Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Unexpected Environmental Alliances Amidst the Oil Spill: 'Jesus Will Rip Your Head Off'



by Paul Rogat Loeb

"In the wake of the BP disaster, we've heard powerful stories from fishermen whose livelihoods may have been destroyed for decades or longer. However long it takes for the Gulf's fish, oyster and shrimp harvests to recover, those who've made their livelihoods harvesting them will need to create a powerful common voice if they're not going to continue to be made expendable. A powerful model comes from Seattle and Alaska salmon fisherman Pete Knutson, who has spent thirty-five years engaging his community to take environmental responsibility, creating unexpected alliances to broaden the impact of their voice, and in the process defeating massive corporate interests."...

..."But they refused to give up. Instead, Pete and his coworkers systematically enlisted the region's major environmental groups to campaign against the initiative ("a statewide initiative to regulate fishing nets in a way that would eliminate small family fishing operations"). They'd built up longstanding working relationships, so getting them involved was easy. They also brought in the Native American tribes, with whom they'd also painstakingly built coalitions and with whom they were now accustomed to working with.

Equally important, they enlisted some unexpected allies. When a local affiliate of the fundamentalist Trinity Broadcasting Network broadcast a segment supporting Initiative 640, a fisherman who was a member of the highly conservative Assembly of God churches and who Pete had helped get engaged, called the reporter. "Do you know who Jesus's disciples were? he asked. "They were fishermen. What do you think Jesus is going to do when he comes back and finds out you've stopped people from making a living by fishing? He's going to rip your head off."' More>>>>


Monday, June 28, 2010

BP oil spill costs hit $100 million/day

"(Reuters) - BP said it had spent $300 million on its Gulf of Mexico oil spill response effort in the past three days, hitting the $100 million/day spend rate for the first time and bringing its total bill to $2.65 billion so far." More>>>>

Task force to investigate (Santa Fe) county's mounting troubles

Allegations of fraud, threat related to paving contracts grows to include other possible criminal issues

Phaedra Haywood | The New Mexican
Posted: Sunday, June 27, 2010 - 6/2

"The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office is assembling a task force to continue a months-long investigation into allegations of theft and fraud in the county's Public Works Department.

"This is something that is going to take some time," said Sheriff Greg Solano on Thursday. "The investigation has expanded since day one and continues to expand on a daily basis."

While the investigation originally focused on allegations of fraud and theft related to county paving contracts, Solano said the case has grown to include "numerous other possible procurement and billing violations that are criminal in nature."

The investigation has already resulted in one criminal charge for a zoning violation, and the string of events has resulted in one firing and contributed to a resignation in county government. The case has also led to more scrutiny of road projects and pending procurement reforms, and spotlighted conflict-of interest issues on the City Council. Evidence of possible violations of the state anti-donation clause have also arisen, implicating government employees and officials from county rank-and-file to the state speaker of the House.

Solano said three full-time sheriff's employees are being pulled from other cases to work on the case, and the task force will include staff from the offices of the district attorney and the state attorney general.

Solano may solicit help from Department of Transportation technicians to see if roads were built to specifications. He has also considered hiring an engineer to help with that analysis, but the cost of that has been estimated at $20,000, an amount that would trigger a procurement process that could take time to complete.

Solano said he couldn't estimate what the investigation might ultimately cost — but said the amount of money the public was defrauded in the case appears to be between $100,000 and $500,000.

Sparked by a whistle-blower

The investigation began April 22 after a county employee tipped off someone in management to suspected wrongdoing related to contracts for paving and other construction services. Officials referred the allegations to the sheriff, which led to the investigation.

It originally focused on whether one or more county contractors had defrauded taxpayers by not performing jobs to bid specifications and charging the county for use of its own materials and equipment.

Solano said investigators now have suspicions that contractors billed the county for work that was never performed. He said the process for deciding the amount of compensation on the contracts has also been called into question." More>>>>

Friday, June 25, 2010

(Chesapeake Energy Corp Front Group Funded MIT) "Study Says Natural Gas Use Likely to Double"

The New York Times
by Matthew L. Wald
June 24, 2010

"WASHINGTON — Natural gas will provide an increasing share of America’s energy needs over the next several decades, doubling its share of the energy market to 40 percent, from 20 percent, according to a report to be released Friday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The increase, the report concluded, will come largely at the expense of coal and will be driven both by abundant supplies of natural gas — made more available by shale drilling — and by measures to restrict the carbon dioxide emissions that are linked to climate change.

