Category Archives: Environment

Rachel Maddow Rewrites Obama’s Oval Office Address on BP

Hat tip Francois T:

Gonzalo Lira: What do BP and the Banks Have In Common? The Era of Corporate Anarchy

By Gonzalo Lira, a novelist and filmmaker (and economist) currently living in Chile and writing at Gonzalo Lira On the occasion of the BP oil spill disaster, President Obama’s delivered an Oval Office speech last night—a masterpiece of milquetoast faux-outrage. The speech was all about “clean energy” and “ending our dependence on fossil fuels”. Faced […]

BP: Official Estimate of Leak Now 35-60K Barrels/Day; Negotiations Over Dividend Escrow Stall

The latest updates on BP, both via Bloomberg. We noted that Rolling Stone had reported that the median of estimates by scientists who has access to the leak data was 55,000 barrels, and there were reasons to take the dire estimates seriously. The latest estimates are allegedly based on a more careful reading of the […]

On BP: “Very Difficult, If Not Impossible” to Firewall US Businesses

FT Alphaville has a very useful chart and related discussion based on Citigroup research, on the question of whether BP could segregate its operations as a precursor to some sort of “good company/bad company” restructuring. Such a move would no doubt be presented as a way to remove the cloud of uncertainty over BP, but […]

BP: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairmen Send Damning Letter to Hayward

The House Energy and Commerce Committee chairmen, Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak published the text of a 14 page letter sent today to Tony Hayward, BP’s CEO. The House website not only contains the text of the letter, but also 23 additional documents from BP, Halliburton, Schlumberger, and Transocean. The letter itself provides a damning […]

BP Given 48 Hours to Step Up Recovery Efforts

We’ve admittedly gone a bit heavy on the BP coverage in the last day or so, but since we aren’t having a financial crisis weekend, this is one of the few major stories that is having meaningful developments. Bloomberg reports that the Coast Guard has ordered the oil producer to increase its recovery efforts. The […]

BP Shows Belly, Says Willing to Cut Dividend, So What Will Obama Do?

BP has clearly decided that it needs to do what it takes to get the Administration to de-escalate its campaign against the oil producer, and is signaling that it is willing to cut its dividend, something it has fiercely resisted, as a peace offering. BP’s chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg has been summoned to meet with Obama […]

A Short Report from the Gulf Coast (Updated)

From reader Bubba in Alabama: For a week I have been listening to my neighbors on the coast whine (on Facebook) about the “smell” of oil. I was delighted to get back to my kids there on Friday last, and find nothing of the sort. Of course, on Friday, the gloop hit the beach, literally. […]

WTF Alert: BP CEO is a Mere PR Problem?

What term do you use to describe spin about spin? Spin squared? Meta spin? Whatever you chose to call it, a classic example is in full view in a New York Times article, “Another Torrent BP Works to Stem: Its C.E.O.” If you were to believe the New York Times, which all too often appears […]

Models Show Gulf Oil May Reach US East Coast This Summer

This cheery news from the SunHerald (hat tip reader Dwight Baker): The National Center for Atmospheric Research models showed Thursday that oil could enter the Gulf’s loop current, go around the tip of Florida and as far north as Cape Hatteras, N.C. According to researchers, oil could threaten East Coast beaches by early July, but […]

BP Admits to Being “Not Prepared” (“Low Odds” Fallacy Edition)

A sudden bout of semi-candor from BP suggests the top brass of the miscreant oil company recognized that it is in such deep doo-doo that the normal corporate PR playbook is no longer operative. Companies and governments often refuse to admit error or blame it on circumstances out of their control as a way to […]

It’s Official: Gulf “Top Kill” Fails

From the Washington Post, as foretold earlier by George Washington: BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the company determined the “top kill” method had failed after studying it for three days. The method involved pumping heavy drilling mud into a crippled well 5,000 feet underwater. “We have not been able to stop the flow,” […]

Gulf Leak Worst in US History

So now it’s official. As many feared, the Gulf Oil oil spill is the worst the US has ever suffered. No wonder BP has been trying to keep the officialdom and scientists away from it as long as possible….. From the Washington Post (hat tip reader Marshall): As crews pumped mud at a furious rate […]