Tag Archives: bp

U.S.

Flesh eating microbes ramp up their feasting on humans in Florida!

14 July 2015 (22:31 UTC-07 Tango 01, 13 July 2015)/23 Tir 1394/27 Ramadan 1436/29 Gui-Wie 4713

“The department recommends that persons with open wounds or broken skin should avoid exposure to warm salt or brackish waters. Open wounds include cuts, scrapes or other abrasions. Most at risk for Vibrio vulnificus infections are those with underlying health concerns, particularly chronic liver disease, kidney disease or weakened immune system.”-Florida Health Department

Local news reports say at least 14 people have been attacked by ‘flesh eating’ bacteria, and seven have died so far this year.  In 2013, 41 Floridians were attacked and 12 died, meaning these little buggers (which went on a rampage after the 2006 BP oil spill) have a high kill rate.   And these numbers are just for the Gulf state of Florida.

Yet again, Florida & Flesh Eating bacteria 

U.S.

Flesh eating bacteria attacks Florida!

12 June 2015 (00:39 UTC-07 Tango 01)/22 Kordad 1394/24 Sha’ban 1436/26 Ren-Wu (4th month) 4713

People swimming off the coastline of Florida are being attacked by vibrio vulnificus.  The flesh eating bacteria is even being found in the seafood caught in the area.

Florida state health administrators report that in the past 12 months 32 people have been attacked, two have died.

Administrators are blaming warm saltwater for spreading the bacteria, but two years ago I wrote how cases of flesh eating bacteria have spiked ever since the British Petroleum oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (Did BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill create human eating bacteria?). 

ABCNews: Man Loses Leg to Flesh-Eating Bacteria

U.S.

Corporate Bio-War: Did BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill create human eating bacteria? One person dead, three wounded! Giant Dead Zone emerging!

07 July 2013 (14:06 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Sha’ban 1434/16 Tir 1391/30 Ji-Wie (5th month) 4711

“….we’re virtually on the verge of something that could end up becoming a deadly pandemic.”-John Waterman, former professor of anatomy, trained for biological warfare with U.S. Army Medical Command

In the past week, at least one person has been killed, three wounded by flesh eating bacteria, after fishing or wading along the Gulf of Mexico (for some reason some local news sources are reporting they were swimming).  It was reported by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

The gram-negative bacteria is called Vibrio vulnificus, and infects through existing wounds on your body, or ingestion.  Health officials say the four people had wounds on their skin when they got infected.  The man who died was fishing from a boat.  Another fisherman got infected when he was cut by a fishing hook.  One man cut his foot on an oyster reef, and the fourth man was reported as having Gulf water splash on him.

One man is still in the hospital.

Louisiana health department’s beach monitoring program has been testing the water at 25 locations, to find out if the levels of the bacteria are higher than normal.  Usually people with healthy immune systems can fight off Vibrio vulnificus.

It is fact that British Petroleum sprayed massive amounts of GMO (genetically modified organism) bacteria onto the massive oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, in 2006.

Was it the GMO bacteria nick named Synthia (because it’s a synthetic bacteria created using viruses)?  Some analysts warned that the GMO bacteria would affect the naturally occurring bacteria in the Gulf of Mexico, or replicate out of control.  For years now there have been reports about the expanding and evolving Blue Plague in the Gulf of Mexico, things like fish found with two mouths, biologists reporting bacteria that has never been found in the Gulf before the BP disaster, “…evidence of bizarre sickness in the phytoplankton and bacterial communities.”, persistent skin rashes on people being caused by bacteria that are not affected by antibiotics, etc.

Even BP official Mike Utsler admitted to the U.K. news media that “There is a new form of microbiology that is attacking this plume and using it as a food source.”   And that was in 2010, four years after the spill!

There have been many warnings from officials in health care, science, EPA and even some members of the U.S. Congress, but for some reason the U.S. main streamer news media, and the majority of public officials are ignoring the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico:

“Within a matter of months, the bacteria completely removed that methane. The bacteria kicked on more effectively than we expected.”-David Valentine, University of California Santa Barbara

“It would take a superhuman microbe to do what they [BP] are claiming.”-Samantha Joye, University of Georgia

“Oil-eating bacteria produce bio-films…..studies have found that bio-films are rapidly colonized by other Gram-negative bacteria, including those known to infect humans.”-Riki Ott, marine toxicologist, 2010

“This is like a major bacterial storm. It could be the reason we are seeing a variance of symptoms in different individuals. In some people, we see respiratory complications, while in others we see skin or GI symptoms. I think it is due to a multitude of colonized bacteria, which may have been triggered by BP’s disaster.”-Allison Schmidt, retired RN, 2010

“We are undertaking a huge uncontrolled experiment with the entire Gulf. They [EPA] have fallen down on the job very substantially because they allowed BP to use dispersants. Even when they told BP not to use dispersants they allowed BP to ignore their advice.”-Jerrold Nadler, U.S. congressman from New York, August 2010

“We knew going into this, and the EPA knew, that this mixture is highly toxic to many, many species. There is a whole weight of literature.”-Susan Shaw, Marine Environmental Research Institute, August 2010

“They [BP] are trying to spin this limited piece of information to make it look like dispersants are safe and that the Corexit dispersant is safe.”-Hugh Kaufman, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010

Now, researchers with the University of Michigan and Louisiana State University are warning of a record breaking Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

It could be as large as 13777 square kilometers (8561 square miles, the size of New Jersey)!

It’s being caused by record breaking algae blooms, which are feeding off the record use of farm chemicals/“nutrients” (due to the fact that GMO crops have produced super insects) that runoff into the Gulf.  Those algae are then eaten by the new GMO affected bacteria, and that process then destroys the oxygen in the water, killing off most of the marine life!

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: Incompetent Chevron creates new spill in Brazil, unknown oil spill near Seattle, U.S. fisherman still waiting for money from 2010 BP oil spill

Only a few days after Chevron announced it was hopeful in restating oil production in Brazil, ooops, there goes another one!

March 15, 2012, Chevron reported another oil spill, just 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from last November’s spill.  The spill was actually noticed on March 4, but Chevron didn’t report it until now because they didn’t know where it was coming from!

In the U.S. state of Washington, the Department of Ecology is trying to figure out what kind of oil is spilling from two sunken barges.  The oil spill is forming near Lummi Island.

Salvage companies were in the process of cutting up the sunken barges when the oil spilled out. Some officials say the oil could be coming from under the barges. The spill is affecting 200 feet of shoreline.

In U.S. states along the Gulf of Mexico, fisherman still haven’t been paid by British Petroleum.  In 2010 an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil were spilled by BP operations, shutting down the fishing industry.

The Commercial Fishermen of America say at least $2.5 billion in damages were done to the Louisiana fishing industry alone!  The numbers of fish are still below pre-spill levels!

Recently a settlement was made, but it could take years for all the money to be issued.  Another problem is that attorneys are about to unleash a campaign to convince people they can get their money fast, if they only go through their law firm.

Because it will take so long for the money to be issued, the Gulf states could still lose 2,650 to 3,975 jobs, with earnings losses of $68 million to $103 million!

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Majority of U.S. citizens say Corporate America is to blame for bad economy. The bell tolls for Bank of America and Fox News?

In the latest survey by Harris Interactive, 78% of people blame the bad economy on Corporate America (and Corporate Britain).

The annual Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient poll is a measure of how consumers view corporations.  So far the main stream media has only mentioned the good points of the poll, like Apple surging ahead of Google regarding a positive image among consumers.

What the main stream corporate controlled media isn’t reporting is that only 22% of those surveyed have a overall good impression of Corporate America!

Also, the survey is a warning sign for major banks.  According to reports, AIG, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are on the Harris poll’s critical list, because they ranked as low as Enron, Adelphia and WorldCom, right before those later companies went out of business.

