'Not for public': the oil spill may be getting much worse

[seemslikeadream]

This Year’s Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Could Be the Biggest on Record

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico—a growing and shrinking region of oxygen-free water—could be the largest on record this summer, thanks to flooding and fertilizer runoff.

By Bryan Walsh @bryanrwalshJune 19,

The dead zone, indicated in red, is filled with low to no-oxygen water, causing nearby fish to flee or die.

The near record-breaking Midwestern drought of 2012 shriveled corn crops and toasted pasture land. But it did have one positive side effect. The drought significantly reduced the size of the seasonal Gulf of Mexico dead zone. Less rain led to less fertilizer runoff—the dead zone is fed by a buildup of nitrogen-based fertilizer in the Gulf—which meant that the 2012 summer dead zone measured just 2,889 sq. miles. That’s still a zone the size of the state of Delaware, but it was the fourth-smallest dead zone on record, and less than half the size of the average between 1995 and 2012.

This year will be different. Heavy rainfall in the Midwest this spring has led to flood conditions, with states like Minnesota and Illinois experiencing some of the wettest spring seasons on record. And all that flooding means a lot more nitrogen-based fertilizer running off into the Gulf. According to an annual estimate from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsored modelers at the University of Michigan, Louisiana State University and Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, this year’s dead zone could be as large as 8,561 sq. miles—roughly the size of New Jersey. That would make it the biggest dead zone on record. And even the low end of the estimate would place this year among the top 10 biggest dead zones on record. Barring an unlikely change in the weather, much of the Gulf of Mexico could become an aquatic desert.


(MORE: Visualizing the Anthropocene)

The nitrogen nutrients that flow into the Gulf, especially during the rainy spring season, encourages the growth of explosive algal blooms, which feed on the nitrogen. Eventually those algae die and sink to the bottom, and bacteria there get to work decomposing the organic matter. The bacteria consume oxygen in the water as they do, resulting in low-oxygen (hypoxic) or oxygen-free (anoxic) regions in the bottom and near-bottom waters.

That’s what a dead zone—water, essentially, without air. Sealife—including the valuable shellfish popular in Gulf fisheries—either flee the area, much as you or I would if someone were to suck all the oxygen out of the room, or die. That’s why the dead zone matters—the larger it is, the greater the populations of fish that might be affected. With commercial fisheries in the Gulf worth $629 million as of 2009—and still recovering from the impact of the 2010 oil spill—the dead zone means business.

The major factor driving the size of the dead zone—beyond changing flooding patterns—is the use and overuse of fertilizers in America’s rich Midwestern corn belt. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that 153,000 metric tons of nutrients flowed down the swollen Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers during May—a 16% increase over the nutrient load average seen during the past 34 years. And as James Greiff of Bloomberg points out in a recent piece, those nutrients are used disproportionately to feed one particular crop:

The culprits behind the dead zone are many, but one deserves special attention: corn. Unlike, say, soybeans, which can grow without fertilizer, corn can’t grow without it. It takes 195 pounds of fertilizer to grow an acre of corn.
And the U.S. grows a lot of corn — more than any other country. What’s more, 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is devoted to making ethanol, which fuel companies must blend with gasoline under a congressional mandate. The Gulf dead zone is yet another reason for Congress to kill that mandate.
A state-federal task force was actually set up in 2008 with the aim of reducing the nutrient flow in the Mississippi by 45% by this year—but as the numbers demonstrate, there hasn’t been much success. Farmers could be encouraged to use fertilizer more efficiently—Greiff suggests ending the practice of applying fertilizer to fields in the fall after crops are harvested, and instead laying it down in the spring. They should also limit the amount of water running off their land, much of which ends up in the rivers and then the Gulf.

Of course, Midwestern farmers care chiefly about the crops in their own fields, not what might be happening in the Gulf of Mexico, hundreds of miles downstream. (And the American farmer is just a bit more politically powerful than Gulf fishermen, let alone environmentalists.) But that invisible telecoupling is what make today’s environmental threats—climate change, ocean acidification, the wildlife trade—so devilishly complex. Just thinking about it is enough to suck the oxygen right out of the room.

