You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #422. ROV #421 is here.
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The "breaking news" on the Gulf Oil Spill front is that the procedures to finally "plug and abandon" the Macondo Well were carried out over the weekend. Our dedicated and vigilant Peraspera was able to catch them removing the BOP in the wee hours Saturday morning. Video here
Drilling and Cementing Ops occurred throughout the weekend,caught by Peraspera and Burned here and here. The second video shows a riser bending and breaking off in the well head. After many hours of trying to remove the stuck riser, the MC252 well is capped ceremoniously with a cap memorializing the 11 men who died on the Deepwater Horizon. Video here
The fireworks may begin this morning,however, when the three companies involved in the spill, BP, TransOcean and Halliburton sit down together with the President's Oil Spill Commission for a discussion of what the Commission believes to be the causes of the blowout and spill. From WaPo
The causes of the massive Gulf oil spill will be laid out for the first time Monday by investigators working for President Barack Obama's independent commission, potentially shifting the blame and settling disputes between companies over the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Representatives of the three companies most involved in the April accident - Halliburton, Transocean and BP - will be on hand to answer the allegations and respond to questions.
"It's the first public look at the events and actions that our investigators believe contributed to the blowout," said David Cohen, a spokesman for the seven-member commission, which has a Jan. 11 deadline to deliver a report to Obama outlining what caused the disaster and what needs to be done to prevent another one.
The National Oil Spill Commission hearing can be viewed live here beginning at 9 am.
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Where did all that oil go?
A study just out shows that a unique carbon can be traced from the microbes eating the oil through the organisms eating the microbes and on up the food chain.
'Shadow' of oil spill seen in Gulf of Mexico plankton
It is possible to trace oil from the BP spill as it moved through the first several levels of the Gulf’s food chain, starting with the microbes that broke the oil down, according to a scientific paper released today.
That paper, "Oil carbon entered the coastal planktonic food web during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," suggests that a faint "shadow" of the oil can be seen in the Gulf’s smallest creatures — plankton and copepods. Those tiny animals ate the microbes that ate the oil.
What’s present in the creatures is not oil. Instead, it is a unique form of carbon typically associated with oil and not otherwise seen in the Gulf creatures, researchers found. Carbon is the primary building block of all life, so it is present in bacteria, copepods, fish and all other creatures.
"We can use this carbon from the oil as a so called bio-marker. We can detect this lighter form of carbon in creatures," said Monty Graham, a researcher at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and one of the authors of the paper.
Graham said it was important to note that the research documented carbon from the oil working its way through the food chain, but did not address any of the toxins associated with the oil. It is possible some of those toxins also moved into the food chain using the same pathway, Graham said.
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Floridians wnat you to come on down! Such was the incentive for and extensive walk and photo project held Saturday on Florida's Gulf Coast. Sponsored by, you guessed it, the state tourism marketing agency. From USA Today
Six months after the Gulf oil spill darkened the image of Florida's coast -- if not the beaches themselves -- thousands of volunteers walked all 825 miles of the state's coastline on Saturday, documenting with photographs that sand and sea are fine and visitors should c'mon down.
About 3,700 Floridians, many of them toting still and video cameras, covered every mile of coast from the Florida-Alabama border on the Gulf to north of Jacksonville on the Atlantic side. More than 5,000 of their photos have been uploaded to a nifty interactive map that allows you to select exact locales and view firsthand the state of the beaches -- or at least, the state of the beaches as recorded during Saturday's event.
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We say we want renewable energy, but are we willing to pay for it? An article in today's NYT here suggests that states will not allow utility companies to increase rate in order to purchase power from wind farms and other renewable sources.
Even as many politicians, environmentalists and consumers want renewable energy and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, a growing number of projects are being canceled or delayed because governments are unwilling to add even small amounts to consumers’ electricity bills.
Deals to buy renewable power have been scuttled or slowed in states including Florida, Idaho and Kentucky as well as Virginia. By the end of the third quarter, year-to-date installations of new wind power dropped 72 percent from 2009 levels, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group. Companies that make solar cells and wind machines argue that a national energy policy is needed to guarantee them a market that will allow their industry to develop. Clean power will be an important industry globally for years, they say, and if the United States does not subsidize renewable energy now, it risks falling far behind other countries.
They point to China, which is rapidly increasing the amount of electricity it generates from renewable sources. In its most recent quarterly assessment of the renewable energy sector, the accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young identified China as the most attractive market for investment in renewable energy.
