Drilling Deeper in the Gulf
By Amanda Mascarelli, Audubon Magazine. Dec. 18, 2013.
“In the inky black waters nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, Erik Cordes came upon a disturbing scene. Sea fans, waving in the darkness, were coated in a sticky black substance. Corals were unusually pale, with tissue falling off the skeleton…” (read more)
More massive tar mats from BP oil spill discovered on Louisiana beaches
By Bob Marshall, The Lens (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 18, 2013.
“The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster was just a month old and BP’s crude oil was still gushing from the Gulf floor when state officials began to grasp the true scope of the insult to Louisiana’s coast: Beaches, estuaries and wetlands would be under assault for decades.…” (read more)
New Baton Rouge Water Campus designed to elevate state's coastal science to world class status
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 17, 2013.
“Gov. Bobby Jindal expects the creation of the new 30-acre Water Campus in Baton Rouge to underscore the state’s role as a major international player in the role of science and engineering in dealing with coastal water issues, including wetland and barrier island restoration and hurricane levee protection…” (read more)
NOAA: Dolphins in Barataria Bay sickened from oil exposure
By Amy Wold, The Advocate. Dec. 19, 2013.
“Almost half of the dolphins examined during a 2011 post-Deepwater Horizon oil-disaster survey in Barataria Bay were found to be in bad health, and all indications point to oil exposure as the cause, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…” (read more)
Study links BP oil spill to dolphin deaths
By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian. Dec. 18, 2013.
“US government scientists have for the first time connected the BP oil disaster to dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, in a study finding direct evidence of toxic exposure…” (read more)
Scientists charge BP oil spill 'gravely' injured dolphins
By Debbie Elliott, NPR. Dec. 19, 2013.
“Dolphins are getting very sick from exposure to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A government study confirms a host of problems in dolphins who live in one of the heaviest-oiled bays in Louisiana. Scientists say the dolphins are gravely ill with injuries consistent with the toxic effects of exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons…” (read more)
Chevron VP blasts coastal erosion lawsuits
By John Harper, The Houma Courier (Houma, La.). Dec. 19, 2013.
“The vice president of Chevron's Gulf of Mexico Production and Exploration Division is denouncing environmental damage lawsuits filed this year against oil and gas companies…” (read more)
East Bank levee authority suit spurs renewed push for tort reform
By Lauren McGaughy, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 19, 2013.
“Calls to once again revisit tort reform in the state Legislature are growing louder ahead of the 2014 session, amplified by the negative reaction of industry groups to a massive coastal restoration lawsuit filed against oil and gas companies…” (read more)
Ex-BP engineer convicted of destroying Gulf spill evidence
By Margaret Cronin-Fisk and Daniel Lawton, Bloomberg Businessweek. Dec. 18, 2013.
“A former BP senior engineer was found guilty of destroying evidence sought by the U.S. in a probe of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico well explosion and oil spill. A federal jury in New Orleans today found the engineer, Kurt Mix, guilty of one of two counts of obstruction of justice…” (read more)