Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
BP Sham, Workers' Accusations; Oil Spill Solutions
Aired May 29, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everybody; Top of the hour here on this Saturday morning on this Memorial Day weekend. We hope yours is getting off to a good start. Let me to catch you up on some things you need to be hearing about right now, some things making headlines.
This is under way right now. Live picture we can show you out of Louisiana. This is day four of public hearings on the Gulf oil rig explosion. They're trying to figure out what happened in the first place to cause the blast. Workers who were on that rig the day of the blast have been giving firsthand accounts of what happened.
Also America's naval power on display in New York City; Fleet Week in full swing on this Memorial Day weekend. Visitors today can tour the big ships, catch a free concert and watch the annual tug of war.
Also if you're hitting the road this holiday weekend you'll a whole lot of company. AAA is saying that 28 million Americans are driving somewhere this holiday. And that's about a million and a half more than did last year.
Now, the other story this could be a big weekend for, we are 40 days now into it. And still, we are watching and waiting to see if BP can finally stop that oil from spewing into the Gulf. You are seeing the live picture, the camera coming to us from 5,000 feet below the surface of the water.
The gushers are putting out now, this is a muddy brown. This is different from what we saw earlier, which was that big black oil. It certainly tells the difference in color and they are saying, BP officials, that this is a good sign that this "top kill" procedure is possibly working.
BP says it could be sometime this weekend, maybe tomorrow even, before we know for sure if this is working. Globs of oil keep washing on to beaches, however, in some parts of the Gulf Coast.
The president saw that for himself yesterday. He calls this an assault on our shores and he made a pledge to the people of the Gulf region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am here to tell you that you're not alone. You will not be abandoned. You will not be left behind. The cameras at some point may leave. The media may get tired of the story.
But we will not. We are on your side and we will see this through. We're going to keep at this every day until the leak is stopped, that -- until this coastline is clean and your communities are made whole again. That's my promise to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, next hour, we do expect an update on BP's efforts from the man in charge of it, exploration and production, Doug Suttles he has a news conference that's planned for 12:45 Eastern time so a little more than an hour and a half from now.
That's going to come to you from Fourchon Beach, in Louisiana. We'll cover that for you live when it happens.
Meanwhile, we've been talking to our Reynolds Wolf who is back in the Gulf Coast. This is his third trip down to the Gulf Coast and Reynolds we've been talking this morning. This trip a little different from the last; they started out with a whole lot of frustration when you first went but here we are some 40 days into it and the frustration is growing, well growing a little louder.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, it's funny. It is kind of a -- kind of neat in some ways. I say neat kind of in a bad way. But you've seen the oil spread out and you've seen something else increase and that has not just the frustrations, it's been the downright anger.
I mean, people are furious right now. They are angry at a variety of things. Some people are angry at the Obama administration, some at BP, some a little bit of both and then some people just -- they told me they don't care they just want the oil to stop leaking and they want to start the recovery effort, and these has been just a huge mess.
And it hasn't been just a mess out on the open water obviously it's been an issue in the bayous and the beaches and obviously it's been a big battle, they've been taking this road -- taking part of many of the rehabilitation centers for the wildlife.
We were actually able to visit one of the rehab centers just yesterday and what we saw was amazing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a very tiny little (INAUDIBLE). They're a little heron.
WOLF: Jay Holcomb's Bird Rescue Center in Burris, Louisiana is a 24-hour emergency room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're going to do is pre-treat it. This is just kind of oil ...
WOLF: I may seem odd to be adding more oil to an already oiled bird but it's exactly what the doctor has ordered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok, well this helps loosens it up a little bit and so it kind of loosens oil. You could see it starts to come up. Yes, he's kind of this brown color is what his normally is. But he's got oil under there and I think he got this from walking through the reeds.
These little guys eat little minnows and frogs and things in the -- and they're in the shallow areas in the grass and of course he got oiled in the grass. So ...
WOLF: This small bird is actually one of the lucky ones. U.S. Fish and Wildlife says at least 437 birds have died since the spill began. Only 55 have been found oiled and alive. And taken to centers like this one for rehabilitation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to move him through pretty quick because he is a little bird and he has a very low tolerance. Janine is making sure that the oil around the eyes and his beak are off so the poor little bird can eat.
WOLF: Habitats resembling this one we visit off the Louisiana coast provide a nesting ground for all kinds of wildlife. Scenes of broken boom and encroaching oil leave environmental groups furious.
