As a precaution to make sure seafood harvested from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today extended its ban on fishing in the Gulf of Mexico to account for oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster found southwest of areas that had previously been closed to fishing. The [...]  More »

Jonathan McIntosh/ Rainforest Action Network Global community leaders confront Chevron about human rights abuses and environmental destruction inside the company’s Houston office. From left: Debora Barros Fince (Colombia), Mariana Jimenez (Ecuador), Guillermo Grefa (Ecuador), Emem Okon (Nigeria), Dr Henry Clark (Richmond, Calif). A day before Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting, about 20 protesters gathered at the [...]  More »

—————*Update*—————- BP now says that after discussing the “top kill” process with federal officials, the company has decided to continue its live video feed from the source of the Macondo well leak while the procedure is underway. Spokesman Mark Salt provided this caveat: Throughout the extended top kill procedure – which may take up to [...]  More »

President Barack Obama is set to make his second visit to the Gulf of Mexico for a firsthand look the damage from the oil spill that now touches more than 60 miles of coastline. Obama’s visit, scheduled for Friday, is designed to survey the extent of the damage from the leaking well about 40 miles [...]  More »

Some observers of the video feed of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill seem to think the cloud of hydrocarbons spewing from the pipes is getting darker, that it’s getting heavier with oil. Is this a sign that things are getting worse? Not necessarily. The makeup of hydrocarbons coming out of a well can change [...]  More »

The Houston judge who has stayed all lawsuits against Transocean over the Gulf oil rig explosion and spill, heard from dozens of attorneys in Houston today about the many ways he might proceed. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison is overseeing a case filed by Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and sank [...]  More »

Although a temporary ban on new offshore drilling applies to both shallow and deepwater projects, a top Interior Department official today said there were “important distinctions” between the endeavors — a signal the Obama administration soon could relax the moratorium for offshore operations. The move could come as soon as midweek, when Interior Secretary Ken [...]  More »

The latest update from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that 32 national wildlife refuges are at risk from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The 32 wildlife refuges are spread out over five states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Texas. The wildlife refuges in Texas that are at risk are Texas [...]  More »

Louisiana-based employees of the federal regulatory agency in charge of regulating offshore drilling accepted lunches, sporting event tickets, hunting trips and other gifts from the oil and gas companies they were in charge of regulating, according to a new report by the Interior Department’s inspector general. The probe, which was described by Interior Secretary Ken [...]  More »

Yesterday, we blogged about the fake BP Twitter account account that has been attracting scores of followers since its first Twitter post was sent out a week ago. The satirical tweets are dark and poke fun at the oil firm’s efforts to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But at a time [...]  More »

BP is getting ready for its next well-capping effort that was set for Wednesday morning, although a release put out by the company today says deployment of the ‘top kill’ would occur “within the next few days.” +++++++++++ *update* The top kill could start as early as Wednesday but the language from BP senior vice [...]  More »

• Texas’ lost Deepwater Horizon workers remembered. • BP says its own investigation focusing on 7 items. • Federal spill chief says government takeover of spill not likely. • EPA tells BP to cut back on the chemicals. • Shutting down the well via ‘top kill’ approaches. • Chevron CEO says offshore drilling must continue. [...]  More »