Oil Spills

Government Corruption and the BP Oil Spill in The Big Fix

Transocean Execs to Donate Their Bonuses, Sort of

​Earlier this week we mentioned the publicity trouble that Transocean, the company behind the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last April, killing 11 and spilling millions of gallons of oil into the ocean, had gotten into by declaring 2010 the "best safety year ever!" ... More >>

Transocean, Firm Behind Exploding Gulf Rig, Gives Execs Bonuses for 'Best Safety Year'

The explosion of Deepwater Horizon​As we head toward the one-year anniversary of the start of the BP spill in the Gulf (that was April 20, 2010, in case you've forgotten), it's almost as though we've completely forgotten about that old oil spill in the Gulf. Out of sight, out of mind! BP is pe ... More >>

Exxon Wins Oil Spill Case: David Slays Goliath Yet Again!

via Alaskan Dude​Good news from Alaska: The Huffington Post reports that Exxon Mobil Corp. -- the good folks who keep your homes warm, your lanterns lit and your ovens cooking -- fought off a claim from Rick Steiner, yet another "too big to fail" marine science professor. Steiner, who was mad ... More >>

The New Yorker's Annual Food Issue Has Arrived

Martin Schoeller/The New Yorker​The New Yorker's annual food issue is out this week, to the immeasurable joy of gastronerds who have some spare time on their hands. High on the marquee is Lauren Collins' profile of April Bloomfield, whom Collins dubs "the food world's oblivious savant." Elsew ... More >>

BP Blames Media, Rivals for Creating "Climate of Fear" Over Gulf Spill

Blame these pelicans for helping to create a climate of public fear. ​Following the news that BP has been busy donating money to politicians who deny the existence of climate change and global warming, BP's new chief exec Bob Dudley does us a Tony Hayward and blames the media -- and mean compe ... More >>

Oil in the Gulf is Not Quite Gone

​Though the Louisiana oil spill has all but faded from the public consciousness, fishermen in the region have reportedly discovered "miles-long strings of weathered oil," despite the U.S. Coast Guard claims that little more could be done in terms of clean-up. The local Times-Picayune has a jar ... More >>

Silly Bandz Official 'Gulf Oil Spill' Pack Somehow Very Apropos

​Silly Bandz -- the ridiculous new trend of human beings walking around with specially shaped rubber bands on their wrists that take form when taken off your wrist -- are officially releasing a "Save the Gulf" pack of Silly Bandz. This is Silly, but rather apropos.

BP Well to Be Sealed By Saturday, Says BP

The good old days.​Hey, everybody, remember that well in the Gulf? The one that broke a while back, and leaked its oil everywhere, and got all over a bunch of birds, and fish, and shrimp, and people? Oh, come on, remember? Yeah, it was a long time ago that happened. Like, before the summer eve ... More >>

Keeping Score on the Gulf: Fishermen Speak Up About Cover-Ups & Compensation

Slick business.​ The oil is no longer flowing and it's time for the people who make a living off the Gulf of Mexico's riches to return to the water. But for some, going back to work isn't as easy as it sounds.

BP Will Probably Drill in the Gulf Again, After This Mess Blows Over

​Um, too soon? BP took the opportunity today -- as crews plan to seal the damaged well via an 18,000 foot relief well -- to tell us that they'll probably drill again right in the same place where millions of gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf. Because, after, all, there's still a lot of ... More >>

"Squeezing" Is Not a Sex Move, and Other Things We Learned During the Summer of BP

via NYT​When we look back at these hazy days of summer 2010, we'll remember oil, for sure, and birds and models in oil (thank you, Italian Vogue), and a smattering of strange, mystical, rather sexual-sounding phrases, like "junk shot," "top kill," "tar balls," "bottom kill," "annulus," "bullhe ... More >>

Tony Hayward Will Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Dammit

​Even though Tony Hayward is off to Russia in October, taking with him $1.5 million for his troubles (plus a pension fund worth about £11 million), he still seems to have a powerful ability to grate on our nerves. To wit, his declaration today that the Gulf spill "represents a failure for th ... More >>

SWEET RELIEF

Musicians help restore the Gulf Coast

BP Oil Spill Affecting the Food Web; Nestlé to Stop Making Health Claims on Kids' Drink

​Honest Tea won its bid against Coca-Cola to keep the words "no high fructose corn syrup" on its juice pouches despite it being something of a rebuke of Coke products that do contain the syrup. [NY Times] Apparently, the BP oil spill has already damaged the food web (what scientists used to c ... More >>

Just How Bad Is BP's Undersea Gusher? The Spill Retrospective Chart

​On Tuesday, BP was supposed to begin testing the new cap over the Gulf oil leak that they say has the potential to stop the gushing flow. So we all waited around, biting our nails, crossing our fingers, and news-surfing for confirmation of success. On Wednesday night, what they said would be ... More >>

Jersey Shore's The Situation, Gay Pride Advocate, Speaks on BP Oil Disaster "Situation"

​When we last caught up with Village Voice Queer Issue cover model The Situation of Jersey Shore fame, he was speaking for the cause he'd inadvertently appeared in front of: advocating "Guido" acceptance of gay lifestyles. It now appears he's speaking out on other issues of the day as well.

