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Oil spill commission co-chairs to present findings at Bob Graham Center
Filed under Announcements, InsideUF (Campus), Top Stories on Wednesday, January 19, 2011.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? The co-chairmen of the presidential commission investigating last April?s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will present their exclusive findings Jan. 27 at the University of Florida?s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
?Deep Water: A Special Report to the University of Florida by Oil Spill Commission Co-Chairs Bob Graham and William K. Reilly,? moderated by Lynn Scarlett, will begin at 6 p.m. in Pugh Hall?s Ocora. This event is free and open to the public.
Graham, a former U.S. senator and Florida governor, headed the six-month investigation with Reilly, a former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H.W. Bush. Scarlett, a leading environmental analyst, is a former deputy secretary and chief operating officer at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She currently serves as a Visiting Scholar at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C.
The presidential commission examined the causes and circumstances behind the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig explosion, which killed 11 workers before releasing an estimated 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. President Barack Obama charged the commission with developing options to guard against any oil spills associated with offshore drilling in the future. Their work also includes recommending improvements to federal laws, regulations and industry practices.
The oil spill ?was not the product of some cosmic force. It was caused by human beings who made a series of bad decisions which were unnecessary,? said Graham, who was considered one of Florida?s most environmentally astute governors, in a recent interview. He pointed out that deepwater drilling below 1,000 feet, which the Deepwater Horizon was involved in, is only a recent phenomenon. In 1990, there was virtually no deepwater drilling in U.S. waters. Today, roughly 70 percent of all offshore drilling in U.S. waters is below 1,000 feet.
?There?s been enormous technological advances in drilling in such difficult areas,? said Graham, offering a peek into some of the commission?s findings. ?What didn?t happen was a commensurate improvement in safety and our ability to respond to an accident and we paid the price for that.?
This event will also be streamed live on Jan. 27 from the Bob Graham Center website, www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.
The Bob Graham Center for Public Service is a community of students, scholars and politically engaged citizens, devoted to enhanced citizenship; the training of current and future public and civic leaders who can identify problems and spearhead change; and the development of policy on issues of importance to Florida, the United States and the global community.
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Credits
Source
<DL class=credits><DD>Vicki Gervickas, vgervickas@ufl.edu, 352-846-1575</DD></DL>http://news.ufl.edu/2011/01/19/oil-spill/
Filed under Announcements, InsideUF (Campus), Top Stories on Wednesday, January 19, 2011.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? The co-chairmen of the presidential commission investigating last April?s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will present their exclusive findings Jan. 27 at the University of Florida?s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
?Deep Water: A Special Report to the University of Florida by Oil Spill Commission Co-Chairs Bob Graham and William K. Reilly,? moderated by Lynn Scarlett, will begin at 6 p.m. in Pugh Hall?s Ocora. This event is free and open to the public.
Graham, a former U.S. senator and Florida governor, headed the six-month investigation with Reilly, a former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H.W. Bush. Scarlett, a leading environmental analyst, is a former deputy secretary and chief operating officer at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She currently serves as a Visiting Scholar at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C.
The presidential commission examined the causes and circumstances behind the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig explosion, which killed 11 workers before releasing an estimated 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. President Barack Obama charged the commission with developing options to guard against any oil spills associated with offshore drilling in the future. Their work also includes recommending improvements to federal laws, regulations and industry practices.
The oil spill ?was not the product of some cosmic force. It was caused by human beings who made a series of bad decisions which were unnecessary,? said Graham, who was considered one of Florida?s most environmentally astute governors, in a recent interview. He pointed out that deepwater drilling below 1,000 feet, which the Deepwater Horizon was involved in, is only a recent phenomenon. In 1990, there was virtually no deepwater drilling in U.S. waters. Today, roughly 70 percent of all offshore drilling in U.S. waters is below 1,000 feet.
?There?s been enormous technological advances in drilling in such difficult areas,? said Graham, offering a peek into some of the commission?s findings. ?What didn?t happen was a commensurate improvement in safety and our ability to respond to an accident and we paid the price for that.?
This event will also be streamed live on Jan. 27 from the Bob Graham Center website, www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.
The Bob Graham Center for Public Service is a community of students, scholars and politically engaged citizens, devoted to enhanced citizenship; the training of current and future public and civic leaders who can identify problems and spearhead change; and the development of policy on issues of importance to Florida, the United States and the global community.
-30-
Credits
Source
<DL class=credits><DD>Vicki Gervickas, vgervickas@ufl.edu, 352-846-1575</DD></DL>http://news.ufl.edu/2011/01/19/oil-spill/