Latest Oil Spill News. 11 Things You Should Know

     * Scientists and environmental groups are PO’d at the government. Prominent scientists have accused the U.S. government of failing to adequately investigate the magnitude of the spill and the damage it is causing. The scientists say that in the month since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, the government has failed to make public a single test result on water from the deep ocean, and government has been too reluctant to demand an accurate analysis of how many gallons of oil are flowing into the sea. Environmental groups have also urged the government to take greater control of the situation. They are critical about how BP has handled the response since the rig exploded and sank, and they believe that “Too much information is now in the hands of BP’s many lawyers and too little is being disclosed to the public.”


    * In response, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today that the U.S. government will “independently verify” how much oil has leaked into the Gulf, saying, “We’re not depending on what BP is telling us.” He also said that the Obama administration had been aggressive in its response to the spill but had inherited a regulatory system “that essentially was rubber-stamping whatever it was the oil and gas industry wanted.” Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., said in a news release that BP complied with his request that a “live feed of the oil spill be made publicly available on the Web,” and Salazar said scientists will be using that video along with satellite imagery to check estimates from early in the disaster about how much oil is leaking.

    * Scientists monitoring the spill with radar satellite have confirmed that oil on the surface has entered the “Loop Current,” a current of water that flows like a conveyor belt, clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida. The Loop Current joins the Gulf Stream – the northern hemisphere’s largest ocean-current system – and scientists are now concerned that oil could enter that system and be carried up the eastern coast of the U.S.

    * It has been estimated that at least six million gallons of oil have already poured into the Gulf since the rig explosion (the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled 11 million gallons in Alaska in 1989.) The current leak isn’t from a well, it’s from a giant oil field – and some estimates suggest that if the flow can’t be stopped it could go on for a year and a half, and could total half a billion barrels.

    * Heavy oil – not just tar balls – has finally come ashore in Louisiana, threatening the state’s marshlands. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called it a “day that we have all been fearing.” Florida’s state meteorologist said it will be at least another seven days before the oil reaches waters west of the Keys (tar balls found earlier in the Florida Keys were not from the spill.) U.S. officials have talked to Cuba about how to respond to the spill should it reach the island’s northern coast.

    * Fishing is banned in approximately 19% of the Gulf because of the spill.

    * Greenpeace protesters scaled a balcony at BP’s headquarters in London and hoisted a large flag bearing an altered version of the company’s logo and the words “British Polluters.” The group said the action was prompted by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as well as projects in Canada. BP spokesman Robert Wine called the action “a very calm and genteel protest,” and said no employees had been prevented from getting to work.

    * BP succeeded in partially siphoning away the leak last weekend, when it hooked up a mile-long tube to the broken pipe, sending some of the oil to a ship on the surface. The company said it is now siphoning about 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons/477,000 liters) a day of oil, of an estimated 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) leak. Several scientists who have watched video of the leak have said they believe the amount gushing out is much higher than the official estimates.

    * BP said Wednesday it hopes to begin shooting drilling mud into the blown-out well by Sunday. The “top kill” method involves pumping heavy mud into crippled equipment on top of the well, then aiming cement at it to permanently seal it. The procedure has been used above ground, but like other methods BP is considering it has never been used in deep water. Even if it works, it could take several weeks to complete. If it fails, BP is considering a “junk shot,” which involves “shooting knotted rope, pieces of tires and golf balls into the blowout preventer,” in the hope they will lodge into the nooks and crannies of the device to plug it.

    * BP has received 10,000 ideas from the public on how to stop the oil gusher, including oil-eating bacteria, bombs and a device that resembles a giant shower curtain. BP is taking a closer look at 700 of the ideas, but the oil company has yet to use any of them. BP spokesman Mark Salt said, “The company wants the public’s help,” but that “considering proposed fixes takes time.” The company does have plans to test “Ocean Therapy,” an idea from Kevin Costner; the actor has invested more than $26 million to develop a centrifuge that can be dropped into the slick and separate the water from oil, storing the petroleum in tanks.

And last but not least…

    * BP stock rose 2% this morning in London.