JILL MASTROTOTARO, SIERRA CLUB: People should be outraged, not just throughout the Gulf Coast but nationwide that our federal government has a responsibility given that this is a public resource.
This is not BP's Gulf of Mexico. This is America's Gulf of Mexico. And we need to come together as a people, as a nation to ensure that our resources, number one, cleaned up. But number two, protected.
WOLF: Many of the birds brought in to the Holcomb's Rehab Center are brown pelicans which were removed from the endangered species list only six months ago.
JAY HOLCOMB, INTERNATIONAL BIRD RESCUE RESEARCH CENTER: This is a shy little group they like to sit in the corner. But one of the things that these birds experience when they come here is they're exhausted from struggling in the oil. This is their rest day. They get in the water as they want. Get out and sleep, eat fish.
WOLF: Each bird will stay here for seven to ten days for plenty of rest, some testing and blood work and each one is federally tagged before release to track their progress.
HOLCOMB: This was caused by humans so at the very base level we're responsible for cleaning up the oil. Cleaning up these animals is part of the responsibility. They live out there. It's their home. Anything beyond that is not acceptable to me. It's just about our responsibility. WOLF: And thanks to Holcomb's efforts, this small bit ern (ph) is finally free of oil and will have a second chance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok little guy? Ok. That's it. He doesn't look so wonderful but he'll dry off good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: Question is, what do they do with these birds, next? Well, for the brown pelicans, remember, these birds T.J., hunt by diving, actually diving below the surface of the water to get fish and then they come back resurface and continue the flight.
But to do that, they can't put it out over the same oil where they were picked up or of the same water because you've got oil everywhere. So they've been putting the birds and releasing them farther to the east or farther to west where they have a fighting chance of survival over cleaner water.
Let's send it back to you T.J.
HOLMES: Some tough works, somebody's got to do it. We're glad somebody is out there doing that work. Reynolds we appreciate that as always.
Reynolds is there in Louisiana and that's where the President was yesterday. A lot of people have been criticizing the administration for the President's response or lack thereof or slow response but the President and a lot of people are calling for him to make an appearance, another one. This is his second time down to the Gulf Coast.
But even some were criticizing the President for being there in the first place. They were criticizing rather how he went. They saying he didn't talk to a lot of the -- the real people, if you will. They also said he didn't spend a whole a lot of time there. Well, there was also criticism of BP after the President's trip.
Some were criticizing that they took advantage of a photo-op of the President being there. You see this video here of workers cleaning up where the President was there in Louisiana yesterday.
Well, according to one of the local parish officials, a councilman, he says or he's accusing BP of actually staging this and shipping in, inundating the area with workers just for the President's photo-op.
Well, Donald Nalty is with the Environmental Health and Safety Group, that's an independent contractor that has been hired by BP to handle some of the cleanup. Mr. Nalty, we appreciate you being on the phone here and able to answer some of these questions.
So my first question is, how many workers before the President's trip on Friday had you had working in this area on a day-to-day basis?
DONALD NALTY, CONTRACTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY GROUP (via telephone): We had 200 -- approximately about 250 workers working there prior to -- for the past two and a half to three weeks.
HOLMES: So -- so this -- and what the councilman is saying, he said that these guys were bussed in, he actually put the number at around 300 to 400 but maybe around the same number you're saying. He says they were actually bussed in, recruited not long ago just to be for the president's photo-op if you will. And you're saying that what's been happening for the past Friday is no different than what's been happening for the past couple of few weeks there.
NALTY: We -- we've had a plan, we've put together a plan on the 23rd to increase the number of personnel that's going to be in the Grand Isle, Fourchon and (INAUDIBLE) area. Actually yesterday, we brought in another 400 to Grand Isle, another 100 to Fourchon and 90 to (INAUDIBLE), Louisiana to go into the Terrebonne Bay area.
HOLMES: Now where did you all -- did BP direct you to beef up? I guess, whose idea was it that that you need to focus more resources on these particular area?
NALTY: Well, this -- it all goes into the operational planning and the meetings and based on the projects -- of the projectory of the oil that we're properly staffed to handle any impact that comes on.
We made the decision on the 23rd that we need to add additional people. We are making as much of an attempt to hire as many local people as we can which means that we have to train them so we -- it takes us a few days to number one, process the people and train them.
HOLMES: Now, this very area we're talking about -- and I want to make sure we're clear here because some of the accusations are -- well, have been made quite clear by some down in Louisiana.
You are saying at no point did BP or anyone else tell you, hey, the President's coming. This is where he will be. Let's make sure we beef it up on this area, this area and this area because the cameras are going to be around. No one at any point, nor did you make a decision because of the President's trip?
