Latest Mississippi River Delta News: May 21, 2015

Federal Scientists Link Dolphin Die-offs to BP Spill
*features Steve Cochran, EDF, MRD statement
By Eileen Fleming, WWNO. May 21, 2015
“Anybody is free to say whatever they want or issue some study and BP did that with their big report saying, ‘Everything was fine. No need to look anymore here.’ Right? But the point of science is to test these things and that’s what peer review is all about. And that’s what we’re looking at here and that’s what matters.” (Read More)
 
Study Links Record Dolphin Die-Off in the Gulf of Mexico to Deepwater Horizon Spill
*features Alisha Renfro, NWF
By Kate Valentine, Think Progress. May 20, 2015
“What this study really does is create a really strong link in the chain that shows that not only did you have an oil spill, but the habitat, particularly in Barataria Bay was impacted,” Alisha Renfro, staff scientist at the National Wildlife Federation’s Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign, told ThinkProgress of Wednesday’s study.” (Read More)
 
Environmentalists worry that first RESTORE grants focus on just small efforts
*features David Muth, NWF
By Bob Marshall, The Lens. May 20, 2015
“We need clear guidelines that match the overarching purpose of RESTORE, which is to address the ecosystem-wide problems we face. That’s why we supported RESTORE.” (Read More)
 
Study links BP spill to dolphin deaths
By Emily Yehle, E&E. May 20, 2015
“This new federal study proves conclusively that BP is misleading the American people and puts the ‘smoking gun’ in BP’s hands,” O’Mara said. “The facts are clear: The company’s ‘grossly negligent’ actions killed dolphins in the northern Gulf. And while we may never know the full extent of the damage, because only a small fraction of dolphin carcasses are ever found, NOAA’s scientific research indicates a direct link between BP’s oil spill and the horrible deaths experienced by dolphins.” (Read More)
 
BP oil spill contributed to dead dolphins, scientists say, citing tissue samples
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune. May 20, 2015
“The BP oil spill contributed to the deaths of bottlenose dolphins along the Gulf of Mexico’s northern coast, scientists said Wednesday (May 20), citing a study of tissue samples that for the first time found conclusive evidence of a link between the disaster and the animals’ deaths.” (Read More)
 
Big Oil: Five years after Deepwater Horizon
By Emily Green, Real Change. May 20, 2015
“BP has said there is no way it can pay anywhere near $14 billion, and it looks like it might get a much smaller fine as a result. What they did, which was really sneaky, is they split off their U.S. offshore arm from the rest of their U.S. business, and they’re saying, basically, that their offshore business doesn’t have enough money — and it’s just ludicrous.The parent is what we should be looking at, and the parent company, which is BP based in London, made over $200 billion in revenue last year.” (Read More)