That Oil Spill in the Gulf Really Isn't Helping Anyone

​Usually when something bad happens, at least you have the look-on-the-bright-side quality of being able to say, hey, at least we learned from this, and we sure won't do it again next time, or some such. Not so, it seems, with the oil spill in the Gulf. Sure, it's killed innocent animals and p ... More >>

Breaking: Holy Crap, the Oil Leak in the Gulf May Be Contained

Unfortunately, capping the leak is probably not going to help this hermit crab.​Can it be? Dare we to believe? Say it's so! Brett Michael Dykes at Yahoo! News reports that "A tweet from the PBS NewsHour Twitter feed probably sums it up best: 'BREAKING: There does not appear to be oil flowing i ... More >>

BP Removes Cap, Oil to Flow Freely For Days

​Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? It's been over 80 days. The disaster has been in the news less lately; folks feel desensitized, dejected. Still, nothing is fixed. In fact, Saturday around noon BP removed the cap that was preventing oil from the leaky well from gushing into th ... More >>

Brooklyn Man's Plan to Unleash Suffering Upon BP by Way of Vuvuzela Is Actually Happening (Q&A!)

via Vuvuzelas for BP​Last week, we alerted you to a man with a plan. A bizarre, maybe totally brilliant plan to punish the bigwigs at BP for their negligence leading to the oil spill in the Gulf via a band of voracious vuvuzela players stationed outside of their headquarters in London. We mana ... More >>

Priest Accused of Stealing $1 Million in Church Money, Spending It on Male Escorts

via Hartford Courant​Weren't we all just talking about how the BP spill totally helped the Catholic Church with its little "priest situation," at least where the media was concerned? Got 'em out of the spotlight for a bit, took the heat off, what have you? Well, today we heard that we all migh ... More >>

Video: Harry Potter 'Deathly Hollows' Trailer Finally Out, World Gets a Little Bit More Magical for this Muggle's Monday

​Sorry to interrupt you from your daily reading about the boring-ass Supreme Court or the boring-ass Rolling Stone or the boring-ass BP oil spill or whatever other boring-ass "important" non-magical thing you read about today, but, um, THE NEW HARRY POTTER TRAILER IS HERE! Click the "More > > ... More >>

Susan Spicer, New Orleans Chef, Sticks It to British Petroleum

​Famed New Orleans chef and cook book author Susan Spicer has filed a class action lawsuit against British Petroleum, Halliburton, and Transocean, Ltd. Entered in New Orleans Federal Court, the suit asks for both compensatory and punitive damages - as yet unspecified -- for the harm that has r ... More >>

Video: Screaming Girl on Florida Gulf Coast Beach Screaming to Mom to Get Oil Off Her Foot

The report on Destin Beach, Florida from CNN notes it as "open to the public." Also, "the air quality is good, according to the Emerald Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau." And they kinda mention some "small scattered tar balls and oil patches" in Panama City Beach, but the tourists bureau there n ... More >>

Oil Now Spewing Unchecked in Gulf After Underwater Robot Causes Accident

​According to AP reports, oil is now gushing into the Gulf unabated after an accident with a klutzy underwater robot has forced BP to remove the cap that was collecting at least some of the 2.5 million gallons of oil flowing into the ocean each day. Tony Hayward jokes aside ... seriously, ever ... More >>

Joe Barton, GOP Back Off BP Apology -- But Rightbloggers Insist: Defeat or Death!

You've heard that old fable -- favored by Orson Welles, among others -- about a frog whom a scorpion asks for a ride across a stream. The frog reasons that the scorpion won't sting him while they're both in the water, because then they would both drown. So he consents. But the scorpion stings him ... More >>

BP Chief Tony Hayward is Attending a Yacht Race; Now Everyone's Really Mad

​For Tony Hayward, after dealing with the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history every day for 60 days, it's vacation time. He's currently attending a yacht race around England's Isle of Wight, where his 52-foot boat named "Bob" is participating. "He's spending a few hours with his family ... More >>

Hooters Girls Have the Answer to Plugging the BP Oil Spill: Put a Stocking in it.

Hooters to the rescue.​In the wake of the biggest oil spill -- and, potentially, environmental disaster -- in history, leave it to the girls from Hooters to save the day. The chain's buxom waitresses are donating their pantyhose to create booms (floating barriers to contain the spill) that wou ... More >>

USA vs. England World Cup Match Set to Dominate the Day; BP Subplot Boiling Under

​In June, 1950, at the World Cup in Brazil, the American team beat England 1-0. It was the last time the two teams met in the Cup and is still thought of as "the greatest upset in the history of World Cup soccer." The defeat humiliated the proud England team and crushed a nation. In America, a ... More >>

BP Protesters to Stake Out New York Times Tomorrow; We Talk to Their Organizer

​If today's news that the oil spill in the Gulf is spewing out as much as the Exxon Valdez spill did, every 8 to 10 days, got you down like it did us, there's a protest rally that has your name all over it. Tomorrow is Worldwide BP Protest Day, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., NYC folks will rally ... More >>

The BP Oil Spill, Re-enacted by Cats (Video)

​In case you haven't seen it yet, here we have the BP oil spill re-enacted by cats. Cats with British accents. This doesn't make the situation any better, but at least it made us laugh for a minute. Especially the part where they say "top kill." Video after the jump.

