Our guest blogger is Kiley Kroh, Associate Director for Ocean Communications at the Center for American Progress.

This week’s Senate hearing on the state of the Natural Resource Damages Assessment (NRDA) process highlighted the long bureaucratic ordeal of determining ultimate liability for last year’s Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. In the several months since the well was capped, BP has maintained it is committed to staying in the Gulf “as long as it takes.” In April the oil giant offered $1 billion to fund early restoration projects and witnesses testified that as many as 14 projects would be selected to begin as early as the end of this month.

While many were quick to commend BP for offering this money without obligation, officials on the ground are expressing growing concern over the amount of influence the corporation is able to exert. Because they control the checkbook, BP has the authority to sign off on all activities conducted by NRDA, including studies of affected areas. Garrett Graves, chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, pointed out the “inherent conflict” this creates between the financing sources and government agencies who are trying to carry out the restoration efforts:

It is a modern-day case of Stockholm syndrome, whereby responders are dependent upon the financial resources of and have repeatedly shown signs of empathy toward the responsible parties who hold them financially captive to the detriment of the will and best interest of the public.

The damaging effects of BP’s influence over the restoration process are already showing themselves. For instance, Graves noted that the corporation has been able to move to “prematurely designate oiled areas as [requiring] ‘no further treatment.’” In other words, the party responsible for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history now has the power to dictate the course of restoration efforts.

Graves went on to articulate that it is almost impossible for government agencies to compete with the “armies of attorneys, marketing firms, PR campaigns, lobbyists, scientists and other consultants.” In the wake of the spill, the oil giant moved to quickly buy the silence of as many Gulf Coast scientists as they could, while simultaneously spending millions of dollars on flashy public-relations campaigns designed to perpetuate their message that the Gulf region was back to pre-spill conditions.

And BP’s involvement in determining their own liability doesn’t end there. Documents obtained by Greenpeace under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly discussing how to influence the work of scientists supported by a $500 million fund the company created last year to fund what it claimed would be “independent research.”

The implications of BP dictating or even influencing scientific assessment and the appropriation of restoration funds go far beyond academic interest into the impact of the spill. The oil giant faces billions of dollars in fines and penalties, and possible criminal charges arising from the disaster and they’ve already disputed the government’s estimate that 4.9 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf, claiming they believe it could be half that amount. While the NRDA process is likely to drag on for several months, it is impossible to imagine how the final outcome could in any way be just if the accused is also a member of the jury.

“Less money spent at the pump means more money for the U.S. economy and more jobs. The weaker the standard, the fewer the jobs that will be created.”

That’s according to Peyton Fleming, spokesman for the NGO Ceres.

Preliminary data by Ceres finds that a 6% annual increase in the fuel economy limits would save Americans $152 billion over the next two decades at the gas pump compared with status quo regulations.  The full report is set to be released in late July.

In a press release, Ceres reports:

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Pres. Clinton:  If we change the way we produce and consume energy to fight global warming in the right way we will open up a whole new explosive era of American economic opportunity by saving the planet for our grandchildren. The idea that this is bad for us is nuts. We just have to do it in a smart way.  And [Sec. Chu] has determined to figure out what the smart ways are.

By Bracken Hendricks and Lisbeth Kaufman

At the Clinton Global Initiative America summit on Thursday, Secretary of the Department of Energy, Steven Chu and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley announced 14 new partners in the Better Building Challenge (BBC) a major step in enhancing energy efficiency of the U.S.  The announcement was the result of months of work, during which the Center for American Progress and CGI helped broker public-private partnerships committing to major energy efficiency pledges.

The Better Buildings Challenge is one of the smart ways to ignite this explosion. Part of the Better Buildings Initiative to cut commercial buildings energy use 20% by 2020, the Better Buildings Challenge is rallying CEOs, University Presidents and local government leaders, to commit their organizations to becoming leaders in energy efficiency.

The Administration’s announcement on Thursday unveiled the first 14 of these energy efficiency leaders, who together are pledging more than $500 million and 260 million square feet of buildings and facilities enrolled for energy efficiency improvements.  These include private company giants like Best Buy, which has dedicated more than 55 million square feet of retail space to retrofits for energy efficiency, and Lend Lease, which has pledged 40,000 high performance, efficiency homes for military families.

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Scientists have begun to speak out about climate change. afagen/flickr

Dr Michael Brown, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow exposes the tactics used by purveyors of “non-science” to attack climate change research. This is a repost from The Conversation.

It takes a lot to get scientists out of their offices and marching on Parliament.

But in recent weeks that’s exactly what some of Australia’s top researchers have taken to doing.

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