[seemslikeadream]

07.26.13 - 12:02 AM
Halliburton Admits Doing Terrible Things, Gets Probation and Slight Slap on Proverbial Wrist
by Abby Zimet


Halliburton will plead guilty to destroying evidence about faulty cement in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe that killed 11 workers, decimated hundreds of miles of water and land, and likely led to widespread health problems. The guilty plea comes even as BP, who along with Halliburton and Transocean faced criminal charges for the worst oil disaster in US history, begins a questionable PR campaign to push back against mounting compensation claims. In exchange for their guilty plea, Halliburton will get three years probation, pay a $200,000 fine - yeah, that'll break 'em - and continue cooperating in investigations by the government, which in turn will agree not to prosecute further. Halliburton also made a "voluntary" contribution of $55 million in blood money to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation so that we'll all feel everything's okay and thus allow them to go on their deadly way, which they will now doubtless do.

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/n ... 72cd6.html
BP sues to get new contracts after oil spill Travel Deals $139 -- Niagara: Falls Side Escape w/Dinner & Tastings See all travel deals » The Associated Press Posted: Monday, August 12, 2013, 7:30 PM HOUSTON (AP) - BP is suing the U.S. government over a decision to bar the oil giant from getting new federal contracts to supply fuel and other services after the company pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Houston Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1eFijiB ) BP filed the lawsuit Monday in Houston federal court. BP says it is seeking an injunction that would lift an order by the Environmental Protection Agency that suspends the company from such contracts. The newspaper reports an EPA spokesman declined to comment on BP's court action, referring questions to the Justice Department, which also declined to comment. The well blowout that caused the spill killed 11 workers and led to millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf.

[Hugo Farnsworth]

As expected.

[seemslikeadream]

BP Can't Hide From Their Criminal Past

Published on Aug 12, 2013
Mike Papantonio appears on The Thom Hartmann Program to discuss BP's disgusting history, from their Texas refinery explosion to their Gulf Coast oil spill catastrophe.

[seemslikeadream]

Coast Guard Discovers A 4,000-Pound Mat Of Tar In The Gulf
BY ANNIE-ROSE STRASSER ON OCTOBER 17, 2013 AT 2:36 PM

CREDIT: AP
As Coast Guard crews were scouring the Louisiana coast looking for damage from Tropical Storm Karen this week, they made a startling discovery: A tar mat weighing 4,100 pounds, presumably remnants from the devastating BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.
Petty Officer First Class Michael Anderson tells the Times-Picayune that the tar mat is a mixture of “80 percent to 90 percent sand, shell and water and 10 percent to 20 percent oil.” Crews are now working on cleaning up the mess, and will search nearby waters for any additional pollution.
Mats and balls of tar have continued to wash up on gulf shores, despite the more than three years that have passed since a rig explosion left oil spewing into the gulf’s waters and spawned the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. And, in comparison, this one isn’t that big. In June, officials discovered a massive 40,000 pound mat — a collection that BP reported was in addition to the over 2.7 million pounds of tar collected at that point in 2013.
But despite the lasting impact that BP’s oil spill has had on the region, the company discontinued its regular searches for remaining oil earlier this year.
The scope of damage from this tar isn’t entirely clear. What is known is that tar from the Deepwater spill contains the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus — which causes a deadly type of seafood contamination — at a rate 100 times higher than surrounding waters. On top of that, a combination of these tar balls and the dispersants that were used to clean up the spill can hold carcinogenic pollutants that are soaked up by human skin.

[seemslikeadream]

Four years after oil spill, 1,250-pound tar mat washes ashore in Florida
Craig PittmanCraig Pittman, Times Staff Writer
Friday, February 28, 2014 4:40pm

Nearly four years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, oil continues washing ashore in Florida. On Thursday, a crew from the state Department of Environmental Protection found a 1,250-pound tar mat in the surf off Pensacola Beach.

The mat measured about 9 feet long and 9 feet wide, the DEP crew noted in a report. They dug up as much of the gooey mess as they could and contractors hauled it away. On Friday they excavated another 100 pounds.

"What is remarkable about this area," noted DEP team members Dominic Marcanio and Joey Whibbs in their report, "is that this segment has been previously surveyed nine times" since last June, when the state and BP agreed to discontinue daily beach surveys.

