Attachment 4
News Articles
Read each news article as a group. Cross out any information that works against your
news station role. Read the articles a second time, highlighting any remaining
information that should be included in your news report.
Article 1
BP Can't Be Left in Charge of Gulf Coast
Crime Scene
Coalition Asks Obama to Take Over Key Parts of Spill Response
05-19-2010 // Miles Grant
It’s time for the federal government to directly take over the monitoring and reporting of
the BP oil spill’s impacts on marine life, the environment and public health, National
Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger said in testimony before the House
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee today. He highlighted BP’s failure to publicly
disclose results from its tests of chemical dispersants, as well as BP’s efforts to withhold
video showing the true magnitude of the spill.
The National Wildlife Federation joined with 10 conservation organizations in sending a
letter to President Obama today urging a more direct federal role in the spill response.
“The federal government should immediately take over all environmental
monitoring, testing, and public safety protection from BP,” said Larry Schweiger. “Too
much information is now in the hands of BP’s many lawyers and too little is being disclosed
to the public.
“The statement yesterday from BP CEO Hayward that the environmental damage will be
‘very modest’ lacks common sense and common decency,” said Larry Schweiger. “The Gulf
of Mexico is a crime scene and the perpetrator cannot be left in charge of assessing the
damage. The government needs to make sure that the right testing is done and that all data
is disclosed to the public.”
In his testimony, Larry Schweiger also asked lawmakers to:
• Enact real energy reforms this year that break America’s addiction to oil.
• Make a national investment to restore the Mississippi River Delta.
• Lift oil companies’ $75 million cap on liability and the cap on punitive damages.
“We must hold oil companies and other corporations accountable for doing their fair share
to reduce pollution and to create a path that takes us truly beyond petroleum,” said Larry
Schweiger. “This is not just about making off-shore oil platforms safer; it is about
creating a safer energy platform for America.”
Attachment 4
After the spill, Larry Schweiger led a National Wildlife Federation team to Louisiana’s Gulf
Coast, talking to local wildlife officials and fishing boat captains as he visited frontline
communities, wetlands and fishing grounds. The National Wildlife Federation continues to
monitor the spill and cleanup efforts in partnership with the Louisiana Wildlife Federation,
NWF’s state affiliate, and NWF’s Coastal Louisiana office.
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-byTopic/Wildlife/2010/05-19-10-BP-Cant-Be-Left-in-Charge-of-Gulf-Coast-CrimeScene.aspx
Article 2
James Carville Takes On Obama On Oil
Spill: He's 'Risking Everything' With
'Go Along With BP Strategy'
First Posted: 05/21/10 07:55 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 05:35 PM ET By: Laura Bassett
Democratic strategist James Carville and MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews, two reliable
supporters of President Barack Obama, have issued withering critiques of the
administration's handling of the Gulf oil spill.
Carville, the famously outspoken Louisianian who was a chief political aide to Bill and
Hillary Clinton, told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday that the administration's
response to the spill has been "lackadaisical" and that Obama was "naive" to trust BP to
manage the massive clean-up effort.
"I think they actually believe that BP has some kind of a good motivation here," he said.
"They're naive! BP is trying to save money, save everything they can... They won't tell us
anything, and oddly enough, the government seems to be going along with it! Somebody has
got to, like shake them and say, 'These people don't wish you well! They're going to take you
down!'"
Carville also accused the White House of going along with what he called the "let BP handle
it" strategy.
"I'm as good a Democrat as most people, and I think this administration has done some
good things. They are risking everything by this 'go along with BP' strategy they have that
seems like, lackadaisical on this, and Doug is right, they seem like they're inconvenienced by
this, this is some giant thing getting in their way and somehow or another, if you let BP
handle it, it'll all go away. It's not going away. It's growing out there. It is a disaster of the
first magnitude, and they've got to go to Plan B."
