ianstone
06-14-2010, 08:11 PM
Breaking News
11:15pm UK, Monday June 14, 2010
Obama: Oil Spill Is An Environmental 9/11
[/URL]
Sally Arthy, Washington News Editor, Alabama
Barack Obama says the US is confronting the largest environmental disaster and largest clean-up operation in its history following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Speaking in Mississippi at the start of a tour of the affected region, the president added he is doing everything in his power to protect the Gulf way of life and will continue to hold BP responsible.
"The full resources of our government are being mobilised to confront this disaster," he said.
"Folks are going to be frustrated and some folks are going to be angry. But I promise you this: Things are going to return to normal."
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week2/15649144.jpg President Obama meets local residents at the start of his two-day visit
As he began his tour, the president framed the oil spill as an environmental 9/11.
"In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come," Mr Obama said.
His visit comes as two US politicians have accused BP of repeatedly choosing risky procedures in order to reduce costs.
"BP appears to have made multiple decisions for economic reasons that increased the danger of a catastrophic well failure," congressmen Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak said in a letter to BP chief executive Tony Hayward.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week2/15649273.jpg The damning letter to Tony Hayward
"If this is what happened, BP's carelessness and complacency have inflicted a heavy toll on the Gulf, its inhabitants, and the workers on the rig."
During his tour, Mr Obama will go on to visit Alabama and Florida before returning to Washington on Tuesday when he will address the nation for the first time from the Oval office.
Mr Obama was briefed by Mr Allen on his three previous visits to the area after the Deepwater Horizon rig, just off the Louisiana coast, exploded on April 20.
View Deepwater Horizon oil spill (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gulf-Of-Mexico-Oil-Spill-Obama-Flies-To-Region-On-Two-Day-Visit-As-BP-Board-Discusses-Dividend/Article/201006215648704?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Regi on_0&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15648704_Gulf_Of_Me#commen ts) in a larger map
This is a crucial week for BP with a board meeting in London (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/BP-Has-Spent-11bn-On-The-US-Oil-Spill-And-May-Delay-Its-Dividend-Payment-Because-Of-US-Pressure/Article/201006215648782?lpos=Business_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15648782_BP_Has_Spent_%3F1.1bn_On_The_ US_Oil_Spill_And_May_Delay_Its_Dividend_Payment_Be cause_Of_US_Pressure) before senior executives fly to Washington and its boss testifies before Congress.
President Obama is expected to press BP to set up a $20bn (£13.5bn) fund to pay for compensation claims.
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Tony_Hayward) is expected to meet Mr Obama on Wednesday to discuss the spill before he testifies to Congress the following day.
The partly-contained leak is continuing to spew around 40,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf every day and the slick is spreading.
Large globs of oil have washed ashore on the golden sands of Orange Beach and neighbouring Gulf Shores in Alabama.
Local residents and businesses there are becoming increasingly frustrated by the response to the spill from both BP and the US government.
BP chief Tony Hayward tells me he remains confident that the company has the financial resources to deal with the spill amid the first real signs that it is getting on top of the crisis. (http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/Post:efbd67da-70b8-4c03-b199-f6d7f9f5f5c3)
Sky City editor Mark Kleinman
Nicky Passion, who attended an oil spill protest, asked: "Where is Obama? We want him on our beaches… we want to take him around and show him first-hand how we live here and what makes our lives so special on the Gulf coast."
Restaurant owner Charlene Haber says her takings are down as tourists stay away from the affected coastline.
On a hot weekend in June her lunchtime tables would normally be full, but not now. Her business has survived hurricanes but she is not sure it will survive the spill.
"With a hurricane, it comes in… you know what your damages are, it goes out, you pick up the pieces. Now we're like sitting ducks with someone just waiting to pull the trigger at us."
There is also growing anger at the length of time it is taking BP to pay compensation to people losing income.
Joint Incident command spokesman Brian Sibley said: "We share their frustration. This process is not going to be over tomorrow or next month, it's going to go on and on.
"We've got a lot of work to do and so we're working as hard as we can to get all the right people to the right places to get it cleaned up and get everything back to normal as soon as we can."