The most oil that had ever been found in those nine prior checks amounted to about 32 pounds. However, they wrote, what had also turned up there before were "drift cards" set out by Texas A&M scientists to check where oil might go.

The fact that the drift cards ended up there, and then a giant tar mat resembling congealed gravy, indicates "this may be a natural collection area" for other oil mats still drifting around in the Gulf of Mexico, they wrote.

The glop turned up 20 feet offshore in water about 3 feet deep, according to BP spokesman Jason Ryan. "This is not new material, and it is heavily weathered and consists mainly of sand, silt and other non-oil materials," he said.

However, because of its contact with the oil, the whole thing had to be handled as hazardous material. The location posed a bit of a problem for BP's contracted cleanup crews, according to Petty Officer Michael Anderson of the Coast Guard.

BP's contractors aren't allowed to go out in the surf deeper than their knees, he explained. So DEP's two inspectors used their shovels to dig up the lumps of tar and carry them to shore, where the contractors could bag them up for disposal, he said.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster began with a fiery explosion aboard an offshore drilling rig on April 20, 2010. It held the nation spellbound for months as BP struggled to stop the oil, finally succeeding in July 2010. Since then the spill has largely faded from national headlines. The oil is still there, though, to the consternation of beach residents such as Susan Forsyth.

"If two guys can find this much oil," said Forsyth, who is also affiliated with the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group, "how much more oil could they find if they had a lot more people out looking for it?"

[chump]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmXR-vvheus

http://bridgethegulfproject.org/blog/20 ... 0-bp-spill

Orgininally posted on Cherri Foytlin's personal blog. Recently, wife of commercial fisherman, mother, and Gulf Coast advocate, Kindra Arnesen, and I had a chance to sit down in South Plaquemines Parish to discuss the health of her community, the health settlement, and how her life has changed since the 2010 BP Deep Water Drilling Disaster.

Gulf residents have continued to express concern that the settlement doesn’t go far enough to address their needs and mounting medical costs. Many survivors say general payouts will not approach their bills already accrued, that geographic limitations will keep many who need help from being able to take part in the class action suit, and that some of their documented symptoms are not listed within the language of the agreement.

Earlier this month BP lost an appeal, which amounted to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court ordering them to begin paying claims submitted to the health portion of the settlement process. Although Federal District Judge Carl Barbier approved the settlement over a year ago, no payments have been made to those who say that their health has been negatively affected by the toxic use of oil and dispersants during the disaster...

[seemslikeadream]

Papantonio: SCOTUS Has Catastrophic Conflict In BP Case

[seemslikeadream]

Halliburton to Pay $1.1 Billion to Settle Spill Lawsuits
By David Wethe, Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Calkins Sep 2, 2014 8:28 AM CT 4 Comments Email Print

Halliburton Co. agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle a majority of lawsuits brought over its role in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The agreement is subject to court approval and includes legal fees, the Houston-based company said in a statement today. Halliburton was accused by spill victims and BP Plc of doing defective cementing work on the Macondo well before the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Halliburton blamed the incident on decisions by BP, which owned the well.

The settlement comes as the judge overseeing oil-spill cases weighs fault for the disaster. An agreement now averts the company’s risk of a more costly judgment for some spill victims and removes much of the uncertainty that has plagued Halliburton for the past four years as investors waited to see the payout tally. With its biggest piece of liability resolved, Halliburton can refocus its attention on developing new oilfield technology that will help it boost profits worldwide.

The settlement represents the most significant payout yet for Halliburton from the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and caused millions of barrels of oil to spill into the Gulf. The accident sparked hundreds of lawsuits against London-based BP, Halliburton and Vernier, Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd., the rig’s owner.

Transocean settled some claims for $1.4 billion last year, while BP has paid more than $28 billion and faces potentially tens of billions more.

State Lawsuits

Today’s agreement doesn’t resolve certain state lawsuits that have been filed against Halliburton, which has taken a $1.3 billion reserve for costs related to the incident, according to a July 25 earnings statement. Halliburton said it has incurred legal fees and expenses of about $294 million, with $263 million of this reimbursed or expected to be covered by insurance.

Halliburton rose 0.7 percent to $68.06 at 9:16 a.m. in New York, before the start of regular trading in U.S. markets. The shares have gained 33 percent this year before today.

