Who Can You Trust? A Guide to the Gulf Coast Spill

“Who Can You Trust?” is an ongoing look at some of the main players in the Gulf Coast oil-spill disaster. We analyze the media appearances and public statements of those covering, controlling, and combating the spill to determine who’s spinning for personal advantage, who’s playing to the crowd, and who’s closest to the truth.

The Containment Cap

Oil-Collecting Device

After a few days in operation, the cap has upped the amount of oil being siphoned from the spill—on Saturday, BP said the cap had collected about 10,000 barrels a day—that’s about 40 percent of what’s currently being released in the gulf a day, but a big improvement over the 6,000 barrels that were originally collected when the cap was first placed. BP officials hope to close more vents on the cap later this week, which will lead to even more oil collection. Unfortunately, the cap has been so successful that BP can’t handle all the oil being brought to the surface; it’s slowed the rate at which the vents are scheduled to close.

Pay attention to if and when the vents finally close. That won’t be the end of the spill by a long shot—the oil will still be flowing, some will still be escaping, and the cleanup will have just begun.

Adm. Thad Allen

National Incident Commander

Allen’s days of spinning for BP seem to have come to an end—asked if he trusted BP in a press conference this morning, he said “I’m not sure if it’s a matter of trust,” noting that the government and BP are working together to fix the spill (a partnership Allen may begrudge, but recognizes as important), that Allen asks for info when he needs it, and that BP knows the efforts won’t move forward unless he gets it. Over the weekend, Allen predicted that even with the most successful recovery efforts and well containment, the cleanup efforts will go long into the fall. On CBS’s Face the Nation, he declared war on the spill, while speaking bluntly about the difficult road ahead. “[The oil has] disaggregated itself into hundreds, maybe thousands, of smaller pieces of oil. So we’re trying to fight it on a lot of different fronts.” Allen doesn’t give the most cheerful status updates, but they’re the most frank.

Pay attention to what he focuses on when the vents close: will it be cast as a big victory, or as the least we can do to make a very bad situation less horrific?

Haley Barbour

Governor of Mississippi

On Fox News Sunday, Barbour said reports of the spill have been too broad, hurting tourism in his state. He’s not lying when he says that the Mississippi coast is unharmed—the state’s coastline is relatively small, and has yet to see any real damage from the spill. But to claim that “250,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil seep into the Gulf of Mexico through the floor every year. So, tar balls are no big deal,” when discussing the spill is somewhat misleading—the natural seeps in no way compare to the catastrophe that’s going on now. And while Mississippi’s valuable tourism dollars are dwindling because of publicity about the accident, berating the coverage misses the point. Even if it’s not bad now, it’s not going to get any better; maybe now’s the time to switch strategies and promote eco-tourism?

Pay attention to the NOAA maps of where the spill has made landfall, as well as local papers like The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, and the Sun Herald in Mississippi. Barbour might not be the best source for local news, but he’s right that there’s a lot going on in several different Gulf Coast cities, so reading the local papers (which are still sometimes full of AP copy) is a good way to stay in the know.

Jane Lubchenco

NOAA Administrator

Since the spill, Lubchencho—who used to be quite vocal about the dangers of deep-sea drilling—has been skeptical about the existence of deep-sea plumes, the underwater columns of oil that have scientists extremely concerned. Even after a NOAA research expedition returned from the spill site this weekend with preliminary evidence of undersea oil, she’s not biting. “There’s no doubt that there’s oil beneath the surface. The question is: where is it, in what concentration and what is the source?” she said. She notes that natural underseas seepage or the Deepwater Horizon could be responsible for the oil the vessel found, and that further tests were needed to know for sure. “What they found is evidence of a lot of interesting features that are below the surface,” she said. In other words, it’s a lot of abstract, hypercautious equivocations. As a government scientist, she likely won’t deviate far from the reports, and until the reports are in, she’s unlikely to speculate or even offer basic observational evidence. That may be a crucial part of her job: it may be scientifically sound or legally necessary. But either way, she’s playing it extremely safe.

Pay attention as NOAA research vessels—and independent scientists—take more fact-finding missions. A University of South Florida team say they just found evidence of a second plume.

Previous Updates:

Volume 3: Google vs. the Containment Cap—what’s more reliable?

Volume 2: Landry Steps Back. Suttles Lays Low

Volume 1: Academics, Admirals, and Angry Politicians