Oil spills poison the Red Sea
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/11/05/oil-spills-poison-the-red-sea/
“Egyptian tourism commercials present the Red Sea as an untouched paradise where “the sun shines 365 days a year” and the water is full of exuberant marine life. But the reality is that the beaches and marine life are being destroyed as a result of offshore oil drilling and spills.”

Huge Australian Oil Spill Raises Questions
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/04/eveningnews/main5527406.shtml
Leak from Deep-Water Rig Has Released an Estimated 9 Million Gallons of Fuel; Bad News for the "Drill, Baby Drill" Crowd?

Australia Sets Up Commission for Timor Sea Oil Spill
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=a6aPROziqOwI

Shell Oil deciding on Alaska offshore drilling
http://newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Shell+Oil+deciding+on+Alaska+offshore+drilling+%20&id=4341427-Shell+Oil+deciding+on+Alaska+offshore+drilling+&instance=home_news_window

Spill Ends After 74 Days, But............

Irregular Times reports:


Of course, a good deal of oil that’s already leaked still has to come up to the surface, and the pollution resulting from the spill is spread out over tens of thousands of square miles. The environmental impact of the spill is likely to persist for decades – long enough for another spill to take place, unless a moratorium on offshore drilling is put into effect.




But hey, let’s look on the bright side. The Montara offshore drilling platform did not collapse into the sea. It just turned into a melted, oily, twisted, smoking, disgusting, useless heap.

And reportedly:

• The cleanup of the pollution from the oil spill will take 7 years to complete.


• PTTEP Australasia, the oil company responsible for the ten week long oil spill will begin drilling again in the same oil field in a matter of months.


• A PTTEP spokesperson says that his company knows what caused the oil spill, but won’t tell anyone else what that cause was.

Five Alternatives that Make More Sense than Offshore Oil

Offshore oil drilling proponents ignore the reality that offshore oil reserves are too small to significantly impact world oil prices or U.S. reliance on foreign oil. Offshore oil, which necessitates costly and environmentally dangerous drilling, is estimated to be able to produce only about 514 million barrels annually by 2030—less than 1 percent of global oil production.

Instead, these five alternatives to offshore oil for the transportation sector would decrease energy demand, limit U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cut costs for consumers, and reduce carbon emissions.

1. Increasing fuel economy standards

2. Hybrid-electric vehicles

3. Alternative commuting patterns

4. Plug-in hybrids

5. Cellulosic ethanol

Read more

Australian Rig on Fire Video

Hey Florida - Is This in Your Future?

Burning Rig May Sink
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asC4plvYuEuE&pos=7
“The fire is out of control,” Jose Martins, a director of the Thai driller’s Australian unit, said today in Perth. “It looks like the rig’s going to sink,” Holly Pattenden, head of oil and gas analysis at Business Monitor International in London, said in a telephone interview.

Offshore Oil Rig Blazing in Australia
http://firegeezer.com/2009/11/02/offshore-oil-rig-blazing-in-australia/
Includes video of burning oil rig

Australian Oil Spill – Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Any Worse

West Atlas Rig and Montara Well Head Platform on Fire
http://www.au.pttep.com/uploads/MediaRelease83_01-11-09.pdf
Australian oil spill well on fire
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jBnSKYWjVXfddqxWb00p8eb6SqXQ
Timor Rig Ablaze as PTTEP Starts 4th Bid to Cap Leak
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKcuzHRNaXhE&pos=9
Flaming Oil Rig Award Goes to... a Flaming Oil Rig
http://oilonthebeach.blogspot.com/2009/11/flaming-oil-rig-award-goes-to-flaming.html


Florida

Wondrous claims about offshore drilling bogus
Gulf states with offshore rigs get paltry royalties

http://www.bradenton.com/442/story/1821387.html

Flaming oil rig award goes to... a flaming oil rig

Here at NTA we have been giving out the "Flaming Oil Rig" award to politicians supporting offshore drilling in particularly egregious ways. Like CA Rep. Sam Blaskesless' attempt end-run the CA State Lands Commission's denial of the PXP project in Santa Barbara.

Today, we are awarding the Flaming Oil Rig award to none other than.... A FLAMING OIL RIG.

The oil rig off the coast of Australia, which has been spilling for 71 days, burst into flames on the weekend.

The damaged West Atlas rig, situated 125 miles off the coast of West Australia, caught fire on Sunday during the latest attempt (at least the 4th) to plug the leak which covered an area of at least 5,800 square miles in the ocean.

Read more....