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Tonight on 360°, a charter boat captain helping in the Gulf oil clean up effort dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We'll look at his life and death and the concerns for other fishermen. Plus, a look at what's being done to help save the dolphins and other marine mammals living in the Gulf.
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Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
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Is there an evacuation plan for these Dolphins? Can't they be evacuated in some way? Put in boats? AN empty oil tanker clean it up and evacuate... to safe not polluted waters?
@ Star: By week 4 of the spill i was so heartbroken and enraged i had to back off for a while.
Same here! I live near the beach in Sarasota, FL. The ocean and being on the water is God's playground for me. My head can not get wrapped around this mess.
Hi Anderson, I wacht your show everynight I want to congratulate you for your great job, it really makes me so upset this situation on the Gulf and that BP does not do anything about it. Is there any connection betwen BP and the Coast Guard or any other agencies?
I can not understand who can stand strong and demand a solution, makes me feel that BP is not going to do anything at all, like the problems they have in Alaska at the end they have nothing to loose only America will be in trouble.
I think I am not making any sense on all this but I am very frustrated specially with they wild life which is very touching for me because the love I have for them, sorry for my complain but just need to take it out of my chest.
Thank you so much and keep being so informative.
Our wild life preservation should also be compensated for by BP where ever it has been affected and also the marine life.
We knew that this Marine life was NOT dying until the oil started spilling into the water...
I love watching dolphins play in the waves next to boats, its so cool to watch!
To all the people suffering in the midst of this oil disaster, we care and are keeping you all close to our hearts. Keep the hope alive.
Goodnight everyone. Sleep well this weekend Mr. Cooper. And thank you again.
Good Evening.
This is fruit from the tree of Corporate Greed and Deregulation, the philosophy responsible for the near collapse of our financial system, and the reason why the oil well didn't meet safety standards.
the cousteau family is amazing – i watched some old video on cousteau's anniversary a few weeks ago. the work that the rest of the family does is so important and vital. it was an amazing look at even the smallest most insignificant type of life – like the coral – that most people forget about.
to the cousteaus – please do not ever stop doing the things that you do – your involvement in situations like this is invaluable.
So BP (and the rest of the big oil companies that copied their emergency plan) had a plan for saving the walrus but have no idea how to deal with the dead dolphins, sea turtles, etc. washing up on shore.
The use of Corexit (the dispersent being used in the Gulf) was banned in England. It should be banned here. Shame on the EPA for not putting their foot down and halting it from being used from day 1. If the oil doesn't get the beautiful marine life, Corexit will. It's a pity and a shame. How can Doug Suttles and the rest of the BP CEOs sleep at night? The life that has been lost, both human and wild, is a horrible waste. Corexit must be banned today. Thanks for keeping it real Anderson.
FOCUS...Stop leak now, use every resource available, invent some if needed....Clean up as much as possible now and last...worry about the blame and cost later. Seems to much media is on the problem, the President and his people (and maybe BP) are watching so cram thousands of ideas down their throats, 24/7. There's 7 billion people and 7 trillion ideas, something has to work.
Yes, Billy N. seems very prepared and organized. He's a blessing to Louisiana.
If the hurricane goes to the right of the spill, how much oil do you suppose can get churned out to the Atlantic? Maybe it would clean a lot of it out and by the time it goes across the Atlantic in the gulf stream maybe a lot of it will disperse naturally. Maybe I'm being too hopeful.
Ohh, poor dolphin
MY last comment – I am sure that BP is keeping the well open on purpose so they won't lose the oil! I am sure of it – They do not care about the damage, they could have blown it up long ago to collapse the well on the inside!
Listening to how the dolphins die, and the other sealife...awful...
What is being done with the oil they are recovering?
Can the oil that is on the ocean surface and beach be refined and sold?
If the oil can be refined will BP use the money to pay for the gulf recovery?
We don't know what -stress- the animals in the Gulf are under..
Fires<>>chemicals..
It is so horrible..
