Gulf of Mexico: A bit of good news, plus more not so good
Good news; former TS Bonnie is fizzling out as a minor depression. Picayune
Meanwhile:
Palm Beach Post: Deep sea plume in Gulf 'changes concept' of an oil spill
"micro-droplets of oil, too small for the human eye, have streamed out from the spill site in plumes, adding a third dimension beyond the smelly slick and glumpy tarballs spreading across the map. [...] University of South Florida researchers said they confirmed that the invisible plumes they detected in May, 50 miles from the well, near the DeSoto Canyon that ferries nutrient-rich deep-sea water to Florida's western shore, did indeed come from the BP spill site."
"At the deepest level, the USF researchers found oil at about 0.75 parts per million. That's less than the 1 part per million that's commonly considered acutely toxic, Hollander said, but he cautioned that exposure time also matters. Some sealife have likely been exposed to those levels of oil for months, potentially making it as damaging as more concentrated oil, he added. The oil droplets could coat fish gills, be eaten by larval fish, or kill fish eggs, he said. As a result, the dispersed oil could have a long-term impact on the Gulf's marine life, he said, a picture that may not be fully understood for years."
Alternet/The Nation: BP Hides Use of Black Prison Labor For Oil Gusher Cleanup
"When the BP oil gusher mess first began, BP hired prison labor in order to reap tax benefits instead of hiring coastal residents whose livelihoods crashed with the explosion of the wellhead. When the community expressed their outrage, BP did not stop the practice of using prison labor. No, apparently BP simply tried to literally cover-up the use of prison labor by changing the clothing worn by the inmates to give the appearance of a civilian workforce."
And on the how the disaster was allowed to happen in the first place front:
Bloomberg: Alarms Were Disabled on Transocean's Gulf Oil Rig
Meanwhile:
Palm Beach Post: Deep sea plume in Gulf 'changes concept' of an oil spill
"micro-droplets of oil, too small for the human eye, have streamed out from the spill site in plumes, adding a third dimension beyond the smelly slick and glumpy tarballs spreading across the map. [...] University of South Florida researchers said they confirmed that the invisible plumes they detected in May, 50 miles from the well, near the DeSoto Canyon that ferries nutrient-rich deep-sea water to Florida's western shore, did indeed come from the BP spill site."
"At the deepest level, the USF researchers found oil at about 0.75 parts per million. That's less than the 1 part per million that's commonly considered acutely toxic, Hollander said, but he cautioned that exposure time also matters. Some sealife have likely been exposed to those levels of oil for months, potentially making it as damaging as more concentrated oil, he added. The oil droplets could coat fish gills, be eaten by larval fish, or kill fish eggs, he said. As a result, the dispersed oil could have a long-term impact on the Gulf's marine life, he said, a picture that may not be fully understood for years."
Alternet/The Nation: BP Hides Use of Black Prison Labor For Oil Gusher Cleanup
"When the BP oil gusher mess first began, BP hired prison labor in order to reap tax benefits instead of hiring coastal residents whose livelihoods crashed with the explosion of the wellhead. When the community expressed their outrage, BP did not stop the practice of using prison labor. No, apparently BP simply tried to literally cover-up the use of prison labor by changing the clothing worn by the inmates to give the appearance of a civilian workforce."
And on the how the disaster was allowed to happen in the first place front:
Bloomberg: Alarms Were Disabled on Transocean's Gulf Oil Rig