Russia suggests oil firm levy for pollution fund

Obama's Stacked Deck
When President Obama named the members of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, he left little to chance. Although the Executive Order which created the Commission allowed that its membership … shall be drawn from among distinguished individuals, and may include those with experience in or representing the scientific, engineering, and environmental communities, the Oil and gas industry, or any other area determined by the President to...

Feds Dole Out $24 Million For Research to Turn Algae Into Fuel
The Federal Government had already invested hefty sums in Alternative Fuels even before the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, but the millions of gallons of crude that continue to gush from BP's (BP) damaged well are a stark reminder of the true price Americans pay for Fossil Fuel. Now, Washington is putting in another $24 million into the search for new Fuel options, this time to figure out ways to turn algae into a good source of power for our cars. The Department of Energy, which announced the...

Read the Group of 20's final statement
T HE G-20 Toronto SUMMIT DECLARATION June 26-27, 2010 Preamble 1. In Toronto, we held our first Summit of the G-20 in its new capacity as the premier forum for our International Economic cooperation. 2. Building on our achievements in addressing the Global ~#~3~#~ Crisis, we have agreed on the next steps we should take to ensure a full return to Growth with quality Jobs, to Reform and strengthen Financial Systems, and to create strong, sustainable and balanced Global Growth. 3. Our efforts...

BP's diplomat: Dudley, new man in charge of spill response, has faced big challenges before
He has been cast in the role of fixer, sent in to Clean up after BP's gaffe-prone chief executive and oversee efforts to contain the Gulf of Mexico Oil gusher. But Robert Dudley is really more of a diplomat. In his first week running the Spill response for BP, Dudley shuttled between the Gulf and Washington, defended BP engineers after a setback, toured a center where Oil-covered turtles are treated and enlisted the help of a politically connected relief expert. "Until we close the well off,"...

BP denies Hayward to resign
AFP BP has denied that its embattled chief executive Tony Hayward was set to resign over the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, after revealing that the crisis has so far cost $US2.65 Billion ($A3 Billion). Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, preparing to meet Hayward on Monday, said the British boss was to resign and present a successor, Russian news agencies reported. However, a BP company spokeswoman insisted Hayward was not stepping down. "Tony Hayward remains chief executive and is not...

Europe's Enduring Coal Subsidies
A tussle over Subsidies for the Coal Industry in the European Union offers another sign of how difficult it will be to phase out government support for Fossil Fuels , even in the most industrially advanced parts of the world. Aid for industries like Oil, gas and Coal is back in the spotlight after leaders at the summit meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in Toronto disappointed Environmentalists by mostly restating previous commitments to curb supports rather than making new pledges....

Russia irritated by U.S. spy-ring announcement
Moscow - Russia expressed irritation over a U.S. announcement it had arrested 10 Russian spies just days after President Dmitry Medvedev met Barack Obama, but stopped short of any outright denial. U.S. authorities said on Monday they had broken up a major spy ring that recruited political sources and gathered information for the Russian government, hours after Medvedev flew back to Russia from a trip to North America. "The choice of timing was particularly graceful," said Foreign Minister...

Head of BP's spill response has survived trials
He has been cast in the role of fixer, sent in to Clean up after BP’s gaffe-prone chief executive and oversee efforts to contain the Gulf of Mexico Oil gusher. But Robert Dudley is really more of a diplomat. In his first week running the Spill response for BP, Dudley shuttled between the Gulf and Washington, defended BP engineers after a setback, toured a center where Oil-covered turtles are treated and enlisted the help of a politically connected relief expert. “Until we close the...

"There is nothing silly about these strings of oil ..."
The catastrophic damage already having occurred and to occur due to Deepwater Horizon is beyond the comprehension and imagination of all but a few. And, for far too many, this is occurring out of sight, out of mind, as we go along our daily lives, get caught up in watching World Cup Soccer and going to the swimming pool, struggle to keep a job and pay the bills. This catastrophe created, directly, by BP’s seemingly criminally negligent practices and, indirectly, by our Oil addictions...

No oil experts on Obama spill panel, GOP complains
Washington - The presidential commission investigating Offshore Drilling safety and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill came under fresh fire Thursday with Republicans accusing President Barack Obama of stacking it with Environmental Activists. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., charged the Obama Administration with keeping Oil and gas Drilling experts off its seven-member commission in favor of people who philosophically oppose Offshore Exploration. And Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, said there was a huge...

Russia denounces US 'spy' arrests
Moscow has reacted angrily to US claims that it has broken up a Russian spy ring operating in the country, saying that the accusations were "baseless and improper". The Russian Foreign Ministry said it "regrets" the arrest by US authorities of 10 suspects on charges of Conspiracy and Money Laundering, given that it came as the two nations moved to "reset" their relations. "These actions are unfounded and pursue unseemly goals," the Ministry said in a statement on...

Oil tumbles below $77 in Europe as dollar strengthens and fears ease about tropical storm Alex
Singapore — Oil Prices tumbled below $77 a barrel Tuesday on signs Tropical Storm Alex would likely miss most of the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving supplies undisrupted, and as The Dollar made strong gains against the euro. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for August delivery was down $1.54 to $76.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 61 cents to settle at $78.25 on Monday. Alex gained strength and appeared on track to...

