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Rep. Joe Barton Apologizes to BP

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) turned a hearing with BP CEO Tony Hayward on its head Thursday by apologizing to BP for what he called a "$20 billion shakedown." Democrats made political hay. Republicans scrambled to distance themselves. Under threat from GOP leaders of losing his job as top House Energy Republican, Barton returned to the hearing to apologize for apologizing. It later emerged that Barton's "shakedown" talking point had been crafted by the Republican Study Committee, a conservative faction that includes 115 of the 178 GOP House members. Barton got more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from the oil industry during this election cycle -- and his top single corporate contributor is Anadarko, which is a 25% stakeholder in the gushing Macondo well. Hayward, while apologetic himself, dodged the panel's questions.

Source: CBS News, 06/18/2010

SEJ's 20th Annual Conference Coverage

Oct. 13-17, 2010 in Missoula, Montana. Find multimedia coverage on SEJ's coverage web page and on the unofficial conference blog. See the agenda, read speaker bios, and more. If you attended the conference, please click here to take our online survey. Pictured at left: Jodi Rave, Freelance Journalist, Buffalo's Fire, and moderator of the Saturday panel THE CLIMATE: Energy Issues on Tribal Lands.

National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid

Stakeholders from utilities, technology companies, ISOs, Congress, federal and state agencies, environmental groups, and research and consulting firms will meet in Washington, DC for this national forum.

"Interior Inspector General Expected To Fault Oil Spill Probe"

"Elected officials should consider imposing ethics rules on oil and gas companies that do business with the federal government, the Interior Department's acting inspector general plans to tell the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday."

Source: Wash Post, 06/17/2010

"Doubts Over Safety Tests on Gulf Oil Dispersants"

"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."

Source: New Scientist, 06/17/2010

"Administering Fund, a Master Mediator"

"Kenneth R. Feinberg ... . named Wednesday by President Obama as the independent administrator of a $20 billion fund set up by BP to compensate victims of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, may not have the powers of a king. But he does seem to specialize in Solomon-like decisions."

Source: NYTimes, 06/17/2010

"USGS Director Quietly Wages 'Fearless' War on Oil Spill"

"Though she has stayed behind the scenes for most of the federal response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt has emerged in the past week as a bold, forthright translator of the web of numbers and scientific estimates surrounding the spill."

Source: Greenwire, 06/17/2010

"Chemical Security Advocates See New Opening to Rework Bush-Era Rules"

Petrochemical companies like BP won a key battle in achieving unpoliced self-regulation early in the Bush administration -- when they got friends in Congress and the White House to shut EPA out of chemical safety and security oversight. As public health advocates point to possible disasters more lethal than the Gulf spill, there may be an opportunity to reverse the federal government's decisions not to protect the public from petrochemical disasters.

Source: Greenwire, 06/17/2010

"C8 Exposure Linked to ADHD in Children"

"Children exposed to higher levels of C8 are at an increased risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a scientific paper published this week."

Source: Charleston Gazette, 06/17/2010

BP's Hayward Faces Interrogation in Congress Today

Despite a huge and detailed hearing and investigative record of BP corner-cutting on well-control and safety operations leading up to the Gulf blowout, explosion, and spill, BP's Tony Hayward is poised to tell a Congressional committee today that he has no idea why it happened. The interrogation may be harsh.

Source: NBC News, 06/17/2010

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