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Van Der Sloot to Reconstruct Crime; Cleanup Idea: Oil-Eating Microbes

Aired June 08, 2010 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Top stories now. Voters heading to the polls in 12 states today. Nevada, California, and Arkansas are among those holding primaries and runoffs. California candidates are spending close to $100 million in the Republican race for governor, and in the Senate Democratic runoff in Arkansas, incumbent Blanche Lincoln battling for her political life.

Police in Peru taking Joran van der Sloot back to the hotel where he confessed to killing a 21-year-old woman. van der Sloot as you may remember was the primary suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. We'll go live to Peru with more on breaking news with this story in just about four minutes.

Today in Turkey, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained defiant over his planned nuclear deal with Turkey and Brazil. It's believed that he's testing the U.S. just days before a scheduled American-backed debate on new sanctions. The U.S. wants the U.N. security council to vote on tougher sanctions against Iran.

We begin now with the oil disaster in the gulf. It's Day 50, and President Obama is snapping back at critics who say he hasn't taken charge of the crisis. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there standing in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talked to these folks because they potentially had the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're keeping a close eye in all the latest developments in this crisis including the president's anger. And right now, we have two events unfolding on Capitol hill. The Senate judiciary committee holds a hearing entitled "The Risky Business of Big Oil." That issue, whether recent liability limits have encouraged oil companies to take bigger risks with the safety of employees and the environment.

And Admiral Thad Allen is about to give an update on the disaster. We'll take him live as soon as he begins talking. All along the gulf coast, beach goers are wondering where the oil is and when their little patch of paradise will be ruined. CNN's Jim Acosta was able to get a bird's-eye view of the approaching disaster. He joins us now from the Destin Beach in the Florida panhandle.

So Jim, have you seen or smelled any oil there?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I tell you, Kyra, the only oil we have seen was on Sunday. We went to the gulf islands national seashore just outside of Pensacola and yes, on some of those remote beaches there, we did see tar balls that had washed ashore. There was an oil sheen on some of the waves that were coming on to the sand there, but since then and it's hard to say why this happened and the weather did change.

Some of the thunderstorms that were in this area in the panhandle over the weekend blew out of here. As you can see, we have picture- perfect weather there and ever since that weather change we have not seen any real signs of tar balls on the beach. We're all of the way down in Destin where there were some reports of tar balls, just east of us but ever since then that just hasn't materialized and that is giving some officials here in Florida along the panhandle some reason to breathe a little easier.

They feel a little bit better that that wave after wave of oil did not wash ashore. They were petrified that what was going on down in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama was just going to domino down the coast and start materializing and just - and just, you know, waves and waves of crude oil, but that just hasn't happened yet in all honesty, and a lot of the vacation goers here, a lot of the businesses here could not be happier about that.

As you can see behind me there are people enjoying the beach right now. So the scene here couldn't be better, I'd have to say at this point.

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, you actually talked to locals and tourists. Do they blame the media coverage for basically scaring everybody away?

ACOSTA: They do. They really do. They think that it's been blown out of proportion, but you have to understand that's from the point of view from people who live along the Florida panhandle. They may not have been over to Louisiana to see all the devastation over there. They may not have seen the tar balls wash ashore in Alabama and you mentioned in the beginning of this segment that we get a bird's-eye view of all of these.

We wanted to, you know, get a look for ourselves and so we rented a boat that had a parasailing business and we went out about five miles down into the gulf and then journeyed 30 miles down the coastline where we got into a parasail and went about 500 feet over in the Gulf of Mexico and then just looked out on the horizon to see if we can find bands of oil because we were expecting them ourselves and we just didn't see them. Just a couple of spots where there might have been a light oil sheen. We went down and looked at the water and appeared that might have been a light oil sheen. The captain who was taking us out there was a former oil boat captain who had worked in the oil industry in the gulf coast and he felt he had seen it as well, but certainly not the real dark stuff, the dark, gooey mess that we've seen in Louisiana so far.

That's at least some good news for the time being for these folks out here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we need some good news. Jim Acosta, thanks.