Obama’s War in the Gulf
When President Obama gave his Speech about the BP Oil Spill, much was made of his using war terminology. Weeks later, it appears that, like everything else Obama, it was just talk. Actually, it’s pretty obvious that the only war he’s waging in the Gulf is with Gulf state Governors, fishermen and Environmentalists. Rep. Dan Burton’s op-ed in Human Events highlights some things that the American People need to know about: On the 65th day of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the...

Gulf oil spill: BP, U.S. government are blasted as oil reaches Mississippi coast
Reporting from Grand Isle, La., and Atlanta — As the shores of Biloxi, Miss., took their turn being slimed by Oil Monday, Mississippi officials including Gov. Haley Barbour slammed the Federal Government and BP for failing to capture the crude Offshore. At a news Conference Monday, Barbour said that "the plan we agreed to with the unified command and BP wasn't being given the resources to be totally effective." As a result, he said, "there continues to be more Oil in the [Mississippi]...

Russia FM: Moscow awaits US explanation on spies
Moscow (AP) - Russia’s Foreign Minister said Moscow is waiting for a U.S. explanation about the arrests of 10 alleged Russian spies - and a senior lawmaker said some in the U.S. government may be trying to undermine President Barack Obama’s warming relations with Russia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that U.S. authorities announced the arrest days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the United States. “They haven’t explained to us what this is...

The Windsurfer's Windfall
Last Year, in his ongoing struggle to remain relevant, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) took the legislative reins on the contentious issue of Climate Change. Now Kerry, against the backdrop of an Oil-soaked Gulf, is hoping to ride the current crisis to push his American Power Act to the top the Democrats' legislative agenda and propel himself back into the national spotlight. Tuesday's White House meeting with key administration officials and senators presents Kerry with his best chance to convince...

BP CEO Hayward to Meet Putin's Deputy in Russia
BP ( BP ) CEO is traveling to Moscow to meet with a top deputy to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Igor Sechin. The meeting comes on the heels of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's call on Sunday for a special levy on Oil companies to finance a fund dedicated to cleaning up the Industry's Environmental Disasters, such as BP's Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Medvedev made a proposal for a global Pollution fund at the Group of 20 summit in Toronto, and in a communique, G-20 leaders...

Oil tumbles below $77 in Asia as fears ease tropical storm Alex will disrupt Gulf supplies
Singapore — Oil Prices tumbled below $77 a barrel Tuesday in Asia on signs Tropical Storm Alex would likely miss most of the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving supplies undisrupted. Benchmark crude for August delivery was down $1.69 to $76.56 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 61 cents to settle at $78.25 on Monday. Alex gained strength and appeared on track to become a Hurricane Tuesday before it makes...

BP's costs soar as storm delays oil containment
BP's costs soared as a major Storm stymied efforts to double the amount of Oil captured from a ruptured Well deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Alex, the first major Storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, appeared set to sidestep the massive slick, but its strong winds made seas too rough to attach a third vessel to siphon Oil from a containment cap some 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the surface. Rough seas could also push the Oil deeper into fragile Coastal Wetlands and has already...

A State and Its Spill Response
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is not shy about voicing his displeasure with the federal response to the BP Oil leak in the gulf. In near-daily news conferences, he has taken the Coast Guard and other federal agencies to task for poor preparation and a slow-footed response in protecting the fragile coastline. Mr. Jindal has also demanded the Coast Guard stand aside and let state and local leaders take charge. “Local leaders know best,” he wrote in a characteristic May 4 Twitter ...

Day 71 BP Oil Spill, Bill Clinton Says "Just Blow It Up"
Whiling attending the World Cup tournament in South Africa, former President Bill Clinton took time off to attend a media forum hosted by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. When asked about BP Oil Spill, Clinton said “Unless we send the Navy down deep to blow up the well and cover the leak with piles and piles of rocks and debris, which may become necessary - you don’t have to use a Nuclear weapon by the way, I’ve seen all that stuff, just blow it up - unless we’re...

US raps on Asian shrimpers' doors after oil spill
HANOI, Vietnam — As the Gulf Coast Oil Spill continues to gush, U.S. Seafood suppliers are turning to Asia to ensure Americans have enough shrimp for their gumbos, Creoles and cocktails this summer, but some of those overseas cupboards are low themselves. Several countries in the world's top shrimp-producing region are struggling to satisfy their own appetites for shrimp because of disease, drought and the economic Crisis. The Oil Spill is one more factor driving prices skyward, sending...

Storm could slow oil spill cleanup from far away
New Orleans—The Tropical Storm plowing across the Gulf of Mexico could send Oil skimmers back to port and make containment booms useless, even from far away. But the rough weather also might give nature a hand in breaking down crude from the massive Oil Spill. Waves churned up by Tropical Storm Alex could help Break up the patches of Oil scattered across the sea, and the higher-than-normal winds that radiate far from the Storm could help the crude evaporate faster. Forecasters said Monday...

Documents show vast cleanup of Plum Island land
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) - Government documents obtained by The Associated Press show extensive efforts since 2000 to remove vast amounts of waste and contaminants from Plum Island. The 840-acre island - located 100 miles east of Manhattan - was the site of top-secret Army germ warfare research and decades of studies of dangerous animal diseases. Some Environmentalists remain concerned about the secrecy surrounding the island - and they’re dubious of any claims that Pollution has...

Documents show vast cleanup of Plum Island land
Source: AP GARDEN CITY, N.Y.