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"Did Deepwater Methane Hydrates Cause the BP Gulf Explosion?"

The vast deposits of deepwater methane hydrates may have been a major factor in the Deepwater Horizon blowout and explosion. Methane hydrates expand 164 times in volume when destablilized by heat and reduction in pressure. Such conditions may have existed the night of the explosion, causing a quickly expanding bubble of methane gas to shoot up the drill column before exploding on the platform on the ocean's surface.

Source: SolveClimate, 05/20/2010

"MMS Ignores Environmental Permits"

"The Minerals Management Service has routinely issued drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico since 2009 without obtaining other federal permits needed to account for the toll energy exploration would take on endangered species and marine mammals, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post."

Source: Post Carbon, 05/14/2010

Kerry, Lieberman End Suspense With Climate Bill Rollout

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released their draft Senate climate and energy bill Wednesday. It pairs a cap-and-trade scheme with major concessions to the fossil-fuel and nuclear industries. Weighing in close to 1,000 pages, it covers a cross section of the nation's top environmental and energy issues. Both business groups and environmental groups have mixed reactions. The big question now is whether the bill can garner enough votes to succeed on the Senate floor.

Source: ClimateWire, 05/13/2010

"Oil Spill Investigators Find Critical Problems in Blowout Preventer"

"A House energy panel investigation has found that the blowout preventer that failed to stop a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had a dead battery in its control pod, leaks in its hydraulic system, a "useless" test version of a key component and a cutting tool that wasn't strong enough to shear through steel joints in the well pipe and stop the flow of oil."

Source: Wash Post, 05/13/2010

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