ACOSTA: Meanwhile, the anger and frustration are building all along the gulf coast. On Pensacola Beach in the Florida panhandle, a small group of residents, beachgoers and fishermen took part in this protest at sunset last night. All of them said that their lives will be changed if the oil reaches the shores as predicted and right now they're wrestling with that agonizing wait.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHAN WHEELER, PENSACOLA RESIDENT: (INAUDIBLE) feeling about hopelessness.

BEN MCLEOD, FISHERMAN: It's like a family member dying. It's like my grandkids, they probably won't know what a snapper is. And it's -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: BP says it has spent more than $1 billion on the crisis, but did you know that the legal limits on liability are a mere drop in the bucket? In many circumstances the company's cost could be capped at $75 million. Taxpayers would be on the hook for the rest.

President Obama is joining the chorus of lawmakers who say that amount is laughable. He's endorsing the plan that would raise the limit to a much higher figure.

It's impossible to think about the gushing oil without thinking of Admiral Thad Allen, the government's fix-it man. I spent 48 hours embedded with the admiral and I've got to tell you, he gets a lot done in two days. I'll walk you through his insane schedule and all of the demands that he shepherds at the bottom of the hour.

And we got new information on a case surrounding the prime suspect in the Natalee Holloway disappearance. Joran van der Sloot is taking authorities back to a hotel where he has confessed to killing a Peruvian woman.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now live from Lima, Peru with the latest details on the case. Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN EDITOR: Kyra, that is expected to happen within the next two hours. I'm standing here at the Tac Hotel in Lima, the capital of Peru. This is the crime scene. This is the place where police say 21-year-old Stephany Flores was killed by Joran van der Sloot and today Joran van der Sloot after confessing last night, he's being brought back to this hotel, a $30 a night hotel in the Mira Flores district of Lima, Peru. It happened on the third floor of this hotel in room 309.

The victim was found last Wednesday. She was badly bruised. She had a broken neck and apparently she had also been bleeding from her nose. Now today, Joran van der Sloot is going to return to this place. He's going to be brought by police and he's going to tell investigators step by step how it happened.

He is going to be accompanied by a defense attorney at all times and it's part of the process here in Lima, part of the process of gathering all the evidence before a judge is going to hear the case and come up with a sentence.

Also, we understand today that his mother is traveling to Lima, Peru, and may arrive today. He has been asking for the last few days to see his mother which hasn't happened yet, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So a couple of questions for you, Rafael. First of all, do we know - and I asked you this last hour, have you been able to ask any of your sources. Investigators there on the scene, have they questioned him at all about the Natalee Holloway case? Because obviously he's confessing to this murder. There are still a lot of questions with regard to Natalee Holloway, and the fact that he was a prime suspect in that case.

ROMO: Kyra, he was interrogated for about 10 hours yesterday, and at the end of the 10 hours that's when he confessed according to authorities, but at no time, as far as we know was the Natalee Holloway case mentioned.

Now, of course, there are a lot of eerie similarities between the two cases and after he has confessed, local media here in Peru are basically also convicting him in the case of Natalee Holloway. I wanted to show you, for example, this newspaper that says - Yo La Mite, I killed her.

And it's something that they've been talking about for the last few days. In fact, before he confessed he was being called the assassin of Natalee Holloway. Now, from a legal perspective, he has not been questioned in any way, shape or form as far as we know, specifically on that case, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. Rafael Romo, please keep us updated as you learn new details.

We're going to find out how serious the anti-incumbent fever is today. 12 states holding primaries, governorships, senate and house seats all on the line. A tea party test in Nevada with a would be Republican Senate candidate. A battle of the big bucks in California. One candidate spending $70 million of her own dollars in the GOP primary for governor and a runoff in Arkansas that everybody's watching. Incumbent senator Blanche Lincoln, the democrat in a runoff with the state's lieutenant governor Bill Halter.

The best political team on television is all over it. You can count on CNN's coverage throughout the day and night and cnn.com/politics has the latest info on the races and results.

Day 50 of the oil disaster and we're taking ideas on how to fix it. This man says he has one answer. Oil-eating microbes and he's going to show us exactly how it works.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to the Department of Homeland Security.

Admiral Thad Allen briefing us on the oil disaster. Now a huge concern, weather.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: ... we recovered 14,842 barrels. It has climbed steadily from the first day, which if you remember, in the last four days they've gone from about 6,000 barrels to almost 15,000. We continue to optimize production and make sure we can take as much oil out of that stream as we can right now.

