BP accused of trying to silence science on spill

BP accused of trying to silence science on spill

LONDON (AFP) – The head of the American Association of Professors accused BP Friday of trying to buy the silence of scientists and academics to protect itself after the Gulf oil spill, in a BBC interview.

"This is really one huge corporation trying to buy faculty silence in a comprehensive way," said Cary Nelson.

BP is facing lawsuits after the oil spill, which has destroyed the livelihoods of many people along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

A copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP, which the BBC said it had obtained, said scientists are not allowed to publish the research they do for the oil giant.

They are also not allowed to speak about the data for at least three years or until the government gives final approval for the company's restoration plan for the whole of the Gulf, said the British broadcaster.

BP said it had hired more than a dozen scientists "with expertise in the resources of the Gulf of Mexico," according to a statement given to the BBC.

Bob Shipp, the head of marine sciences at the University of South Alabama, said BP's lawyers had approached him and wanted his whole department.

"They contacted me and said we would like to have your department interact to develop the best restoration plan possible after this oil spill," he said.

"We laid the ground rules -- that any research we did, we would have to take total control of the data, transparency and the freedom to make those data available to other scientists and subject to peer review.

"They left and we never heard back from them."

Nelson warned BP's actions could be "hugely destructive".

"Our ability to evaluate the disaster and write public policy and make decisions about it as a country can be impacted by the silence of the research scientists who are looking at conditions," he said.

"It's hugely destructive. I mean at some level, this is really BP versus the people of the United States."

BP said it "does not place restrictions on academics speaking about scientific data," according to the BBC.

The environmental disaster began on April 20 when the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers. The rig sank two days later rupturing the pipe that connected it to the well.

I know stuff....lots of stuff.... I wonder how much it's worth

c/thru wrote:

I know stuff....lots of stuff.... I wonder how much it's worth

put it on E bay to get some feelers

KK wrote:

c/thru wrote:

I know stuff....lots of stuff.... I wonder how much it's worth

put it on E bay to get some feelers

good ide'er .... I've heard of crazier sales over there ... I got a jar of fingernail clippings in assorted colors too



Hey, did you hear about the Kid that started trading on Craigslist with a phone ?
and 14 trades & 2 years later, he now has a Porsche ?
true story buzzing around right now !!!!

c/thru wrote:

KK wrote:

c/thru wrote:

I know stuff....lots of stuff.... I wonder how much it's worth

put it on E bay to get some feelers

good ide'er .... I've heard of crazier sales over there ... I got a jar of fingernail clippings in assorted colors too



Hey, did you hear about the Kid that started trading on Craigslist with a phone ?
and 14 trades & 2 years later, he now has a Porsche ?
true story buzzing around right now !!!!

yea I read that one. did you know i traded a porsche for a phone? it had minutes left on it too.

Look...now BP is paying people to just go away, far, far away ....
They don't even care if Tony talks, they/ he's ruined his rep so bad

c/thru wrote:

Look...now BP is paying people to just go away, far, far away ....
They don't even care if Tony talks, they/ he's ruined his rep so bad

now the PR and image rebuilding start. I guess they firgure americans are entering the forget about it phase

KK wrote:

c/thru wrote:

Look...now BP is paying people to just go away, far, far away ....
They don't even care if Tony talks, they/ he's ruined his rep so bad

now the PR and image rebuilding start. I guess they firgure americans are entering the forget about it phase

Seems every other ad on TV now is a BP ad. I had to pass one today to get gas. No more BP for me.

Joebert wrote:

KK wrote:

c/thru wrote:

Look...now BP is paying people to just go away, far, far away ....
They don't even care if Tony talks, they/ he's ruined his rep so bad

now the PR and image rebuilding start. I guess they firgure americans are entering the forget about it phase

Seems every other ad on TV now is a BP ad. I had to pass one today to get gas. No more BP for me.

i don't watch much tv so i haven't noticed

I watch while on the computer so I see a lot of ads. I'm sick of hearing about BP.