Al Gore slams BP for lack of media access

Former Vice President Al Gore, whom some have chided for his relative silence on the Gulf oil spill, entered the ring on Monday, calling frequent refusals by oil-spill command to allow reporters access "completely unacceptable" and adding, "This de facto form of censorship needs to stop."

Gore is one of the highest-profile Americans yet to criticize the on-the-ground transparency about the ecological disaster in the Gulf region. The transparency problems may point less to deliberate obfuscation and more to the paradox created when a company whose reputation and financial well-being are at stake is put at the forefront of a disaster response.