One of the four events on the containment cap is closed at this point and we continue to monitor it moving forward. A couple of key issues we've been following this week just to give you an update on. One is vessels of opportunity. And it's taking the local watermen and putting them out there to work.

Right now we have 2,600 vessels throughout the gulf that are enrolled. In Alabama alone in the last couple of days we've had about 500 vessels out. We're providing them booming equipment and other equipment. They're either scouting or actually skimming or supporting other operations that are out there.

Later on this week there will be a meeting with BP and my staff headed by Tracy Wearing (ph), who heads our integrated services team to talk about claims, both individuals and business-related claims. We'll be meeting with British Petroleum on that and I'll be part of that meeting and we'll be dispatching a team to the region to make sure we're aligned with the claim process and understand what BP is doing and to make sure we will be providing oversight we'll be doing at that time.

Other than that, no further updates there and I'll turn the podium over to Dr. Lubchenco and I'll be glad to take your questions. Dr. Lubchenco.

JANE LUBCHENCO, NOAA ADMINISTRATOR: Thank you, Admiral Allen. And special thanks to you for the terrific job you've done in leading the federal team for a very aggressive and strategic response to this spill. The BP oil spill is a human tragedy and an environmental disaster. NOAA and the other federal partners are deeply concerned about what the oil spill means for the health of the Gulf of Mexico and for the millions of people who depend on these waters for their livelihood and their enjoyment.

From day one, NOAA has been tracking every aspect of this spill to help inform the federal response, to guide actions, to aggressively protect wild life and critical habitats. We've been tracking also where the oil is going and where it is at the surface as well as where it might be below the surface and what the consequences of that oil will be to coastal communities as well as to the health of the gulf.

We deeply understand the public's need for answers and consider our responsibility to help provide those answers. Our commitment is to provide the right answers and with that in mind, we have deployed a wide range of tools, satellites in space, planes in the air, ships on the water, scientists on the ground and information online so that the American people can see what we're doing and understand the answers that we are getting.

We've always known that there is oil under the surface. The questions that NOAA and many of its academic partners are pursuing is where is that oil, in what concentrations and what impact is it having on the ecosystems.

Today we're announcing findings from NOAA's analysis of water samples that were taken by our partners at the University of South Florida aboard the weather bird 2 research vessel. NOAA, we now have the results in hand from the water samples that were taken during those cruises and NOAA is confirming the presence of very low concentrations of sub-surface oil at sampling depths ranging from the surface to 3,300 feet at locations 40 and 42 nautical miles northeast of the well site and another sampling station at 142 nautical miles southeast of the wellhead.

Notably, our analysis of the presence of subsurface oil determined that the concentrations of oil are in the range of less than 0.5 parts per million. Along with the analysis of the concentrations, we have also been fingerprinting the oil. You can fingerprint it and determine if it's from the Mississippi canyon 252 site or some of the other oil that is in the gulf naturally.

What we have found is that hydrocarbons in the surface samples taken 40 nautical miles northeast from the wellhead were indeed consistent with the BP oil spill. Hydrocarbons found in the samples 42 nautical miles northeast from the wellhead at the surface at 162 feet and 4,500 feet were in concentrations too low to do the actual fingerprinting.

And finally, hydrocarbons found in the samples 142 nautical miles southeast of the well head at 330 feet and 1,000 feet were not consistent with the BP oil spill. This research from the University of South Florida contributes to the larger three-dimensional picture that we are in the process of constructing for the gulf.

As Admiral Allen has suggested, each of these different research missions is essentially doing an MRI through MRI slice through the water column trying to characterize what's there and eventually we will have not just answers to what's there and what concentrations, but what impact it is having. A number of other NOAA vessels are out on the water or just returning from cruises to compliment the ships that were out there earlier. The NOAA ship "Thomas Jefferson," which is a 208-foot survey vessel is currently under way in a mission in the vicinity of the BP Deep Water Horizon spill.

I was down in the gulf last week and was onboard the "Thomas Jefferson" with a crew of not only NOAA scientists but academic scientists as they were preparing to embark and do some additional excellent work. The NOAA ship Gordon Gunter, the 224-foot research vessel returned June 3rd from an eight day mission in the vicinity of the well head.

