BP Bows to Pressure for Oil Leak Livestream

(CBS/AP)  Updated at 7:15 p.m. ET

Hours after hearing a demand from a congressional chairman, BP announced the oil company would provide a live broadcast of the oil spill from a government website.

"This may be BP's footage, but it's America's ocean," Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Edward Markey, the chairman who made the demand, said in a statement. "Now anyone will be able to see the real-time effects the BP spill is having on our ocean."

The chairman of a congressional subcommittee called on BP to release live video feeds of the oil gushing from a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

Earlier Wednesday, Markey demanded the broadcast so independent scientists could more accurately calculate the flow rate. He questioned why such data wasn't readily being made public.

"BP thinks it's their ocean," Markey said while chairing a House Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing Wednesday.

Markey didn't stop with BP, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. He blasted the Coast Guard for what he described as letting BP call the shots.

Coast Guard officials were on a boat with BP contractors who stopped CBS News cameras from viewing an oily beach, and the Coast Guard - which is in charge of the investigation - admits it's had access to live video since Day One but wouldn't let Congress or the public see it, Attkisson reports.

Markey said there was "no excuse for withholding live video for 23 days."

Markey's demand came after BP released some video footage of the leak after other pressure from Congress. BP uses several remotely controlled submersibles to record video of the leak site 24 hours a day, according to a statement the subcommittee released.

"Congress and the American public have the right to know what is happening in real time, so that they can understand and react to the situation as it develops," Markey said in a statement.

Two professors at the hearing supported Markey. Steve Wereley, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, said uncompressed video from BP will help more accurately measure the leak. Otherwise it will be difficult to engineer appropriate solutions, Wereley said.

Wereley estimates the leak lets 70,000 barrels a day into the Gulf, much higher than the BP's estimate of 5,000 barrels a day.

Frank Muller-Karger, a University of South Florida professor of biological oceanography, told committee members an on-land system such as satellites are needed for measuring weather to know what is going on below the ocean surface.

Government agencies have set up a task force to focus on how much oil is spilling, but BP America President Lamar McKay said under questioning at the hearing that officials still don't know which estimates are correct.

"It's theoretically possible," that the larger estimates are accurate, he said. "But I don't think anyone who's been working on this thinks it's that high."

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[Johnrba]

maybe it's already been done; if not, this could be an opportunity to tap into a broad pool of talent (in the making), as a project at every college and university in the world --- to find a creative solution to this ongoing problem now, and in the future...

[1musicwayne]

Lesson from the past. So take notes! Pemex is Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, the 10th largest oil company in the world. In 1979, a Pemex Gulf well explosion resulted in between ten and thirty thousand barrels per day flowing into the Gulf for 9 months. It dwarfed the current BP spill. Texas beaches were affected. It took a few years to fully recover. Mexico refused to pay for any of the cleanup. We washed lots of birds.

So where?s the Pemex oil? Less than 10% was recovered. Much just evaporated. Some became harmless ocean sediment. Funny thing?for the most part, it just seemed to disappear. Our environment breaks it down.

BP will pay dearly for this, but nature will fix it. Eleven lives lost is sad. Our planet has handled much more severe burps before. Relax, but expect tar balls on the beaches for a while.

[mdbill-2009]

yeah, relax. as long as you're not a sea creature, or someone who's subsistence comes from the sea, or someone who enjoys shrimp.... that comes from the sea, or a beach resort that depends on pretty beaches, or....... yeah, relax

[Turbidite]

It seems incredible that the entire United States Government is stopped by BP's CEO Hayward. Instead of angry words, our government should simply remove BP from the scene under martial law and take over the emergency response, using energy and environmental contractors to stop and clean up the gusher. Legally this matter falls under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security. BP should have all rights to U.S. offshore drilling revoked and then fined for the the entire cleanup and subsequent maintenance of the injured environments. This would no doubt bankrupt the company, and good riddance I say. The ongoing arrogance of BP's management and dismissal of anything their American cousins do is well known among the members of the energy industry.

[soundloud]

What is wrong with Rush Limbaugh, is he on drugs again, or is he showing the depth of knowledge with only high school diploma and trying to be an intellect. He claims that the enviornmentalists should pay for all the damages caused by BP. He says enviornmentalists drove the oil companies to drill in the ocean, which caused this spill in Gulf of Mexico. What the hell is that, this is where your knowledge comes into play, Rush is an empty vessel. Two thirds of earth is covered with water, and scientists found that there are reserves of oil under the ocean, its logical too. So this is the reason, what drove these oil companies to do off shore drilling, NOT BECAUSE OF THE ENVIORNMENTALISTS.
Republican party and its leaders wont say that this guy Rush is wrong, and this clueless intellect is leading the party now... The other high school graduate, the genius is Glen Beck, and the clueless chatter box Sarah Palin who wants to drill more and does not give a damn about people and enviornment . Rush and Glen abused drugs in the past. God help republican's and I hope they open their eyes and see what damage these three musketeers doing to the party ....

[spaceatoms]

The bailout drove RL crazy!

[alphaa10000]

WHAT IS WRONG WITH LIMBAUGH ? LET US COUNT THE WAYS

In the last days of a noted 20th century German dictator, his propaganda minister was driven to ever more absurd scenarios to rouse the party faithful, and tap into the one thing Germany still had in abudance-- hatred and fear.

On a steady wartime daily ration of bad news-- defeat, death and terrible truth from every front-- party faithful retreated into a curious, almost psychotic state. Black was white, down was actually up, defeat only a sign of impending victory, and the absence of popular support only another proof the masses are passive and must be whipped periodically into a faithful frenzy by a few good supermen.

