Monday, 21 May 2007

Coal Is the Enemy of the Human Race

New BP, Rio Tinto venture plans three "clean coal" plants

Last week, oil giant BP announced a new "clean coal" partnership, and it's already spewing big plans. With Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, BP created Hydrogen Energy, a cleaner-energy venture. Just one hitch: they're gonna make hydrogen by burning fossil fuels, which produces carbon dioxide, which ends the world. So the companies will plunge huge amounts of money into "clean coal" operations that separate out the carbon, then bury it under the sea. (Note to future generations: We know it sounds crazy. So, uh, did it work?) BP already had two such projects in the works, in California and Scotland; the companies announced a third today, a $2 billion plant in Australia. "Projects such as these have the potential to help deliver the carbon emission reductions which companies and countries around the world are now seeking," says BP CEO Tony Hayward. And a BP VP told the press that the carbon will, as one outlet reported, "remain buried 'literally forever,' or for hundreds of years."


Ed Del Grande knows his toilets. The former comedian and star of the DIY Network's Ed the Plumber has made a living teaching homeowners about do-it-yourself pipe tinkering. Flush with success, he hopes to use his influence to encourage water conservation through low-flow toilets -- and a new book. As InterActivist this week, the commode expert and professional funnyman chats about high-stress plumbing, what makes a really good toilet, and why he's just gotta toot his own horn. Send Del Grande a question by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Is It Worm in Here?

Deep-water mining could be bad news for seafloor organisms, say experts

Pop quiz: Would deep-water mining harm fragile ecosystems? An article in Science gives the shocking answer: Vancouver-based Nautilus Minerals' pioneering plan to dig out gold, copper, silver, and zinc from hydrothermal vents in the South Pacific would likely create unpleasantness for the hardy organisms who live there. While Nautilus aims to mine uninhabited vents, suggested sites are a mere half-mile or so from thriving microorganism hotspots, and sediment drift could easily lead to "smothering, clogging, and contamination of vent communities," says coauthor Jochen Halfar. Eh, they'll be fine, says Nautilus CEO David Heydon, claiming that Nautilus' method of grinding up deposits, pumping the ore onto a ship, and dumping wastewater back into the ocean will have no more effect than "cutting worms in half while digging in a garden." Halfar notes that vent organisms have not been thoroughly studied, and the article calls for global regulation of seafloor mining.


Queensland, Australia, is plagued by a big ol' slimy invasive pest, the cane toad. A reader who's studying abroad encountered a bunch of the toads recently, and found himself faced with an ethical dilemma: is it OK to kill one species in order to spare others? Advice maven Umbra Fisk dons her Ethicist cap to tackle his question, then hops to a more practical answer for dealing with the toads.

Plus, He Made That Boat Sink

Leonardo DiCaprio brings climate-change film to Cannes

A year ago, Al Gore spread the climate-change message at the Cannes Film Festival. Now it's Leonardo DiCaprio's turn. The former boy wonder produced, co-wrote, and narrated The 11th Hour, a documentary that explores how industrial society screwed itself and how it can fix the problem. Relying on interviews with the likes of Stephen Hawking and David Suzuki, the 90-minute film "[gives] the scientists and experts a format where they can speak freely and openly without having to argue the points anymore," says Leo. Like Gore, his eco-mentor, DiCaprio is battling accusations of hypocrisy from the press: You fly in planes! You use energy! You're a big fatty! Although he took a bit o' the bait, pointing out that he flew commercially to Cannes instead of on a private jet, DiCaprio deflected most of the personal attacks, calling on the mega-polluting U.S. to "set an example" for the world and reminding the press that the world is ending. "Look at the message," he pleaded. "Isn't that the larger story?"