Weekend News

Corrupt judge continues to abuse Bayou Corne residents –
Louisiana Record (May 8) – Judge Zainey disregards Bayou Corne class complaints, grants class counsel $12 million in legal fees; Residents consider asking Bar for reprimand

“NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge overseeing the Bayou Corne sinkhole case has approved $12 million in legal fees, just weeks after the plaintiffs said their lawyers “mistreated and manipulated” them into accepting a subpar settlement. . . “

The Finger Lakes region in west New York has a collapsing cavern problem too –
The Daily Beast – Exclusive: Anti-Fracking Filmmaker Josh Fox Arrested In Finger Lakes Protest

” . . . Cark claims there are structural issues. In the 1960s, a 400,000-ton hunk of rock fell from one of the ceilings, and now rests on the floor of the cavern, leaving behind a potentially unstable irregular hole the size of a football field. And while salt caverns are nearly impervious to gas, when you have irregularities, they can cause leaks, or, worse, collapse.”

LINK – http://youtu.be/uFIX-vDwSwQ

Still more questions than answers about the ecological effects of oil dispersants used in Gulf of Mexico

” . . .  Along with 210 million gallons of crude oil that leaked from BP’s failed deep-sea well, cleanup workers applied 1.84 million gallons of chemical dispersant intended to break down the oil and prevent it from reaching the shoreline in massive quantities.

Since the spill, numerous studies have suggested that the mix of oil and chemical dispersants was more toxic to at least parts of the marine ecosystem than the oil alone. . . “

 . . . that would be corexit . . .

OK frack-quakes:  Oil tycoon Harold Hamm reportedly tried to get scientists fired over their earthquake research

Harold Hamm, the CEO of oil company Continental Resources, tried to get scientists at the University of Oklahoma fired after the presented research that increased seismic activity in the Midwest is linked to wastewater disposal from fracking . . .