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Mon Jul 19, 7:23 AM

By The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - The federal government's point man for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill says he's authorized BP to keep the cap on its damaged well for another 24 hours after the company pledged to closely monitor the seafloor for signs of a new leak.

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July 15, 2010 Thursday Day 87

Subsea operational update:

• The well integrity test on the MC252 well commenced today; full closure of the choke valve occurred at approximately 2:25pm.

• Currently the well remains shut-in with no oil flowing into the Gulf; any significant change to this operation will be announced via a press release.

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BP Subsea operational update:

• In preparation for commencement of the well integrity test, the middle ram has been closed and a leak has been detected in the choke line of the 3 ram stack. It has been isolated and will be repaired prior to starting the test.

• Recovery from the Helix Producer and the Q4000 have been temporarily suspended to allow for the well integrity test preparations.

• For the first 12 hours on July 14 (midnight to noon), approximately 5,635 barrels of oil were collected and approximately 3,930 barrels of oil and 23.2 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.

BP begins new operation to seal off leaking Deepwater Horizon well

Suzanne Goldenberg in New Orleans

Sunday 11 July 2010 19.55 BST

BP's Deepwater Horizon well was gushing oil at full force into the Gulf of Mexico as engineers began a high-stakes operation to remove a leaking cap, and install a more effective containment system.

The success of the operation is critical for BP and the White House, which pushed the oil company to switch its containment systems.

Barack Obama faces an additional drama tomorrow when a presidential commission appointed to determine the causes of the disaster holds its first public hearing in New Orleans. Oil industry advocates have accused the commission of bias.

Ghostly images from BP's deep-sea cameras showed robot arms executing the first stage of an anticipated week-long operation: lifting off a flange that had been attached to the well by six 24kg (52lb) bolts. "Everything is starting to come together," Kent Wells, a senior BP vice-president, said.

If all goes well, the switch to a tighter cap will allow the collection of all the crude oil spewing into the Gulf. The process could take three to six days.

But until then the containment effort that had been collecting some 15,000 barrels a day is suspended. The well is releasing 60,000 barrels of oil a day, and the leak that started in April has become America's worst environmental disaster.

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The BP Gulf disaster: Skandi Live Feed

June 21 2010

I visited the BP website today just to check things out and was puzzled when I came to the page entitled "Response in pictures" BP bird and wildlife photos and can't quite figure out which oil spill catastrophe they've been covering.

The videos they have on their site are equally ridiculous, showing pristine waters and lightly oiled marsh areas. They state that they are thankful that the oil hasn't progressed any further than the outer fringes of the wetlands and that nature has a wonderful way of taking care of things. Feel free to watch some of their nature films. I've renamed their "Louisiana Shoreline Cleanup Progress - 19 June 2010" video for them to save them the trouble. I named it ... Oil ... what oil? ... you'll understand why when you watch it.

I would personally like to send out a hearty thank you to Ed Owens, Technical Advisor, Shore Cleanup Assessment Team ... for your candid views on this pesky "Fringe Oil" on the Louisiana coastline. I'm so glad that we can all rest easy now, with your assurance that the marshland will recover quite quickly with just a small amount of assistance by "skimming" the area.

How much do they pay this guy?

It's no wonder the BP executives have been moving at a snails pace, if this is what they think the extent of the damage is. I'm hoping they will stop in and check out some of the photos and videos I have uncovered ... perhaps then they'll get their asses in gear.

BP oil spill may have claimed its largest victim yet:

By LESLIE KAUFMAN

Published: June 17, 2010

Over the last weeks, the carcasses of oily pelicans, turtles and other animals have washed to shore in the Gulf of Mexico. Now the first dead whale has been found — a juvenile sperm whale floating 77 miles from the leaking oil well.

On Tuesday, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship spotted the 25-foot animal due south of the Deepwater Horizon site. The water the whale was floating in was not oiled.
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The above photo is what a Brown Pelican used to look like

Delisted and in Danger : After nearly 50 years to recover from the effects of DDT and other pesticides nearly wiped them out, the Gulf Oil spill threatens the brown pelican mere months after they are dropped from the endangered species list.

A month ago, back in May, it was said that "So far, almost all of the oil-covered pelicans that have been treated have survived, something that would not have been possible without human assistance, a veterinarian with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The New York Times.

I wonder what the statistic stands at now, nearing the end of June.

Oil is a mixture of chemicals, all of which may have different effects on marine animals and the combination may be even more hazardous. In addition, some of the chemicals and methods used to clean up oil spills may also have effects on marine animals.

Crude oil like that present in the Gulf is particularly dangerous to birds. It coats their feathers and hardens, making it impossible for them to fly or even move. It also interferes with their ability to regulate their internal temperatures, leaving them susceptible to overheating and dehydration. It can poison the fish they eat, and the oil's toxins seep through the eggshells of pregnant birds, killing their embryos as well.

One factor which wasn't taken into consideration previously, were the casualties caused by humans in their efforts to clean up the spill.

BP Cleanup crews in Louisiana have trampled Pelican nests and eggs, killing newly hatched chicks by crushing them. Venice, Louisiana (CNN) --

June 16th 2010, Crews cleaning up the oil in one Louisiana parish have trampled the nests and eggs of birds including the brown pelican, which came off the endangered species list last year, the head of the parish said Wednesday. Continued

In May, it was thought that the oil slick's impact was just starting to harm pelicans, although hundreds of other birds had been found dead at that time. That does not bode well for a species we have already spent half a century trying to save.

Pelicans were seen struggling in vain to free themselves from oil, thick as tar, that gathered in hip-deep pools, while others were found with stretched out useless wings, feathers dripping with crude. Exhausted and unable to escape the deadly substance ... one doesn't need much of an imagination to understand the futility of their efforts.

It was reported that after six weeks with one to four birds a day coming into Louisiana's rescue center for oiled birds at Fort Jackson, 53 arrived Thursday, June 10th and another 13 Friday morning with more on the way. Since the media were unable to gain further access to these holding areas in order to accurately report the situation, we will most likely never know how many of these magnificent birds were ultimately lost.




The tools of bird cleanup experts include these items ready for use at the facility in Fort Jackson. The Pepto-Bismol is given to birds thought to have ingested oil. A solution of 1 percent Dawn diswashing liquid to 99 percent warm water is also commonly used to remove oil from feathers. It can sometimes take 10-15 baths to clean a bird.