We have some results now that have been sent for analysis and we are committed to sharing those results as soon as they are back. The results that are in hand can be seen at noaa.gov web site and we are committed to transparency and to sharing all that information as soon as we have done the appropriate checks and balances and make sure the information is accurate.

We also are flying some planes, P-3 so-called hurricane hunters. I was up in one last week flying over the gulf to deploy instruments to better characterize what the surface flow and subsurface flow of the ocean is. All of the scientific information is helping us understand, again, the oil, where it is. What impact it might be having.

We remain concerned about the location of oil on the surface and under the sea. We and our academic partners such as the University of South Florida will remain vigilant in our search for answers, and as I mentioned at the beginning we consider this to be a human tragedy and an environmental disaster.

We are attacking it aggressively to mitigate the harm and to understand the impact. We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with gulf coast communities during these incredibly challenging times. Admiral Allen and I would be happy to answer any questions.

(END OF COVERAGE)

PHILLIPS: All right. You've been watching a live news conference and continuing to watch it right now. Real quickly, I'm going to bring you up-to-date. You're seeing Admiral Thad Allen, the president's point man, leading the response to the oil disaster by his side. This is his leading lady with regard with everything that' taking place with NOAA.

When I was embedded with these two, they spent a lot of time together. And when we were flying out about 10 minutes out from the rig you can actually see the NOAA vessels that were out there in the water taking water samples, and as we're hearing right now, you can actually go to the NOAA web site, noaa.org, and start to track the results from those water samples.

Basically not only tracking the impact of this oil above water, but what we were hearing now is that we're starting to get results about those water samples that were taken and will show the impact of sea life, all of the underwater threats that are taking place. You can find more information, noaa.org. Those are developing news that we are getting and those water samples now becoming public to all of us to see.

Meanwhile, we've been talking a lot about solutions as well, ideas on how to fix this problem. Well, we're going to talk to this gentleman right here by my side. He says he has an answer that involves oil-eating microbes and he's going to show us how it works and then you're going to be able to see how you can get involved, how you can submit a proposal and see if indeed, the folks at BP and the Coast Guard will take your idea into hand. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": President Obama spoke at Kalamazoo Central high school's ceremony in Michigan. He told the students they could be anything they want to be, but if they could be oil leak experts, that would be great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Good point, though. If we only did have more of those experts. You know, it's day 50 of the oil disaster, and we all want to know what's the best way to clean this mess up and is there anything that any of us can do to help. Well, yes, you can and you can actually submit your fix it proposal online right now.

We're going to get to that in just a few minutes, but first we want to focus one man's solution and shine a spotlight on his idea that may be flying under the radar.

Ed Corpora is the vice president of American Products Enterprise Corporation. He says he has a microbe that could literally eat the oil. Actually he's corrected me on that. He said it's much more complex and that's just a little part of this.

So let's talk about exactly what this product is and you can be the expert here and explain and just take us through the process and explain it as you're doing it, Ed.

ED CORPORA, VP, AMERICAN ENTERPRISES PRODUCT CORP.: Kyra, it's an organic material. It's 100 percent organic. It's microbial, which means it has indigenous microbes in the product already that will actually eat oil over a period of time.

PHILLIPS: OK.

CORPORA: The time that it needs, the conditions that it needs is warm weather moisture and oxygen which I'm sure there's not a lack of in the gulf area. So it's a perfect environment for the microbes to work, but the primary thing our product does is for encapsulation of oil and even on water, and even in rainy conditions.

PHILLIPS: All right. So show us how it works. You're going to pour the oil into the water.

CORPORA: I'll pour a little transmission fluid and give it some color and a little 40 weight motor oil. I mean, we control hydraulic oil, what have you, sweet crude oil that's out in the gulf.

PHILLIPS: Right. I was going to say - a lot of people don't understand why they're seeing patches of orange out there in the gulf.

CORPORA: That's sweet.

PHILLIPS: Because it's a different kind of crude.

CORPORA: Right. It's different when we get from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

PHILLIPS: OK. Tell me what you're doing now.

CORPORA: I'm pouring my product on top of the spill. As you noticed, nothing is going down to the bottom. That's because it's water repellent. The way we process it, we make it water repellent and it doesn't absorb any water at all. It just goes after the oil.

