BP Oil Disaster Reaches Mississippi

Reports started coming in last night about BP's oil reaching the shores of Mississippi, with "large patches of thick oil" according to ABC (Australia):

Hundreds of globs of brown oil began washing ashore Mississippi tourist beaches at Ocean Springs and fishing hot spots on Sunday.

"This might be the last time we are able to come to the beach," Ocean Springs residents James Vogeney said. "What makes us so mad about all of this is that it could have been avoided. All of it."

Another resident, Mike Hollings, says he cried when he saw the oil start to wash ashore at the beach. "Life as I know it is over. What are we going to do if nobody cares to act fast enough," he said. Wildlife officials have picked up one pelican covered in oil and one dead turtle.

This adds Mississippi to the list of affected states, which includes Florida, Louisiana and Alabama. Tar balls reported in Texas have not been conclusively proved to be from BP.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who has previously defended BP and made such foolish statements as declaring crude oil safe as toothpaste, has now done an about-face on his previous "move along, nothing to see here" position. Now that the oil has fouled his own state's beaches, he's calling on BP and the Federal government to increase resources for Mississippi to help combat the ecological catastrophe.

BP Still Burning Sea Turtles to Death

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, BP is still burning endangered sea turtles alive. NOAA estimates that 425 sea turtles so far have died as a result of the BP catastrophe, and that death toll is rising.

BP has routinely been ignoring the presence of sea turtles in the areas in which it conducts massive oil burn-offs. Even more appalling, they're trying to stop turtle-rescue groups from interfering. From AllGov:

BP has conducted numerous controlled burns on the ocean surface to eliminate some of the oil collecting in the Gulf of Mexico. But in the process, the company is also burning alive endangered sea turtles caught in the areas set aflame, according to federal officials.

Environmentalists have been outraged by the killings and BP’s callous actions, which include scaring away boats trying to rescue sea turtles caught in the burns. The company could face fines of up to $50,000 for each sea turtle killed or harmed by the spill or cleanup.

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project has a shrimp boat captain's eyewitness testimony about the turtle atrocities on video. The local captain was enlisted by BP to help out with the cleanup effort, but they stopped him from attempting to rescue young sea turtles when the chance arose:

He was captured on video saying that the turtles are being collected in the clean-up efforts and burned up like so much ocean debris with other marine life gathering along tide lines where oil also congregates.

Sea Shepherd Laughs at Interpol Inquiry

FOX News is reporting that Paul Watson, the Canadian founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is now on Interpol's "Blue" Wanted List. Watson is wanted in connection with several incidents where Sea Shepherd crewmembers interfered with Japan's whaling and fishing expeditions in the Antarctic. One member, Peter Bethune, has already been charged with trespassing, vandalism, possession of a knife, obstructing business and assault.

The article states:

Prosecutors say Bethune threw glass bottles containing rotten butter at the harpoon boat, including one that broke and left three Japanese crew members with chemical burns.

Watson, however, remains defiant and refuses to take the charges seriously. Excerpted from an editorial on his website:

It seems my reputation as an international eco-desperado has been notched up this week with my name posted by Japan on the Interpol “Blue List.” It’s surprisingly exciting. I feel so Jason Bourne!

The strange discriminatory insanity of humanity is such that I actually find it both amusing and complimentary to have Sea Shepherd’s work recognized in such an official manner, for the truth is that we have pissed off a great many people who profit from the rape and destruction of our planet.

Watson may not have much to worry about. Despite all the mystique about Interpol as some sort of spooky gestapo-like agency, they apparently don't even seem to be capable of keeping their own website updated - we just checked and found no mention of Watson on the Blue List, not even in their search function.

Geisum Oil Contradictions Continue in Jebel al-Zayt

HEPCA, a watchdog organization protecting the ecology of the Red Sea, says at last report that the Jebel al-Zayt oil leak at an Egyptian state-owned Petrogulf Misr/Geisum Oil rig has finally been contained.

However, HEPCA seems oddly tentative to name Geisum as the culprit even though this information has been verified elsewhere in the world media. Perhaps they fear reprisal from the Egyptian government, or legal retribution; an early report had local activists reluctant to divulge Petrogulf Misr/Geisum's name "for legal reasons." And though they speak of the leak having been stopped, they use the present tense for the situation later in the same press release:

We are still fervently awaiting the Nature Conservation Sector’s assessment of the damages at as well as a statement declaring the identity of the rig that is visibly spewing out the oil!

The damage to Egypt's natural resources is a crime that must not go unpunished; and the complicity of any party with such a crime must be revealed and condemned.