NALTY: Absolutely without a doubt, no. I had no idea about the President. Whether it's the President or whatever dignitary that's coming into the area, it makes no difference to us. We're there to clean up Grand Isle, clean up Louisiana, and that's what we need to do. We have to get the proper personnel and equipment out there to do it. That's BP's commitment and that's what we are doing.
HOLMES: Are you able to make -- I know you are an independent contractor here. Are you kind of making a lot of decisions about where workers go independently if you will on your own or is BP directing you where to put these workers?
NALTY: It is -- it is BP is putting together the overall operation scope. We do have input that we in talking back and forth with the incident command on what our needs are. They can't, you know, they don't just dictate what tools we have and how to use them. We work with them and let them know what our needs are and they help us make that happen. HOLMES: All right. Well, very important to hear from you, Donald Nalty, again, the man who was contracted to do some of this cleanup by BP. And again it was from one of the parish representatives, the Jefferson Parish councilman Chris Roberts who was telling us, in fact, he thought that a number of buses brought in and people calling it a pony and dog show.
But again Mr. Nalty, you're telling us that in fact was not the case. Mr. Nalty, we certainly appreciate you taking the time out with us this morning and good luck on your efforts down there on the coast. A lot of people, a lot of cleanup needs to happen, so a lot of work you all are doing.
So we thank you for your time.
NALTY: Ok. Thank you.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, President Obama who was in the Gulf Coast yesterday, he is now in Chicago. He spent much of the day taking a look at the Gulf Coast. Again, his second trip down to the area; he was there May 2nd. So just a couple of weeks after the initial disaster began.
Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian traveling with the President. Dan, you were there yesterday with the President in the Gulf Coast.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, sir.
HOLMES: I guess what -- something that struck that you said actually struck you. The President sometimes keeping the press pool and you guys back a little bit but yesterday he wanted or he waved you over a little, he wanted to show you something.
LOTHIAN: He really did. I mean, for those who don't understand how it works, we travel along with the President but there's always that distance that we have to keep. Sometimes we are behind a rope line. So we won't sort of jump too close to the President.
We were in our positions and then the President started waving us over. And so we got right up close with the President as he scooped up some of these tar balls right there off the beach to sort of show what the situation was and what was being done on that seven-mile stretch to mitigate the problem.
I mean, this really was an opportunity at least from the White House' perspective for the President to show that his administration is on top of the situation. You heard the President after he met with these regional governors and also the parish presidents talk about how the buck stops with him.
He's promising to do everything under his power to make sure that this situation is resolved and that all the people impacted by it and in a negative way are made whole. And the President also pointed out to these officials there who might have any questions or concerns that they can go directly to Thad Allen who is the sort of government's point person on this disaster.
And if they're not getting anywhere there, that they can go directly to the President but he also made it clear that all of this, this entire operation from stopping that leak to eventually cleaning up this mess, will not be easy.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: There are going to be a lot of judgment calls involved here. There are not going to be silver bullets or a lot of perfect answers for some of the challenges that we face.
Understandably, the feelings of frustration and anger, the sense that any response is inadequate is -- we expect that frustration, anger to continue until we actually solve this problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: T.J. earlier you were talking about sort of the discontent even among some of the President's strong supporters within his own party. And I asked Robert Gibbs yesterday aboard Air Force one if the President had any reaction at all to James Carville, one of his very loyal supporters who had been critical of the government's response and the President's response in this disaster.
And he pointed out he doesn't think that Mr. Carville understood all the facts but nonetheless, whether they see it that way or not, there is sort of this uneasiness that's growing among supporters of the President that they perhaps did not act quickly enough, that they're not doing enough to really take control of the situation and that's something they're going to have to deal with.
HOLMES: Yes. And they are dealing with it. There are growing drumbeats right now from the President.
In Chicago, though, some down time, nothing on the public schedule I believe you told me. So maybe we will, maybe we won't see him this weekend. Yes -- go ahead.
LOTHIAN: We caught a little glimpse of him this morning, at least the pool cameras going along with the President. He went to a gym which happens to be the former school of his two daughters. We understand he's playing basketball. We don't know who's along for that game but right now as we speak he is enjoying a little basketball here in Chicago.
HOLMES: Well, we probably could have guessed to get a game in with some of his old fellows there in town.
Dan Lothian, good to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.
And again, we're expecting to be hearing from BP the next hour on the efforts to stop the leak; the latest one, this "top kill method". Doug Suttles, the chief operating officer for exploration and production has scheduled a beachside news conference. You will see that here live on CNN when it happens.
