BP will likely survive spill, but worth much less
Associated Press – June 2
BP also will face claims from commercial fishermen, hotels, party boat operators, and other businesses that depend on the Gulf Coast…Altogether, the impact on tourism, fishing, property values and other damages could reach $10 billion to $15 billion, said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist for the center for business and economic research at the University of Alabama.
BP remains skeptical of underwater plumes
Houston Chronicle – June 2
Underwater plumes may present a more daunting environmental threat than surface oil, said Philip Johnson, a petroleum engineering professor at the University of Alabama, who has not been involved in documenting the phenomenon but who says it makes sense a well as deep as this one — nearly a mile beneath the Gulf’s surface — would spawn such plumes. Crude oil is a blend of substances ranging from asphalt to natural gas. Under pressure, the components can take various forms, as gases, liquids and solids, he said. “Those solids — many of them are heavier than water, and they’re flowing into a cold, high-pressure ocean, which is acting like a separator,” he said. “The heavy components, like asphalt, possibly mixed with hydrates, will stay lower than the light components.” The plumes may rise to the surface eventually, but probably farther away from the wellhead than the slick that coats the surface of the Gulf, Johnson said. And when they do, they’ll be difficult to clean up. “The deep plumes are probably going to be the stickiest, gluey-est material, and the worst to deal with,” Johnson said. “Some of it may just stay on the bottom, and some may come up, but very slowly, because it’s almost the same density as water.”
ELECTION NOTEBOOK
Tuscaloosa News – June 2
Former University of Alabama Student Government Association president Steven Oliver voted at the courthouse annex. He said that he expects good student turnout in the fall. A lot of students left Tuscaloosa after the end of the spring semester. ‘I think students do care about this race,’ he said. ‘The primary race is very important. It’s definitely a very important time.’
Longtime host of UA radio show dies
Tuscaloosa News – June 2
David ‘Dave the Metal Guy’ Standifer was as rock ‘n’ roll as whiskey, bad attitude and black leather pants…He earned his nickname by hosting a heavy metal radio show that ran longer than any other show on WVUA…But he had a softer side, too, as evidenced by testimonies at the funeral service Tuesday for the long-running host of University of Alabama radio station WVUA’s ‘The Metal Zone.’…He graduated from Holt High School in 1989, and earned his bachelor’s degree in graphic art in 1995, and his master of fine arts degree in 1997, both from UA, all while playing music at night, spinning metal on WVUA and working other jobs. His solo MFA exhibit at Clark Hall combined family photographs and artifacts from throughout his childhood.
Mobile Press-Register – June 2