Cost of oil spill tops $6 billion as hole is plugged

Although the damage the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has done to the environment is the subject of much debate, nobody is arguing about just how much the incident has damaged the oil company's finances.

BP has reported that as the company and its specialists work to clean up the spill, the financial wizards at the group can announce that the total cost of the spill so far has reached over $6.1 billion.

This includes some $319 million in compensation paid to the US Government and a number of other organizations. BP has also confirmed that no oil is leaking into the Gulf following a successful effort to plug the well on July 15.

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Another oil spill erupts in the Gulf of Mexico

As if to affirm what we already thought about oil companies working in the Gulf of Mexico, MSNBC has reported that yet another oil leakage has started after a tug boat hit a major oil platform.

The oil platform is now spewing oil and natural gas into the Louisiana marsh area, the network's site posted this morning. [MSNBC]

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'A Whale' to the rescue; Is this the saviour that the Gulf has been waiting for?

The World's largest oil skimmer is currently steaming its way toward the Gulf of Mexico - as it promises to be one of the last great chances for the government and environmental experts to save the area, which has been ravaged environmentally by a mass oil spill perpetrated by oil company BP. 

According to the Washington Post:

The Taiwanese vessel dubbed "A Whale," which its owners describe as the largest oil skimmer in the world, began showing its capabilities on Saturday just north of the Macondo Deepwater well site. An April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig there killed 11 workers and began what is now the largest oil spill in Gulf history. The vessel will cruise a 25-square-mile test site through Sunday, according to TMT Shipping, the company that created A Whale by retrofitting an oil tanker after the explosion sent millions of gallons of crude spilling into the Gulf.

BP plans to pump heavy mud through one relief well to stop the leak from the broken well. The second relief well is being drilled as a backup. [Via WP]

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Paul McCartney says that global warming skeptics are like Holocaust deniers

Former Beatles superstar and musician Paul McCartney has set his aim at skeptics of a climate crisis in an interview with Britain's Sun tabloid, where he compared global warming skeptics to 'Holocaust deniers".

Speaking on the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Beatles legend said: "Sadly we need disasters like this to show people. Some people don't believe in climate warming - like those who don't believe there was a Holocaust.

"But the facts indicate that there's something going on and we've got to be aware of it if we want our kids to inherit a decent world, not a complete nightmare of a planet - clean, renewable energy is for starters."

The singer also defended the US President, Barack Obama, over the criticism that he has received regarding the spill. [Via The Sun]

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BP and Pixar present Finding Nemo: The Sequel

There is an entire selection of parodies (yes, they are parodies...don't go looking for tickets) on the blog El Blog De Chibiboto. In a somewhat crudely translated fashion (thank you Google), we give you the artists insightful explaination:

As we watch the World Cup, our planet continues dying thanks to one of the largest ecological catastrophes in the world, because a terrible oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. And now that the new movie Toy Story 3 is coming, it occurred to me to put forth some ideas for a sequel to Finding Nemo. I hope that these ideas inspire the writers at Pixar.

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Mike Bloomberg, NYC Mayor: Leave BP Alone!

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire Mayor of New York City and the overlord of the highly praised (and highly profitable) financial data and news company Bloomberg L.P., thinks that people are being too harsh on BP, the oil company responsible for the huge oil spill that is currently polluting the Gulf of Mexico.

He is reported to say that the CEO of BP didn't 'exactly go down there and blow up the well'. Really? That's something I never considered; I could've sworn he personally made sure of it. Oh well, we can't be right all the time!

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