Now what I want to do, the oil - I want to show you how the oil is already out of the water and into the product already. I want to simulate a duck swimming through the spilled area. It stays dry.

PHILLIPS: Yes. that's amazing. it's not even attaching to the --

(CROSSTALK)

CORPORA: It's encapsulating the oil (INAUDIBLE) and it's out of the water and in the product just like that.

PHILLIPS: So what exactly is in this product and how did you come up with this? How did you divide this?

CORPORA: Let me just skim this, first, let me just show you how to get that out of the water. Can you see that from the top?

PHILLIPS: Yes. Amazing.

CORPORA: Basically we've been selling this for 20 years. Now we didn't just start this. We're not jumping on the bandwagon because of the spill. We've been selling this to large city governments throughout the United States. We do some exports that sell to oil companies overseas.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Thank you. You bet.

CORPORA: And just for an everyday data spill, the clean up of the day-to-day spills and as I said major cities, city, county and state governments.

PHILLIPS: So you've used this on smaller spills.

CORPORA: Day-to-day spills in shops and outdoors, the field.

PHILLIPS: Much different from this massive disaster. So would this - kind of put into perspective, would you have enough of this to deal with the disaster this big?

CORPORA: I myself would not have no one product or one company. It's too big. I'm going to just be honest with you. Anybody that says they do, I don't think they're being totally honest with you on that, but I have enough to make a difference and I would supply truckloads on the daily basis as the demand goes up.

PHILLIPS: How expensive is it?

CORPORA: -- will increase production.

I hate to get into pricing, because the pricing does vary, but it could be as little as 70 cents a pound. Almost about a gallon of oil. Half a gallon and a gallon depending on viscosity.

PHILLIPS: You reached out to BP. Did you hear back?

CORPORA: Yes, they didn't think the product would be suitable for their type of spill.

PHILLIPS: Did they say why?

CORPORA: No. Just so many words.

PHILLIPS: So they did reach out. Has there been any more conversations since you were on CNN he first time?

CORPORA: After I did CNN on the 29th. When I got home there was an e-mail saying they were reevaluating it, but I haven't heard something since. I just want to show you one more demo with transmission fluid in here.

PHILLIPS: Okay.

CORPORA: Inside there is the HDP.

PHILLIPS: Okay.

CORPORA: I want to simulate a spill absorbed into the product on a rainy day because it will rain a lot, and during the cleanup process especially in the Gulf areas because of the humidity and the weather conditions in the summer there. I just want to show you the only clear water it is coming out.

PHILLIPS: Yes, nothing cells coming out of here.

CORPORA: You can drink it, if you like.

PHILLIPS: You know what? I don't think I'll take the risk.

(LAUGHTER) CORPORA: There's no transmission fluid coming out, and that's because it's encapsulated to the product and only allows the water to run through.

PHILLIPS: One more question for you, and Josh, I'll have you weigh in on this. Got an e-mail just this morning about a Web site that you can go on to, Deepwater Horizon Response -- what is it, Josh? It's deepwaterhorizon -- thank you - response -- is it.com?

LEVS: Deepwaterhorizonreponse.com. Have it right here. This is one of the new places you can go to take a look and send your idea.

PHILLIPS: OK, and I want you to pay attention to this because I'm curious. Did you know about this Web site?

CORPORA: That is exactly where I submitted my paperwork -

PHILLIPS: You did submit it on this?

CORPORA: -- three days after it happened.

PHILLIPS: Three days after.

So, bring us up to date, Josh. Because if you're like Ed, you've got a product, you want to submit your proposal, take us through how you do it.

LEVS: Yes, and there are tense of thousands of people every day who are trying to get their ideas across. This is one that has been set up. You can see, it says here, it's the official side of the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command. So, this is one place you can go. And they'll link you to a suggestion page where they tell you exactly what to do with your idea. There's also a form that they connect you to that can help you get information and let the officials who are on the scene know what they need to know about your idea.

BP as well says it has listening to ideas, and if you go to BP's Web site, it gives you information. A phone number you can contact, ways to post messages.

