Gulf oil spill

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Karl Rove: This Is Obama's Katrina
 Karl Rove: This Is 
 Obama's Katrina 
opinion
May 27, 2010 12:58 PM CDT

Karl Rove: This Is Obama's Katrina

In fact, it may be worse

(Newser) - Take it from Karl Rove: The Gulf oil spill is not only President Obama's Katrina, it "could be even worse." The "lethargic" response is bad enough, but he points out in the Wall Street Journal that this is happening in federal waters. On Katrina, he says President...

Obama: Feds Are in Charge of Cleanup

And critics of his Gulf response 'don't know the facts'

(Newser) - President Obama asserted today that the federal government is, and always has been, in charge of Gulf oil cleanup. "Make no mistake: BP is operating at our direction," he said at a news conference, reiterating that the company is responsible for the bill. It's "an unprecedented disaster,...

Toxic Oil Dispersant Rain Could Devastate Coast

Russian scientists project evaporating dispersant collecting in clouds

(Newser) - Russian scientists briefing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are warning that the dispersant used by BP to break up the oil spill in the Gulf could cause a far greater catastrophe than the oil itself. They envision apocalyptic destruction caused by the dispersant "phase shifting" from liquid to gas, then...

New Oil Flow Estimate Makes Gulf Spill Nation's Worst

At 3.5 times earlier estimates, exceeds Exxon Valdez

(Newser) - New oil flow estimates by scientists studying the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico are more than three times earlier estimates, making the leak the worst in the nation's history. The US Geological Survey director says the results are preliminary, but two teams using different methods determined that the...

Obama Fires Head of Minerals Management Service

Elizabeth Birnbaum's head rolls thanks to BP oil spill

(Newser) - Democratic sources say the Obama administration has fired the head of the US Minerals Management Service in response to blistering criticism over lax oversight of offshore drilling. President Obama will announce the firing later today, the sources say. Elizabeth "Liz" Birnbaum had run the service in the Interior Department...

'Top Kill' Stops Oil Flow Into Gulf

But Coast Guard won't call it a success until the cement is in

(Newser) - BP's “top kill” plan has at least temporarily stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard admiral in charge of overseeing the spill said this morning. The drilling fluid engineers pumped into the pipe yesterday has blocked all oil and gas from the well,...

Oil Disaster: Obama's Best Options

The president needs a plan of attack

(Newser) - The Gulf oil spill is becoming a lesson in "ineffective leadership and the corporate capture of government," writes Dan Froomkin on the Huffington Post . Today's press conference offers a chance for President Obama to change that. Here's what he should do:
  • Take control: "Obama should make it
...

Carville To Obama: Tell BP 'I'm Your Daddy'

Blasts the president again for not taking control

(Newser) - James Carville is on a tear to push the president to step up his response to the gulf oil spill . He kept the campaign going last night on John King's show on CNN by advising Obama: "Tell BP 'I'm your daddy, I'm in charge, you're going to do...

BP Cut Corners on Well Casing
 BP Cut Corners on Well Casing 
May 27, 2010 6:55 AM CDT

BP Cut Corners on Well Casing

Went with riskier option because it was cheaper

(Newser) - First rule of business, kids: cut costs where you can. For example, if you can buy a cheaper cement for the casing pipe in your oil well, and the only risk is that it might fail to seal, let gas leak in, and lead to a massive explosion, you should...

Arctic Drilling to be Suspended

No exploratory drilling until at least 2011

(Newser) - Shell is going to have to wait, baby, wait to get its hands on new sources of Arctic oil. The Obama administration plans to suspend exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean until 2011 at the earliest because of the problems exposed by the Gulf oil spill, a source tells AP...

Spill Exacts Horrific Toll on Wildlife

Scientists warn of worst-case scenario as oil soaks La. marshes

(Newser) - As oil washes into Louisiana's marshes, the Gulf leak is starting to look more like a "real oil spill"—with all the horrific damage to wildlife that entails, scientists say. Hundreds of dead, oil-soaked birds have been found on the Louisiana coast, along with dozens of dead turtles...

BP on 'Top Kill': So Far, So Good (But It's Very Early)

The live feed video probably won't reveal much

(Newser) - And now we wait. BP's chief executive says the "top kill" operation that got under way this afternoon is going as planned, reports the AP . He reiterated it will be at least a day before engineers know whether 50,000 barrels of thick mud on the way will do...

Most Think Obama Doing a Lousy Job on Oil Spill

53% bash him; BP's numbers are worse

(Newser) - No big surprise with these poll numbers: The public is paying close attention to the Gulf oil spill and thinks pretty much everyone involved is doing lousy work, including President Obama. Highlights from the USA Today/Gallup poll :
  • About 75% say BP is doing a "poor" or "very poor"
...

Fishermen Getting Sick in Gulf Cleanup

Lawmaker wants mobile clinics funded by BP

(Newser) - More reports are surfacing about fishermen getting sick while cleaning up the Gulf oil spill, and a Louisiana congressman wants BP to pay for mobile clinics, reports the Los Angeles Times . With the "top kill" strategy under way at the ocean bottom, the fishermen on the surface are complaining...

Fake BP Twitter Feed More Popular Than Real One

And a lot funnier

(Newser) - In the last few days, @BPGlobalPR has become something of a Twitter phenomenon, wracking up 44,000 followers, but BP's PR guys aren't too happy about it. Because, as will become instantly apparent to anyone who reads it, @BPGlobalPR isn't actually the oil giant's Twitter handle. It's a gag account,...

BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan
 BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan  
May 26, 2010 1:34 PM CDT

BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan

They hope to plug well with mud and cement

(Newser) - The "top kill" is under way. BP has begun pumping heavy mud into the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to seal it. Cement will follow. The top kill has never before been tried a mile beneath the sea, and company officials say it could...

Coast Guard OKs BP's 'Top Kill' Plan

Company can proceed with idea to plug the gushing well

(Newser) - The Coast Guard has told BP to fire when ready with its so-called "top kill" plan. The idea is to pump mud into the gushing well to plug it, a practice that has worked on land but never been tried at these ocean depths. The Coast Guard's approval was...

Oil Spill Gives Bobby Jindal a 2nd Chance

By criticizing cleanup, governor regains footing

(Newser) - Bobby Jindal, last seen spectacularly botching his response to an Obama speech last year, may have resurrected his political career thanks to the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. The Louisiana governor has ironically been calling for a bigger government response, and criticizing BP's slow, incompetent efforts to fix the leak. In the...

Carville to Obama: 'Get Down Here and Take Control!'
 Carville to Obama: 
 'Get Down Here 
 and Take Control!' 
oil spill fallout
May 26, 2010 10:05 AM CDT

Carville to Obama: 'Get Down Here and Take Control!'

The fired-up New Orleans resident makes a plea to Obama

(Newser) - James Carville didn't mince words on Good Morning America today, blasting Obama, again, for his handling of the spill, calling his absence in the region "unbelievable political stupidity." His voice raising to a near-yell (George Stephanopoulos thanks the fired-up Carville for his "passion" at the end of...

Oil Rig Workers Blew Past Red Flags

Equipment showed danger of blowout, but they kept working

(Newser) - Just two hours before the Deepwater Horizon exploded, a major test revealed a “very large abnormality” in the well, but workers simply ignored it and kept working, BP revealed in a report to Congress yesterday. Previously, BP had said the test was inconclusive, the Wall Street Journal notes, but...

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