Oil and coal are deadly,  as we have witnessed in recent fossil fuel energy accidents.  The Massey Coal mine disaster in April killed 29 miners who thought they had a “good job”.  They were people who trusted their employer, but their employer was risking their lives to make themselves millions of dollars.   It’s the same with the oil industry.  So far in 2010, BP has made about  $ 5.6 billion in profits. “The energy giant reported profits of $5.6bn (£3.6bn) in the first three months of 2010, up from $2.4bn a year ago. “ The oil rig leak is proving to be an unimaginable environmental catastrophe, even if they can get it capped very soon, and if the cap stays on.  We may be witnessing the death of the Gulf of Mexico. More on that from Climate Progress/Wonk Room.

“Gulf Coast marine scientists agree that the unfolding oil disaster could mean devastation beyond human comprehension.  Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has the story in this repost.

In an exclusive interview with the Wonk Room, a team of scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, MS, discussed the ecological impacts of a three-month blowout from the BP-Halliburton Deepwater Horizon exploratory rig, described as the expected timeline for “ultimate relief” of the leak by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. None of the scientists even wanted to attempt to imagine the coming devastation, because, as ichthyologist Jeff Hoffmayer said, “oil is bad for everything” that lives in the ocean. If the leak continues for three months, about 100 million gallons of oil will have flooded into the Gulf during the peak spawning season of the region and the start of the hurricane season. Dr. Bill Hawkins, director of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, summarized the scenario starkly:

“All bets are off.”

“Guys burning … like a warzone.” The scene aboard the BP oil rig as it exploded and burned is emerging, even though the media is having a tough time finding and interviewing the oil rig workers who survived.   There was also a demand by BP lawyers that the survivors sign waivers and statements.   From NPR:

“Lawyers for the oil rig’s owner, Transocean, requested that workers who had survived the blast sign the form in the wake of the April 20 blowout on the Deepwater Horizon. This was hours before the workers had been allowed to see their families.

Now some of those survivors say they were coerced and that the forms are being used against them as they file lawsuits seeking compensation for psychiatric problems and other injuries from the blast.

“The form that they made them sign had, ‘I was here when it happened, I didn’t see anything.’ Or ‘I [...]