So again about an hour and a half away.
A lot of people want to help out in the Gulf Coast right now. A lot of people have ideas; tens of thousands had been submitted to BP who are looking for some suggestions.
We found a couple of them. We found a man with a plan to soak up the oil. And he's going to demonstrate it for you right here in this studio. But you be the judge whether it works or not. Bp, though, they don't want it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the top of the hour now. I'm taking you to our Bonnie Schneider; a lot of people keeping an eye on what's happening in the Gulf. The weather is an important part of this whole equation right now as well -- Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right T.J. We are monitoring the loop current and some interesting development that is have occurred in the past week. Now, this does happen every six to 11 months. We have our main loop current, which an underwater current and also the surface of warm, deep water that can transport the warm deep water all along the areas to the south of Florida. And the big concern for the oil spill was, if it gets them to the loop current, it could travel as far south as the Florida Keys and Cuba.
However, just recent in the past week, an eddy has formed north of the loop current. And what that means, it's almost like a whirlpool 250 miles wide and these are separated from the main part of the loop current. So we see the eddy here and what happens with it is that it can allow any oil in the current to just go in a circular motion. And stay put, at least for the time being, unless this eddy does break apart.
Now on the bad side T.J. just to let you that eddies are dangerous hurricane season because they provide an additional substantial pool of warm deep water for a hurricane that can actually come through and coming up' in the 12:00 hour, I'll talk more about hurricanes an the oil spill and the possible repercussions of them coming together at the same time. So it's a really interesting topic; we'll talk more about that.
HOLMES: Yes, interesting and some scary scenarios, out there as well.
Bonnie we appreciate you thank you so much.
We are talking about the big oil spill; it's all of that. A lot of people looking for ways to help out; a lot of and people have solutions. Viable ones to try to maybe clean up some of that oil.
One of them comes from this guy sitting next to me now, Ed Corpora. He is from the American Product Enterprises Corporation. He joins us now. We had you on earlier, but we were doing some specials and showing some possible solutions.
Yours got a lot of people's attention. We wanted to have you back to show this thing again. I want to let you go ahead and get started as we talk about it. But what we're talking about is peat moss you can essentially use to soak up some of this ...
ED CORPORA, AMERICAN PRODUCTS ENTERPRISES CORP: Dehydrate it and then it's screened or grinded down to this consistency. Once for the end user, whoever's using the product.
HOLMES: So you go ahead and start the demonstration. I'll continue to tell our audience as we're looking at this.
You tell me what you are putting in there.
CORPORA: Motor oil, 40 weight motor oil and a little transmission fluid.
HOLMES: You have to mix it up.
CORPORA: You could use anything. You could use waste oil. Bunker number 6 oil which is out there. That's the crude oil.
HOLMES: This is the product?
CORPORA: Yes. You just sprinkle it down on the spill. You could see it turning like black in color. That's telling you it's already working on the oil. It's absorbing it on contact. Pretty much takes it out of the water immediately. So it's already out of the water just as we speak. Now it is in the product.
HOLMES: Just on top. And then again, we want to remind our viewers that this in fact is something you have submitted to BP. We'll tell you the results there.
But a lot of people submitting some ideas to BP; you submitted this one -- go ahead -- this got a lot of people's attention.
CORPORA: This is a feather duster made from ducks feather. It simulates a duck went through that spilled area (INAUDIBLE) -- stays dry.
HOLMES: So some of the product comes out on there but the oil was soaked up by the product. And again --
CORPORA: That will skim it out and that's basically what you have to do.
HOLMES: And you think that could be used on a large scale in the Gulf with what we're seeing. You can drop this stuff on top of that -- some of that oil slick and scoop them right up.
CORPORA: That's up to whoever makes that decision. Yes it can. In land especially, it has bio-remediation because it does have microbes in it which helps to eat oil all the time in warm weather conditions which is what they have their ...
HOLMES: And this stuff would not hurt the environment?
CORPORA: No. Actually -- another good application would be to rub it on the ducks or the wildlife that's getting saturated with oil instead of using that solvent or whatever they use and then clean them down with the soap.
HOLMES: I know you had another demonstration you wanted to do. We'll try to get that in here in the next 30 second or so. But go ahead and do this one.
But again, we'll tell our viewers here as well. He submitted this, asked BP to take a look at this. Their answer or response to you was what?
