Sheila Grissett for The Times -Picayune Five years after Hurricane Katrina’s deadly lessons, the Army Corps of Engineers still hasn’t confirmed which Mississippi River levees must go higher to better protect against hurricane surges pushed out of the Gulf of Mexico, but testing is about to begin on a new method of raising the ones [...]
Oil, Dispersants, and Despair
A Filmmaker’s Thoughts from the Front Lines of the Oil Spill by ETHAN STEWART for the Santa Barbara Independent This week marks the 100-day anniversary of the worst oil spill in the history of the United States. On April 20, British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up off the coast of Louisiana for reasons [...]
Gulf Oil Has Made Its Way Into Lake Pontchartrain
Tip of a very nasty iceberg? Perhaps. With hurricane season underway there is no way of knowing the outcome when a category 3 or 4 storm slams oil as well as seawater onto the gulf coast. If you pray in any form, now would probably be a good time to marshal your troops – Hudson. [...]
BP's massive spill threatens Gulf's vast undersea life
BY RENEE SCHOOF for MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS WASHINGTON — As the magnitude of BP’s oil spill becomes clearer, scientists fear the volume of oil, the depth of the leak and the chemical dispersants the company is using will combine to threaten a vast array of undersea life for years. At risk are such endangered species as [...]
'Top kill' fails, BP moves on 'to next option'
By the CNN Wire Staff Robert, Louisiana (CNN) — Three attempts to pump mud and 16 tries to stuff solid material into a breached Gulf of Mexico oil well failed to stop the flow, top BP executives said Saturday, and engineers and executives with the oil giant have decided to “move on to the next [...]
BP touts containment efforts; heavy oil reaches Louisiana wetlands
CNN New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) — BP said Wednesday that efforts to contain and clean up oil gushing from a ruptured pipe in the Gulf of Mexico have made a “measurable difference” even as Louisiana’s governor announced that thick, heavy oil has begun polluting the state’s wetlands and estuaries. Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer [...]
BP fights to stop the Gulf of Mexico spill – and salvage its reputation
From Tim Webb in Venice, Louisiana for The Observer With millions of gallons of oil a day still polluting the sea, the company faces an £18bn bill and a tarnished image Late last Saturday afternoon, the helicopter reeled around for one last low sweep over the wetlands in the Mississippi delta. That was when Melanie [...]
Scientists Find Giant Plumes of Oil Forming Under the Gulf
By JUSTIN GILLIS for The New York Times Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse [...]
Weather hampers Gulf of Mexico oil slick clean-up
From The BBC Bad weather hampered efforts to tackle the huge Gulf of Mexico oil slick, with high seas and winds keeping boats and planes away from the clean-up site. Reports suggest that the slick is growing rapidly – one report said it had tripled in size in a day. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal warned [...]
