Robert Redford Weighs In On Gulf Disaster: Join the Live Chat
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Actor Robert Redford is speaking out about the Gulf oil disaster. He says it was perhaps necessary to "wake us up" and get us to force the "politicians in the government that are in collusion with the energy companies" to move America towards a clean energy future. Redford talks with Anderson for tonight's "Big 360° interview." Plus, we give you an up close look at the efforts to save the animals impacted by this disaster.
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Scroll down to join the live chat during the program. It's your chance to share your thoughts on tonight's headlines. Keep in mind, you have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules.
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So much focus on plugging the well as it should be. But more should be done to deal with oil entering the marsh and bay areas. Those areas have oil degrading bacteria there. They just need a boost of oxygen and nutrients. Why has that not started. Too much Govt restrictions. I heard that the Costner unit worked where are they being deployed??
Our Governments response to this Disaster confirms the extent of corruption in congress. Oil companies have too much financial influence with too many of those that are supposed to support the American people, but whom end up caught in a personal financial position due to their dependance on the Oil money, and their priority becomes thier own personal financial welfare, and the American people are left with no fair representation from the politicians WE elected.
The GOVERNMENT ALLOWED BP to operate without all the checks and balances. This is fact. So who is to blame? Really? We don't need new energy policies or moritoriums. We need to enforce what is already rules and regulations, just like immigration laws. Look, you 'people' don't really know what is really happening, unless you are dumb enough to believe corporations, politicians, and journalists. Jan in Lafayette, LA
Poor birds!!!! I am so sad for birds..... Thanks Rob M for information what happened to birds, He is doing great job reporting about birds.
I still think the deep water drilling needs to have feasible disaster plans – not just photo copied speculative solutions. Safety needs to be paramount for deep water activity. Maybe the shallow drilling is secure enough but we need to review the MMS approved documents.
What a great report from Rob Marciano! Go Coast Guard! Save the Pelicans and the poor endangered sea turtles.
Rockport is a great santuary for Pelicans ! WooHoo! I love it! Thanks Rob!
To those that ask where are the animals groups? Remember that several groups were ready and expertly equipped to handle oiled birds and they were told by US Fish and Wildlife they were not needed. I thought that was an outrage. That International Bird Center that Anderson showed cleaning birds is contracted by BP.... nothing against what these good people are doing, but you would think other people, other groups with tons of experience would be welcome to help find more birds in distress. The big question is why are they on standby.
It appears that now the National Wildlife Federation has people down there to spot birds in distress and that is good.... but so much more could be done and govt stands in the way.
@Emily, "These oil companies had best have a "plan"
You would have thought the government would have demanded that before they allowed them to drill in our waters.
Maybe instead of the oil companies hiring the inspectors, the government should try hiring some of theirs to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
The well that we have a problem with right now passed it's safety test too. Did that matter?
@Rhonda,
"Where are the former presidents during this time and where do they stand? Do they plan to do anything?"
I thought that too...nearly everyone has been "very quiet" thus far....not just the former presidents.
I have lived in Louisiana all my life and shrimped with my grandfather, father, brothers,and husband near Grand Isle. My biggest concern in all this mess is the toxic effects it will have on us and the potential to contaminate everything! I and my husband are cancer survivors, we lost our oldest child with carcoma, my husband has lymphoma, and he is working with my 5 brothers in that horrable toxic mess, the people of Louisiana need all your prayers for a long time!
How about this for debate? You break it, you buy it. Not one oil company knows how to stop this or clean it up. If you can't buy it don't touch it.
@ Eddie
Ken Feinberg is in charge of the $20 billion fund set up by BP. He is an independent agent selected by President Obama. He also was in charge of the 911 fund under the President Bush Administration.
With all of these vaccuums that they have ordered to suck up the surface oil that has already made it to shore, why can't they use them to suck the oil up directly from the leak? The oil would never have to surface or wreak anymore havoc on our precious wildlife and habitat!!! Also, aside from advances on clean-up efforts, what else is being done to STOP the massive hemorage?
