Environment

Shifting BP's Clean Up Costs to Consumers? Say It Ain't So!

by Lisa Graves — May 26, 2010 - 3:09pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Energy, Environment

    • Who is going to pay to clean up BP's disastrous oil spill, besides BP? After all, they made $14 billion in profit last year alone. BP has asserted it will pay all "legitimate claims" for damages -- talk about a lot of wiggle room there -- but beyond actual cleanup costs, BP's economic damage liability is legislatively, and outrageously, capped at $75 million, a pittance to a company that made 186 times that amount in profit in 2009. Senate Democrats attempted to increase the liability cap to $10 billion by proposing and passing a bill, but their efforts were thwarted by Senate Republicans. The current tally for the cleanup cost stands at $760 million, but that is surely understated.

    Obama's Offshore Drilling Moratorium -- Not!

    by Anne Landman — May 25, 2010 - 12:24am

    On April 30, President Obama announced that he was slapping a moratorium on drilling permits for new offshore wells, and would stop handing out the kind of controversial environmental waivers the Administration gave the ill fated Deepwater Horizon rig -- but those pronounce

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, May 23, 2010

    How Much Oil Is Really Spilling into the Gulf of Mexico?

    by Anne Landman — May 13, 2010 - 12:43pm
  • Topics: Crisis Management, Corporations, Environment

    • Map of Gulf spill on May 8, with fishing closure areaAt first, right after the BP Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded on April 20, BP and U.S. government officials reported the underwater well was pumping about 1,000 barrels a day into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A few days later, that figure was challenged by the non-profit group SkyTruth, which uses remote sensing and digital mapping to evaluate environmental issues globally. Ten days later, by April 30, some industry experts said the well could be leaking at a rate of 5,000 barrels daily -- five times the previous estimate, and the one that has been the most widely and persistently used in the media.

    Wildly Disparate Estimates

    But estimates continue to change. On May 4th, BP executives in a closed-door meeting reportedly told Congress that the well is discharging anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf per day. At 42 U.S. gallons per barrel, that means the spill could be growing by 210,000 to 2.52 million gallons of oil each day. But how much is that, really?

    BP Lobbied Against Better Safety Systems

    by Anne Landman — May 10, 2010 - 4:20pm

    Federal regulators have warned offshore drilling rig operators numerous times over the past decade that they needed to install backup systems for their undersea blowout preventers, the devices that are used to stop the flow of oil from a well during an emergency.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, May 7, 2010

    Republicans Reverse Spin on "Big Government"

    by Anne Landman — May 9, 2010 - 8:33am

    Republicans, who have long denounced government spending and employed the rallying cry of "too much government intervention" to stir up public anger against the federal government, are changing their tune in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

    Main Source: 
    Houston Chronicle, May 7, 2010

    NY Times Fails to Disclose Crucial Information About Conservation "Expert"

    by Anne Landman — May 7, 2010 - 4:19pm

    A news analysis article on the front page of the May 4 New York Times about the Gulf oil spill was titled "Gulf Oil Spill is Bad, but How Bad?" It quoted an "expert," Quenton R.

    Main Source: 
    Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, May 4, 2010

    BP Ramps Up its Political Influence

    by Anne Landman — May 7, 2010 - 1:38pm

    BP's former chief executive, John Browne, used to brag about his company's relative lack of political involvement and said he purposely shied away from spending too much on lobbying and political donations, but all that has changed. Since Tony Hayward took over as CEO of BP in 2007, the company has greatly increased its spending on American politics.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, May 6, 2010

    BP's "Beyond Petroleum" Campaign Losing its Sheen

    by Anne Landman — May 3, 2010 - 2:31pm
  • Topics: Advertising, Corporations, Environment

    • Back in July, 2000, British Petroleum launched a high-profile, $200 million public relations ad campaign designed by Ogilvy & Mather to position the company as environmentally-friendly. The company introduced a new slogan, "Beyond Petroleum," and changed its 70 year-old, sheild-style logo to a new, cheerful green and yellow sunburst. To many, the "Beyond Petroleum" campaign has always been ludicrous. After all, not only did it pitch BP's smallest energy sector while ignoring its major one, but BP's investment in extractive oil operations dwarfed its investment in renewable energy. BP spent a mere $45 million in 1999 to buy a solar energy company called Solarex -- a microscopic acquisition compared to the $26.5 billion it invested to buy ARCO to expand its oil drilling portfolio. BP is also the company behind the environmentally controversial (and some would say disastrous) oil sands project in Alberta, Canada. Now, in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP's greenwashing campaign looks even less slick. The company's hypocrisy and greenwashing have risen to the surface, and are spreading uncontrollably.

    Washington Post Teams with Coal Industry Front Group

    by Anne Landman — April 30, 2010 - 1:02pm

    The Washington Post introduced a new web page about politics called PostPolitics.com, and the site's exclusive sponsor is the coal industry's shady front group, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).

    Main Source: 
    MarketWatch.com, April 28, 2010

    EnergyStar Program Flunks Test

    by Anne Landman — April 14, 2010 - 12:43pm

    Eighteen years ago, the government set up the EnergyStar program to help guide consumers to the new appliances that are the most energy-efficient, cost the least to operate and help reduce the nation's total energy consumption.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, March 25, 2010
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