Massive weathered oil plumes off Louisiana coast

by DWG

The New Orleans Times-Picayune has been reporting massive plumes of weathered oil off the Louisiana coast.

Just three days after the U.S. Coast Guard admiral in charge of the BP oil spill cleanup declared little recoverable surface oil remained in the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana fishers Friday found miles-long strings of weathered oil floating toward fragile marshes on the Mississippi River delta.

The report was dismissed by the Coast Guard, which suggested the miles long orange plumes were likely to be algae.

It is déjà vu all over again.

continued at Daily Kos....

The grim Arctic Report Card

by DWG

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has just published its 2010 update on the Arctic environment. This report was produced in collaboration with scientists from the United States, Canada, Russia, and European Union. The bottom line in this report can be summarized in a single sentence:

Return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely.

Warming of the atmosphere and sea water in the northern hemisphere are expected to produce long-term changes in the polar region, including the loss of summer sea ice, depletion of Greenland glacial ice, permafrost melt, and stress on many animal populations. Scientists first raised the possibility of an Arctic "death spiral" several years ago, which was dismissed as a passing fantasy by the ethically-challenged, half-term governor of Alaska. The possibility of an Arctic "death spiral" now looks highly likely.

continued at Daily Kos....

BP and the Gov't: Setting Precedent, Reforming Image*

by scorpiorising

The Gulf of Mexico, her marine life and the people of the Gulf coast are a political sacrifice, and one that the Obama administration had no right to make.

The lies of BP and our government are as toxic as the oil that remains in the Gulf, and the dispersant that BP continues to be used in full view, and apparently with approval from, our government. There is a massive cover-up taking place on the Gulf coast, in full view of the "public", the people, in full view of the corporate media, in full view of the world.

continued at Daily Kos....

BP and the Gov't: Setting Precedent, Reforming Image

by scorpiorising

The Gulf of Mexico, her marine life and the people of the Gulf coast are a political sacrifice, and one that the Obama administration had no right to make.

The lies of BP and our government are as toxic as the oil that remains in the Gulf, and the dispersant that BP continues to be used in full view, and apparently with approval from, our government. There is a massive cover-up taking place on the Gulf coast, in full view of the "public", the people, in full view of the corporate media, in full view of the world.

continued at Daily Kos....

BP and the Gov't: Setting Precedent, Reforming Image

by scorpiorising

The Gulf of Mexico, her marine life and the people of the Gulf coast are a political sacrifice, and one that the Obama administration had no right to make.

The lies of BP and our government are as toxic as the oil that remains in the Gulf, and the dispersant that BP continues to be used in full view, and apparently with approval from, our government. There is a massive cover-up taking place on the Gulf coast, in full view of the "public", the people, in full view of the corporate media, in full view of the world.

continued at Daily Kos....

could affect tourism ... but finding the truth is more important

by jamess

Gulf Coast Communities Investigate Oily Sea Mist
by Debbie Elliott, NPR -- September 3, 2010

Orange Beach city hall has been inundated with calls from residents with complaints — foam that they think is dispersant, a gray-metallic slick in back bays or seaweed that looks oiled. There's a heightened sense of environmental awareness, and local officials are looking for a way to determine what's going on.

Mayor Tony Kennon says that's why the town hired independent scientists to test the air, water and soil.
[...]

Orange Beach is using grant money from BP for the testing, and posting the data on the town's website. Mayor Kennon says negative results could affect tourism in the short term, but finding the truth is more important.

Kudos to Mayor Kennon for taking a stand, for what's right!

The Major is a man of his word.

Monitoring, he is.

continued at Daily Kos....

Earth's plant life: dying on land, dying at sea

by Keith Pickering

CO2 is plant food. I know this is true, because smart Republicans like Reps. Dan Shimkus and Michele Bachmann said so. In fact, the "CO2 is plant food" meme can bring up 48,000 hits on Google.

So rising CO2 should be good for plants, right? Because a conservative argument with a patina of science just can't be wrong.

