday.Speaking during his weekly TV and radio program, Chavez said the spreading spill “is threatening Cuba’s coasts.” He said Venezuelan oil experts will help carry out “simulation drills because the Cubans didn’t have much experience in this.(Businessweek).
• BP was reluctant to allow the public to see underwater videos of the gushing volcanic vent of crude oil. When it eventually relented to political pressure to stream live footage on its website, BP claimed its server crashed due to the public’s unprecedented usage.

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Posted by Tracey A. Smith on May 24 2010. Filed under Carbon Offsets, Climate Change, U.S.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry