Why anyone in Washington thought this company could be trusted to be a fair partner in any way, shape or form remains a mystery. There's nothing in their history that suggests they should be trusted. There was a lot of damage caused by BP and by manipulating the process, a substantial amount of money could be lost, leaving the costs to local and state governments who do not have the money. It's disappointing that even the White House was involved in propping up BP and dismissing real science. Didn't we have enough of that during the Bush years? The Guardian:
BP officials tried to take control of a $500m fund pledged by the oil company for independent research into the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it has emerged.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly discussing how to influence the work of scientists supported by the fund, which was created by the oil company in May last year.
Russell Putt, a BP environmental expert, wrote in an email to colleagues on 24 June 2010: "Can we 'direct' GRI [Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative] funding to a specific study (as we now see the governor's offices trying to do)? What influence do we have over the vessels/equipment driving the studies vs the questions?".