Just a couple of little flies in the ointment: land plants are dying as CO2 rises. And oceanic plants are dying as CO2 rises, too.

Earth's plant life is being killed by the heat.

continued at Daily Kos....

BP's Oil is NOT on the Surface -- it's on the Sea Floor

by jamess

Two weeks ago we were being told the majority of the Oil Spilled was "mostly" gone ...

How did five million barrels of oil simply disappear?

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs points to a pie chart on the BP oil spill during the Daily White House Press Briefing, Washington, DC.

AFP/ Getty Images

Now, University of South Florida, Marine Scientists are reporting Science has a different tale, to tell ...

continued at Daily Kos....

The Latest Global Warming Conspiracy Theory

by Steven D

For sheer amusement there is nothing like going to a climate denialist blog (i.e. Climate Change Fraud) and seeing the latest "proof" that NOAA is involved in a massive conspiracy to lie and defraud the American people about fake satellite data that shows global warming is a scam.  The headline says it all:  US Government in Massive New Global Warming Scandal – NOAA Disgraced

(cont.)

continued at Daily Kos....

Scientists say: The Oil is NOT Gone -- even if our Attention spans are

by jamess

How did five million barrels of oil simply disappear?

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs points to a pie chart on the BP oil spill during the Daily White House Press Briefing, Washington, DC.

AFP/ Getty Images

OK there you go -- Only about 26% Residual Oil is left.

"Residual" -- that's like "smoke" -- like the Morning Fog.

That doesn't sound so bad. ... It should be gone in No Time, right?

Don't bet on it.

Even NOAA Administrator, Jane Lubchenco, still has some concerns ...

continued at Daily Kos...

When does 'Mostly Gone' actually mean, 'A LOT is still There'?

by jamess

The oil has gone? Tell that to Gulf coast residents
By Rupert Cornwell, independent.co.uk -- 6 August 2010

And though only a quarter of the 4.9m barrels reckoned to have leaked is still unaccounted, that represents the equivalent of five Exxon Valdez, the tanker whose spill caused an environmental catastrophe in Alaska in 1989.

"There are still boats out there every day working, finding turtles with oil on them and seeing grass lines with oil in it," charter boat captain Randy Boggs, of Orange Beach in Alabama, told the Associated Press. "All the oil isn't accounted for. There are millions of pounds of tar balls and oil on the bottom."

Turns out, This -- TIMES 5 --

IS mostly STILL There! ... lurking somewhere, just below the surface ...

continued at Daily Kos...

Houston, We got a New Problem -- BP's Oil has ALL Disappeared!?

by jamess

OH  NOES!

Just when you thought the worse was over ...

BP to scale back some oil response units, new leader pledges to stay for long haul
by Doug Mouton / Northshore Bureau Chief
wwltv.com -- July 30, 2010

How much oil is in the Gulf now is up for debate.  Several Louisiana leaders, including St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis have argued that million of gallons of oil are underwater, waiting to surface.

"We haven't found that," [Bob] Dudley [new BP CEO] said.

Dudley said six ships and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working to locate underwater oil.

"It's a big hunt going on right now," Dudley said. "It's going to keep going on."

Hey BOB! -- MAYBE you haven't "found it" because of 1.8 Million Gallons of Toxic Dispersants you managed to spray -- Kept much of it Underwater, eh?

They'll find ALL that missing Oil -- just give them some more time ... that's all they ask ...

continued at Daily Kos...

Science Says: Those 3-D Underwater Oil Plumes Belong to BP

by jamess

Now for a little exercise in News Spin Cycles, vs the Scientific Process ...

When the Facts, finally come in, IS Anyone even still Paying Attention?

"What we have learned completely changes the idea of what an oil spill is," said chemical oceanographer David Hollander, one of three USF researchers credited with the matching samples of oil taken from the water with samples from the BP well. "It has gone from a two-dimensional disaster to a three-dimensional catastrophe."
[...]

Together, the two studies confirm what in the early days of the spill was denied by BP and viewed skeptically by NOAA's chief — that much of the crude that gushed from the Deepwater Horizon well stayed beneath the surface of the water.