The settlement will be paid into a trust in three installments during the next two years until all appeals have been resolved. A certain level of claimants must participate in the settlement or Halliburton can terminate it. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on terms of the settlement.

.

[seemslikeadream]

Forbes

BP 'Grossly Negligent' In Gulf Spill, Eyes $18 Billion Penalty--And Tax Deduction

[cptmarginal]

Thanks for updating this thread, it's appreciated. Was just reading about Deepwater Horizon yesterday, in Greg Palast's last book Vulture's Picnic. Man, I never realized what a self-aggrandizing ignorant goofball Palast was until starting in on that one.

[seemslikeadream]

Gulf Oil Spill Left Rhode Island-Sized Oily 'Bathtub Ring' On Seafloor, Study Finds
AP | By By SETH BORENSTEIN
Posted: 10/27/2014 3:01 pm EDT Updated: 10/27/2014 4:59 pm EDT DEEPWATER HORIZON

WASHINGTON (AP) — The BP oil spill left an oily "bathub ring" on the sea floor that's about the size of Rhode Island, new research shows.

The study by David Valentine, the chief scientist on the federal damage assessment research ships, estimates that about 10 million gallons of oil coagulated on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico around the damaged Deepwater Horizons oil rig.

Valentine, a geochemistry professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, said the spill from the Macondo well left other splotches containing even more oil. He said it is obvious where the oil is from, even though there were no chemical signature tests because over time the oil has degraded.

"There's this sort of ring where you see around the Macondo well where the concentrations are elevated," Valentine said. The study, published in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, calls it a "bathtub ring."

Oil levels inside the ring were as much as 10,000 times higher than outside the 1,200-square-mile ring, Valentine said. A chemical component of the oil was found on the sea floor, anywhere from two-thirds of a mile to a mile below the surface.

The rig blew on April 20, 2010, and spewed 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf through the summer. Scientists are still trying to figure where all the oil went and what effects it had.

BP questions the conclusions of the study. In an email, spokesman Jason Ryan said, "the authors failed to identify the source of the oil, leading them to grossly overstate the amount of residual Macondo oil on the sea floor and the geographic area in which it is found."

It's impossible at this point to do such chemical analysis, said Valentine and study co-author Christopher Reddy, a marine chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, but all other evidence, including the depth of the oil, the way it laid out, the distance from the well, directly point to the BP rig.

Outside marine scientists, Ed Overton at Louisiana State University and Ian MacDonald at Florida State University, both praised the study and its conclusions.

The study does validate earlier research that long-lived deep water coral was coated and likely damaged by the spill, Reddy said. But Reddy and Valentine said there are still questions about other ecological issues that deep.

[seemslikeadream]

FRIDAY, JAN 30, 2015 02:52 PM CST
Millions of gallons of BP oil found resting on the Gulf floor
Yet another study raises questions about the long-term impact of the 2010 disaster
LINDSAY ABRAMS Follow

Millions of gallons of BP oil found resting on the Gulf floor

Another study has identified a massive amount of oil resting on the Gulf of Mexico’s floor, contradicting BP’s claims that everything is totally better now and raising questions about the lasting impact of the 2010 spill.

Researchers at Florida State University identified some 6 to 10 million gallons of BP oil buried in the sediment at the bottom of the Gulf, covering a 9,300 square mile area southeast of the Mississippi Delta. Their findings, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, help solve the mystery of where all the oil went: a federal judge ruled that BP spilled about 134 million gallons of oil in total, although government estimates put that amount even higher.

Last year, geochemists at the University of California-Santa Barbara identified a similar phenomenon, of what they called a “bathtub ring” of oil the size of Rhode Island scattered across the Gulf. The authors of this study, as with that one, express concern about what it’s doing down there. Jeff Chanton, a professor of oceanology at FSU and the study’s lead author, notes that as oil remains deep underwater, it encounters less oxygen, making it more difficult to decompose.

And just because it’s buried doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. “This is going to affect the Gulf for years to come,” Chanton said. “Fish will likely ingest contaminants because worms ingest the sediment, and fish eat the worms. It’s a conduit for contamination into the food web.”

[Hugo Farnsworth]

Greg Palast posted this story on Truthdig:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/chelsea_manning_and_the_deepwater_horizon_killings_20150418