"As arguments rage over how to clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, an examination of toxicity tests reveals flaws in the data used to determine the safety of dispersants."
"Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish congregate by the thousands off an Alabama pier. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes, never to be seen again."
"An investigation by the Murdoch-owned Sunday Times that included undercover stings documented that Japan's pro-whaling coalition at the International Whaling Commission is built in large part with a vote-buying operation aimed at small and poor nations. Japan denies the practice. The IWC meets in Morocco June 21-25 to consider a deal which would allow Japan to continue whaling."
"The town of Grand Bayou, Louisiana, has no streets and no cars, just water and boats. And now the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatens the very existence of the Atakapa-Ishak Indians who live there. 'We're facing the potential for cultural genocide,' says one tribe member."
"U.S. EPA has quietly released a full list of ingredients in the two controversial dispersants BP PLC is using to combat the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, following weeks of complaints from members of Congress and public health advocates that the dispersant manufacturer had kept its complete formula a secret from the public."
As the Gulf oil spill continues to spread and become a growing concern to more parts of the US, these key tools will help you tell and illustrate the story.
Anne Womack Kolton, who as former VP Dick Cheney's press aide defended the secrecy of his energy task force, has been brought in to fix BP's PR problems in the Gulf oil spill.
US EPA withheld information, and twice during the five-day operation BP cut off the mud pumps for long periods without letting the public know, making statements that left the impression the operation was ongoing.
The WatchDog's special Gulf oil spill issue includes stories on media access problems, withholding of information by US EPA and misleading statements by BP, mystery dispersant ingredients, BP's new ex-Cheney spokesperson, prohibiting cleanup workers talking to media, and detaining rig survivors till they sign two statements.
Oil-soaked pelicans in some coastal marshes, coated with oil from the Gulf spill, can no longer fly. The number of miles of shoreline smothered in oil continues to grow, and the oil pushes further inland.
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