[link to follow]

continued at Daily Kos...

NOAA is NOT withholding data or methodology

by Darryl House

I read a disturbing diary by FishOutofWater that accuses NOAA of withholding data from the public while providing that data to BP.

I have great respect for FishOutofWater but this is patently false.

I have no argument with criticisms of the EPA's decision on dispersants, in fact I agree with him on that point.

That diary seems to center on the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) data, conclusions, and recommendations, which are ongoing and, for the purposes of this refutation, irrelevant.

NRDA is a legal process, not a field research effort.

continued at Daily Kos....

NOAA & BP Keep Key Oil Data from Scientists & Public

by FishOutofWater

Scientists have been refused access to key data that NOAA has given to BP. Data access is necessary to plan research, investigate damage, and assess critical environmental effects. University researchers and other independent scientists have requested data from the government so that they can track the oil and its effects on the water chemistry and ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico, but NOAA has refused to release the data.

Independent scientists, and science bloggers including me, have been strongly questioning the use of dispersants in deep water because dispersed oil in deep water could potentially cause oil plumes dead zones that might last for years. The EPA allowed BP to use dispersants in 5000 ft. deep water despite the lack of data on the effects of dispersing oil in deep water.

continued at Daily Kos....

Department of the Environment

by Karen Hedwig Backman

It is time that a separate and autonomous United States Department of the Environment be created.

At present the various agencies that purportedly guard our nation's environment are part of the following entities, admittedly very likely, not a comprehensive list:

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Energy
Department of Interior
Environmental Protection Agency, a subset of the Executive Branch

continued at Daily Kos....

Global Cooling is the Hoax

by Steven D

Yes I will get to the fraudulent claims that global denialists have been pushing that our planet has actually cooled since 1998 and will continue to cool for years to come.

But first, just for fun, let's take a look at the weather outside.

(cont.)

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Corporate States on the Gulf of Mexico

by scorpiorising

Glenn Ford with Black Agenda couldn't have made it any clearer: leaving BP in charge of the oil spill response, and make no mistake, they are in charge, despite Coast Guard declarations to the contrary, has left the four gulf states, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, an enforced, corporate state in the midst of a major catastrophe. Creating and finding ways to fight back are key here. Let's consider the implications:

continued at Daily Kos....

May 2010 ... 393 ppm ... and CO2 is Accelerating

by jamess

We live in Epic Times.

For nearly the last Million years, CO2 levels in the Atmosphere, stayed mostly below 300 ppm (parts per million).

Well those happy days are apparently over.

Welcome to the New Normal!

CO2Now.org

Earth's CO2 Home Page

Atmospheric CO2 for May 2010

392.94 ppm

larger image

Preliminary data released June 7, 2010 (NOAA-ESRL MLO)

Well maybe 393 PPM of CO2 is not really that big of a deal?

CO2Now.org

What level is safe?

The upper safety limit for atmospheric CO2 is 350 parts per million (ppm). Atmospheric CO2 levels have stayed higher than 350 ppm since early 1988.

Well maybe that extra 43 ppm's is not really big enough to matter?  (... we can hope.)

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Oil Spill Mythbusters

by murrayewv

This blog is quick to condemn technological solutions on little data.  Diaries on the inadequacy of science and engineering abound (ironic, since we all are using computers to reach the internet).  Folks are quick to jump to conspiracy theories.  The problems of the oil spill are bad, but to read Daily Kos, the horrors are incredible, often in contradiction to all logic.  Chiming in to doubt some of these claims has resulted in What the hell, dude? You sounded earlier as if you were defending BP, and there's shitloads of anecdotal AND empirical evidence that they're in no way worthy of it. There's a point where you just have to stop playing "devils advocate" or "supporting the underdog". Or whatever that earlier bit was. Truthfully, it didn't make a whole lot of sense in context with the rest of the discussion, but seemed more designed to introduce the idea that "the fumes just aren't that bad, so people really didn't need masks anyway....

continued at Daily Kos....