CORPORA: Well, they said they didn't feel it was a type of product to step them. And in fact spill situation we're facing. This is to simulate a spill in rainy conditions, because it's going to rain over there, while they clean it up.
No transmission fluid come out. It stays dry. It's still reusable. So you could reuse it.
HOLMES: Now, how disappointing was it? We have people on and they have products and they certainly want them the products out there and want to sell some stuff.
CORPORA: Of course.
HOLMES: But a lot of people genuinely feel like they can actually help. How difficult was it to get the response you got from BP that, you know what? Since you're on sitting something you really think could help and they told you, no thanks?
CORPORA: How serious -- I'm sorry?
HOLMES: What was your response kind of? How did you feel?
CORPORA: I disagree with it. I pursued it and I contacted the parishes down there. And they directed me back to BP. It was a little frustrating. I drove down there and we went down to (INAUDIBLE) Louisiana which is where BP headquarters are. Couldn't see anybody there so I just came back empty handed basically.
HOLMES: Well, it's spillresponsekits.com. If BP is watching, anyone else out there watching in the Gulf Coast who think maybe this could help them out. And again, we had several ideas on this morning.
We'll be sharing some more but private citizens trying to help out. Have some ideas and see if they can get the ideas out there in the Gulf. Ed, sir, we appreciate you taking the time. We appreciate the demonstration.
CORPORA: You are welcome. HOLMES: Once again, but again there are tens of thousands out there; people who have submitted ideas to BP. They're going through them, they're taking some of them seriously no doubt about it. But some people still who have been turned away think they still have something to offer and something that can help out with.
A lot of people have a tough time visualizing the spill, just how big this thing is. Josh Levs helping us visualize just how big it is with an interactive tool. He's coming up next.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we can show you pictures, give you numbers about all this oil that's gushing out. It is hard still to put it in perspective just how massive this area is that is now consumed by oil.
Josh Levs can help us with that now. This is a very simple way Josh, an interactive way to give people real perspective of just how big this thing is.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I love when you get simplicity and clarity all at once with something interactive, and that's something I've been looking for since this whole thing began, trying to help all of you wrap your minds around the size of this thing, particularly as it keeps growing each day. And there's a new online tool to do that.
As T.J. was saying, let's focus in a way here. You see this tiny little black splotch? Well, as we zoom in closer and closer to the Gulf Region, you're going to be able to see how big it gets when we are up close.
Now, what this does is it combines Google Earth technology with the rest of the map, basically. So what you can do is you can click on any city and it will then take this, this oil spill, layer it on top of your city, and show you how it compares.
So one of the main examples I'm using here is Manhattan. Yes, I know, Manhattan's not a city. That's just one of the examples.
So take a look at what you have here. Bascially, if you lift it up -- if you were to lift up the oil spill, put it on top of New York, you have it stretching up into Newark, up into Connecticut, this huge swath of that tri-state area right there.
Let's do another one. Let's go out to San Fran. More of our West Coast folks awake with us at this hour. So if you were to take the oil spill, layer it on top of the San Francisco area, you can see the huge section. It reaches up to Sacramento, over to Stockton, through Oakland. It reach -- reaching throughout this whole area.
There's also international cities set up here. We can layer it on top of London, just for one example. We'll zoom over east across the pond, take a look there -- boom. That whole section of England right there. And I'm going to do one more. I'm going to bring us back west to the U.S., over to Washington, because this might actually be the most stark example. When you look at that oil spill, lift it up, all those thousands of square miles, and placed on top of the area of our nation's capital, look at that. They got it going throughout Baltimore, over into Delaware. This whole section of the map, that's how huge it is.
Now, this is a little bit tricky to find online, that's why I posted it for you. Let's show it up on the screen. It's up for you at my Facebook page, and I tweeted it so you got it at JoshLevsCNN, Facebook and Twitter. It's also now at the blog, cnn.com/josh.
You can type in your city and check it out. See how it compares. And, hopefully, T.J., that will do what you and I were just saying, help people everywhere get a greater sense of this giant oil leak. And, unfortunately, thing's still growing, and even if they do manage to plug it, it will still be spreading out in physical size for a while there.
HOLMES: But that helps a lot. The pictures don't, quite frankly, sometimes do it justice about just how wide it is. It can show us just how icky that stuff is, but it can't show you just how much coverage it is out there.
Josh, we appreciate that. Hopefully people will use it.
Also, the president he's been facing a lot of criticism about his administration's reaction to the whole gulf oil disaster. Now more pressure, pressure continues to mount after his trip yesterday, as well. That got some criticism as well.
