Enviro Links: House Panel Blocks BP Leases, Mystery Sea Turtle Deaths, and More

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Today in oil disaster news:

Officials gave the go-ahead last night to begin tests on the new containment cap, which BP hopes will collect far more oil than the old cap.

The House Natural Resources Committee approved a bill to create yet another oil spill commission. The Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act also sets up new regulations on the oil and gas industry.

That committee also approved an amendment from Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) that would bar companies with a history of safety violations from obtaining new leases, which of course is bad news for BP.

Regulators are asking banks to cut Gulf Coast residents affected by the oil spill some slack, reports The Hill.

Oil has hit Louisiana’s largest sea bird nesting area, covering 300 to 400 pelicans and hundreds of terns in crude.

The New York Times reports that many of the autopsies on dead animals found in the Gulf are inconclusive, as many of the victims aren’t showing obvious signs of oil contamination.

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate