DESASTRE AMBIENTAL NOS EUA

Rompimento de óleoduto ameaça o Parque

Yellowstone, EUA

Do Correio do Brasil

Por Redação, com agências internacionais – de Laurel, EUA

O rompimento de um oleoduto sob o rio Yellowstone causa devastação ao meio ambiente

O rompimento de um duto subterrâneo da empresa Exxon Mobil, na última sexta-feira, provocou a contaminação com óleo no rio Yellowstone, um dos mais piscosos do Estado de Montana, na cidade de Laurel. As autoridades investigam as causas do vazamento e a quantidade de óleo vazado nas águas do rio, que é um destino turístico no país.

ECOCÍDIOS SE REPETEM

A Terra precisa de advogados contra “ecocídios”

por Ido Liven, da IPS

Aarhus, Dinamarca, 17/6/2011 – As imagens da imensa mancha negra de petróleo que cobriu o Golfo do México percorreram o mundo como testemunho de um dos maiores desastres ambientais da história. Outras, como as da “Grande Mancha de Lixo do Pacífico” – uma gigante pilha de dejetos que flutua no Norte deste oceano –, as das incontáveis árvores cortadas na Amazônia ou das areias de alcatrão do Canadá, não tiveram tanta repercussão, mas também atestam o preço que tem a ambição humana.

Erika Blumenfeld/IPS

Bancos de areia nas Ilhas Chandeleur.

Para impedir desastres semelhantes e exigir justiça em nível mundial, a advogada e ativista Polly Higgins, radicada em Londres, apresentou, em abril de 2010, uma proposta legal à Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) para considerar os danos ambientais graves como crime contra a paz, chamando-os de “ecocídios”.

GULF OIL SPILL

Chief Offshore Drilling Regulator Criticizes Lack of

Oversight for Contractors

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica

Offshore oil rigs are seen at night near Santa Barbara, Calif.

The top regulator of offshore drilling said this week that his agency is exploring expanding its oversight to include thousands of contractors on offshore rigs.

BP OIL SPILL – ONE YEAR

A Year After Gulf Tragedy, Offshore Oil Companies

Still Shielded by Liability Limits

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

(Deepwater Horizon Response/Flickr Images)

When the Deepwater Horizon disaster killed 11 men at sea last April and set off the worst oil spill in U.S. history, the tragedy exposed a number of weaknesses—not least of which were decades-old laws that limited the liability of major players.

GULF OIL SPILL

‘Spillionaires’: Profiteering and Mismanagement in

the Wake of the BP Oil Spill

Aerial view of the BP oil spill site off the coast of Houma, La., on July 13, 2010. (Melanie Burford/ProPublica)

by Kim Barker
ProPublica

A version of this story was co-publishedwith The Washington Post.

The oil spill that was once expected to bring economic ruin to the Gulf Coast appears to have delivered something entirely different: a gusher of money.

GULF OIL SPILL

Oil Exec Undercuts Criticism of Slow Approval Process for

Deepwater Wells

by Marian Wang

ProPublica

Critics of the Obama administration’s permitting process for offshore drilling have included oil companies, Gulf state lawmakers and even former President Bill Clinton, who earlier this month surprised attendees at an energy conference when he called the delays “ridiculous.”

GOLFO DE MEXICO LIMPIO DE CRUDO

FINALIZAN LAS LABORES DE LIMPIEZA DEL CRUDO EN EL

GOLFO DE MÉXICO

Con RT

La costa del Golfo de México en Florida ya está limpia del derrame de petróleo que tuvo lugar el pasado abril en la plataforma Deepwater Horizon.

De los estados más afectados por la catástrofe -Misisipi, Florida, Alabama y Luisiana-, solo quedan labores de limpieza en el litoral del último, según ha declarado el representante oficial del Centro de Información Conjunta de la plataforma (Deepwater Horizon Incident JIC), Mike Hvozda.

THE GULF OIL SPILL

First Deepwater Drilling Permit Since BP Spill Goes to

… a Well Co-Owned by BP

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

Offshore drilling regulators this week approved the first deepwater drilling permit since BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, and as many have pointed out, it’s going to a well owned and operated by Noble Energy.

But here’s a lesser-noticed fact, which Reuters reported today: BP co-owns the well—46.5 percent of it, to be exact. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the revamped offshore drilling agency, made no mention of BP’s ownership of the well in itspress release, which touted the newly approved permit as a “an important step towards safely developing deepwater energy supplies offshore.”

DERRAME DE CRUDO

BP RECHAZARÁ MAYORÍA DE DEMANDAS POR

DERRAME DE PETRÓLEO EN GOLFO DE MÉXICO

Con RT

Imagen: AFP / Corbis

La compañía BP rechazará unas 100.000 de 130.000 reclamaciones por los desastres relacionados con el derrame de petróleo en el Golfo de México.

GULF OIL SPILL

Scientists Found Chemical Dispersants Lingering in

Gulf Long After Oil Flow Stopped

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

Chemical compounds from the oil dispersants applied to the Gulf of Mexico didn’t break down as expected, according to a study released this week. Scientists found the compounds lingering for months in the deep waters of the Gulf, long after BP’s oil had stopped spewing.