We're going to be talking to our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now President Obama ordering federal officials to triple the number of cleanup workers in areas hit, the areas where that oil has hit the shore or just about to hit the shore. He's vowing to hold BP accountable, of course, for this crisis. He's been saying that pretty much from the beginning.
Joining us now live from Washington, CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser. Paul, you have certainly, like all of us, been following some of this criticism that the president and the administration have been getting about the response to the oil disaster, a lot of people saying, hey, you need to get back down to the area. But even after he went down to the area yesterday, there was criticism of that trip.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, exactly. Maybe if BP had put more workers in there that are normally in there, so criticism in fact of BP.
As for the president, you're right, T.J. We've seen a growing chorus of criticism of the president, of his administration, not only by Republicans. You know, you would expect that, but also by Democrats, people in his own party.
Among the complaints, that the administration, the White House didn't act quick enough, strong enough right off the bat when this happened over a month ago. Also, that maybe the administration's letting BP call the shots.
So, this week, you saw the president on Thursday hold a news conference just on the oil spill, and, again, yesterday going back to the region, his second visit down there to Louisiana. And you heard the president say a couple of things and pushing back in a way against this -- the critiques of him, saying that he is in charge, that the administration is calling the shots, not BP, that this is, you know, issue number one for them right now. They're on top of this, and the president also saying that it's been his top concern from day one and that the buck stops with him.
Listen, this administration realizes, T.J., what happened to the Bush administration after Katrina, in the similar area, very devastating for them. They don't want it to happen to them, as well, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, we're hearing from a lot of folks, all sides. Well, I say all sides. Two sides, Republicans and Democrats, with some of that criticism, but it's all important, what the people actually think. What are we finding out about what people think about how the president's handling this?
STEINHAUSER: Take a look at this, our CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll. We put it out within the last week. Overwhelmingly the Americans say that either indirectly or directly they are impacted by this oil spill. It's affecting them and their families. Look at those numbers, only 16 percent saying no effect at all.
As for the president, check out this next number. We ask this, do you approve or disapprove of how Barack Obama, the president, is handling the situation in the gulf? You can see a slight majority say disapprove it. Other polls from other organizations show the same thing, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Paul Steinhauser. We appreciate the numbers, we appreciate the update from Washington on this Memorial Day weekend. Paul, you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Good to see you, as always.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. It is 38 minutes past the hour. Quick break. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We've got Agatha. Bonnie was telling us this morning about this tropical depression. My, how things change. BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. Exactly. In just a few hour's time, the winds intensivized, T.J. Once they get over 39 miles per hour, we get upgraded from a tropical depression to a tropical storm, and boy did we ever.
Now, just to note, we're talking about the Pacific Ocean, not the Atlantic Ocean. So you're looking at the Eastern Pacific. Zoom in right here. You'll see some of the strongest convection hitting parts of Southern Mexico, into Guatemala.
Tropical storm Agatha has maximum winds of 40 miles per hour. We have tropical storm warnings up and down here, Central Americas, West Coast, so, really, heavy rain, particularly for coastal Guatemala. You will really see some strong downpours there, unfortunately, as well.
We're also tracking weather here in the U.S., because it is a holiday weekend, and I have some better news to report. It looks -- like we mentioned how the Gulf Coast beaches mainly are open, with the exception of three in Louisiana, so look at the weather. This is the water temperature, in the 80s. It looks fantastic. So go to the Gulf Coast and enjoy a beautiful weekend.
There is a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Notice the water temperature gets cooler, if you're heading to the beaches in New York, for example. Those temperatures will be in the 50s for the water. The air temperature will be nice and warm.
So it looks like a great holiday weekend for the Gulf Coast, for the East Coast and the Atlantic.
HOLMES: Yes. People need to go.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, they should.
HOLMES: The Gulf Coast open for business. Beaches are nice.
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely.
HOLMES: You can still go.
Bonnie, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HOLMES: And Agatha ...
SCHNEIDER: Agatha.
HOLMES: My, how things change. It's going to be a tough season they say, the hurricane season. One of the worst, maybe, we -- we'll see in quite some time.
Meanwhile, we have been talking about this oil slick. A lot of people, it's hard to get a perspective just how -- just how nasty that stuff is down there. But a lot of people are helping tell the story.
You know, we have our iReporters here at CNN. Well, you can become an oil reporter. Seriously. We'll explain that and also how the information these oil reporters are collecting can help BP and the government.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's been about 40 days, more than a month, and we are still counting till we'll be able to see if this BP oil slick spread in the Gulf of Mexico will be able to be contained in any way.
