In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel Republican Daniel Webster admitted to sending out the “watch list” flier that was recently handed out at a town hall held by Tim Griffin (R-AR) . Webster claimed he just wanted to “share some friendly advice” with other Republicans, notably Phil Gingrey of Georgia and Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, two fellow representatives he sent the document to. Webster’s nonsensical explanation was that he wanted to help other members “manage” town hall meetings and protesters that attend them. What got sent out, though, had no information about how to manage anything, and instead targeted six central Florida activists with inaccurate and irrelevant information. The Orlando Sentinel , notable for it’s right wing leanings, uncritically accepted Webster’s take on the protesters, saying that they “disrupted” town hall meetings, ignoring the fact that all of the protesters were Webster’s constituents who had legitimate questions the member of Congress refused to address. Webster did not create the documents himself and claims they came from a constituent who he refuses to name, hypocritical in light of the tone of the flier, which tells journalists to ask who is providing information because they might be associated with groups that have an agenda that drives their actions. One of the targeted activists echoed this sentiment: “I think it’s pretty weird. Someone asks a legitimate question, and all of the sudden somebody’s got a dossier on you,” said Orlando resident Ron Parsell. “It’s the type of thing they’d do in old Russia.” Webster was unapologetic about sending out the flier, offering the weak response that blamed the activists for taking offense. “If they [the six on the watch list] in any way feel injured in it, I would [apologize] for sure,” said Webster, adding that he didn’t see it as a big issue. “Me — I would not need an apology,” he said. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel (see video above), Webster echoed the handout by suggesting that his protesters are former members of ACORN and MoveOn. Webster implied that the protesters might be violent, saying that he got a letter from a constituent who left a town hall meeting because she was afraid. Tamecka Pierce, another one of those targeted, rejects Webster’s downplaying of the handout. “It’s scary to be put on a watch list. I think it will discourage people from speaking out. I don’t know what repercussions this will have in my personal life…They’re trying to demonize us because we’re pushing back on cuts that affect me and others.” Tim Griffin’s explanation was even stranger than Webster’s. He explicitly said the point of distrubting the watch lists was to “chill” what he called “political theater.” He also inexplicably said: “I didn’t know they were real people.”
Continue reading …RNC Chairman Priebus Turns Tables on CNN Anchor Dismissing His ‘Talking Points’ on Obama Inaction
August 19, 2011 No CommentRNC Chairman Reince Priebus got into a somewhat testy exchange over the President's lack of a jobs plan with CNN's Christine Romans on today's American Morning. “Sounds like you're the one with the talking points,” Priebus replied to Romans's assertion that he was just repeating GOP talking points. Priebus also noted that only congressional Republicans had offered any solutions to the nation's economic problems.
Continue reading …Clearing: Ucas tells unplaced students with good A-levels to try again next year
August 19, 2011 No Comment
Candidates with top marks told that it is better to wait Disappointed A-level candidates with good grades are being urged to apply again to university next year, despite the rise in tuition fees, while nearly 402,000 applicants have already been accepted on to degree courses. A further 78,000 are awaiting a decision on their applications, including some who narrowly missed out on their offers, and others who are appealing against their grades. Some of these candidates will not be successful, increasing the number of places that may be available in clearing. The total number of students accepted to university this autumn is expected to be the same as last year – about 480,000. There were more than 680,000 applicants to university this year, up by 1% on last year. Mary Curnock Cook , the chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), said: “Those people who have good grades and for whatever reason haven’t got an offer, it is absolutely the right thing to do to apply next year with the grades in your pocket. You don’t have the agonising wait till August. You will have an unconditional offer, which you may well have before Christmas.” David Willetts, the minister for universities and science, has suggested there will be about 40,000 places in clearing this year; in 2010, almost 47,000 people got a place through clearing. According to Ucas, there are 29,009 courses offering clearing vacancies, some of which may have more than one place. About 195,000 applicants are eligible for clearing, so far. Ucas said that, based on previous years’ admissions, it expected that aroundabout half of these would be applicants whose results were not strong enough for them to go on to their chosen courses. Usage statistics indicated that interest in Ucas’s clearing vacancy search was “almost identical” to last year. Curnock Cook said: “If there were a significant increase in demand for clearing places you would expect that to show up on the clearing vacancy search data. But what you see is an almost identical pattern.” She suggested that some well-qualified candidates were likely to hold back from clearing and re-apply next year, despite the increase in fees. “I think there is an understanding about clearing – that there don’t tend to be many vacancies in the more selective type of courses, they have filled up their places. “Clearing vacancies and courses are those which are slightly less in demand, or where the university or college is actively recruiting to fill up its places. People know that’s not the best way to get placed.” The Ucas Track website , where candidates confirm places, was forced to shut down temporarily on Thursday morning after a surge in demand. But that shutdown did not affect clearing, which began in the afternoon. The spike in visits to Ucas Track hit 644 a second at its peak and is being attributed to users finding out the site had been “soft-launched” and alerting friends through Facebook and Twitter. More than 250,000 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland got their their A-level results on Thursday. Private schools dominated the traditional subjects deemed best for entry to the most competitive universities. Under plans being considered by the government, schools could be judged on the numbers of pupils who go on to study at Oxford or Cambridge . The measure was included in a presentation given by the Department for Education (DfE) to local councils last month, the Times Educational Supplement (TES) reported. A spokesman for the said: “We have committed to publishing as much destination data as possible. This will include how many children get to Oxbridge from a school but also all the different universities and FE colleges. “Parents should know how good a school is at getting their children into higher and further education. Alongside the publication of all exam results this kind of data will help parents make informed decisions about where they send their children to school.” Some of the UK’s biggest employers are looking beyond the traditional graduate jobs market and looking to recruit high-achieving school leavers, amid concerns about the impact university tuition fees will have on the quality and social mix of graduates entering the workforce. The UK’s “big four” accountancy firms, which between them recruit several thousand graduates each year, have established degree-equivalent school-leaver training programmes; graduate recruitment experts predict the trend will spread to other industries. Courses typically offer a five-or six-year structured training programme, with applicants requiring about 300 Ucas points, the equivalent of three A-level grade Bs or more, to qualify. Privately, large graduate employers fear that tuition fees will deter brighter students from less affluent backgrounds from going to university, which could in turn impact on their businesses. PricewaterhouseCoopers has run a school-leaver programme since 2008; this year accountancy firm received 1,600 applications for 100 places. A-Level stats 480,000: Total number of new places available in 2011 401,957: Applicants placed in UK universities and colleges by midnight on Thursday (up 7,521 on last year) 78,141: Still awaiting a decision on their original application (including appeals) 195,415: Applicants who have either not received, accepted or met the conditions of their offer and so are eligible for clearing 47,000: Students who got a place through clearing in 2010 (this year’s number is expected to be similar) Additional reporting by Graham Snowdon Clearing Higher education University guide David Willetts Students Tuition fees Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk
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Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
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