Weekly Round-Up 6/25/10: Time ticks away

It's finally here! Hands Across the Sand takes place this Saturday in a town near you. Check out the link to locate an event. It comes at a good time, with plenty more happening with regards to the oil spill.

In other news, after President Obama flexed his executive authority by halting offshore drilling for six months and canceling the sale of offshore leases, here comes the Big Oil-loving Federal Judge Martin Feldman of Louisiana blocking the offshore oil moratorium. Being that Louisiana was one of the states devastated by the oil spill, I find this quite ironic. However, this should be no surprise given that the judge blocking the moratorium has big oil investments. The White House immediately said that they are going to appeal this decision.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the White House canceled the bipartisan climate and energy meeting that was set to happen Wednesday morning with Obama. However, at the last minute, the White House had to deal with other issues such as General Stanley McChrystal criticizing the administration in a Rolling Stone magazine interview. The White House insists that their priorities are not mixed up.

"As if we had a week to burn," said David Hamilton, director of the Sierra Club's global warming program.

Climate legislation is already way past due. Some politicians and environmental advocates are afraid that this cancellation will delay the climate bill from being passed this summer. Others claim that with this delay, Democrats can become better prepared for the next meeting said to take place next week.

"It is a big job, and we're already very much behind schedule," Hamilton said. "The longer it takes to get into the guts of this, the harder it's going to be to get it done."

Luckily, passionate climate activists are up to bat and ready to swing away. Climate advocates such as our allies Sierra Club and League of Conservative Voters, are planning an $11 million ad campaign to gain support for the passage of strong climate and clean energy legislation. Take that big oil companies and "dirty money" senators!

BP Oil Spill Update

BP claims to have spent $2 billion in responding to the oil spill crisis and to have payed $102 million to citizens with claims. However, another set back happened Wednesday when a deep-sea robot bumped into the cap, forcing a halt in collecting oil from the well. The cap was back in place by Thursday, but skepticism about BP's efforts remain. As new coverage of the oil spill expands, so does American's opposition to offshore drilling along with our frustration. BP is still confident that they can and will stop the leak.

"It's really not a tough thing to do," says Mickey Fruge, the wellsite leader aboard the DDII for BP.

A relief well is set to be ready in August.