Now, unless you're in the gulf area, you've had to watch this. You just had to see it on TV. But some people who get the see it, smell it, they get to see it up close. There's new technology that will actually allow them to use their phone to become what's called a mobile oil reporter.
Who else but our tech guru, Mario Armstrong, joining us to explain this to us. Mario, good morning to you my friend.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, SMALLBIZGOMOBILE: Good morning.
HOLMES: Good to see you as always.
This was kind of cool when I heard about it and it could be quite useful, frankly, to the government officials and also BP, possibly.
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely.
HOLMES: So you go just initially at the top here. Who is this for, first of all? Can anybody do this?
ARMSTRONG: Yes. Anybody can do this. It's available on multiple phones. You can use your iPhone or you could use an Android phone.
And what you can do is basically you download the application and it's called Oil Reporter. It's the name of the application, Oil Reporter. And it enables you, T.J., to basically take a photo or upload videos or just type up text about stuff that you're seeing as it relates to oil or impacting your particular area.
You can also answer three other quick questions. How much oil do you see? Zero means it's pretty clear, or 10 means very thick. What's the impact to wildlife? Are there animals there? Are they dead? Are they distressed? And, third, how was the impact to the wetlands? And all of that information gets compiled in your phone and then get sent out.
HOLMES: Now, Mario, whose idea was this in the first place to come up with this application?
ARMSTRONG: Yes. Three people are involved in this. The bigger effort is called Crisis Commons. This is the same group of people that were doing what's called Crisis Camps, a group of techies and innovators and people that care -- have a common issue about service all came together for the Haiti relief effort and started developing technology solution.
So now we have Intridea, which is the company that developed the app, and then Appcelerator, which is the company that helped make the app available on multiple phones, and Crisis Commons is the group or the body that helps to get people corralled around publicizing and using the application.
HOLMES: Oh, OK. So you become an oil reporter and you report what you're seeing. You put that information on this app. Where is that information actually going?
ARMSTRONG: Yes, great question because, you know, if -- if we can't get to the data, what good is it? So they actually took it a step further and made it publicly accessible data. So once you capture this information and you send it to the website, basically it goes to crime -- I mean -- I'm sorry -- oilreporter.org is the website, oilreporter.org.
And this means any organization can use that data for their own needs. So one organization that's involved is a national wildlife federation and they're using that data to understand what impact has happened to wildlife and where.
HOLMES: OK, any indication if the government as well and BP could use this information? Because as massive as this effort is, they can't be all places at all times and ...
ARMSTRONG: No, they can't.
HOLMES: A lot of people could be reporters, like we say, and the could be somewhere and snap something that could be useful.
ARMSTRONG: You better believe they ought to be using this. And that's one of the things that I'm hoping that, you know, with your bringing this issue out and about that we make this known. I think a lot of times people overlook the technology impact or the techies' impact to -- to what can happen out there.
So I want you to take a look at a couple of these screen shots here of what the actual application looks like on the phone. But you're absolutely right. Government agencies can use this data and also contribute to the data, as well as BP could also be doing this.
You're looking at a screen shot now that shows you how you can actually volunteer if you're an individual and you want to actually volunteer and you live in those areas. You can do all of this right from the mobile application.
So to have this type of data, to have this type of power in your hands -- here's what the app looks like exactly when you want to fill out some information -- I mean, it's critical. The thing that's really neat about this is that they developed this application, T.J., in three days. Three days. It normally does not take -- you cannot develop an application for mobile devices that fast. And, to me, that proves that there might be a future framework for future crisis and natural disasters that happens and that we can rely on technology developers to come up with some solutions.
HOLMES: You know, these are very much -- it's all reporters, but this is very much like our iReporters who help us so often tell stories. We can't be all places, no matter how wide our reach is.
Now these applications often cost something. This one costs what?
ARMSTRONG: Yes. This one's zero. This one's free.
HOLMES: Zero? This is a free one?
ARMSTRONG: It's a free one. This is all about really giving people the power to have the tools. And you made a good point about how CNN has the iReporters out in the field. We -- we have our traditional reporters, our news reporters that go out, but then the network understands, hey, we could benefit from other eyes and ears that are out there. And I hope companies like BP and the federal government decide, you know what, it's better servicing the whole picture if we enable and -- and use this data that other people's eyes and ears can see on the ground for us and help us with information.
HOLMES: All right. Good information from Mario this morning.
