St. Petersburg, Fla. - Through a chemical fingerprinting process, University of South Florida researchers have definitively linked clouds of underwater oil in the northern Gulf of Mexico to BP's runaway Deepwater Horizon well — the first direct scientific link between the subsurface oil clouds commonly known as "plumes" and the BP oil spill, USF officials said Friday.

Until now, scientists had circumstantial evidence, but lacked that definitive scientific link.

The announcement came on the same day that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that its researchers have confirmed the existence of the subsea plumes at depths of 3,300 to 4,300 feet below the surface of the Gulf. NOAA said its detection equipment also implicated the BP well in the plumes' creation.

Together, the two studies confirm what in the early days of the spill was denied by BP and viewed skeptically by NOAA's chief — that much of the crude that gushed from the Deepwater Horizon well stayed beneath the surface of the water.

"What we have learned completely changes the idea of what an oil spill is," said chemical oceanographer David Hollander, one of three USF researchers credited with the matching samples of oil taken from the water with samples from the BP well. "It has gone from a two-dimensional disaster to a three-dimensional catastrophe." More...

Come to meet candidates who want your vote in the August 24 Primary and November 2 General Election.  The event is open to the public and the whole family is invited.

The menu is grilled fish, chips, fritters, coleslaw, baked beans, sweets, tea, water.

Saturday July 24th from 2 to 6 PM

Carpenter’s Park

6738 Dixon Street in Milton

Sponsored by the Santa Rosa County Democratic Party

On the Death of the Climate Bill

David Roberts Grist Magazine

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has officially announced that there will be no climate bill this year. But Jon's post doesn't fully convey the extent of the capitulation. What's happened is total and complete surrender. There's no silver lining in this cloud.

Not only will the bill not contain any restrictions on greenhouse gases -- not even a watered-down utility-only cap -- it won't even contain the two other key policies that would have moved clean energy forward: the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and the energy efficiency standards.

Basically, Reid canvassed his caucus and figured out what they could pay for (without a carbon price for funding) and what already had 60 votes. This is it:

• Some response to the Gulf oil spill, in the form of tighter restrictions on offshore drilling.
• Some pork for natural gas vehicles. (T-Boone gets his money.)
• Home Star.
• Some money for land and water conservation. (Baucus demanded $5 billion for this, leaving other, much more worthy clean energy programs begging.)

Home Star is good, but as an energy bill? This is f*cking pathetic. It's little better than what the Republican Congress produced under George Bush.

I'm running around at Netroots Nation right now, so I don't have a lot of time, but just a few quick notes.

Blame where it is due: I'm frustrated with Obama's passivity on this issue. I'm frustrated with Reid. I'm frustrated with the environmental movement. But we should be clear about where the bulk of the responsibility for this farce ultimately lies: the Republican Party and a handful of "centrist" Democrats in the Senate. They are the ones who refused to vote for a bill, no matter how many compromises were made, no matter how clear the urgency of the problem. They are moral cowards, condemning their own children and grandchildren to suffering to serve their own narrow electoral interests. There isn't enough contempt in the world for them. So when the anger and recrimination get going -- as they already are -- let's at least try to keep the focus on the real malefactors. More...

Bobby Kennedy Interviews Nathan Thurm, Oil Company Lawyer.

Ring of Fire's Website -

Bipartisan group of senators propose plan for post oil spill recovery along Gulf coast

The bipartisan nature of the group – six senators coming from across the political aisle and across the Gulf - sends a strong signal to congressional leadership that there is broad support for such a measure, which is a rarity in Washington these days but something necessary for any legislation to pass.  The senators’ proposal, spearheaded by Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), is similar in aim to one offered just yesterday in the House by U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, a Republican from Chumuckla, Fla.   
           The House plan would offer assistance mainly to property owners, while the senators would target job creation through tax incentives to employers and for tourism. More...

Bulls Bears Donkeys and Elephants

From the New York Times – September 2008 by Tommy McCall

Since 1929, Republicans and Democrats have each controlled the presidency for nearly 40 years. So which party has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole? Well, here’s an experiment: imagine that during these years you had to invest exclusively under either Democratic or Republican administrations. How would you have fared?

As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index* would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to $300,671 at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years.