There's also something new I want to let you all know about which is our own shortcut, right here. Ireport.com, where we've been getting a lot of ideas like this. As we've been hearing, they're watching. It's ireport.com/fixit. Can't forget that. Ireport.com/fixit.

What you're going to see here is more and more people will send their ideas and we just got one from a guy from Logansville, Georgia, whose children are showing his idea. It's nice to watch and you never know, one of these ideas might help a lot as well. Check out the iReport page in addition to those other sites. Lots coming in there.

PHILLIPS: Yes. No kidding. We'll keep tracking them both. And Ed Corpora, let us know if you hear anything more. We appreciate you coming in and giving us your idea.

CORPORA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ed.

CORPORA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: As we count the days of the oil disaster and count the gallons, the government counts on one man to lead the fight. And believe me, it's not easy being Admiral Thad Allen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: I'm careful about who rents space in my head. I try to keep pretty even-keel. It's almost impossible to insult me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I spent 48 hours embedded with the admiral, and I'm taking you along for a look at the disaster through his eyes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: President Obama is mad as hell, and he wants all of you to know it. It's Day 50 of the oil disaster in the Gulf, and he tells NBC's "Today Show that he's been meeting with experts to learn, quote, "whose ass to kick."

The anger is building from Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street. In Alabama, one chamber of commerce official says frustration along the Gulf coast is, quote, "rapidly escalating." And he sneered at the $5,000 payout BP has given fishermen and others who have seen their livelihoods disappear. He dismissed the amount as, quote, "a marketing ploy."

Tonight, the anger goes nationwide. The advocacy group MoveOn is calling for vigils across the country to demand greater efforts to stop the spill.

Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen is a man who seems to be everywhere nowadays. He's the government's go-to guy in charge of the oil disaster response. It's a job that requires long hours, quick thinking and really thick skin. I spent a dizzying 48 hours embedded with the admiral. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at his whirlwind days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (on camera): Well, it's 6:00 a.m., and we're here in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Admiral Thad Allen's day began hours ago. But we're getting ready to connect with him now and see what it's like for the next 48 hours as he leads the response to the worst oil disaster in U.S. history.

Good morning. Good to see you. (voice-over): The 61-year-old commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard officially had his change of command last month, but he's now on the toughest assignment of his long career.

First a jolt of caffeine, the admiral's security detail knows every coffee shop on the gulf coast. All right.

(on camera): I've got the next one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Admiral Allen.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): And then the first calls of a very long day.

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: I can call the governor.

PHILLIPS: The White House, federal agencies, governors, the Army Corps of Engineers. They never stop.

Today's top priority, hammering out an agreement on getting sand barriers built to protect the Louisiana coast and paying for them.

ALLEN: We talked about a couple of things, number one was the feasibility of constructing the barrier islands with the berms and the second one was their effectiveness.

PHILLIPS: It's an issue that's sharply divided, state and federal government. The admiral has to be broker, diplomat, decision maker.

ALLEN: You can suffer and you can have bad mismanagement. I'm trying to move to the management.

PHILLIPS: For this job, Thad Allen needs a thick skin. He's come in for plenty of criticism.

ALLEN: I'm careful about the red space in my head. I try to keep it pretty even. It's almost impossible to insult me.

PHILLIPS: The incident command post, the nerve center of the massive operation to deal with the spill. This is where all the federal agencies involved and BP come together.

ALLEN: All of the operations of Louisiana are directed out of here.

PHILLIPS (on camera): We're only an hour into the day and the admiral has to make a number of conference calls throughout the day that we will not be able to record. They're off the record. He's getting ready to get on the phone with senior Obama administration officials and cabinet secretaries about building barrier islands to protect the marsh lands.

(voice-over): Admiral Allen is also the public face of the administration's efforts to tackle the worst environmental disaster in modern U.S. history. ALLEN: Good morning. The briefing this morning is coming from our incident command post in Houma, Louisiana.

PHILLIPS: Back on the again, headed for Houma Terra Bone Airport. The White House calls again, what's the progress on a sand barrier deal? The president had promised local officials he would fast track a decision.

(on camera): How many times a day does the White House call you?

ALLEN: It depends on the issue.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Then it's up and away in a Coast Guard plane for a firsthand look at the spreading slick.

