Oil Spill Disaster – July 25 – the underbelly of response efforts

Is this disaster response or a political response? See article on July 25 on Politico.  White House dispatches Florida team to contain spill’s political backlash

The White House has quietly launched an effort to confront the political backlash along the Gulf Coast over its handling of the BP oil spill  – giving special attention to Florida, the only state in the region President Barack Obama won in 2008 and one he will need again when he runs for re-election in 2012.

Another development, noted in the Huffington Post, July 24, is the time restriction for release of  contract research results. Gulf Oil Spill: BP Tries To Block Release Of Oil Spill Research

Faced with hundreds of lawsuits and a deep need for experts, BP has been offering some Gulf Coast scientists lucrative consulting contracts that bar them from releasing their findings on the company’s massive oil spill for three years.

This is one more item for the list of differences when the lead role for the response is taken by the responsible party and not the federal government.