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The Problem Continues...

Wed, 03/28/2012 - 07:57 hhelinsky

"No one on the platform was injured, the company said, and there appeared to be no immediate danger to anyone on shore. But the volume of gas escaping from the well threatened to make the air poisonous and potentially explosive over a wide area around the platform, and posed a danger of significant environmental harm."

"The Gas Leak on Offshore Platform Forces Evacuation in North Sea." New York Times, 27 March 2012. Reported by Julia Werdigier and Henry Fountain.

 

 

"Total said two firefighting ships are on standby near the platform, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, and others may be mobilised soon. Hainsworth said the company was "evaluating options" on how to put out the flare and how to stem the leak.

He said international well control experts have flown to Scotland to advise the company on the best course of action. Options include drilling a relief well and sending experts on to the Elgin to kill the leak from the platform. The company said it may take up to six months to drill an emergency relief well."

"Flare still burning on North Sea gas leak platform." The Guardian.  27 March 2012. Reported by Rubert Neate.

 

 

"Unlike the oil spilled from BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the Total leak is primarily natural gas that dissipates in the air, especially in the usually windy conditions of the North Sea. But the gas in the well is known as sour gas because it contains toxic, flammable hydrogen sulfide as well as gas liquids that have created small surface sheens. Drilling a relief well, one possible solution, would be difficult because any rig would have to keep its distance from the gas leak. “This is another instance in which we see that the oil companies are not prepared for the worst-case scenarios,” said Frederic Hauge, president of the Bellona Foundation,a Norwegian environmental group. The uncontrolled leak takes place amid controversy over how Britain should manage its aging offshore oil and gas fields. Just a week ago, British Chancellor George Osborne proposed about $4.8 billion in tax breaks to help oil companies dismantle old platforms and drill new wells. “Gas is cheap, has much less carbon than coal and will be the largest single source of our electricity in the coming years,” he said in his budget statement on March 21. He said the energy secretary would “set out our new gas generation strategy” in the fall."

"Total gas leak forces evacuations in British North Sea." The Washington Post. 27 March 2012. Reported by Steven Mufson. 

Southern Oral History Program (re-post)

Sat, 03/24/2012 - 11:55 hhelinsky

This is information for anyone interested in continuing to read up in preparation for Caridad Svich's play THE WAY OF WATER.

Click here for a link to videos created by Andy Horowitz for the Southern Oral History Program in July 2010: http://oilspillstories.tumblr.com/

Click here for more information about the Southern Oral History Program:  http://www.sohp.org/content/news/news-item/documenting_the_gulf_oil_spill/

The Southern Oral History Program

in the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina conducted a small series of interviews to begin the work of documenting the human effects of the BP oil spill, perhaps the worst environmental disaster in American history.

 

About the Project

The interviews, completed while oil was still flooding into the Gulf of Mexico from the ruptured deepwater well, reveal the worry, hope, confusion, and commitment of Louisiana coastal residents during a time of deep uncertainty and peril. The interviews allowed coastal residents to put their current predicament in historical context: they described lives and livelihoods connected – often for generations – to the coast and to the water. 

The interviewees talked about their evolving understanding of government, regulation, and industry, about the coexistence of oil and fishing industries, and about the importance of work, family, and place. They compared the oil spill to earlier challenges – like hurricanes – and described how this time seemed different, more daunting, less certain, and more out of control. They expressed frustration with so much of what was happening, and at the same time, confidence in the perseverance and intelligence of local people to get through this crisis.

From the hours of interviews – which soon will be archived at the Southern Historical Collection and made available as audio and written transcripts online  – we have highlighted a few very short sections here. Sound bites run counter to the strengths and goals of oral history, though, and we encourage you to read or listen to the interviews in their entirety. These clips are meant to offer a way in.

For nearly forty years, Southern Oral History Program has been recording the recollections and reflections of southerners. Our 4,500 oral history interviews include conversations with millworkers and farmers, activists and political operators, and many others who witnessed southern history as it happened. Visit us at sohp.org.

The Southern Oral History Program collaborated with the Louisiana State Museum to produce these interviews.

Andy Horowitz conducted the interviews for this series. Andy first came to the Southern Oral History Program as a college intern in 2002, and later returned to direct the SOHP’s post-Katrina project, “Imagining New Orleans,” in 2006. From 2003 to 2007, he was the founding director of the New Haven Oral History Project at Yale University, where he also taught courses on oral history and urban studies. He is currently History PhD student at Yale.

 

Bird's Eye View: Must-see New Photos and Report from the Gulf (Re-post)

Thu, 03/22/2012 - 20:15 hhelinsky

"Over the last few weeks, there has been renewed attention down here in the Gulf region thanks to the planned BP trial and eventual partial settlement. You may have seen GRN staff at a wide range of meetings and events such as our recent Gulf Gathering in Alabama and a protest on Poydras Street in New Orleans. You may have also read any number of articles or heard interviews quoting GRN staff in the local, national and international media. Recently the media focus has shifted from the BP trial to the RESTORE Act which was just added to the Transportation Bill by the U.S Senate. GRN continues to stay focused on all of the moving parts of this ongoing disaster and continues to fight for a healthy Gulf using all of the strengths that, thanks to supporters like you, we are able to leverage and apply. This includes our field monitoring program along the Gulf coast to ensure that the ongoing impacts of the BP disaster are documented and shared.  Below is a state by state expose on impacts that continue to occur in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, all within the last few weeks." Continue Reading, click here (by Jonathan Henderson, 9 March 2012)

What we like about this post by Jonathan Henderson of the GULF RESTORATION NETWORK is that it gives a state-by-state update on what residents are seeing on their beaches. It includes links from diligent residents from Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida who bear witness to what has happened since the BP spill. 

If you are an actor or member of the artistic team preparing for the readings of The Way of Water by Caridad Svich in April, we encourage you to comment on the Gulf Restoration Network's blog. Let them know that we're listening to their reporting and moved by their efforts to keep us aware of the continued impact.

----Heather Helinsky, dramaturg

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