Starting Tonight, Dine Out for the Gulf Coast

AFPThanks, BP!​Even if BP isn't doing much to help the countless Gulf coast fishermen they screwed over, that doesn't mean we can't. Starting tonight and going through Saturday, restaurants across the country will participate in Dine Out for the Gulf Coast. Participating restaurants will donat ... More >>

The Other Gulf Oil Rig Quietly Spilling Right Now: Explained and Exposed

​Here's a strange one: a filing by Ben Raines at the Alabama Press-Register on Monday evening shows up online with a headline announcing "Another Gulf oil spill: Well near Deepwater Horizon has leaked since at least April 30." Some bloggers may have noted it. But why aren't we hearing anything ... More >>

BP Tries, Tries Again...and Again We Wait

​Good morning! Today in your BP oil spill update: After cutting the pipe at the wellhead (with 20-foot shears), officials have placed a cap over the well to funnel oil to a ship at the surface. But, as usual, "it will be some time before we can confirm that this method will work and to what ... More >>

Paul Prudhomme Surveys the Oil Spill's Damage to Oysters

Paul Prudhomme in happier days.​So many terrible losses will likely arise from the BP oil spill in the Gulf that it's hard to wrap your mind around them all. Today, the Times focuses on one of them: Gulf oysters.

BP CEO Apologizes on Facebook for Saying "I Want My Life Back"; Oil Spill May Continue Through December

​Tony Hayward, BP's now infamous foot-in-mouth CEO, has apologized today for saying "I want my life back" on Sunday when, of course, people actually died in the oil rig explosion and countless others who weren't in charge of the company have had their lives upended by the spill (so far). His s ... More >>

BP Oil Spill Sticking Around the Gulf Through Summer

​In the latest from the historic American environmental mess in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is now warning that amid the failure of the "top kill," crude oil may be leaking into the water until August, according to the Washington Post. And as the responsibility continues to bleed from BP toward the ... More >>

BP's Top Kill Failed? Oil Giant Crowdsourcing What to Do Next (UPDATED)

​While the official word says that BP is still "assessing" the success level of this week's "top kill" attempt to plug the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, reports are creeping in that it was a big fat failure. It's clear that the gushing poisonous fluid has not yet stopped leaking, acc ... More >>

BP "Top Kill" Might Actually Be Successful?

​Dare we to hope? The federal government's top oil spill commander (yes, apparently such a person now exists) Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen has said that the engineers who attempted the "top kill" have succeeded in stopping the flow of oil and gas into the Gulf.

Obama White House to Actually Do Job, Play "Ten Questions" With Press Regarding BP Disaster

​The BP Oil Spill Disaster started on April 20th, over a month ago, for those keeping track. Which is why it's so strange to read through this morning's MediaBistro Newsfeed, and come across a Yahoo news story, where you will find information regarding the White House's response to what 'they' ... More >>

The BP Oil Spill Disaster: It's Top Kill Time, Baby!

​The BP Oil Spill Disaster has been going on for quite some time now, but BP - when they're not busy possibly constructing horrific charts or ignoring incredibly apparent warning signs - thinks they have the answer: Top Kill, Live on TV!

Morning Links: Fergie's Out of Cash, BP Spill Estimate at 85.3 Million Gallons, Make Way for Sailors

​• Poor Fergie gets only $21K a year from her ex husband Prince Andrew and really may not have a "bean to her name." Not that that excuses anything.

A Look at the Latest Beer Gardens; Oil Spill Threatens Seafood Industry

​The Tribeca Grand's Church Lounge attracts an A-list crowd of bar, restaurant, and club owners; doormen; DJs; and promoters every Sunday for brunch. [NY Post] As Astoria's Bohemian Hall celebrates its 100th anniversary, a look at the city's newest beer gardens, including Mission Dolores in P ... More >>

About that Oil Leak in the Gulf: How Disastrous Is It?

​It turns out, we pretty much all see the oil spill in the Gulf as a major disaster, reports Pew Research. And that's sort of heartening, because the only thing worse than a ruptured well in the Gulf leaking 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the water and up onto the shores would be people run ... More >>

Morning Links: Lucky Charms, Mud Truck Sightings, and Smurfs

​• That oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is bad -- 5,000 barrels a day bad. The spill may reach the coast by Friday. One small bright(ish) spot: The crude is light, more like "iced tea" than heavier crude, and will "cause less environmental damage." No comment from Arizona Iced Tea. • Lucky ... More >>

A Spill Bubbles Up

It came from beneath Greenpoint: A creepy oil plume starts to get some notice

The Other Black Sea

Seeping into the harbor, the city's oldest oil spill nears court action

Passing the Bucks

Fund-Loving President's Fond 'Give Backs'

Virtual Bill

Assault Charges Hit President, Right Revives