In the long term, however, the future may be dimmer for natural gas if stricter regulations are put in place to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 — a goal set by President Obama. Although lower in carbon than coal, natural gas is still too carbon-intensive to be used under such a target absent some method of carbon capture, the authors of the report concluded.

The report, one of a series on energy resources, is the result of a two-year effort by 14 prominent energy experts, led by Ernest J. Moniz, an M.I.T. professor who is a former under secretary of energy. Previous reports focused on nuclear power and coal. The report was financed in part by the American Clean Skies Foundation, which represents the interests of the natural gas industry." More>>>>

According to Source Watch, "The American Clean Skies Foundation -- a Washington D.C. based 501(c)3 non-profit group -- states on its website that it "was formed in 2007 to provide all the facts on clean energy -- particularly natural gas and other clean fuels such as wind and solar -- and about the need for greater energy efficiency."[1] The organization was founded by Aubrey K. McClendon, the billionaire CEO of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of the country's top sellers of natural gas.[2]

In December 2007, the Foundation reported $2,836,504 in assets and $3,166,303 in income, according to Internal Revenue Service reports. [3]"

Link to report>>>>

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Methane in Gulf "astonishingly high": U.S. scientist

"(Reuters) - As much as 1 million times the normal level of methane gas has been found in some regions near the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, enough to potentially deplete oxygen and create a dead zone, U.S. scientists said on Tuesday.

Texas A&M University oceanography professor John Kessler, just back from a 10-day research expedition near the BP Plc oil spill in the gulf, says methane gas levels in some areas are "astonishingly high."' More>>>>

Palin defense fund ruled illegal

St. Louis Globe-Democrat

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 24 (UPI) -- An independent counsel has found a legal defense fund for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin provided "private financial benefit" for her in violation of state law.

Anchorage, Alaska, attorney Tim Petumenos said Palin -- whose supporters established the fund to help her pay legal bills in an investigation of several ethics complaints against her -- has agreed to return $386,856 donated to the trust prior to her resignation as governor last year, the Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday.

Petumenos said Palin personally gained from the defense fund's use of her official position as governor in appealing for donations. He also concluded that Kristen Cole, the fund's trustee, provided "substantial private benefit" to Palin, although Cole was a public official the newspaper said.

Cole had been appointed by Palin to head several state boards, including the royalty oil and gas advisory board." More>>>>

Salazar endorses new revolving door restriction

"WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he supports a two-year ban on government regulators going to work for the oil and gas industry.

Salazar told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday that a lifetime ban might be appropriate for some employees, depending on how high they are in the agency that regulates the industry." More>>>>

UPDATE 1-US judge denies stay on drill ban ruling

By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON June 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge refused on Thursday to put on hold his decision blocking the federal government from enforcing its six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans rejected the Obama administration's request to stay his decision that allowed deepwater drilling to resume. The Interior Department suspended drilling after the ruptured BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) well began gushing oil into the Gulf more than two months ago.

Fifteen hours after the Justice Department appealed Feldman's ruling and requested a stay pending that appeal, Feldman issued a brief order denying the request for the same reasons he gave in his Tuesday decision.

In that opinion, Feldman strongly criticized the Obama administration's moratorium, saying that it was "indeed punitive" because it was too broad, arbitrary and was not adequately justified given the impact on thousands of oil industry workers and on local communities." More>>>>


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Gulf oil spill: A hole in the world

The Guardian
Naomi Klein
June 19, 2010

Excerpt:

"Make the bleeding stop

Thankfully, many are taking a very different lesson from the disaster, standing not in wonder at humanity's power to reshape nature, but at our powerlessness to cope with the fierce natural forces we unleash. There is something else too. It is the feeling that the hole at the bottom of the ocean is more than an engineering accident or a broken machine. It is a violent wound in a living organism; that it is part of us. And thanks to BP's live camera feed, we can all watch the Earth's guts gush forth, in real time, 24 hours a day." Article>>>>

Vantiy Fair: A Colossal Fracking Mess

Vanity Fair
The dirty truth behind the new natural gas. Related: A V.F. video look at a town transformed by fracking.
By Christopher Bateman•
Photographs by Jacques del Conte
WEB EXCLUSIVE June 21, 2010

Excerpt:

"With natural gas being heavily promoted in TV ads and by politicians and proponents such as oilman and hedge-fund manager T. Boone Pickens, many Americans have come to see the resource in a positive light. Natural gas burns more cleanly than coal and oil do, we are told, and there’s an abundance of it right there, under our soil, making it a logical and patriotic energy source for America. We are told that it can help wean us off our dependence on foreign oil as we make the transition to renewable energy. Yet our supplies of natural gas are ultimately finite, and, increasingly, they must be accessed via hydraulic fracturing. In fact, more than 90 percent of natural-gas wells today use fracking.