OTHERS IMPLICATED IN OIL SPILL

Oil-Spill Panel Co-Chair: Others Implicated, But BP

‘Centrally Responsible’

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

Chapter heading in report from National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

When the first official findings from the presidential oil-spill panel were released this week, BP saw an early jump ($) in its stock prices. According to the panel’s co-chair, that market reaction was premature. Here’s what co-chairman William Reilly told Bloomberg:

GULF OIL SPILL

Déjà-vu? The National Commission Report on BP’s

Gulf Disaster Echoes Old Findings

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica

Chapter excerpt from a report by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

Last May President Obama established the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to unravel the circumstances that led to the April 20, 2010 disaster in the Gulf. Hundreds of hours of study and nearly three quarters of a year later, the commission has reached its conclusion. The full report will be released on Jan. 11, and it is expected to be damning. But the sneak-peek chapter made public on Wednesday—which levied harsh criticism in the starkest and most official terms yet—didn’t actually conclude anything new.

ERRORES DE GESTION EN EL DERRAME DE CRUDO

VERTIDO DE CRUDO FUE PRODUCTO DE

REDUCCIÓN DE GASTOS DE BP

Imagen: AFP / Saul Loeb

Con RT

La investigación ordenada por el presidente de EE. UU. demostró que BP no tenía un “control adecuado” en el lugar del vertido de los cinco millones de barriles de crudo en el golfo de México desde la hundida plataforma “Deepwater Horizon”.

THE CLAIMS PROCESS

Where Things Stand: Gulf Oil Spill Claims

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility on Aug. 23, 2010, in New Orleans, La. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

After the blowout of the Deepwater Horizon well triggered the largest oil spill in United States history, BP vowed to “Make it Right” for Gulf Coast residents affected by the spill. One of the central pieces of BP’s program to make amends was to create a claims system — as required under federal law — to compensate individuals and businesses that lost money as a result of the spill.

FIVE MILLION BARRELS IN GULF

The BP Oil Spill Saga: Where Things Stand Now

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

 

(Photo courtesy of Deepwater Horizon Response)

The BP oil spill in the Gulf killed 11 workers in April, released nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and triggered multiple government investigations and an overhaul of the nation’s offshore drilling regulatory agency.

GULF OIL SPILL

Gulf Spill Paymaster Acknowledges Transparency Problems

and Outlines Fixes

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica

Kenneth Feinberg (Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images)

As the damage claims process for the Gulf oil spill moves into its second phase–from issuing emergency payments to considering final claims–administrator Kenneth Feinbergyesterday unveiled a variety of improvements that he says will increase transparency and offer more options to claimants.

Gulf Oil Spill

Oil Spill Commission’s Missing Document Adds Insight to

Gulf Investigation

ProPublica

by Ryan Kn

Fred Bartlit, chief counsel of The National Oil Spill Commission, presents preliminary findings on the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout and resulting spill during a two-day public hearing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 8, 2010. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

A new document uncovered last week might help to clear up some confusion over comments made by the President’s Oil Spill Commission earlier this month when its chief counsel, Fred Bartlit Jr., said [1], “To date we have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety.”

BP – ENFERMOS EN LA COSTA ESTADOUNIDENSE

EEUU: Residentes del Golfo de México con signos de

intoxicación debido al derrame de crudo de British

Petroleum

 

Cada vez son más las personas enfermas en la costa estadounidense del Golfo de México debido al derrame de crudo de British Petroleum (BP), que usó dispersantes tóxicos para frenar el desastre.

“Tengo un doloroso sarpullido en el estómago”, dijo a IPS Denise Rednour, de Long Beach, en el meridional estado de Mississippi. “Parece que sangrara por dentro”, apuntó.

DERRAME DE CRUDO

EE. UU. PROHIBIÓ LA PESCA DE CAMARONES EN UN

ÁREA DEL GOLFO DE MÉXICO

 

Con RT

Imagen: AFP / Win Mcnamee

EE. UU. prohibió la pesca de camarones en un área del golfo de México cercana al lugar del reciente derrame de petróleo. La decisión fue tomada luego de que un pescador comercial encontrara bolas de alquitrán en su red.

La Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA) informó que la dimensión del área cerrada es de 10.000 kilómetros cuadrados, e incluye las aguas federales de los Estados de Louisiana, Mississippi y Alabama.

GULF OIL SPILL

Some Gulf Spill Claimants Waiting for Months: Feinberg

Blames Tricky Policy Decisions

 

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica

Kenneth Feinberg testifies on Capitol Hill on Oct. 21, 2010, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Since Gulf spill claims czar Kenneth Feinberg took over from BP in late August, many claimants have reported that their applications have remained under review for months and that they have not yet received decisions.

THE GULF DISASTER

Transocean Engineer Snubs Federal Agency Investigating

Gulf Disaster

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

Transocean, the company from which BP leased the sunken Gulf oil rig, has refused to comply with a subpoena [1] from federal investigators, according to The Hill.