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum now claims that the oil that polluted beaches was actually not from any of its rigs. They speculate that the oil perhaps leaked by a passing tanker, or may have seeped from the ground spontaneously; in other words, they're grasping at straws to point the finger anywhere that doesn't lead back to themselves. According to the state-run Middle East News Agency, the state-run Ministry issued a report declaring that the state-run oil rig was "sound". (Well, I guess that settles that, doesn't it?)

Even more contradictory is the ministry's statement that because of this incident, they're looking at the possibility of limiting oil drilling activity in the area. But why on Earth would they say this now if their position is that oil drilling had nothing to do with it?

Finally, we have to ask, is the leak really fixed? We've already heard Egyptian govt. assurances that it has been, followed by eyewitness reports that it most certainly had not. HEPCA seems to be agreeing with the state position now, but we also have to wonder if they're not just fearing for their own safety - severe lashings, beatings and inordinately lengthy imprisonment are still standard punishment procedure in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both of which have legal jurisdiction over the Red Sea.

Ponies And Balloons: BP Staging Fake Cleanups

Making waves on the net recently: an eye-opening video of a speech by Kindra Arnesen at the Gulf Emergency Summit, telling her eyewitness testimony about the media blackout of what's really happening with the BP disaster.

One of her more shocking revelations is that the BP cleanup team routinely stage fake cleanup operations when politicians come to inspect, and that when the politician leaves, 85% of the workers and resources rolled out for his/her benefit are then pulled back. The BP officials jokingly refer to this hoax with the code phrase "Ponies and Balloons".

View the video here.

BP Removes Cap, Two Men Dead

The Coast Guard is reporting two deaths today related to the oil spill effort, according to ABC.

Conflicting reports about whether the deaths are work-related or not. Both are under investigation. According to ABC: "One was an accident regarding a swimming pool, a swimming event, and the other one was a vessel of opportunity operator in Gulf Shores, Miss.," he said."

The term "Vessel of opportunity" refers to a ship or boat that has been involuntarily pressed into service for BP's cleanup effort.

From the Alabama Press-Register:

William Allen Kruse, born 1955, was the captain of The Rookie, a charter fishing boat normally based in Orange Beach, said Deputy Baldwin County Coroner Rod Steade.

Steade said the deckhands were on the docks and heard a gunshot and went back on and found him dead on the "flying bridge."

As yet, no further specifics about the other death have been released, but we're watching this story very closely and trying to get more information. Kruse's death certainly sounds like a potential suicide, but we're not ruling out foul play.

Meanwhile, BP has removed their cap from oil leak in the Gulf, and the flow now appears to be even more methane-laden than ever. From the Associated Press:

NEW ORLEANS — Hundreds of thousands of gallons more oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after an undersea robot bumped a venting system and forced BP to remove a cap that had been containing some of the crude.

When the robot bumped the system, gas rose through the vent that carries warm water down to prevent ice-like crystals from forming in the cap, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

The cap was removed and crews were checking to see if crystals had formed before putting it back on. Allen did not say how long that might take.

"There's more coming up than there had been, but it's not a totally unconstrained discharge," Allen said.

In the meantime, a different system was still burning oil on the surface.

Mixed Signals About Oil's Spread to Keys

There's a story on CBS 4 today about how the Florida Keys are "in the clear from oil spill for now", which certainly sounds like good news.

But then, you read a little deeper into the article and you notice that what they're really saying is, "So far, there have been no reports of 'recoverable' oil in the Loop Current or eddy." Whether the oil is of the "recoverable" sort or not is not really our concern.

The article closes with this less than reassuring data:

NOAA's James Jeansonne, who for weeks has been searching for oil from a Coast Guard's C-130, said the Gulf has many oil sheens and tar balls from natural oil seeps and bunker fuels coming off ships. About 200 tar balls have been found on shorelines throughout the Keys, but none have been connected to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

It's true that none have been connected to the BP spill yet, but neither have they been conclusively ruled out; the tar balls are being tested as we speak.

However, a blog called Picasso Dreams claims that the oil slick in all its foul glory, not just the preliminary tar balls, is already in the waters of the Florida Keys. Some pretty convincing photos are also provided.

Geisum Oil Spill Continues in Red Sea

From the Associated Press:

CAIRO — Environmental activists said Monday that an oil spill off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea is continuing even after the government said it had been contained, leaving turtles and sea birds covered in oil.

Government spokesman Magdy Rady told the state news agency Monday that the spill, which began last week, was "limited" and has now largely been contained. It was one of the first government acknowledgments that the spill was even taking place.