Shale gas has become a significant part of our energy mix over the past decade. From 1996 to 2006, shale-gas production went from less than 2 percent to 6 percent of all domestic natural-gas production. Some industry analysts predict shale gas will represent a full half of total domestic gas production within 10 years.

It’s not just the oil-and-gas industry that’s excited about the possibilities. Last year, even a progressive, Washington, D.C.–based think tank, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, desperate for solutions to global warming, touted natural gas as “the single biggest game changer for climate action in the next two decades.” President Obama has been supportive of shale gas and says he wants to see an increase in domestic natural-gas production.

But shale gas and hydraulic fracturing haven’t needed much help from the Obama administration. That’s because they already got a huge helping hand from the federal government under the Bush administration. Although fracking was never regulated by the federal government when it was a less prevalently used technique, it was granted explicit exemptions—despite dissent within the E.P.A.—from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the wide-ranging energy bill crafted by Dick Cheney in closed-door meetings with oil-and-gas executives. While the average citizen can receive harsh punishment under federal law for dumping a car battery into a pond, gas companies, thanks to what has become known as the Halliburton Loophole, are allowed to pump millions of gallons of fluid containing toxic chemicals into the ground, right next to our aquifers, without even having to identify them.

Claiming that the information is proprietary, drilling companies have still not come out and fully disclosed what fracking fluid is made of. But activists and researchers have been able to identify some of the chemicals used. They include such substances as benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, boric acid, monoethanolamine, xylene, diesel-range organics, methanol, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, ammonium bisulfite, 2-butoxyethanol, and 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazotin-3-one. (Recently, in congressional testimony, drilling companies have confirmed the presence of many of these chemicals.) According to Theo Colborn, a noted expert on water issues and endocrine disruptors, at least half of the chemicals known to be present in fracking fluid are toxic; many of them are carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, and mutagens. But Colborn estimates that a third of the chemicals in fracking fluid remain unknown to the public.

While the E.P.A. under Obama is finally undertaking a new review of fracking—a 2001 review commissioned by the Bush administration was tainted by conflicts of interest and suppression of science—that report is not expected to be completed until the end of 2012. Congressional hearings held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee have been taking place since 2009, but proposed legislation to get rid of the Halliburton Loophole has made little progress on Capitol Hill." Article and video>>>>

Read More http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006?currentPage=all#ixzz0riyWsFCL

UPDATE 1-Oil firms want ruling lifting drill ban enforced

Wed Jun 23, 2010 7:47pm GMT

"(Adds details from request)

WASHINGTON June 23 (Reuters) - Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS.N: Quote) and other companies that won an injunction blocking a six-month U.S. moratorium on deepwater drilling have asked thejudge to enforce his ruling after an Obama administration official said he would try to keep the ban in place.

In a federal court in New Orleans on Tuesday, Judge Martin Feldman granted an injunction blocking the moratorium on the grounds that it was too broad, arbitrary and not sufficiently justified despite the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Obama officials said they would quickly appeal but have yet to do so, or request a stay of the ruling pending the appeal.

Additionally, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Wednesday he would try to reformulate the moratorium and would include criteria for ending it, prompting the request by Hornbeck and the other companies." More>>>>



Drilling Divides Fort Worth

ABC News
By RICH BLAKE



Coast Guard probes two deaths; containment cap

MarketWatch
June 23, 2010, 12:41 p.m. EDT
By Steve Gelsi

"NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said the agency is investigating two deaths during the overall oil spill response in the Gulf of Mexico, with more details expected to emerge in coming hours." More>>>>


New Blog Reports From the Front Lines of the BP Oil Spill

Press Release
marketwire
SOURCE: Smith Stag, LLC
Jun 23, 2010 11:24 ET

"Oil Industry Nemesis New Orleans Attorney Stuart H. Smith Provides Hard-Hitting Behind-the-Scenes Commentary at www.oilspillaction.com

NEW ORLEANS, LA--(Marketwire - June 23, 2010) - New blogger Stuart H. Smith, a New Orleans-based attorney representing Gulf Coast fishermen, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and an array of major commercial interests, today announced the launch of his backroom, no-punches-pulled blog focused exclusively on the spill (www.oilspillaction.com). Smith, a much-loathed legal heavy-weight in the world of Big Oil, is well known for his role as lead counsel in an oilfield radiation case that delivered a verdict of more than $1 billion against ExxonMobil.

