New Resource for Gulf Oil Spill

Published by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling offers the American public and policymakers alike the fullest account available of what happened on April 20, 2010 when the Macondo well blew out. The explosion cost the lives of 11 men and initiated the catastrophe that sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that spilled nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill disrupted an entire region's economy, damaged fisheries and critical habitats, and brought vividly to light the risks of deepwater drilling for oil and gas.

The Commission's final report explains why the well blew out and proposes actions--changes in company behavior, reform of Government oversight, and investments in research and technology--required as the industry moves forward to meet the nation's energy needs.

Deep Water (380 pages) will be distributed to Federal depository libraries in paper format as follows:

* Title: Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling. Report to the President
* Class: PR 44.8:D 36/G 95
* PURL: http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo2978

In addition to the report, the Commission released a Recommendations document for decision makers (63 pages). This document is also being distributed to Federal depository libraries in paper format as follows:

* Title: Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling. Recommendations.
* Class: PR 44.8: D 36/G 95/RECOMM.
* PURL: http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo2981


Copies will be distributed to Regionals first and then to all remaining depository libraries within approximately fifteen business days. No action is needed on behalf of depository libraries.

Both the report and recommendations are available on FDsys in PDF format . The report is available for purchase from the U.S. Government Bookstore.

Environmental Database

Recently, EBSCO Publishing announced the release of GreenFILE, a bibliographic database of information about environmental concerns. This database is being made freely available at www.greeninfoonline.com.

GreenFILE indexes scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports. This resource offers a unique perspective on the positive and negative ways humans affect the environment. Drawing on the connection between the environment and disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology, GreenFILE serves as an informative resource for anyone concerned about the issues facing our planet. The database contains nearly 300,000 records, full text for selected titles and searchable cited references for more than 200 titles as well.