Other companies that scored poorly were BP (British Petroleum), JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and News Corp (owners of Fox News).

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3 & Government Incompetence: Oil embargoes are double edged swords. Iran about to swipe back at Europe, could stop all oil shipments voluntarily!

Europe is dependent on foreign oil.  The European Union was pushed into joining the United States in placing an embargo on Iranian oil (in exchange for exempting British Petroleum).  Now Iran says, so what, we’ll voluntarily cut off European oil supplies!

Lawmakers in the Iranian Majlis (similar to a parliament or congress) will decide a new bill on January 29, 2012.  If approved it would cease all oil shipments to Europe by the end of next week.  That’s significant, because the EU oil embargo involves only new oil contracts, not existing ones.

So, in reality the EU oil embargo is a paper tiger, because it doesn’t involve existing oil deals (part of the deal with the U.S. and exempting BP).  The Iranians have realized that oil is, at this point, their greatest weapon.

The United Kingdom is already suffering increasing fuel costs, and their fuel stations are running dry, because of internal problems.  So how stupid are countries who rely on foreign oil suppliers, when they threaten their own oil suppliers?

Could Iran voluntarily halting oil shipments, to U.S. and EU buyers, be a greater incentive to go to war, then their alleged nuclear weapons program?   Modern societies don’t run on nuclear bombs (not counting the ticking time bomb nuclear power plants), they run on oil.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3 & Government Hypocricy: BP to be exempt from Iran oil embargo, proof the U.S. is controled by the British Empire

There are reports that say British Petroleum (BP) is to be exempted from the U.S. and EU oil embargoes.  It was part of the deal to get the European Union to impose sanctions against Iran.

BP was born out of the old British controlled Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Despite the decades of sanctions against Iran (since the early 1980s) BP has still managed to do business with Iran.

BP, and a Norwegian company (Statoil), are currently running a natural gas operation in the Caspian Sea in co-operation with Iran, called Shah Deniz.  But back in the United Kingdom, sanctions forced BP to shut down a North Sea gas operation, because it was 50% owned by Iran!

British officials do not want anymore halts to BP operations, so they lobbied hard with the United States to get BP exempt from any European/U.S. oil embargo.

 

International, U.S.

Japanese to pay for part of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster

While British Petroleum fights to pin blame on others for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, they somehow have convinced one of its Japanese business partners to pay for part of it.

MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading firm Mitsui and Company, will pay just over $1 billion to cover damages and clean up.  MOEX is a 10% shareholder of BP.

British Petroleum is struggling to come up with an estimated $40 billion to pay for damages and clean up.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

BP blames rig owner for Gulf of Mexico oil disaster

British Petroleum is suing Transocean for at least $40 billion in damages.  BP claims the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history was caused by the failure of every safety system on the Deepwater Horizon rig.

BP is also suing Cameron International, claiming they provided a faulty blowout preventer.

Transocean, and Cameron International are suing BP, saying British Petroleum caused the problems, by making decisions based on cost savings, not safety.

Transocean is also suing Cameron International, and Halliburton, as well.

Business/Economics, Idaho, Opinion, Technology, U.S.

Wind Power not welcome in Idaho? Turn around for Pocatello?

For those of us, in Idaho, that like the idea of renewable, clean, energy sources, like wind and solar, it seems efforts to bring wind power to our state is blowing against the wind.

Just a few years ago the Idaho media was full of positive stories about wind energy bringing needed jobs, and power, to the state.

Now efforts to stop wind power expansion in the state, in the past couple of years, have made it all the way to the state capitol.  In April the legislature refused, by a slim margin, to extend tax credits for wind farms.

A lobbyist for one company said they would not be able to build any new wind projects without it.  It’s also true that many big (and evil) companies have gotten their hands in the Idaho wind power cookie jar, like General Electric (Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster) and British Petroleum (Gulf of Mexico oil disaster), so  those particular corporations certainly don’t need tax breaks.

The point is that for the past couple of years there has been an all out effort to stop wind power development in the state of Idaho.