Bookmark the story
Obama: Oil Spill Is An Environmental 9/11
MORE ON THIS STORY:
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week1/15643577.jpg (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Oil-Leak-BP-Chief-Tony-Hayward-Set-To-Meet-President-Barack-Obama-To-Discuss-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Spill/Article/201006215648600?lpos=Business_Article_Related_Cont ent_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15648600_Oil_Leak%3A_BP_Chief_Tony_Hay ward_Set_To_Meet_President_Barack_Obama_To_Discuss _Gulf_Of_Mexico_Spill)Jun 13,2010
BP Chief To Discuss Leak With Obama http://news.sky.com/sky-news/app/img/chv_12_red.gif (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Oil-Leak-BP-Chief-Tony-Hayward-Set-To-Meet-President-Barack-Obama-To-Discuss-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Spill/Article/201006215648600?lpos=Business_Article_Related_Cont ent_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15648600_Oil_Leak%3A_BP_Chief_Tony_Hay ward_Set_To_Meet_President_Barack_Obama_To_Discuss _Gulf_Of_Mexico_Spill)
Video
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week2/15648634.jpg 2:17 (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/BP-Oil-Spill-US-Coastguard-Tells-Oil-Giant-It-Has-48-Hours-To-Come-Up-With-A-Tougher-Plan-To-Clean-Up-The-Disaster-As-Barack-Obama-Prepares-To-Visit-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Again/Video/201006215648630?lpos=video_Article_Related_Content _Region_2&lid=VIDEO_15648630_BP_Oil_Spill%3A_US_Coastguard_T ells_Oil_Giant_It_Has_48-Hours_To_Come_Up_With_A_Tougher_Plan_To_Clean-Up_The_Disaster_As_Barack_Obama_Prepares_To_Visit_ Gulf_Of_Mexico_Again)
Jun 13,2010
BP Given 48-Hrs To Improve Clean-Uphttp://news.sky.com/sky-news/app/img/chv_12_red.gif (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/BP-Oil-Spill-US-Coastguard-Tells-Oil-Giant-It-Has-48-Hours-To-Come-Up-With-A-Tougher-Plan-To-Clean-Up-The-Disaster-As-Barack-Obama-Prepares-To-Visit-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Again/Video/201006215648630?lpos=video_Article_Related_Content _Region_2&lid=VIDEO_15648630_BP_Oil_Spill%3A_US_Coastguard_T ells_Oil_Giant_It_Has_48-Hours_To_Come_Up_With_A_Tougher_Plan_To_Clean-Up_The_Disaster_As_Barack_Obama_Prepares_To_Visit_ Gulf_Of_Mexico_Again)
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week1/15644347.jpg (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Oil-Spill-US-President-Barack-Obama-Seeks-To-Ease-Growing-Tensions-With-Britain-Over-Spill/Article/201006215648098?lpos=Business_Article_Related_Cont ent_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15648098_Oil_Spill%3A_US_President_Bar ack_Obama_Seeks_To_Ease_Growing_Tensions_With_Brit ain_Over_Spill__)Jun 13,2010
Obama Bid To Ease Oil Leak Tensions http://news.sky.com/sky-news/app/img/chv_12_red.gif (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Oil-Spill-US-President-Barack-Obama-Seeks-To-Ease-Growing-Tensions-With-Britain-Over-Spill/Article/201006215648098?lpos=Business_Article_Related_Cont ent_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15648098_Oil_Spill%3A_US_President_Bar ack_Obama_Seeks_To_Ease_Growing_Tensions_With_Brit ain_Over_Spill__)
Your Comments
Sort comments by: Newest Oldest (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gulf-Of-Mexico-Oil-Spill-Obama-Flies-To-Region-On-Two-Day-Visit-As-BP-Board-Discusses-Dividend/Article/201006215648704?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Regi on_0&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15648704_Gulf_Of_Me#) Recommended (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gulf-Of-Mexico-Oil-Spill-Obama-Flies-To-Region-On-Two-Day-Visit-As-BP-Board-Discusses-Dividend/Article/201006215648704?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Regi on_0&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15648704_Gulf_Of_Me#)
Posted by: [URL="http://blogs.news.sky.com/profile/CharleyV"]CharleyV (http://blogs.news.sky.com/profile/CharleyV) on June 14, 2010 4:53 PM
I know i could be wrong here as i don't know much about how massive global businesses like BP work. But surley they will have some form of "insurance" against the liability of major spills such as this one.
