Environment

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans – Bob Thomas, head of the Loyola Center for Environmental Communications talks about oil plumes, sand berms and wind patterns related to the oil spill

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says underwater robots have managed to get through the first phase of the latest engineering system.

"For the first time in a couple of days I have some good news. We have just cut the pipe off the lower marine package."

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Mike Voisin of the Gulf Oyster Industry Council says oyster harvesting continues in about 50 percent of the productive areas. He says the state closes areas on short notice for testing, making it difficult for fishermen to plan their harvesting. But he says he's most worried about where a hurricane could push contaminated water.

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – NOAA says parts of the oil slick are moving into waters off eastern Alabama and the western tip of the Florida panhandle. Some large patches of sheen are moving onto the west Florida shelf and south to Cuba. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says there are also reports of oil hitting island areas off Alabama.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Allen says capping the underwater leak is no longer an option. He says the aim is now to contain the oil offshore until it's transferred to surface vessels. That will need floating equipment that may be evacuated during a hurricane, and oil will then spill freely into the Gulf.

"Nothing is fail safe with hurricane season coming, and there may be a time we may have to disconnect and have to accept the fact there will be oil flowing up there until we redeploy back"

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says he will now take over news briefings apart from BP. Rear Admiral Mary Landry had been conducting briefings alongside BP officials since the April 20th rig explosion that preceded the oil spill.

"The goal is to create as broad a picture of this response, what's going on, and speak very frankly to the American public."

Allen praised Landry's oversight of BP's response.