Likewise, Chris Matthews argued during a "Tonight Show" appearance that the President
was "acting a little like a Vatican Observer."
Attachment 4
"The President scares me," he said. "When is he actually going to do something? And I
worry; I know he doesn't want to take ownership of it. I know politics. He said the minute
he says, 'I'm in charge,' he takes the blame, but somebody has to. It's in our interest."
The Obama administration has thus far avoided the political backlash that President George
W. Bush faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in part by comprehensively
documenting its actions in the Gulf and staying on message ("Fully engaged since Day
One...").
But crude oil has now been erupting into the Gulf of Mexico for over a month, and the sense
that the Obama administration is treating the spill as an urgent national emergency has
diminished even as the impact of the disaster has magnified. Not until yesterday, critics
note, a full 30 days after the oil rig explosion, did federal officials establish a technical team
to measure the full extent of the spill.
Until now, the vast bulk of clean-up responsibilities have been left to BP, which isn't much
closer to capping the oil leak now than it was weeks ago. The oil has already affected nearly
50 miles of sensitive marshlands on the Louisiana coastline, according to estimates by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and federal authorities have increased the
no-fishing zone to 45,728 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP has consistently downplayed the severity of the spill despite growing evidence that
suggests otherwise, and their strategy to clean up the spill has involved the use of a toxic
chemical dispersant that EPA officials warn may cause lasting damage to coastal
ecosystems.
The EPA has now given BP 24 hours to begin using a less toxic dispersant, but Carville says
the government's primary failure was trusting BP to handle the clean-up in the first place.
"Right now I wouldn't trust BP to do anything," he said. "And nobody does."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/21/obama-faces-new-wave-ofc_n_585620.html
Article 3
Cost of BP's Response to Oil Spill Hits
$2 Billion
Jun 21, 2010 – 7:31 AM By: Lisa Flam
(June 21) -- BP said today its costs so far to confront the gushing oil well off the Louisiana
coast hit the $2 billion mark and says it has paid $105 million in claims.
The company, criticized for the slow response in paying claims, says 32,000 payments have
been made against 65,000 claims submitted.
Some $2 billion has been spent on efforts to contain the spill, drilling the relief wells,
providing money to states, claims and federal costs, BP said. The company says it's too early
Attachment 4
to say how much the total bill will be.
With no quick end in sight to the leak, the biggest spill in U.S. history, the British oil giant
last week agreed to create a $20 billion victim compensation fund to help residents of the
Gulf of Mexico who have lost income because of the spill.
Meanwhile, BP is trying to make sure its partners in the leaking well share the burden of
paying for the cleanup.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which owns a quarter of the well, said on Friday that, "The
mounting evidence clearly demonstrates that this tragedy was preventable and the direct
result of BP's reckless decisions and actions."
The company said its joint operating agreement says that BP is responsible to its well "coowners for damages caused by its gross negligence or willful misconduct."
But in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today, BP said all partners are responsible
for damages caused by the well, The Associated Press reported. BP was operating the
Deepwater Horizon rig and had a 65 percent stake.
BP said the co-owners entered into a written agreement that says "the parties would share
the costs of operations, including the cost to clean up any spill resulting from drilling the
MC252 exploratory well, according to their respective ownership interests," AP reported.
BP shares, meanwhile, were down 4 percent on the exchange.
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, blasted by gulf residents over the weekend for attending
a yacht race in Great Britain, released a statement on the company's commitment to clean
up the disaster and help its victims.
"Other parties besides BP may be responsible for costs and liabilities arising from the oil
spill, and we expect those parties to live up to their obligations," Hayward said, AP reported.
"But how the costs and liabilities are eventually allocated between various parties will not
affect our unwavering pledge to step forward in the first instance to clean up the spill and
pay all legitimate claims in an efficient and fair manner."
The well has been leaking since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and caught fire on
April 20, killing 11 workers.
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/06/21/bps-oil-spill-control-costs-hit-2billion/