When this is all over and done with, the insurance companies will have to pay out. they in turn are underwritten. this could be the end of other individuals and other companies who do this underwritting. Who knows who these individuals or companies are?
on June 14, 2010 4:20 PM
I am sorry, but this whole American having shoddy safety standards...you can't blame America if BP decided to lower their standards because the standards are lower....you are all being totally ridiculous and the more you fuel this Anti-American/Anti-British stupidty with your boring diatribe about who is to blame instead of actually getting off your butts and helping, such as donating money to the humane society to help the animals, or putting money into funds for the people who lost their livilihoods instead of sitting round doing nothing but spouting vitrilolic crap than you are just as bad as the people you are moaning about. Do something useful instead of pointing the blame, all you are doing it stirring up hated between two countries for no reason, pointing fingers, acting like little boys at war.....get a grip of yourselves, do something to make the planet nicer instead of making it more horrible and grow up.
11:15pm UK, Monday June 14, 2010
Obama: Oil Spill Is An Environmental 9/11
[/URL]
Sally Arthy, Washington News Editor, Alabama
Barack Obama says the US is confronting the largest environmental disaster and largest clean-up operation in its history following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Speaking in Mississippi at the start of a tour of the affected region, the president added he is doing everything in his power to protect the Gulf way of life and will continue to hold BP responsible.
"The full resources of our government are being mobilised to confront this disaster," he said.
"Folks are going to be frustrated and some folks are going to be angry. But I promise you this: Things are going to return to normal."
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week2/15649144.jpg President Obama meets local residents at the start of his two-day visit
As he began his tour, the president framed the oil spill as an environmental 9/11.
"In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come," Mr Obama said.
His visit comes as two US politicians have accused BP of repeatedly choosing risky procedures in order to reduce costs.
"BP appears to have made multiple decisions for economic reasons that increased the danger of a catastrophic well failure," congressmen Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak said in a letter to BP chief executive Tony Hayward.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week2/15649273.jpg The damning letter to Tony Hayward
"If this is what happened, BP's carelessness and complacency have inflicted a heavy toll on the Gulf, its inhabitants, and the workers on the rig."
During his tour, Mr Obama will go on to visit Alabama and Florida before returning to Washington on Tuesday when he will address the nation for the first time from the Oval office.
Mr Obama was briefed by Mr Allen on his three previous visits to the area after the Deepwater Horizon rig, just off the Louisiana coast, exploded on April 20.
View Deepwater Horizon oil spill (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gulf-Of-Mexico-Oil-Spill-Obama-Flies-To-Region-On-Two-Day-Visit-As-BP-Board-Discusses-Dividend/Article/201006215648704?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Regi on_0&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15648704_Gulf_Of_Me#commen ts) in a larger map
This is a crucial week for BP with a board meeting in London (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/BP-Has-Spent-11bn-On-The-US-Oil-Spill-And-May-Delay-Its-Dividend-Payment-Because-Of-US-Pressure/Article/201006215648782?lpos=Business_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15648782_BP_Has_Spent_%3F1.1bn_On_The_ US_Oil_Spill_And_May_Delay_Its_Dividend_Payment_Be cause_Of_US_Pressure) before senior executives fly to Washington and its boss testifies before Congress.
President Obama is expected to press BP to set up a $20bn (£13.5bn) fund to pay for compensation claims.
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward (http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Tony_Hayward) is expected to meet Mr Obama on Wednesday to discuss the spill before he testifies to Congress the following day.
The partly-contained leak is continuing to spew around 40,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf every day and the slick is spreading.
Large globs of oil have washed ashore on the golden sands of Orange Beach and neighbouring Gulf Shores in Alabama.
Local residents and businesses there are becoming increasingly frustrated by the response to the spill from both BP and the US government.
BP chief Tony Hayward tells me he remains confident that the company has the financial resources to deal with the spill amid the first real signs that it is getting on top of the crisis. (http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/Post:efbd67da-70b8-4c03-b199-f6d7f9f5f5c3)
Sky City editor Mark Kleinman
Nicky Passion, who attended an oil spill protest, asked: "Where is Obama? We want him on our beaches… we want to take him around and show him first-hand how we live here and what makes our lives so special on the Gulf coast."
Restaurant owner Charlene Haber says her takings are down as tourists stay away from the affected coastline.
On a hot weekend in June her lunchtime tables would normally be full, but not now. Her business has survived hurricanes but she is not sure it will survive the spill.
"With a hurricane, it comes in… you know what your damages are, it goes out, you pick up the pieces. Now we're like sitting ducks with someone just waiting to pull the trigger at us."
There is also growing anger at the length of time it is taking BP to pay compensation to people losing income.
Joint Incident command spokesman Brian Sibley said: "We share their frustration. This process is not going to be over tomorrow or next month, it's going to go on and on.
"We've got a lot of work to do and so we're working as hard as we can to get all the right people to the right places to get it cleaned up and get everything back to normal as soon as we can."