I heard that it was 500 million in the well that's why they wanted to tap it so bad....
What about the fishermen? They can't fish. And the fishermen don't have a 8.9 million payroll. They should be able to keep drilling but it is ok to put the poor fishermen out of work? WRONG!
Maybe the oil industry needs to take a hit to realize they are not invinsible. They need to be held accountable too! Safety first!
@ emily Good question, been asking the same thing for about 2 months now.
It's bad enough that this could have been prevented altogether had BP spent a little extra money and not cut corners, but the fact that our govt, who apparently is "doing everything they can" refused help from other countries, countries who have experience similar spills and had devices to clean them up is i think the biggest outrage of all! We're in no position to refuse any help no matter where it comes from. After 2 months the problem should be getting better, not worse. This didn't have to be the catastrophe it is now.
I really appreciate the oil cam. We can now watch 24/7 as absolutely nothing is done.
All the rigs that want the moratorium lifted....Are they prepared for
the "want if' ?
Obviously BP wasn't.
The Gulf Disaster is a tragedy. And a new energy policy, debated in public, would be welcome. What is not helpful is your highlighting the extremely biased views of someone like Robert Redford, without balance or debate.
If Bad People can't figure out that there are more than 1,000 barrels coming out per day, how can they do the calculus to hit that itty bitty end of a pipe 28,000 feet down by 12 inches? I hope they can. But if they can, I hope they can prove they did. How 'bout we inspect the 3,499 other holes in the ocean to see how much they are leaking? There is so much oil out there now, we can't even tell if another one is leaking, can we??? That judge better think hard about that.
Betty Ann
Yes!!!! I agree. Anderson always stay there long time now..... 🙂
Where are all the animal activist? World Wildlife fund, HSUS, PETA et all! Come on out!
Perfect right question!!!!!!
I work offshore why don't they take off the top of the b.o.p. and bolt on a crown valve and stop it. All they need is some long bolts to start it on and to pull it down into place. If you leave the valve open the pressure wont be a problem. Get it pulled down and just turn it off. Its not like they are putting people down there to get hurt. The rover can take it. They put it together the first time. If they use the long bolts and cut them as they need as they pull it up it will work. It might take a little while to do it, maybe 10 to 20 hours, but it can be done.
All wells that were drilled and are being drilled passed the same MMS criteria, the same as the one that is spilling it's black blood into all of America's ocean , not just the gulf community, as we speak. We all suffer economically and environmentally.
Have we ever found out how much oil BP or others think is in that well?
If the oil companies do not have the deep sea vehicles and tools to handle any type of accident then they shouldn't be there.
Thank you Anderson. Thank you CNN. You are the only "big time Media" who have kept on this story. Thank you is not enough.
I wish the others would realize what is actually happening.\
You are brilliant.
Susan, Monroe, LA
How can we trust the oil companies after what has happened? The existing wells need to be inspected before they allowed to continue to drill. Especially BP's wells since they have a history of cutbacks and shortcuts.
That is the fair thing to do.
Two things we should be aware of....Firstly, BP knew very well what they were drilling into prior to anchoring that rig on site. Millions of dollars are spent modeling these systems before drilling as drilling costs alone are out of this world. So prior to making that decision to drill, you better believe they knew exactly what flow rates were to be expected. This is pretty basic stuff for any resource geologist (I'm one by the way). Second....and this is what scares me the most, yet no one talks about it....how big is the reservoir that they have drilled into? The bigger it is the longer it will take to equilibrate in terms of the pressure differential, so these relief wells may have little immediate impact if any. Since the reservoir was modeled prior to drilling, where are the maps showing its 3D dimensions?????? We have no idea of the scale of this feature! So how can we possibly understand what lies in store for the Gulf?
@sonia That seems like a good idea.
These oil companies had best have a "plan" in case something that goes wrong that does not have advice that comes from a deceased scientist!
