oil

Go ahead, make your "Waterworld" jokes. BP has placed an order to purchase machines to separate spilled oil and Gulf of Mexico water from Ocean Therapy Solutions, a company backed by actor and environmentalist Kevin Costner, according to reports.

Ocean Therapy Solutions has been testing the centrifugal oil-water separator but has not yet received payment from BP, which is under growing pressure to stem the massive flow of oil from the remains of the Deepwater Horizon rig and clean up the spill.

"Kevin has spent 15 years and $24 million of his own money on this technology, … Read more

Barack Obama and top BP executives are set for a showdown over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill this week, as the likely damages bill piles more pressure on the oil giant's shares.

With America's largest-ever environmental disaster nearing the two-month mark, the president will press BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg at their first meeting on Wednesday to set up an escrow account to pay damage claims by individuals and businesses hurt by the oil spill disaster.

BP executives will also be grilled by U.S. lawmakers at congressional committee hearings on Tuesday and Thursday.

The oil giant may … Read more

A top U.S. Coast Guard official has told BP that the company's plans to contain the gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico do not go far enough or contain enough back-up measures.

"BP must identify in the next 48 hours additional leak containment capacity that could be operationalized and expedited," Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson said in a letter to BP dated June 11.

Watson, the federal on-scene coordinator for spill response, noted estimates of the amount of oil leaking from BP's damaged well have been raised sharply. He did not suggest … Read more

Microsoft has found some creative ways to advertise its Bing search engine, but last night's tie-up with "The Colbert Report" might be my favorite.

The company pledged $2,500 for each time that Colbert mentioned the word Bing, something he managed to work in 40 times in the show, if you count the time he said he was "rob-bing" Microsoft blind. In all, the stunt raised $100,000 for the Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund. (Why the Gulf of America? Because, as Colbert says, "We broke it, we bought it.")

The mentions … Read more

When you've gone and polluted so much that a lot of birds are ill, baby, ill, you really have to be careful with your words. However, BP seems to have fallen into the hands of those who defend wordsmithing politicians, rather than those whose emphasis might start with the potential reactions of real people, who use the Web to keep up with the world.

Having assigned itself to a political consulting company called Purple Strategies, BP wheeled out its CEO, a gentleman who claimed, perhaps injudiciously: "I'd like my life back."

In a TV spot that … Read more

The International Energy Agency on Monday published an analysis that found subsidies for fossil fuels are higher than previously thought. Cutting subsidies would encourage energy efficiency and low-carbon fuels, it said.

The amount of money paid to subsidize fossil fuels around the world was $557 billion in 2008, which is up from $342 billion in the previous year. The key findings on fossil fuel subsidies (click for PDF) were published in advance of the IEA's annual World Energy Outlook report, which is due in November.

The IEA, which gathers energy industry data, recommended that governments set up programs to … Read more

U.S. consumers are venting frustration over the BP oil spill, demonstrating at gas stations and corporate offices, drumming up support on Facebook, and waging a mock public relations campaign on Twitter.

But their opposition to BP's handling of the crisis has yet to achieve critical mass, and any attempt to dissuade customers from fueling their cars with BP is likely to hurt the small business owners who run the stations with little or no effect on the British oil giant's revenues.

Most Americans--7 out of 10--say BP has done a poor or only fair job in handling … Read more

A supercomputer simulation conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in conjunction with the Los Alamos National Laboratory indicates that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to move up the East Coast. However, officials are stressing the results are a simulation and not a prediction.

The findings, detailed by NCAR, suggest that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could extend "along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean as early as this summer."

According to NCAR:

The computer simulations indicate that, once the oil in the uppermost ocean has become entrained … Read more

With all that oil gushing out of the hole in the Earth, we have to ask ourselves this question. And if this happens, what then? Well, flying cars and pedal powered Porsches, obviously. Even Eli, our special guest, knows that!

Rocket car blasts off on Coke and Mentos

Personal electric mini-plane could fly by 2013 (thanks Frontline!)

Audi ‘travolution’ syncs cars to traffic lights, saves fuel

Pedal-powered Porsche is world’s lightest, slowest

Firefox plug-in blacks out BP across the Web

BP Global PR

If It Was My Home

Nuking the oil spill: a crazy idea that’s building steam… Read more