Gulf coast oil spill

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

Then wtf is your point?

That you don't have a sense of humor.

[classicman]

27 Former Hill, White House Staffers Working For BP

In the first three months of 2010 -- the three months that immediately preceded the explosion of its Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig -- BP spent more than $3.8 million dollars on lobbying the federal government. The cash was spread around seven prominent lobby shops within the D.C. area (including BP's own internal operation), who in turn employed 39 lobbyists to help the company push its legislative interests. That nearly 70 percent of those hired guns have experience in elected office doesn't surprise good government officials because those are after all the most sought-after hires on K Street.

"BP is in a great deal of trouble, so they are going to pull [out all] the stops when it comes to lobbying activity," said Craig Holman, Legislative Representative for Public Citizen. "And the most expensive and effective lobbyists are those connected to the administration or Congress or both."

"A former Hill staffer who is now lobbying comes with a ready-made Rolodex of contacts for those people working and writing legislation," added Donnelly.

Take, for instance, the company's hiring of the powerhouse Podesta Group, which was paid $60,000 in contracts in 2010. As part of the package, BP received the lobbying assistance of Paul Brathwaite who served as the Executive Director for the Congressional Black Caucus; Hewitt Strange, a former aide to Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA); Andrew Lewin, who served as Legislative Director for Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS); Randall Gerard, who served as a staff member under Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Tim Glassco, who was a congressional relations staff for Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee; Teal Baker a "former high-level director" with the Obama for America campaign and one-time aide to Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA); David Marin who served as the Minority Staff Director of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2007; and Cristina Antelo, who worked for former Sens. Hillary Clinton and Tom Daschle. Then there is the head of the firm itself, Tony Podesta, who is one of the most powerful lobbyists in D.C., a one-time counsel to former Sen. Ted Kennedy and a lobbyist on the BP account.

The Podesta Group's clout within the halls of power is unmatched among lobbying shops in the capital. And the concern among watchdog groups is that when it comes time for Congress or the White House to crack the whip on BP -- crafting legislation that would, among other things, increase the liability cap for damaging spills or implement firmer regulatory measures on offshore drilling -- the oil company's cadre of hired guns will have a captive audience with their former colleagues.

more and more...
This could get very hairy for all concerned. Better invest in paper shredders.

[TheMercenary]

More whores hit the Whore Shop of the Rotunda...

[gvidas]

Some nice (in their way) photos of pelicans covered in a thick layer of oil, by AP Photographer Charlie Riedel

[Shawnee123]

Jesus H Christ that's sad.

I have a hard time looking at that.

I have a hard time listening to trolls trying to turn such a horrible tragedy into political gain or personal "I told you so." Fucking assholes should be ashamed of themselves. Also whoring is this type of behavior, selling self and compassion for the greater good to seem so fucking goddam smart and right about everything, when the opposite is so obvious.

[glatt]

That picture needs something...

[glatt]

There. That's better.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by glatt

There. That's better.

Time to disseminate that to my enviro-friends. Fuck that is horrifying.

[squirell nutkin]

Originally Posted by glatt

There. That's better.

Glatt, you must make a zazzle shirt of that. It will make you millions of $
srsly

[HungLikeJesus]

That reminds me of Toxic Avenger.

[ZenGum]

That is so horrible. Worse is knowing that it is going on thousands and thousands of times all along the gulf coast. These areas are ecologically very important and are in the process of being repeatedly kicked in the nuts.

Although it is not so dramatic, what is going on under the water is probably more important. Bacteria are feasting on all that oil, using up oxygen as they do. There have been transient anaerobic dead spots in the gulf for years - largely due to run-off coming down the river - but this is going to be the big daddy of dead spots. Even after the leak has been plugged, and the oil scooped up, broken down or dispersed, it is going to take years - decades - to fully recover from this.

Roll on hydrogen cars.

Newsflash: a clean-up crew with mops was dispatched to central Chicago after over 6 liters of H2O leaked from processing facility...

[jinx]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Roll on hydrogen cars.

Newsflash: a clean-up crew with mops was dispatched to central Chicago after over 6 liters of H2O leaked from processing facility...

Are you serious?

Hydrogen safety

• "Hydrogen-air mixtures can ignite with very low energy input, 1/10th that required igniting a gasoline-air mixture. For reference, an invisible spark or a static spark from a person can cause ignition."
• "Although the autoignition temperature of hydrogen is higher than those for most hydrocarbons, hydrogen's lower ignition energy makes the ignition of hydrogen–air mixtures more likely. The minimum energy for spark ignition at atmospheric pressure is about 0.02 millijoules."

• Leakage, diffusion, and buoyancy: These hazards result from the difficulty in containing hydrogen. Hydrogen diffuses extensively, and when a liquid spill or large gas release occurs, a combustible mixture can form over a considerable distance from the spill location.
• Hydrogen, in both the liquid and gaseous states, is particularly subject to leakage because of its low viscosity and low molecular weight (leakage is inversely proportional to viscosity). Because of its low viscosity alone, the leakage rate of liquid hydrogen is roughly 100 times that of JP-4 fuel, 50 times that of water, and 10 times that of liquid nitrogen.
• Hydrogen leaks can support combustion at very low flow rates, as low as 4 micrograms/s.[5]

I think the explosions will make the news first.

I watched a hydrogen powered car race at Bonneville (on tv), it needed an escort everywhere it went to make sure it kept a safe distance from everything else - as it was considered an explosion risk.

[TheMercenary]

Now if we get another CAT 3 storm to hit the coast we can just put it in a box and forget about it. It will not be the same for at least the next 20 years.

[ZenGum]

Yeah, I wonder what a good hurricane will do to all this. One will probably come through just about the time they've capped the well and are siphoning oil onto a ship - just enough to force the ship to dump the siphon hose and flee, letting the spill resume.

The effect on the shore will be terrible - oil bloody everywhere - but possibly the turbulence might help reduce the anaerobic dead zone. Maybe. [clings to hope].

Merc, your nearest coast is facing the Atlantic, isn't it?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Yeah, I wonder what a good hurricane will do to all this. One will probably come through just about the time they've capped the well and are siphoning oil onto a ship - just enough to force the ship to dump the siphon hose and flee, letting the spill resume.

The effect on the shore will be terrible - oil bloody everywhere - but possibly the turbulence might help reduce the anaerobic dead zone. Maybe. [clings to hope].

Merc, your nearest coast is facing the Atlantic, isn't it?

Yes, but the Gulf Stream is 50 miles from our coast, head 2 hours South and the Gulf Stream is a few miles away. It is unlikely that we will get effected.

We are here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...44603&t=h&z=12