“We question the jurisdiction and authority of the CSB to conduct an investigation in this matter,” a lawyer for Stephen Bertone, Transocean’s chief engineer on the Deepwater Horizon, said in a letter to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. Bertone’s lawyer argued that the safety board doesn’t have jurisdiction for accidents offshore.

GULF OIL SPILL

Fed Panel on BP Decision-Making: “More Complicated”

Than Sacrificing Safety for Cost

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

In preliminary conclusions released today, the presidential panel investigating BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill focused on the technical causes [1] of the Gulf blowout, and said it had found no evidence [2] that BP took shortcuts by prioritizing cost over safety when drilling the well.

GULF OIL SPILL

Corrosion Warnings at BP Facilities in Alaska: Here’s What

the Data Mean

(Abrahm Lustgarten/ProPublica)

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica

ProPublica reported on Tuesday that [1] 148 of BP’s pipelines in Alaska had been ranked for “failure” by BP inspectors, according to documents obtained from BP workers and now published online [2]. Here’s a little more detail on what that means and a more robust explanation from BP.

VAZAMENTO TEM SUAS CAUSAS EXAMINADAS

Painel dos EUA examina causas do vazamento de petróleo da

BP

Por Ayesha Rascoe

Com Swwissinfo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A comissão do vazamento de petróleo da Casa Branca informou na segunda-feira não ter encontrado evidência que confirme as acusações de que o maior vazamento de petróleo marítimo da história dos Estados Unidos tenha acontecido por causa das medidas de economia da BP e de seus parceiros.

GULF OIL SPILL

With All Eyes on the Gulf, BP Alaska Facilities Are Still at Risk

BP employees and contractors in Alaska say the facilities there were built in the 1970s to operate for about 15 years. When the company realized there was far more oil to be had, it extended the operation for several more decades. Now workers say equipment, like these high pressure gas lines, isn’t inspected frequently enough and is being “run to failure,” risking a leak and a major explosion. (Photo courtesy of BP workers)

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica

The extensive pipeline system that moves oil, gas and waste throughout BP’s operations in Alaska is plagued by severe corrosion, according to an internal maintenance report generated four weeks ago.

The document, obtained by ProPublica, shows that as of Oct. 1, 2010 at least 148 BP pipelines on Alaska’s North Slope received an “F-rank” from the company. According to BP oilworkers, that means inspections have determined that more than 80 percent of the pipe wall is corroded and could rupture. Most of those lines carry toxic or flammable substances. Many of the metal walls of the F-ranked pipes are worn to within a few thousandths of an inch of bursting, according to the document, risking an explosion or spills.

GULF OIL SPILL

The Questions BP Didn’t Answer

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica

Tony Hayward, former chief executive officer of BP Plc, left, Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of BP Plc, center, and Robert Dudley, current chief executive officer of BP Plc, speak to journalists at the company’s headquarters in London in July, 2010. (Rupert Hartley/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

BP declined to comment on almost all aspects of the recent reports that ProPublica and PBS FRONTLINE did on the company’s safety and culture. Yet on Monday, in his first public address since becoming BP’s CEO, Robert Dudley said [1] that he did not believe BP had a safety problem and warned that the ProPublica and Frontline [2] reports would be unflattering.

DERRAME NO GOLFO

Operação da Sea Shepherd ‘Resgate do Golfo’ continua depois de seis meses do derramamento

Quarta feira (20 de Outubro) marcou seis meses desde o início do derramamento de petróleo da PB no Golfo do México em Abril. O petróleo não está mais fluindo do poço, mas o impacto do uso dos dispersantes químicos que foram vaporizados sobre a água e áreas costeiras continua. A devastação da vida marinha e de ecossistemas costeiros inteiros nesse desastre ambiental está apensa começando a ser compreendida.

GULF OIL SPILL

Why Tracking BP Worker Deaths Is Tricky

by Sydney Lupkin
ProPublica

A bird’s eye view of the wreckage at the BP facility in Texas City on March 24, 2005, one day after an explosion killed 15 contractors on site. (William Philpott/AFP/Getty Images)

Our coverage of BP [1] this week examined the company’s role in the industry, comparing it with other oil giants in terms of production, spills and worker-safety violations. One thing we had to leave out was worker fatalities.

GULF OIL SPILL

Furious Growth and Cost Cuts Led To BP Accidents Past and

Present

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica

A ProPublica and PBS FRONTLINE investigation.

Jeanne Pascal turned on her TV April 21 to see a towering spindle of black smoke slithering into the sky from an oil platform on the oceanic expanse of the Gulf of Mexico. For hours she sat, transfixed on an overstuffed couch in her Seattle home, her feelings shifting from shock to anger.

GULF OIL SPILL DAMAGES

Gulf Spill Fund Offers Little Information to Claimants

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica

Feinberg speaks to officials in Harahan, LA. Photo by BP America on Flickr.

Many claimants seeking compensation for damages from the Gulf oil spill say they are struggling to get basic information about what is happening with their claims.