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Fifty percent of oil spill remains in Gulf, commission hears

'No territorial issue exists' over islands with China: Japan
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 28, 2010 - Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara reiterated Tuesday that "no territorial issue exists" over an island chain at the centre of a bitter row with China, Kyodo News agency reported. He also said that the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain that sparked the current row between the Asian giants was appropriate, the report said. The skipper, who was released last week, had been arrested on September 8 after colliding with two Japanese coastguard vessels in the East China Sea near a disputed island chain known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. In the worst dispute in years between Asia's traditional rivals and biggest economies, China has called the skipper's arrest invalid and illegal, arguing that the islands have been part of China since ancient times.

Beijing has lodged a series of diplomatic protests, snubs and threats. Industry sources say China has halted crucial rare earth mineral exports to Japan, a claim that Beijing has denied. China is also holding four Japanese nationals -- employees of a company working on a bid to clean up wartime-era Japanese chemical weapons -- after detaining them last week for allegedly filming a military installation. Japan Monday demanded full consular access to them, and it also called on China to pull back two fisheries patrol boats from near the disputed islands.

Late last week Japan freed the Chinese captain, who was greeted to a hero's welcome at home, where the case has stoked patriotic fervor and anti-Japanese sentiment, expressed both in blogs and small street protests. China responded to the captain's release early Saturday by demanding Japan apologise and compensate China for his arrest and detention. As the dispute has escalated, Washington -- which openly worries about China's growing military muscle -- has reaffirmed its commitment to a half-century-old security alliance with Japan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called on China and Japan to "seek compromises" in the dispute.
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Sept 27, 2010
Over half the oil released from a busted BP well remains in the Gulf of Mexico, a presidential panel was told Monday, contrary to government claims, as the US pointman lamented a "dysfunctional" response to the disaster.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar meanwhile told the bipartisan commission the spill had bolstered a drive to reform federal regulations for offshore drilling, promising that lessons were learned with a moratorium still in place.

In an ominous sign for residents of states on the Gulf of Mexico, however, oceanographer Ian MacDonald said that while much of the oil was dispersed, evaporated or removed by burning and skimming, "the remaining fraction -- over 50 percent of the total discharge -- is a highly durable material that resists further dissipation."

The assessment implied some 2.5 million barrels of oil -- or 105 million gallons -- was still embedded in the fragile ecosystem, out of the estimated 4.9 million barrels that gushed into the Gulf during the 87 days before the well was capped.

"Much of it is now buried in marine and coastal sediments," MacDonald warned, adding there was "scant evidence for bacterial degradation of this material prior to burial."

His analysis presented to the panel stood in contrast to a more encouraging official report in early August that claimed some 75 percent of the oil spilled from the well had disappeared.

Retired coast guard admiral Thad Allen, US pointman for the spill response, earlier acknowledged how confusion, from both the US public and local public officials, over who was in charge of the response meant "procedures that worked terrific for the last 20 years became dysfunctional."

Efforts to prevent oil from washing onto the fragile Gulf Coast, cap the flow of crude and clean it off the shoreline were all impacted by the confusion, Allen said.

But Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer for exploration and production and one of the most public faces of the energy giant throughout the crisis, insisted there was no mistaking who made the calls.

"It was always clear to me that the Coast Guard was in charge," he said.

Billy Nungesser, the outspoken president of Plaquemines Parish in southern Louisiana, told the panel the problem persists months after the oil has stopped flowing: "This late in the day, I still can't tell you who's in charge."

Known for passionate tirades against the government and BP as the spill impacted the local economy and coastline, the rotund Nungesser appeared a world away from the muggy swamp lands of his home district when he spoke forcibly to the panel in a luxury Washington hotel conference room.

"I'm still angry," he reminded the commission, saying the fight for survival in his community remains, with residents struggling to get back on their feet.

Hundreds of miles of coastline from Texas to Florida were sullied by the devastating spill, in the wake of the April 20 explosion that crippled BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off Louisiana, killing wildlife and choking local communities that rely on industries such as tourism and fishing.

The controversial use of chemical dispersants in a bid to break down or suppress the oil from the reaching the surface prompted intense internal discussion, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry told the panel.

While US officials "absolutely felt there could be a reduction" in their use, it was decided in the early weeks of the spill there was a greater need to mitigate the coastal impact and amount of oil at the Deepwater Horizon site.

"Over time, we met that goal of reducing dispersants," she said.

When authorities managed to cap the well after more than 12 weeks, however, some 1.8 million gallons of of the chemicals had been used.

Dispersants were deemed "generally less toxic than oil... and has been known to biodegrade over days and weeks, much quicker than the oil," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said.

The long-term effects of their use and the massive quantities in which they were employed still "warrant caution," Jackson warned the commission.

Earlier this month US officials declared the broken well to be finally capped, but BP still faces a long uphill battle to clean up the Gulf, along with a litany of lawsuits, billions of dollars in fines, and shareholders angered by the firm's instability after its share price more than halved.

BP has pledged to continue "remedying the harm that the spill caused to the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast environment and to the livelihoods of the people across the region."



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Bottle tops and old shirts send green message to fashion
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Coiffed with tresses of sharp green reeds, the models wore skirts of flattened bottle tops, tubes of moss as neck-ruffs, gowns tailored from patchworked old shirts and joyously outsized Andean knitwear. Designing with the planet in mind is the mantra of the dozens of designers who showcased their spring/summer collections at the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris this weekend, just before the off ... read more







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