Here on the eastern side of the state, one city who originally welcomed the wind, is now saying they made a mistake.

Idaho Falls, in Bonneville County, is energy independent, providing their own power from hydroelectric dams on the Snake River.  But as their city grew, their electric power couldn’t keep up.  Idaho Falls looked to wind power to maintain their energy independence.  Now you can see wind turbines east of the city.  To independent minded tech junkies it looks cool, but, apparently to home buyers it’s a blight.

Idaho Falls real-estate agents claim they lost sales because of the wind farms: “There is nothing more tempting to the buyer than the smell of freshly baked cookies,” but when they saw the “…monstrous turbines, they marched right out of the house.”-Connie Clawson, Idaho Falls real-estate agent

Property near the turbines have seen their values go down.  Cities and counties don’t like that ’cause that’s where they get most of their tax revenues from.  As a result Idaho Falls halted any more wind turbine development.

In Bingham County, Idaho, officials denied the second phase of a proposed wind farm, after approving the first phase.  Officially it was blamed on a vague 1984 county code.  But one county commissioner admitted that property values was a factor:  “My biggest concern was probably property values that would be affected.”-Ladd Carter, Bingham County Commissioner

Here’s a point I’d like to make about property values.  Think of who really benefits from high property values:  Real estate agents, counties and cities and school districts that rely on the property tax, and property speculators (remember, those people who created the housing market bubble).  High property values don’t really benefit the people who plan on living in their homes for a long, long time.

Several years ago, people in Pocatello wondered what was to become of the abandoned FMC/Astaris phosphorus refining plant.  The city announced a plan to turn it into a coal fired power plant.  Residents were shocked, mainly because the FMC site was the cause of a Federal Superfund cleanup, and the nearby Native American reservation had successfully sued over pollution issues.

FMC site

People thought; we have plenty of wind here, why not a wind farm?  The elected officials (supposedly representing the “people”) of Pocatello, and the county of Bannock, played a delaying game with the public.  They held several public hearings, in which it became clear they did not want to hear from people arguing for the wind farm.  Finally the officials declared that there would be no more public hearings on the issue, and nothing has been heard since about using the old FMC/Astaris site for a wind farm.  (Apparently the company involved in the coal fired plant plan, decided to abandon the FMC/Astaris site, and look into a site nearer to American Falls)

Pocatello did have a wind turbine manufacturer in operation, but right before December 25, 2010, they announced they were leaving town.  Nordic Windpower moved to Kanasas City, Missouri, after less than two years of operations in Pocatello.

There is some hope for wind power.  Pocatello voters elected new officials, and recently the city revised building codes for small wind mills.  “If we really want to promote wind power in the city, which I believe we do, we need to make it easier for wind turbines to go in and delineate where they would be welcome and where they maybe would be inappropriate.”-Marjanna Hulet, Pocatello Planning and Zoning Commission

The Pocatello Community Charter School became the first site for small wind mill (so small you have to look for it).  It wasn’t cheap, even though it was part of the ‘Wind for Schools’ program, they still had to raise funds from sponsors.

 

Charter school windmill in Pocatello.

There is a new project in Downey (same county that Pocatello is in; Bannock), Idaho, that will use “accelerated wind turbines”.  The company, Pavilion (PVRE), claims the turbines will maximize wind, so even areas with low wind speeds can use wind power.  That company is also looking at using the former Nordic Windpower facilities (in the old Pocatello naval gun plant) as a factory for its accelerated wind turbines.

Then there is the Federal BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land in south east Idaho, that’s scheduled for use as a wind farm.  Unfortunately most of the power is destined for Nevada. And despite the company’s name, RES America, it’s run by a foreign company.   RES is based in the United Kingdom (Britain).

Also, Ridgeline Energy (another foreign owned company, Veolia of France), is building a 79.2 megawatt wind farm in Rockland, near American Falls (also in eastern Idaho).

Photos by: Alex Hutchins (click on the pics to make them bigger)