ALLEN: I have asked them to fly over so you can get a really good look at the Mississippi River and the marsh lands and some of the stuff we're talking about. It gives you a very good idea of the vastness of this marsh land. We're talking hundreds and hundreds of miles. That's the breeding ground of 20 percent to 30 percent of the seafood that's consumed in this country.

PHILLIPS (on camera): We're headed east came out of Houma and came through to see where the oil has spread across the Mississippi where the marsh lands are and now we're actually headed over to where the rig exploded.

How many vessels do you have out here?

ALLEN: In our entire operation, every day around 1,300. This particular area, we get about 50 miles. I'd say about a couple of hundred.

PHILLIPS: So we just wrapped up the flyover and now apparently the attorney general wants to talk with the admiral. It is about 2:30 now in the afternoon and it could be about the criminal charges that possibly may be weighed against BP.

(voice-over): Allen assures the attorney general he'll keep him informed of anything that could impact potential legal action, not the sort of job he was trained for.

ALLEN: Lisa (ph). How are you? Good to see you. PHILLIPS: Armed with an aerial overview, the Admiral catches up with the head of the Environmental Protection Agency in (inaudible), Louisiana. Their talk is of booms, dispersants, and the workforce now deployed across the Gulf Coast.

LISA JACKSON, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: These wet lands are something that all of us are fighting to make sure we not only maintain, but rebuild.

PHILLIPS (on camera): The admiral is going to meet with all the workers here that are deploying all these equipment out in the water, booms, et cetera. ALLEN: The president wants to triple the resources in oil - in the affected area. In fact, there's always problem with space, berming, nothing you can't handle.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): After 14 hours of command and control this day, still time to rally the troops. Dinner with contractors, members of the National Guard and others.

ALLEN: Tell them where you're from. If you go out and you treat anybody that's been impacted by this event in the local community here or anybody you're dealing with, treat them as if they're your brother, your mother, your sister or your brother or anybody that you care about, you're going to be all right, because if you err, you're going to err on the side of doing too much.

PHILLIPS: And then some good news.

ALLEN: The news of the day is the president approved the Louisiana berm project that the Corps of Engineers approved.

PHILLIPS (on camera): So, at the end of the day, you do a call with your staff and you have to do it from wherever you are. And here we are in Cocodrie, and you're doing it at a Cajun restaurant.

ALLEN: Well, in the office of a Cajun restaurant. Yes.

Hi, folks. What I would like to do is kind of go over what's happened today operationally.

PHILLIPS: What did you achieve today?

ALLEN: Well, major step forward with the state of Louisiana on the barrier island and berm question.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): But Admiral Allen knows that only sealing the spill will mark the beginning of the end of his mission here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Oh, as you know, there has been a lot of criticism over the relationship between the government and BP. However, Admiral Allen says that right now, it's a marriage of necessity, the only option. And as I observed firsthand, so far, he's getting everything he's asking for.

A little girl, a love of birds and a whole lot of talent. Check out these masterpieces. They're raising big money for wildlife in the Gulf coast, and the 11-year-old artist is going to tell us firsthand how we can pick one up right after this.

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PHILLIPS: The oil situation on the Gulf coast. Not a pretty picture. But a young artist is drawing inspiration from the disaster by creating art to help the wildlife there. She wrote this letter to the National Audubon Society, offering up her services to help them raise money to protect the birds. Quote, "I was wondering if I could sell bird paintings and give the profits to your organization. I will do all in my strength to earn money. All I need is your okay." Signed "Olivia Bowler, 11 years old and willing to help."

Olivia is joining us live from New York. Olivia, great to see you.

OLIVIA BOWLER, RAISING MONEY FOR NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY: Yes. It's a great thing to be here.

PHILLIPS: I am so glad to have you. Now, I have to ask you, when you first saw the oil disaster on the news, tell me how that made you feel, Olivia?

BOWLER: I was really just distraught. It was terrible. It was completely terrible. I was sobbing at the table uncontrollably. It was completely terrible, nothing good about it.

PHILLIPS: And is it -- tell me why. Was it the animals that you saw being affected? The people, the fishermen you saw? Tell me what images you saw that really touched your heart?

BOWLER: Well, the birds and all of the animals that are being affected by this. It's just really sad -- like, they didn't do anything wrong. It's not their fault. It's just terrible.

