The spill, the scandal and the president

Hours after BP's rig sank on April 22nd, a white board in NOAA's war room in Seattle displays the administration's initial, worst-case estimate of the spill — 64,000 to 110,000 barrels a day. Via al.com

Rolling Stone

The inside story of how Obama failed to crack down on the corruption of the Bush years – and let the world’s most dangerous oil company get away with murder

The Obama Administration from Day 1 knew the spill was much worse than they were reporting and actively tried to suppress the truth, says Rolling Stone.

But rather than applying such skepticism to BP’s math, the Obama administration has instead attacked scientists who released independent estimates of the spill. When one scientist funded by NOAA released a figure much higher than the government’s estimate, he found himself being pressured to retract it by officials at the agency.

Scientists were stunned that NOAA, an agency widely respected for its scientific integrity, appeared to have been co-opted by the White House spin machine. “NOAA has actively pushed back on every fact that has ever come out,” says one ocean scientist who works with the agency. “They’re denying until the facts are so overwhelming, they finally come out and issue an admittance.”

Why?

One comment

  1. The why is easy enough: The Obama administration is beholden to the corps, including big oil. My guess is that Obama is basically amoral and figures there are enough Dems in the herd who prefer power over their own interests to keep his presidency.

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