@Monica
The Gulf residents have a legitimate reason to see the moratorium end. Jobs are at risk, families and businesses are threatened.
The PotUS is in a no-win scenario. If he keeps the freeze in place then Big Oil and rig workers will be angry, but if he lifts the ban and God forbid another rig goes then he can kiss 2012 goodbye.
This is nothing like a plane crash. When a plane crashes it happens, lives are lost, and it's over. That's why the entire airline industry doesn't get shut down. Inspect the rigs, prove them safe, and move from there.
RR is right. We need an energy bill asap. +windy
The oil leak situation now has flavors of politics, lawyers and big dollars! It's just got plainly incomprehensible over the last 2 months! That too, this is one of the super powers of the world! Can't believe this is happening to America!
Every little aspect of plain commonsense is being pushed around!
The people who are on the ground and those that can't bring bread to the table are the ones that should be put really in-charge of this situation, and I am sure, this thing will be over in less than a month!
Yatch, Golf or not!
the moratorium is just common sense.Make sure they are safe,checked by people who are not in the oil companies pockets.People are only against it because of money,and money is the direct cause of the BP disaster.Stop worrying about your pockets,a little suffering will teach humanity a lesson,just common sense
It seems that we have sold our soul for jobs & oil and now we pay the price.
It's great to hear for another CEO!
We have been watching Larry King and Anderson's programs since this Gulf disaster happened. We are formerly from the coast of Mississippi (Pascagoula) before Katrina. Where are the former presidents during this time and where do they stand? Do they plan to do anything? They were very vocal during the sunami, Katrina, and other world disasters, but they have been very quiet thus far. Why?
I the oil companies don't have the deep sea vehicles and tools to handle any kind of accident then they should not be drilling there.
Hello Anderson, I am a resident of South Lousiana , a business owner and I will lose the business I have had for 11yrs.. if the drilling in the Gulf stops.
You tell Redford and the rest of those who don't seem to get IT. We will lose our home and our business will fold if we don't get back to drilling.!!!
This President has acted irrationally and does not care about the people of the Gulf. It isn't only rig workers, its more than that.
John Dow..
Good point there, You're absolutely right! I can't believe that either, PETA is very important to help animals.....
The driling companies need to work on 2nd blow-out preventer on the rigs that only have 1. That will keep them busy.
Why has there been nothing on the news anywhere except the web, about the threat that this has for the whole country with the chemicals that are being dumped into the gulf every day? This is as much a threat to the gulf and the rest of the country as the oil. I would just like to know why the American people are kept in the dark about this. We should not lift the drilling moratorium it is just asking for trouble. We already know that none of what the oil company's have on record as far as reaction to accidents is nonexistent, why would we let them try again. To lift it is just insane.
I think the BP CEO needs to get down here and spend one day or at least a few hours and see how he likes cleaning up his own mess!
Does it seem like Anderson Cooper is the only one who is relentless staying on this oil spill? I think BP want us all to forget about it. Thanks Anderson!
i watched Tony Hayward stonewalling session before Congress. The one question I would like to be asked of Mr. Haywood based on his positioning of not having answers to many of the questions asked of him because of "ongoing investigations" and being "too soon to answer" this or that question is: "Why was BP willing to estimate the amount of oil being lost into the Gulf before any investigation was done?" To me the answer is simple: damage control. Mr. Haywood double speaks and I believe this is just one example of that.
BP is responsible, are you sure? What about Halliburton, Transocean and the Congress with the Senators. Besides that matter of fact, the Fed and the apperatous was influenced by the lobbying party before. Now you do blame BP on the problem. Well, again, it was Halliburton, Transocean and their crooked Managers who were responsible. And the Congress, the Senators did the rest. One more question, does BP receive a credit from other tourism regions for making more money now???
Robert Redford spoke smartly, with the summer trees behind him, I thought – " He (President Obama) better grab the moment", and to congress – "He better push them" – I think that's right, we need oil, but it needs to be done with some heart.