An environmental group based in the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada told the Associated Press that the government was trying to cover up the extent of the damage and the leak had restarted.

Although Egypt's Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy has publicly claimed that the source of the oil is unknown, independent laboratory tests have already confirmed that the oil washed up on the beaches is from the same source as the oil leaking from Geisum's oil rig.

This latest environmental mess has been complicated not only by the Egyptian government's attempts to cover up the incident, but also by the increased military presence heating up in the Red Sea. Israeli and U.S. warships have been deployed to the Red Sea in what has widely been described as a stage-setting for a possible attack on Iran.

BP Oil Leak Reaches Cuba

The oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster has now reached Cuban waters. WTSP-TV in Tampa reported four days ago:

There are now reports of an oil sheen just offshore of Cuba. This implies the oil has reached the southeastern extent of the loop current and could continue east through the Florida straights.

That prediction seems imminent. Click the image to enlarge a graphic of projected ocean currents that will lead the oil sludge around Florida, scraping past Cuba, through the Keys, then up the East Coast.

According to The Guardian, the Cuban government in Havana has called in oil-spill experts from Venezuela to help stave off the ruin of Cuba's beaches amid reports of coastal tarballs.

One might think that the Cuban Communist Party would be eager to use the situation to decry the misdeeds of its capitalist neighbors, but the BP disaster has surprisingly received very little coverage in Cuba's official publications like Granma and the Havana Times. But Cuba themselves have also been drilling for oil - their Cubapetroleo company has been eagerly tapping the area's vast oil reserves with the assistance and encouragement of their Chinese partners, the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (SINOPEC).

Where will it all end? The Belfast Telegraph notes that if the oil follows natural ocean currents, it will eventually reach Ireland, and beyond.

BP Dumping Disaster Debris into Florida Landfills

According to an article in the Pensacola News Journal, the oil-soaked absorbent booms, pads, rags and protective gear used in oil cleanup efforts are ending up dumped in Florida:

Some 15 truck loads of oil-related waste per day are being dumped at Springhill Landfill near Campbellton in Jackson County. Waste Management company owns the landfill and has the contract with BP to dispose of oil spill-related solid waste, said Waste Management spokeswoman Amy Boyson.

BP's oil spill-related solid waste from Alabama and Mississippi is taken to either Pecan Grove Landfill in Harrison County, Miss., or Chastang Landfill in Mobile County, Ala. — both owned by Waste Management, Boyson said.

The oily material is double-bagged before being put inside the plastic-lined metal waste container then covered with a plastic, waterproof tarp, said Pat Johnson, operations manager for Escambia Solid Waste Management.

New Oil Spill in Red Sea, Unreported for 4 Days

There are news reports that another oil spill has occured, this time in the Red Sea off Egypt. From Islam Tribune:

Large quantities of oil have appeared in recent days around the resorts of Hurghada which draw millions of tourists who come to dive or snorkle, according to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency.

“It started four or five days ago and the companies responsible didn’t notify anyone. It is catastrophic,” HEPCA Managing Director Amr Ali told AFP.

The spill was caused by leakage from an offshore oil platform north of Hurghada and has polluted protected areas and showed up on tourist beach resorts.

“The companies have said they will pay damages, but it is the environmental damage that we are concerned about,” Ali said, declining to name the companies for legal reasons.

There have been unconfirmed rumors circulating on internet chatter on sites like allvoices that Geisum is one of the companies involved, and that BP may also be involved. Nothing is known for certain at this time.

The Meta-Oceanic Research Group telephoned Geisum for a statement but received no answer. (However, it is 10:04pm in Egypt as of this writing).

Developing...

Warnings of Health Hazards from Oil Burnoff

From UPI:

Burning off oil from the ruined Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico creates toxic byproducts that could be a health hazard, one expert says.

Dr. Phil Harber, head of Occupational and Environmental Medicine division at UCLA, says people living on nearby shorelines could be affected, CNN reported Friday.

Depending on the scope and duration of the burn, Harber said, "People with asthma, or who are very young, or who have cardiac disease, are much more likely to be sensitive the released pollutants."

And from nwfdailynews.com:

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection authorized the Coast Guard to burn oil offshore, and the county is warning people of potential health issues.

Particulate matter, an airborne mix of very small particles and liquid droplets, may reach the shore, according to an Okaloosa County Health Department news release.

People on the coast may smell the oil spill odor of volatile organic compounds, similar to the smell at a gas station.

"You can smell these VOCs at levels well below those that would make you sick," the release reads.

Exposure to low levels may cause eye, nose, skin and throat irritation.