US: Money finally flows for spill research

Scientists say that one of the most critical needs in responding to the oil spill is a far more vigorous research effort in the Gulf of Mexico to track the impact that the oil is having, write Justin Gillis and Yeganeh June Torbati in The New York Times Green blog. But money for that purpose has been slow to arrive.

In exasperation, some scientists and universities have essentially whipped out their own checkbooks to get a start, hoping to land financing later.

BP promised three weeks ago to help remedy the shortage of funds, pledging $500 million for a 10-year programme of research on the effects of oil, dispersants and dispersed oil. Scientists have been grumbling that the company has been slow to fulfill the promise. But on Tuesday afternoon, 56 days into the spill, BP started making good on its pledge. It announced that a first instalment of $25 million would flow soon to groups of researchers in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Full report on the New York Times site