Anderson, It's been my opinion that BP's oversaturation of chemical dispersant has been strategic so that they could cover up how much oil has leaked. Their defiant use of dispersant has been simultaneous with their denials of underwater plumes of oil. They dumping a toxic soup in the Gulf. The Gulf will never be the same......the government is just as acountable as BP for this toxic disaster....isn't it about time the government designated it as a Superfund site?
The clean up workers need venitlator masks....but BP's refusal to provide the masks are just another cover up of damages to the environment and to humans.
I am an animal lover and it saddens me whenever I see an animal sick or hurting, and just knowing what this oil is doing to these animals makes me sick to my stomach especially when some of these animals are on the endangered species list
Thank you for your excellent coverage of the Gulf oil spill. You are doing a great service for the people of the Gulf. Speaking as a resident of Alabama, I thank you for making sure the truth is told about this tragedy and for keeping the challenge facing these brave and determined people of the Gulf on the radar of our country. They need your advocacy. They need honesty,integrity and social responsibility from BP. They need genuine concern and support from our President and government, and they need all of our prayers. Please continue the great coverage.
I have to leave early and really wish i didn't have to.
Thank you and good night Anderson and Team 360. As always, you and your team follow the most important stories and stick with them to get answers for us, the people. Thank you so much.
Thank you and good night to all my blog friends. I really will try to get on the blog at least once a week. I really missed all of you and the conversation.
God bless all of the sea creatures, my they find safety somewhere in the Gulf. God bless the people of the Gulf. Any my sympthaties again the to friends and family of the Captain who took his own life.
Makes me cry ;(
@Isabel Siaba (Brazil)
"Day 66 of oilspill – is it just me or does it seem to be getting WORSE instead of better?? God, help us."
It's gotten SO much worse since BP attempted to fix it, if you remember the oil was spilling out of 4 vents, now it's just gushing out of one huge hole!
Anyone who believes the spin of BP or any corporation about their concern for the public or the environment is in need of a reality check. Profit at any cost rules board room decisions.
i wouldn't count on bp being on the program – they are probably busy running into several of the czars at the white house, and i can imagine that would be a bit stressful...
I am very interested in hearing what Alexandra Cousteau has to say about this. Philippe has been doing such a great job reporting on this terrible tragedy.
When the well is capped is there a chance the well will blow from the sides or bottom?
@Heidi McDonald, a lot of people on this blog have suggested Gen. Honore and Gary Tuchman interviewed him about how the spill should be approached about a week ago.
@Starr I think anything we do say the attention we give to this disaster in the Gulf helps, certainly it makes those in office and in the position to make decisions know that people care very deeply about the gulf, the residents of the gulf states whose lives and livelihoods are impacted and the wetlands, beaches and habitats that are affected all along the gulf shoreline. Yes I love this blog too.
Can anyone tell me what those two circular area of circulation were in Chad Meyer's forecast? Is that the flow in the water?
I think BP should come on the program. Direct communication would help.
What Obama SHOULD do is put McChrystal in charge of Gulf Coast operations, That man can get things done. Instead of wasting such orginizational skills, And Fire Thad Allan instead !!! Also is anybody really even watching B.P. ? God Help Us All !!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I am going to stop watching now because they are going to start talking about animals and I can't stand to see, it breaks my heart. Poor innocent little souls don't understand what is happening, it is so sad. God must be very unhappy with us.
@Michele, a lot of the people on this blog do understand, a lot of people in the U.S. and round the world understand.
It could get to a sort of Tjernobil of oil and chemicals...
If the pending storm sprays oil inland will it be flammable?
I cannot watch another dying and struggling animal. Am signing off for a while...it's just too heart-breaking. This whole disaster is sickening beyond belief. As a southernor and Mississippian, we will fight back as we always have but at what cost to our lifestyle, our culture and our wonderful, wonderful sense of joy.
BPfolks are yellow COWARDS!!.they will all to answer to a higher power one day.
BP won't appear on AC360 because they don't know the meaning of the words honest, transparent, or truth.