"As a New Orleans native, an environmentalist and an attorney who has seen some really ugly stuff, this disaster makes me sick to my stomach, physically ill," says Smith, who lives in the French Quarter and has law offices on nearby Canal Street. "My new blog gives me a forum where I can cut loose a little, and give people a look at what's happening behind the scenes, behind the rhetoric and the B.S."

Awash in fresh daily and hourly content, "The Stuart H. Smith Blog," covers all things "oil spill" -- all the time. Commentary ranges from insight on complex legal issues to just how hard it is to "keep a civil tongue" when appearing on national TV with a lying oil executive. Smith developed the newly minted blog, with tagline "The Real Story From the Front Lines of the BP Oil Spill," as a go-to resource and safe e-haven for concerned citizens, members of the media and victims looking for answers. This is commentary from one of the brightest legal minds and one of the most impassioned players in this process of making the Gulf Coast whole again.

Blog main features include:
(1) a 24/7 ticker running the most informative headlines from across the media spectrum; (2) hard-hitting daily commentary on the most important and most controversial issues -- legal, political, environmental -- surrounding the spill; (3) "Guest Expert Blog Posts" from highly regarded toxicologists, physicians, petroleum engineers and environmentalists; (4) a twice-weekly updated feature, "The Oil Disaster By the Numbers," jammed with the very latest statistics on the spill from oil-flow estimates to total size of spill to impacted coastline to cleanup costs to damages paid; and (5) informative videos, photos, maps and more.

Stuart H. Smith
Stuart H. Smith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_H._Smith), a founding partner of SmithStag, LLC (www.smithstag.com) in New Orleans, has practiced law for 25 years and is recognized internationally as a crusader against major oil companies, like Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil. He is a Louisiana native and environmental attorney representing the United Commercial Fisherman's Association and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) as well as an array of major commercial interests. Mr. Smith has been lead counsel on more than 100 oil pollution cases and is one of the few attorneys in the United States who has focused his practice almost entirely on finding remedies for victims of oil company pollution over the course of two decades. He has recently appeared on NBC Nightly News, CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," CNBC, BBC World News and Fox News.

Media Contact:

Peter Wendel
202.380.5120
Email Contact


(Otero) County GOP rallies troops

Republican candidates say constituents need to take back New Mexico in general election
By Duane Barbati, Staff Writer

"Statewide GOP candidates rallied the troops Tuesday to campaign for its election entries during the Republican Party of Otero County's monthly luncheon meeting."...

..."Commissioner of Public Lands candidate Matt Rush said the oil and gas industry is being regulated out of the state.

"We need to get some common sense back into our government," Rush said. "We need to get some common sense back into the rules and regulations that come out of Santa Fe because we are a lot better state then we have become. We have a lot more potential than we have been led to believe. We have the ability to get out there and truly make a difference in this state."

He said it's time for new leadership in the state because it's time for a "new New Mexico."

"The one thing people in Otero County understand is the importance of being able to drill in a environmentally sensitive manner on Otero Mesa," Rush said. "It would have a huge economic impact on this economy. People who say the Otero Mesa is pristine haven't see the places that I've seen. The best use of that land would be for the development of oil and gas. It's not pristine. There's no grazing. There's not much wildlife on it. It would be the best use of that property for our state (to develop oil and gas drilling)."' More>>>>

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

U.S. to issue new drilling moratorium order

Staff, Reuters · Tuesday, Jun. 22, 2010

"WASHINGTON -- U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar said on Tuesday he would issue an order for a new moratorium on deepwater oil drilling after a scathing court ruling that found his first directive was too broad.

“I will issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities,” Mr. Salazar said in a statement." More>>>>

County manager says fraud scandal isn't behind resignation

Phaedra Haywood | The New Mexican
Posted: Monday, June 21, 2010 - 6/22/10

"Roman Abeyta, who worked his way up from animal-control officer to become the top county administrator, resigned his job as county manager Monday.

His last day will be July 2. The County Commission has scheduled an emergency session at 1 p.m. today to discuss hiring an interim manager. " More>>>>

Santa Fe County website:

"Santa Fe County Commission Appoints Interim County Manager

Santa Fe –June 22, 2010 – The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) held an emergency meeting today. Commissioners discussed and reluctantly accepted the resignation of Roman Abeyta. The BCC appointed Steve Ross as interim County Manager until July 4, 2010. Penny Ellis-Green will take over interim duties July 5, 2010 until a permanent County Manager is found. Mr. Abeyta stated that he very much appreciated the opportunity to work at Santa Fe County and in particular, he loved working with staff and residents." More>>>>



Obama Drilling Moratorium Overturned: Who is Judge Martin Feldman?

