As I am a geologist, used to volunteer with world-renowned oiled-wildlife response expert Lee Fox who is based on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico (who usually funds her own oil spill cleanup work, so I urge you to make a donation) and used to live on that shore too, I have at least three reasons for being interested in how the various parties are dealing with this blowout.
Above: 1993 Tampa Bay oil spill cleanup – Photograph: Dawn Waldt
Some of those parties are the US Coast Guard, BP (British, leasing the platform), Transocean Ltd. (Swiss owner of the platform), and Cameron International Corp. (the Houston company that supplied the blowout preventer that apparently failed).
Read more:
Engineering details (ROVs, valves, capping):
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/04/30/oil-spill-blowout-preventer-valve.html?ref=rss#ixzz0mfkikIZ8
1999 report on how to deal with blowouts at sea:
http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/311/311AA.pdf
UNEP on oil spills:
http://oils.gpa.unep.org/facts/operational.htm
WWF oil spill response report, but for Arctic conditions (2006): http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/arctic/WWFBinaryitem12156.pdf
Infoplease.com – an undertaking by Pearson Education – on oil spills:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001451.html
(The Gulf of Mexico suffered a big spill in the 1970s after the blowout of an exploratory well, but that apparently had little environmental impact. The North Sea also had a blowout in the 1970s.)
Above: cleaned-up brown pelican – 1993 Tampa Bay oil spill cleanup – Photograph: Dawn Waldt
Tags: blowout, Deep Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, Lee Fox, oil spill, Save Our Seabirds
Are you aware that oil spill wildlife rehabilitators usually pay for their own work? Please support Lee Fox and Save Our Seabirds by making a donation. Lee is a superwoman, and very well respected, by organizations like NOAA.
Even my avian vet in the UK had heard of her!
To donate, go to:
http://www.saveourseabirds.org/
Update from CNN:
http://us.cnn.com/2010/US/05/01/louisiana.oil.spill/index.html
People who depend on clean waters worry about impact oil spill:
http://www2.tbo.com/video/2010/may/01/gulf-oil-spill-76585/video-news/
Let’s hope it won’t be as bad as it can be.
BP has Lee Fox on standby to coordinate the Florida oiled wildlife cleanup:
http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/oil-hits-louisiana-coast-could-reach-florida-by-sunday/1091532
http://www.lbknews.com/2010/04/30/save-our-seabirds-stands-by-for-oil-spill/
http://www.yourobserver.com/news/longboat-key/Front-Page/042820105921/Save-Our-Seabirds-director-on-standby-for-oil-spil
http://www.thebradentontimes.com/news/2010/04/30/environment/lee_fox_of_save_our_seabirds_prepares_for_deployment_to_save_oiled_wildlife/
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/29/wimauma-woman-ready-help-save-birds-oil-spill/news-metro/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36825834/ns/local_news-tampa_fl/
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100429/ARTICLE/4291073/2055/NEWS
Official site on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill situation (NOAA, US gov, Transocean etc):
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/