Emails Reveal BP Attempted To Manipulate Oil Spill Studies

[GoLeft TV]

From DeSmogBlog -

Emails obtained by Greenpeace last Friday have revealed that BP was actively trying to manipulate studies designed to assess the damage from last year’s oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. In the wake of the disaster, BP created a $500 million fund to study the effects of the oil on the environment, and the emails obtained by Greenpeace show that the company was trying to control which scientists worked on the project, attempting to cherry-pick those who would downplay the effects of the oil.

The Guardian reports:

Russell Putt, a BP environmental expert, wrote in an email to colleagues on 24 June 2010: "Can we 'direct' GRI funding to a specific study (as we now see the governor's offices trying to do)? What influence do we have over the vessels/equipment driving the studies vs the questions?".


But the new emails are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to BP’s efforts to manipulate science. Last summer, a report by the Mobile Press-Register revealed that BP was offering large sums of cash to any scientist willing to join their camp. The oil giant had been meeting with scientists from universities in the South since the early days of the oil leak, offering to pay $250 an hour to scientists in exchange for their silence on the oil disaster.

For the full report and a link to the BP emails, go here - http://desmogblog.com/emails-reveal-bp-attempted-manipulate-oil-spill-studies

[hatrack]

1. Shocking, I tell you.

Shocking.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Hm.

"offering to pay $250 an hour to scientists in exchange for their silence on the oil disaster."

This requires some explaining. How does one accumulate hours to be paid if one is not working on the problem. Curious.

No doubt BP is dirty, but blasting off on bizarre charges based on emails can be dangerous. Remember Climategate? The accusers looked like real idiots after that fiasco.

[GoLeft TV]

3. clarification

The $250 an hour is regarding the offers to university scientists, which was documented and sourced last summer. The other issue regarding the emails is quoted directly from them, so it would be hard to misinterpret that. The majority of the article deals with the offers to scientists, not the newly discovered emails - that was simply a jumping off point. For those of us like myself who live on the Gulf Coast, we don't have time for the "wait and see" attitude, especially when evidence like this presents itself in such a clear manner.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Not sure I agree with all of that:

"so it would be hard to misinterpret that."

The hacked emails from the University of East Anglia were quoted verbatim but without context. They seemed damning, but the scientists' behavior was examined very closely by two independent panels who found no unprofessional behavior or skewing of scientific data. So, wait and see is the only rational choice. Any energy spent in trying to impugn BP will be wasted.

As for the lack of time, plenty of other research is going on. The feds have dumped millions and millions of dollars into studying the disaster, so objective opinions will be coming your way.

[GoLeft TV]

6. There are differences

The climate emails aren't really a good comparison because those people didn't stand to gain a whole lot, and as you said, they were taken out of context. I've provided links to all of the emails, so you can judge for yourself. But I find it a tough pill to swallow to give BP the benefit of the doubt, and find the notion of doing so insanely naive. They've proven that they will lie in this matter and do whatever it takes to downplay the effects of the oil spill. To believe that they would behave differently is not a wise decision, but you are free to believe what you want.

[Buzz Clik]

7. I read the emails from the link.

I don't see the conspiracy.

Doesn't matter.

[Scuba]

4. Only one way to fix this problem. Quick, pay them bonuses and cut their taxes.