How bad can the spill get?
MSNBC – May 11
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is getting progressively more serious, with the amount of leaked oil growing by 5,000 barrels (200,000 gallons) or more every day. In the three weeks since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, about 100,000 barrels have been spilled. Tar balls and oiled-up birds are already washing up on the Louisiana shore – and the volume of leaked oil is projected to surpass the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill sometime next month. . . . Philip Johnson, a petroleum engineering professor at the University of Alabama, said that estimate is way beyond what could actually happen. He said that amount of oil flow would have to be sparked by a “hugely bizarre event,” such as the kind of undersea earthquake you might see in a Clive Cussler thriller. “It’s an extremely high rate,” he told me. “I don’t believe that’s a realistic upside to that well.”
Related story: Philip W. Johnson talks to Hancock about B.P.’s oil spill: WBT-Charlotte, May 10
Alabama governor’s race: Ron Sparks pushes stance on health care, gambling
Birmingham News – May 11
By the time he was in high school, Ron Sparks had a job in a Fort Payne hosiery mill, just like his mother and his grandmothers, the women who raised him. . . . Sparks, who has trailed opponent U.S. Rep. Artur Davis in fundraising and in the polls, has seized on two central issues — gambling and Davis’ vote against President Barack Obama’s health care legislation — to energize his campaign. University of Alabama political science professor David Lanoue said the issues have given Sparks a clear position with Democratic voters. “He made a couple of smart decisions. One was to brand himself as the gambling candidate to give himself an image,” Lanoue said. “And he took advantage of the health care issue.”
Scholarships awarded
Selma Times-Journal – May 11
In the recognition of the 13th national championship for the Alabama football team, it only makes sense that the Dallas and Wilcox counties Bama Club award 13 scholarships. The unintentional irony brought laughter to the crowd of the annual spring banquet, an event to award scholarships to students attending the The University of Alabama this fall. Scholarship recipients will receive $1,000 to be credited to their Alabama tuition.
Latin America’s largest university hosts Armenian Genocide conference
The Armenian Reporter – May 11
Scholars from Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States participated in an international conference, the first of its kind in Brazil, on “The Prototype Genocide of Modern Times,” held at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil, April 22-24, in commemoration of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. . . . Prof. Steven L. Jacobs of the University of Alabama gave a comprehensive explanation about Raphael Lemkin, the man who conceptualized and coined the term “genocide.” He pointed out Lemkin’s obsession with the fact that there were no laws to punish the mass killing of a whole people, such as the Armenians, by their own government, Ottoman Turkey, even though there were laws for punishing the killing of a single person.
North Alabama African American Chamber hosts business expo, awards program
AL.com – May 10
The North Alabama African American Chamber of Commerce will hold its 15th annual Business Conference and Expo this week at the Von Braun Center South Hall in Huntsville. . . The conference and expo begins at 8 a.m. Friday with a continental breakfast and welcome. Morning general sessions are . . . ” “Alabama Economic Trends and Stimulus $$$,” presented by Dr. Samuel Addy, director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Business Economics and Research.
Mama works hard, so let her sleep!
Marketplace (American Public Media) – May 7
The clock is ticking — Have you bought your mom a Mother’s Day gift? Tanya Ott has some advice: Forget the candy and flowers and give your mom some extra hours of sleep.. . . . Mary Umlauf: “In America, we really undermine the value of sleep. We can probably blame it on Benjamin Franklin, you know, “early to rise.” Mary Umlauf is a sleep researcher at the University of Alabama. Umlauf: I’ve always read that, you know, you can get an extra hour of productivity by simply getting up earlier. What that does is you just shave off what is actually, physiologically required for you.”