The one thing that can help the Gulf is for Anderson and crew to continue their superb coverage in the Gulf. The coverage is compassionate, well researched, and varied. Hearing the little girl say she's afraid that oil could kill her broke my heart.
Everyone in the Gulf is in in my prayers.
anderson, ur coverage is phenominal. kudos to you! I have some news for you, though. B.P. will NEVER come on and talk to you because they are SCARED of you!!!! If it wasnt for your coverage of this, none of us would have this info and B.P. would be allowed to do whatever it wanted. this situation floors me, but what is really astounding is that the U.S. government cant get loose from that sticky red tape long enough to coordinate anything! SHAMEFUL!! CARVILLE AND NUNGESSER FOR PREZ AND V.P.!!!!!!
@Nicole & Nancy,
"PTSD is not a strange idea.. It is like they just can't catch a break.."
That's just one of the reasons that I mentioned the 24hr suicide/distress lines that people could phone and talk to someone....
"The match finally ends!"
11 hours – cool -that HAS to be some sort of record.
it would be cool to follow the russian president on twitter – i hear he is quite technically savvy...
Billy Nussberger deserves a medal for his devotion to Plaq. Parish and the state of Louisiana. He and Bobby Jindal are so helping in "keeping them honest." God Bless them as well!!!!
I n my humble opinion, everyone, Tony Hayward included, who knew there was a problem with the valve and decided to overlook it, should be charged with manslaughter. The employees on those rigs know there are risks when they take the jobs, but from accidents, not from blatant irresponsibility. I live in north Alabama and grew up spending summers at the Gulf, to see the wildlife, beaches and livelyhoods of the people who live there destroyed is heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Kruse family.
BP is breaking federal laws by killing marine mammals like whales and dolphins in the Gulf, not to mention deliberately letting endangered sea turtles burn to death in the fires they set between the booms. Who is arresting them? Who is doing anything to BP?
It sure looks to me like BP is above any law we have. Those innocent dolphins dying out there ... their lives are worth more than all of those BP executives. They have committed murder in the Gulf and we are watching them get away with it.
Great (big) game of tennis! lol...
I live in Canada and watch the reaction to this spill in disgust. BP is at a min. guilty of criminal negligence causing death. The Govt should seize BP assets as proceeds of crime. I will guarantee that will change the BS that BP is spewing
everyone forgets about hurricane ike – there was a fair bit of devastation there as well, wasn't there? (billy sounds very organized and prepared)
Listening to your conversation with Billy N.
As a gulf resident and background in chemistry and just a little common sense...I never understood in the beginning why they were allowing bp to use dispersants. A dispersant is just a type of surfactant which is then an ingredient in detergents. By definition, a dispersant is meant to "break up" or disperse the oil into the water. It makes more sense to literally "coral" the oil in the booms and collect it or "the lesser of many evils" is to burn it on the water. Dispersing it in the water column is going to cause more harm for the the fish and all other sealife longterm! I love this area and this seems to be getting crazier.
thanks
ginger
The oil has now hit 4 States! Our system of government is responding like it's only in a lake or something. We can spend billions on the war on terror and drugs (which are never-ending wars) but we can't spend anything on this oil spill. I think our government should take over the clean-up operation spearheaded by Ret. General Honnorae and let him do what he does best. If that would've happened 4-6 weeks ago, the tourist industry along the gulf wouldn't be victims also.
I think Chad Myers is best weatherman ever. I've been watching him since Hurr Ivan. And these new maps communicate so much, I appreciate the use of these state of art tools.
I don't think people understand that the oil in the Gulf is more than lost jobs for the locals. The possibility of a dead zone, or damage to the spawning grounds and movement into the loop current will take it up the east coast of Florida and all the way to the Arctic. The chemicals are going to make it up the food chain and affect us all. This is the info from the scientists.
Anderson, thank you for continuing to cover this disaster night after night. You definitely have the best coverage & we appreciate it. This is the worst catastrophe I've ever seen- & no end in sight. President Obama needs to step up to the plate & order more help for these poor people in the Gulf.