"Planned Distribution Of BP Research Funds Worries Some Scientists"

"WASHINGTON -- With its well finally shut down, BP is close to agreement on funneling a promised $500 million in research funds through an organization overseen by Gulf Coast governors, not the nation's scientific community.

The pending decision has stirred concern among some scientists who fear most of the money will be doled out to institutions in the governors' home states — in effect making the distribution of research grants more like pork-barrel projects, rather than pure scientific pursuits.

Critics worry the expertise of distinguished oceanographic organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California could be excluded from the complex task of determining the full effects of the massive spill."

Neela Banerjee reports for the Los Angeles Times September 24, 2010.