Bookmark the story
Obama: Oil Spill Is An Environmental 9/11
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week1/15643577.jpg (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Oil-Leak-BP-Chief-Tony-Hayward-Set-To-Meet-President-Barack-Obama-To-Discuss-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Spill/Article/201006215648600?lpos=Business_Article_Related_Cont ent_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15648600_Oil_Leak%3A_BP_Chief_Tony_Hay ward_Set_To_Meet_President_Barack_Obama_To_Discuss _Gulf_Of_Mexico_Spill)Jun 13,2010
BP Chief To Discuss Leak With Obama http://news.sky.com/sky-news/app/img/chv_12_red.gif (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Oil-Leak-BP-Chief-Tony-Hayward-Set-To-Meet-President-Barack-Obama-To-Discuss-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Spill/Article/201006215648600?lpos=Business_Article_Related_Cont ent_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15648600_Oil_Leak%3A_BP_Chief_Tony_Hay ward_Set_To_Meet_President_Barack_Obama_To_Discuss _Gulf_Of_Mexico_Spill)
Video
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Jun/Week2/15648634.jpg 2:17 (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/BP-Oil-Spill-US-Coastguard-Tells-Oil-Giant-It-Has-48-Hours-To-Come-Up-With-A-Tougher-Plan-To-Clean-Up-The-Disaster-As-Barack-Obama-Prepares-To-Visit-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Again/Video/201006215648630?lpos=video_Article_Related_Content _Region_2&lid=VIDEO_15648630_BP_Oil_Spill%3A_US_Coastguard_T ells_Oil_Giant_It_Has_48-Hours_To_Come_Up_With_A_Tougher_Plan_To_Clean-Up_The_Disaster_As_Barack_Obama_Prepares_To_Visit_ Gulf_Of_Mexico_Again)
Jun 13,2010
BP Given 48-Hrs To Improve Clean-Uphttp://news.sky.com/sky-news/app/img/chv_12_red.gif (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/BP-Oil-Spill-US-Coastguard-Tells-Oil-Giant-It-Has-48-Hours-To-Come-Up-With-A-Tougher-Plan-To-Clean-Up-The-Disaster-As-Barack-Obama-Prepares-To-Visit-Gulf-Of-Mexico-Again/Video/201006215648630?lpos=video_Article_Related_Content _Region_2&lid=VIDEO_15648630_BP_Oil_Spill%3A_US_Coastguard_T ells_Oil_Giant_It_Has_48-Hours_To_Come_Up_With_A_Tougher_Plan_To_Clean-Up_The_Disaster_As_Barack_Obama_Prepares_To_Visit_ Gulf_Of_Mexico_Again)
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Your Comments
Sort comments by: Newest Oldest (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gulf-Of-Mexico-Oil-Spill-Obama-Flies-To-Region-On-Two-Day-Visit-As-BP-Board-Discusses-Dividend/Article/201006215648704?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Regi on_0&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15648704_Gulf_Of_Me#) Recommended (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gulf-Of-Mexico-Oil-Spill-Obama-Flies-To-Region-On-Two-Day-Visit-As-BP-Board-Discusses-Dividend/Article/201006215648704?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Regi on_0&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15648704_Gulf_Of_Me#)
Posted by: [URL="http://blogs.news.sky.com/profile/CharleyV"]CharleyV (http://blogs.news.sky.com/profile/CharleyV) on June 14, 2010 4:53 PM
I know i could be wrong here as i don't know much about how massive global businesses like BP work. But surley they will have some form of "insurance" against the liability of major spills such as this one.
When this is all over and done with, the insurance companies will have to pay out. they in turn are underwritten. this could be the end of other individuals and other companies who do this underwritting. Who knows who these individuals or companies are?
on June 14, 2010 4:20 PM
I am sorry, but this whole American having shoddy safety standards...you can't blame America if BP decided to lower their standards because the standards are lower....you are all being totally ridiculous and the more you fuel this Anti-American/Anti-British stupidty with your boring diatribe about who is to blame instead of actually getting off your butts and helping, such as donating money to the humane society to help the animals, or putting money into funds for the people who lost their livilihoods instead of sitting round doing nothing but spouting vitrilolic crap than you are just as bad as the people you are moaning about. Do something useful instead of pointing the blame, all you are doing it stirring up hated between two countries for no reason, pointing fingers, acting like little boys at war.....get a grip of yourselves, do something to make the planet nicer instead of making it more horrible and grow up.