BP pledges to put up $500 million for ecological study, but the money may be restricted to Gulf Coast state universities. Some say the limits are counter to the spirit of science.

As efforts to stem BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill continue, University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment Dean Nancy Targett headed to the White House. Targett visited Vice President Joe Biden’s Domestic Policy Advisory Committee Tuesday, June 22, to discuss response to the disaster.

In April, when the Deepwater Horizon petroleum drilling rig exploded and oil began gushing from a drill hole almost a mile deep in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists and engineers scrambled to figure out where the oil was going.

Can naturally occurring, oil-eating microbes help clean the waters and shores of the Gulf of Mexico? Scientists, BP and government officials are moving toward trying it.

Having just returned from his fourth trip to the Gulf Region, the President addressed the American people for the first time from the Oval Office. He focused on the government’s ongoing all-out response to the immediate crisis, the steps being taken to make sure such a crisis does not happen again, and the longer term crisis of America’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to complete the membership of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

The Florida Institute of Oceanography – a little known marine science consortium making big news with its research – will receive $10 million from BP to study the effects of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill.

BP’s ability to convince the public that it has the Gulf oil spill under control disappeared weeks ago. Multiple attempts to stop or even slow the flow of oil from the undersea well ranged from laughable to obvious, but all have failed.

From the beginning, we activated 15 agencies for what is now the largest national response ever to an environmental disaster. And what we wanted to do is make sure that every agency was coordinating and that there was clarity about how we’re going to proceed in the coming months.

The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico presents critical opportunities for the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP).

Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), yesterday repeated her plea for researchers to be cautious in collecting and interpreting evidence of underwater plumes of oil from the Deepwater Horizon well.

The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill – Prepared by the Joint Information Center – UPDATED June 3, 2010 7 PM