So after sinking his fangs into that mother lode of negative passions, all that remained for said propaganda minister was to erect a thin scaffolding of rationale, and a running patter of daily reinforcement. Almost any rationale could justify whatever mad claim desired. The rationale was beside the point-- all that mattered was the emotion.

To the last day, the whole pathology of power was to keep a death grip on what remained of the German people. Yet, despite all the stirring calls to victory, it never was entirely clear what said dictator and his propaganda minister planned to do at their victory party. In truth, they simply did not believe their own words.

[brianbwb2011]

After decades of weakening the government's power to regulate, de-funding programs designed to monitor our natural resources, and pushing for lower penalties for those in violation of even the weakened safety standards, it is ironic to an unprecedented and humorous degree to see the ASPD-GOP now complaining about the current administration.

No ASPD-GOP, or any so-called "neoconservative" person has any credibility at this point, blaming the current admin for not opposing their views, and not dismantling overnight that which they have been building ever since Nixon.

To President Obama,

When you announced that you would allow Bush's genocide to continue, and that you would not seek to bring him and his cronies to justice, I posted that you were making a mistake, by seeking to compromise with those who are genetically un-evolved enough to accept a "black" president, even when you try to appease their interests.

Now we see that the consequences are not only predictably political, but also devastating in a very real way to humanity. It is neither fun, or satisfying to say "I told you so" in this case, but with such dire consequences, it is important to establish that you had been warned, at least by this lone, tiny voice.

The popular support it is costing you from the progressives is not being balanced by an equal increase from the regressives, and so at this point you have little to lose, and much to gain by doing what we elected you to do, dismantle and repudiate the remnants of right-wing politics and economics, and bring government into line with the interests of humanity, rather than greed.

End the wars, bring the people who caused them to justice, institute real education, economic, and political reform, begin the process of rebuilding America from scratch,

Oh, and while you are at it, you would do well to stop "turning the other cheek" to racism, because the frenzy being whipped up by the ultra right pundits is certain to result in harm, perhaps not to yourself, but to some innocent people who just happen to make more convenient targets for the idiots.

[SueZeeeQue]

Maybe Sarah Palin can post it on her facebook page next to the slogan, "drill baby drill"?

[spaceatoms]

Sarah Palin wanted responsible drilling laws and regulations and wanted to overturn the industry preventing a disaster like the current one.

[STBY21]

?This may be BP?s footage, but it?s America?s ocean," Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Edward Markey, the chairman who made the demand, said in a statement. "Now anyone will be able to see the real-time effects the BP spill is having on our ocean."


Markey said there was "no excuse for withholding live video for 23 days."

?Congress and the American public have the right to know what is happening in real time, so that they can understand and react to the situation as it develops," Markey said in a statement.

I wonder how Markey felt about posting the healthcare bill online for a few days? One would think the American public would have the right to know what was happening there in real time. Like CSPAN. It took way more that 23 days to get them to even read the healthcare bill.

Just another hipocrat from Mass. They should use his hot air to keep that Cape Cod wind farm going.

[antoniof123]

"BP thinks it's their ocean," Markey said while chairing a House Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing Wednesday.

Markey didn't stop with BP, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. He blasted the Coast Guard for what he described as letting BP call the shots.

Coast Guard officials were on a boat with BP contractors who stopped CBS News cameras from viewing an oily beach, and the Coast Guard - which is in charge of the investigation - admits it's had access to live video since Day One but wouldn't let Congress or the public see it, Attkisson reports.

I guess some of you may now see the dangers of letting business go uncontrolled this is now going to be hard to stop you see what the previous administration did by doing nothing.

Thank you and for those of you who are blaming Obama you nuts this is BP not our government this is the lack of controls brought on by a failed administration know as the Bush administration and the Republican party.

Have a nice day.

[STBY21]

You're a moron.

[alphaa10000]

THE BUSH LEGACY-- AN OIL SLICK

People look back at the eight years of Bush2 and wonder how all this rot, decay and dysfunction might have erupted, seemingly from nowhere. As Bush, himself, lamented after Katrina, "No one thought the levees would break."

But every disaster has a prologue. These crises were seeded while many Americans refused to listen to Bush critics warning them their civil liberties were being systematically dismantled in the name of national security. They refused to listen, while Bush cronies and GOP patrons-- the same people whom Bush dubbed his political base-- were given insider treatment in the name of general prosperity.

And they refused to listen, while Bush wrapped himself in the flag to stage the most massive political fraud in American history-- the invasion of Iraq.

While Bush was in office eight years, a GOP-run congress was in power for 12 years. Compound the influence of the two, plus sympathy of a conservative US Supreme Court, and it is clear we suffered a massive amount of damage requiring years to uncover-- not to mention, correct.

BP is the latest poster crisis depicting the rotten fruits of a GOP mythology called DEregulation-- the idea that a thieves market is best run by the thieves, at our expense.

[jem0309]

all the cons are crying for the govt to do more about the spill now, when they cried for years to leave the oil companies alone. the bush years saw such a large disregard and elimination of needed regulations, it is scary! now they are crying for the govt to come swooping in and have the immediate solution. the govt is not in the industry of stopping deepwater oil spills in the ocean. bp for its part downplayed any possibility of a spill, as did the entire oil industry. we've been hearing how technology is so advanced that spills are virtually impossible. it's just the latest example of the blatantly hypocritic and greedy croons that run the gop, screwing the average american while looking out for their corporate financiers.

[thesevenveils]

Does the US Coast Guard work for BP? Why would it not want the public to know the truth!