PHILLIPS: Aww. So, I understand you've done about 50 pieces of art so far. What did you think about as you were working on each picture? How did you come up with your idea for each piece that you put together?

BOWLER: Well, I just try to do my best, and really try to just do, like, the best I can through the most realistic -- and then if I get discouraged I think I'm helping out the birds down in the Gulf. I'm helping out the birds of the world.

PHILLIPS: Oh, and I know you love the pelican, right? You've drawn a lot of pelicans. Tell me what you love about that bird.

BOWLER: That bird is just so you know unique, you know? No other creature can use a bill and a pouch to catch fish. I mean, and the aerodynamics it takes to plunge into the water is just fantastic.

PHILLIPS: Wow! So, I've been reading a number of these letters that you've been getting from other kids. This one was absolutely precious, Olivia. It had lots of spelling, obviously, to be worked on, but we got the idea of what Ian wrote to you. He said, "To Olivia, thank you for the pics of the birds in danger, from Ian."

Do you feel like you're having an impact on other kids your age and other people across the country?

BOWLER: Yes. It's really, really cute how other people like to take it. I'm really -- I'm really excited for them. It's really awesome that they're doing that for me. PHILLIPS: All right. Before we tell everyone how they can buy your pictures and donate to the Audubon Society, if you had a chance to sit down with President Obama, what would you tell him, Olivia?

BOWLER: I would tell him that you should really go down there and show people how to be aware. Really just focus on that and try show people that you can do it. You can save the birds if you really put your mind to it. You've got to at least try.

PHILLIPS: Everyone wants to know how to get one of your pictures -- or a lot of people want to know how to get one of your pictures. And you are now an AOL Artist. And all you have to do is go to the Web site aolartists.com, correct? And then they request a picture and make a donation, is that right?

BOWLER: Yes. You -- you, um, it's kind of like an honor system. You donate and e-mail us, and you tell which organization you donated to, tell us your address, and we send you a picture.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'll be on that Web site today. Olivia Bowler, you're a remarkable young lady and we're very, very proud of you. Thank you for sharing --

BOWLER: Thank you. I am so happy to be here today.

PHIILLIPS: We're thrilled to have you. Thank your dad for driving you, okay? Thanks, Olivia.

BOWLER: Okay. Bye.

PHILLIPS: Bye-bye.

Sure, it costs a lot of money to run a political race in California. It's the most populous state and not exactly the cheapest. But $70 million on a primary when your state's neck-deep in red ink? We need to talk.

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PHILLIPS: Well, it's a GOP primary campaign for governor or this week's megamillions jackpot. It's kind of hard to tell. The two candidates facing off in California today, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner have spent $100 million between them. Let's see, this a state with a deficit of more than $19 billion. It's laid off 26,000 teachers this year, slapped a 32 percent tuition hike on student at UC universities. It's laying off cops because there's no money to pay them, and it's making people in some towns actually pay 300 bucks for 911 calls. And will free about 40,000 state prisoners early just to save money.

So, given all those money problems, doesn't $100 million for a primary seem kind of obscene? Meg Whitman spent $70 million of her own money, a drop in the billionaire bucket for her. CNN's Jessica Yellin asked her if she sees anything wrong with that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP0 JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That kind of money could have hired more than 700 police officers, more than 750 teachers. Does that bother you?

MEG WHITMAN, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know what? What I'm doing is running for governor of California so I can turn this state around. So, what I need to do every voter I want to understand where I stand. What I want to do to turn this state around, and that's what it costs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And of course, we wanted you to weigh in and tell us your thoughts about this multi-million campaign. Here's what you had to say.

Jenny wrote in, "Absurd, greed. These candidates need to take the high road and donate to the state they love so much and help them get out of this crisis."

We also heard from Jorge. " It's her money, how she spends it should be up to her. What, should she be gauged in the capability to run the state?"

And then also Tamara says, "A surefire way to win this election would be to donate as much money to the state budget as they spend on ads. An extra $50 million or so in the state budget would do a lot more to sway public opinion than the ridiculous TV propaganda."

We always appreciate hearing from you. All you have to do is log on to CNN.com/kyra and share your comments.

That does it for us here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be back tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Our Tony Harris takes it from here.

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