And more good information on the way from Fredricka.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. They're getting in the noon Eastern hour, there's been a lot of research about oil, the oil records of BP, violations, records, willful violations or maybe even egregious ones.
We're going to be talking to the representative of the Center for Public Integrity has been tracking kind of the record of BP for some time now. And some items might rather surprise you on the heels of what's taking place there in the Gulf of Mexico.
And our legal guys will be joining us, Richard and Avery, talking about the legal road ahead for BP. What kind of charges, fines might they be facing. We heard the president saying this week that they would be held accountable and BP will be paying for this horrible mistake. Well, we're going to find out in what form.
HOLMES: All right. Love the legal guys. That's a big topic they're taking on.
WHITFIELD: They're always awesome.
HOLMES: They ought to be awesome to be on that topic.
Fredricka, we'll see you in just a second. WHITFIELD: OK.
HOLMES: All right. Well, New Orleans, of course, they think -- they're big into their music there. Of course they are. And now they think they found the next Louis Armstrong.
It's part of a plan to reinvigorate the city's musical heritage after Katrina. Here now is CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IRVIN MAYFIELD, GRAMMY AWARD WINNING TRUMPETER: Louis Armstrong sold the world the vision and the dream of New Orleans. That's where people get it from.
And it was unfortunate being a trumpet player who's now 32 not finding, you know, an abundance of young, talented trumpet players following in that legacy.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Why was that?
MAYFIELD: Well, we don't invest in the things that make American culture great. So I think that's been happening. And then you had the storm which puts the end, the period on the end of the sentence.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): The storm, of course, was Katrina.
Today, inspired to rebuild the city he loves, Irvin Mayfield created the Seeking Satch contest, invoking Louis Armstrong's nickname, Satchmo, given to him because of his smile, wide as a satchel bag. The judges were renowned jazz instructors and musicians, including Mayfield, himself.
MAYFIELD: We're looking for a way to get people to understand the New Orleans story and to not be the Katrina story only. But New Orleans is almost 300 years old. We have to look forward as if we plan to make another 300 years.
O'BRIEN: And that plan for Irvin Mayfield includes a vibrant jazz scene; something that this young trumpet player, Doyle Cooper, known simply as Red, understands. He was the winner of the Seeking Satch contest.
O'BRIEN (on camera): So when you look around, there's progress?
MAYFIELD: There's tremendous amount of progress, and New Orleans is a great city because of the people.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Soledad O'Brien, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, who knew the must see TV would be sitting around watching oil spew out at a pipe at the bottom of the sea? CNN's Jeanne Moos, she'll explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Watch it gush, a volcano of oil streaming live on a computer near you -- live on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marauding plumes of oil the size of Manhattan.
MOOS: Being used to bite the hand that drilled it.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: BP is the responsible party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put the pressure on BP.
MOOS: Live even in an empty Senate Environmental Committee hearing room.
Congressional committees put the pressure on BP to make the gusher public. Shot by cameras on remote-controlled mini-subs, there's an occasional change of angle. And when a lens gets spotted, you can't just wipe it like you would up top.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rob Marciano for us on the ...
MOOS: Not when you're a mile underwater.
Just about the only passers by are eel-like creatures. You almost want to warn them -- turn around. Swim for your life.
Like a fire, the gusher is mesmerizing, ghostly. On the other hand, even to a former Navy diver like Jeff Snyder --
JEFF SNYDER, GEOPHYSICIST: It's actually kind of boring. Yes, there's the blackish brown cloud of stuff.
MOOS: Especially if you watch it for hours.
(on camera): All right. Could you keep an eye on it, because I have to keep watching this thing.
(voice-over): It's the latest continuous feed in an age of webcams pointed at oddities like Dillie, the half blind domesticated, potty-trained pet deer who can do stairs and has her own bedroom. She sometimes shares the bed with a pet poodle. From Dillie to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The naked mole rat camera is one of our most popular cameras.
MOOS: You can drop in any time to watch the naked mole rat scratch. The National Zoo in Washington has dozens and dozens of cameras trained on more than 20 animals.
And if the octopus doesn't seem to be home, just ask the director to radio for a camera repositioning.
DENNIS KELLY, DIRECTOR, SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOO: I'll try and get that arranged.
MOOS: The next thing you know ...
KELLY: You're looking at almost the octopus' mouth at the moment. There he is.
MOOS (on camera): Oh. We're in the octopus.
(voice-over): Worse even than the octopus and the naked mole is this naked man camera. Watch him watching TV. Watch him sleeping.
But even the naked man isn't as disturbing as the gusher that never sleeps.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