In part, the analysis suggested, this reflected the failure of American lawmakers to pass a national renewable energy standard and the looming expiration of a Treasury program that allowed renewable developers to receive cash grants in lieu of tax credits.
In Europe, many national governments have guaranteed prices for energy from sun or wind. As a result, renewable advocates say, many countries are on track to meet the European Union’s goal of 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
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Renewable energy supporters argue that higher fossil fuel prices will eventually make renewable energy more competitive — and at times over the last two decades, when the price for natural gas has spiked, wind power in particular has been a relative bargain. Advocates also argue that while the costs might be higher now, as the technology matures and supply chains and manufacturing bases take root, clean sources of power will become more attractive.
Fold in the higher costs of extracting and burning fossil fuels on human health, the climate and the environment, many advocates argue, and renewable technologies like wind power are already cheaper.
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==== ROV Feeds =====
20876/21507 - Development Driller II's ROV 1
32900/49178 - Development Driller II's ROV 2
58406/21750 - Iron Horse ROV 1 (Original feed which is still active)
If Iron Horse won't load in VLC or Quicktime with the above link try this one.
23211/23803 - Iron Horse ROV 1 (New feed designations)
22070/22936 - Iron Horse ROV 2 (New feed designations)
==Multiple stream feeds (hard on browser/bandwidth)==
German multiple feed site that updates once a minute—Does not crash browsers and loads really fast.
Belgian multi-feed site, Mozaiek Webcam – BP Olielek Olieramp Deepwater Horizon
BP videos All the available directly feeds from BP.
Bobo's lightweight ROV Multi-feed: is the only additional up to date multiple feed site.
See this thread for more info on using video feeds and on linking to video feeds.
Previous Gulf Watcher diaries:
Gulf Watchers Sunday - BP Fails Big (Again) But Probation May Be Lifted - BP Catastrophe AUV #421 - Yauragi
Gulf Watchers Special Report - BOP is Off; P&A coming up? - Yasuragi
Gulf Watchers Friday - Another Spill is Certain - BP Catastrophe AUV #420 - Lorinda Pike
Gulf Watchers Wednesday - BP & MMS deception about toxic plumes - BP Catastrophe AUV #419 - peraspera
Gulf Watchers Monday - More on Dispersants - BP Catastrophe AUV #418 - shanesnana
Gulf Watchers Sunday - NOAA, FDA Lower Standards So Gulf Seafood Will Pass - BP Catastrophe AUV #417 - Yasuragi
Gulf Watchers Friday: GOTV-All Politics is Local: Kamala Harris/CA-AG: BP Catastrophe AUV#416 - ArthurPoet
Gulf Watchers Wednesday - EPA Whistleblower Crucifies BP on Safety - BP Catastrophe AUV #415 - peraspera
Gulf Watchers Monday Edition - Reparations, Repair, Responsibility - BP Catastrophe AUV #414 - shanesnana
Gulf Watchers Sunday Edition - Will New Lawsuit Revive the Moratorium? - BP Catastrophe AUV #413 - Yasuragi
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #412 - gchaucer2
Gulf Watchers Wednesday Edition - 6 Months of Gulf Sorrow - BP Catastrophe AUV #411 - peraspera
Gulf Watchers Monday Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #410 - shanesnana
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #409 - Lorinda Pike
Gulf Watchers Monday Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #408 - peraspera
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #407 - shanesnana
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #406 - Sunday Wrap - Lorinda Pike
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #405 - bleeding heart
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #404 - peraspera
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #403 - Darryl House
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #402 - Yasuragi
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #401 - Lorinda Pike
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #400 - Yasuragi
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #399 - Gulf Watchers/peraspera/story/
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #398 - Gulf Watchers/peraspera/story/
Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #397 - Gulf Watchers/peraspera
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #396 - Gulf Watchers/peraspera
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #395 - Condition: transition - BP's Gulf Castastrophe - David PA
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #394 - Transitions - BP's Gulf Castastrophe - Lorinda Pike
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #393 - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Lorinda Pike
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #392 - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - When Can we Share a Soda? - khowell
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #391 - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Talking about Change - khowell
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #390 - Drips Redux - Lorinda Pike
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #389 - Night of the Living Drips - Lorinda Pike
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #388 - Sittin' Up With the Dead - khowell
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #387 - Time for a Wake? - khowell
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #386 - The Coroner Won't Pronounce - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Yasuragi
Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #385 - Is it Dead? - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Lorinda Pike
The last Mothership has links to reference material.
Previous motherships and ROV's from this extensive live blog effort may be found here.
Again, to keep bandwidth down, please do not post images or videos.