From Politics Daily

"A graduate of Tulane Law School, class of 1957, Feldman was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. He has served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana since that time. On May 19, Feldman was appointed to a seven-year term on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which overseas government wiretapping and surveillance requests. " More>>>>

The most recent Judge Feldman financial disclosure report from 2008, click here>>>>. The "Investments and Trusts" section is becoming of interest, such as to Mother Jones>>>>. "...District Court Judge Martin Feldman, he had holdings of up to $15,000 in Transocean in 2008. He has also recently owned stock in offshore drilling or oilfield service providers Halliburton, Prospect Energy, Hercules Offshore, Parker Drilling Co., and ATP Oil & Gas." -- Mother Jones>>>>


Deepwater Drilling Ban Lifted by New Orleans Federal Judge

Bloomberg


"A New Orleans federal judge lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by President Barack Obama following the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Obama temporarily halted all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet on May 27 to give a presidential commission time to study improvements in the safety of offshore operations. Government lawyers told U.S. District Judge Martin Feldmanthat the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast in April was a “game changer’’ that exposed the risks of offshore oil exploration." More>>>>





White House to appeal offshore drilling ruling: rpts

MarketWatch

More to follow....

US Judge Rules Against Obama Administration on Drilling Ban

Reuters news break...story to follow.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Here's What Oil Industry Insiders Are Gossiping About The Oil Spill

Business Insider
The Money Game
The Mad Hedge Fund Trader | Jun. 21, 2010, 4:13 PM
This guest post comes courtesy of The Mad Hedge Fund Trader >

"Over the years, I have invested so much time wildcatting in the oil patch that I will never be wanting for great steaks at Nick & Sam's in Dallas, skyboxes at Cowboys games, and personally signed 8 X 10 glossy photographs of George W. Bush. So to get the skinny on the BP mess, I spent the weekend catching up with old friends who live with a permanent oil stain under their fingernails.

Some of the chatter that came back was amazing. BP has discovered the largest and most powerful well in history, and control of it may be outside existing technology. The previous record gusher was Union Oil Co.'s Lakeview well in Maricopa, California, which spewed out a staggering 100,000 barrels a day at its peak in 1910, and created an enormous oil lake in the central part of the state. Estimates for the BP well now range up to 50% more than that. The pressures at 18,000 feet are so enormous, that drilling two more relief wells might only result in creating two more oil spills.

If Obama doesn't want to take the nuclear option, (click here for my piece), then there will be no other alternative but for the spill to continue until the field exhausts itself or becomes capable, possibly some time next year." More>>>>


Louisiana Governor Asks Judge to Lift Deepwater Drilling Ban

Bloomberg.com
By Laurel Brubaker Calkins

"June 21 (Bloomberg) -- Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell asked a U.S. judge to lift a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico within 30 days to avoid “turning an environmental disaster into an economic catastrophe.’’' More>>>>



Look for the LA Governor Bobby Jindal in the the below Drill, Baby, Drill Video:




Click the play button(s) above or double click on video for link.

In light of Gulf oil spill, stronger Great Lakes drilling bans proposed

Lake Scientist
Stabenow

Stabenow

There’s already a U.S. federal ban on all oil and natural gas offshore drilling in the Great Lakes, which has been in place since 2005. Canada similarly bans offshore oil drilling, but the nation does have roughly 500 offshore gas wells in Lake Erie, according to the Associated Press. Canadians also possess 23 horizontal wells, or “slant wells,” that drill for oil on shore but extend under Lake Erie.

“The Canadian oil and gas operations have not had an accident since 1959. However, I believe that the events in the Gulf Coast demonstrate that we must remain vigilant because a catastrophic accident could happen at any time,” Stabenow wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama last week.

Stabenow, a member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, asked Obama to review existing drilling operations with the Canadian government as well as put a complete ban on offshore drilling by either nation." More>>>>

BP rig worker reported oil leak weeks before Deepwater Horizon disaster

Oil & Gas Market blog

Excerpt from post: "He (Tyrone Benton, a rig worker) told the BBC's Panorama programme that both BP and Transocean, who owned the rig, were informed of the leak, and the faulty part -- a control pod -- was switched off rather than being repaired." More>>>>