Posts Tagged ‘ BP ’

BP Spill, San Bruno Fire, Fracking…Time to Stop Blind Faith in Gas

September 12th, 2010. By AbiK

As I read the accounts of those living in the area affected by the San Bruno gas fire, one phrase keeps coming back to me: “I didn’t know…” While the specifics of each “I didn’t know” or “had I known” vary, they all stem from one thing—we—homeowners and residential gas consumers—don’t really know what the heck we’re sitting on top of when it comes to underground gas lines.

In an odd way, the BP oil spill has been our wake-call—albeit at a terrible price. But, thanks to BP, we now question how gas is obtained and distributed. Sure, the folks living in the heart of the Marcellus Shale region have long been sitting on pins and needles wondering what hydraulic fracking means to their water supply, for example, but that type of regional concern wouldn’t have gotten some of the more national press coverage it has recently received had it not been for BP.

Ditto the San Bruno gas fire. Sure, it would’ve made the headlines, but, as with other localized gas pipe explosions of years gone by, it would’ve been reported as a tragic explosion affecting a very small area in the scheme of things. There may have been a few localized investigative reports—but that would’ve been about it. Now, however, people are starting to question a few things about the US natural gas industry. Things like, just how safe is it? And things like, what happens to San Bruno in the aftermath of the gas line rupture—did any gas leak into the ground? are the remaining pipes in the area safe? what about those reports of a gas smell? and on and on…

I’ve posted about hydraulic fracturing—you can read more about that and the concerns folks have about it from upstate New York to West Virginia here on LawyersAndSettlements.com. It only took a few reports about livestock becoming sick from leaks coming out of nearby fracking operations to make me raise an eyebrow and join the anti-fracking side. Of course, the gas companies continue to tout its safety—and, I suppose when you look at aggregate numbers, it is relatively “safe”—but would you want your kids drinking water that potentially contained chemicals (or gas?) involved with the fracking process? Didn’t think so…

So, back to the “I didn’t know”.

A report the other day in the PressDemocrat.com talks about how we really don’t know Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AGA, BP, fracking, hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic-fracturing-water-contamination-epa-fracking-hydrofracking, natural gas, San Bruno, San Bruno Gas Fire
Posted in Environment | 5 Comments »

NWF Top 10 Pipeline Accident States

August 13th, 2010. By AbiK

An interesting tidbit from the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) report, Assault on America: A Decade of Petroleum Company Disaster, Pollution and Profit (released July, 2010) is their chart that depicts the top ten US states for pipeline accidents, 2000-2009.

While it’s natural to think that Texas—often synonymous with big oil—tops the chart (it does) for “significant incidents”, what’s more surprising are the states with the most fatalities associated with pipeline accidents.

Here’s the list of 2000-2009 Onshore Pipeline Accidents, sorted by “Significant Incidents”—apparently defined as those  where injury or fatality occurred or property damage was greater than or equal to $50,000 in 1984 dollars:

Texas                     523

Louisiana               223

California               177

Kansas                   117

Illinois                    115

Pennsylvania         114

Oklahoma              113

Ohio                       74

Michigan                 61

New Mexico            58

Now, if you resort the same list and look at fatalities, here’s what you’ll find:

Texas                     15

New Mexico           15

Pennsylvania         10

California                9

Louisiana                6

Ohio                       6

Michigan                 5

Kansas                   3

Oklahoma               3

Illinois                     2

For the record, if you look at total US—i.e., not just the top ten states listed above–Onshore significant incidents, the numbers go like this: 2,554 significant incidents, 161 fatalities, and 576 injuries.

If you want to add in total US Offshore incidents from 2001-2007—so remember, this data predates the BP oil spill, there were 1,443 incidents resulting in 41 fatalites, 302 injuries, 476 fires, nd 356 pollution events.

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | No Comments »

Results are in – 60% Say BP won’t Survive the Spill

August 9th, 2010. By AbiK

We’ve had a poll here on the LawyersAndSettlements.com blog since just after the BP Oil Spill occurred. The question was a simple yes or no:

Will BP Survive the Gulf Oil Disaster?

Just took the poll down and the final results were a pretty straight 60/40 split—60% of you think that BP will not be able to come out of the aftermath of the BP oil spill alive; 40% of you think they will.

Of course, it’s a PR game at play as well and an interesting thing has happened over the time that the poll was live. In the initial week or two of the poll, 70% of you felt BP would not survive this mess. Then, little by little, I watched the numbers start to head more in the direction that BP just may come out of this with a future.

Perhaps it speaks to the containment (?) of the spill. Perhaps it has to do with BP coughing up the $20 billion fund for claims. Or that BP finally ousted its CEO. Who knows? And of course, only time will tell what will ultimately become of BP…

For the latest figures on the BP spill, check out Update: BP Oil Spill by the Numbers.

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | No Comments »

Update: BP Oil Spill by the Numbers

August 3rd, 2010. By AbiK

A quick down and dirty look at the current numbers related to the BP Oil Spill…

11 families whose lives were forever changed as they lost loved ones aboard the Deepwater Horizon

102 days since BP oil spill disaster

120 people who’ve gone to the E.R. , a clinic or urgent care center in AL complaining of ailments related to the spill, since May 14th (al.com)

300 federal lawsuits filed–so far–in 12 states, against BP, Transocean Ltd, Halliburton Co., and Cameron International (AP)

800 skimming boats BP currently has working on the spill (miamiherald.com)

1,443 total industry offshore incidents between 2001 – 2007, causing 41 fatalities, 302 injuries, 476 fires, 356 releases of pollution (National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Report, Assault on America, 2010)

24,800 workers BP currently has working on the spill (miamiherald.com)

$7,300,000 spent on lobbying by the American Petroleum Institute (trade association representing oil and gas industries) (NWF)

$13,900,000 direct political contributions by oil and gas industry to member of Congress, year-to-date this year (NWF)

$500,000,000 amount of settlement payout to fisherman and residents who were victims of the Exxon Valdez disaster–for comparison (AP)

$2,000,000,000 estimated amount BP will spend to defend itself against lawsuits (AP)

$20,000,000,000 fund set up by BP to settle victims’ claims

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill. NSL
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment | 2 Comments »

What Good is BP Lifeline if it Doesn’t Rescue Victims?

July 29th, 2010. By AbiK

Here’s the situation—really a Catch-22. You’re stranded at sea, and a seemingly kind soul passes by on a boat, with a life buoy—you know, the type lifeguards use with that long rope. The kind soul tosses it out to you, reaching just beyond your shoulder like he’s been taught to do—and your countenance immediately turns from one of panic to one of relief…safe and secure that you’ll be able to remain afloat for a while and, although exhausted, enjoy the tow in toward the boat.

Ahhh…but funny thing happened on the way to the boat! The kind soul sort of, uh, dropped his end of the lifeline. Whoops! And guess what? Since you grabbed the line, you don’t have any other options for being saved other than saying some prayers.

Enter the current hell that BP oil spill victims are living right now. They can see that seemingly kind soul with the life buoy in hand (i.e., BP & Feinberg), but there’s also a ship way off on the horizon that may take days to get to them (i.e., litigation) and, if they turn toward litigation, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, BP Lawsuit, BP Oil Spill, Feinberg
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment | No Comments »