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Small town sprayed with fine mist of oil like Wolfgang Puck salad

The Houston Chronicle reported today on a recent oil spill in Texas. Residents of Baytown awoke to an eerie grey mist hanging over their town, like in a John Carpenter movie. Cars were coated with a slippery film of oil, so that locals found it difficult to open their car doors (but easier to open that front gate, which was needing a little WD40). When resident Felicia Joseph called the authorities, no one came.

For six years Felicia Joseph lived beside one of the nation's largest oil refineries -- and not once did she complain about pollution. "It's like living near a bakery," said the 34-year-old hairdresser. "You know you are going to smell baked goods. You pretty much know what you are up against."

Yes, just like living near a bakery. In which case an accident like this would have caused her neighborhood to be showered in a fine mist of cinnamon buns.

Flawed Response To Exxon Spill Exposed (Houston Chronicle)

The Daily Grist Headline Battle Royale: Match 5

Sorry folks. As I had to leave early on Friday, I didn't get a chance to post last week's nominees. I thought one of my colleagues would pick up the ball, but they are obviously completely undependable.

As usual, before we get to the current list of nominees, our first order of business is to announce the winner of battle royale número cuatro ... "Flame! I Wanna Log Forever" with 33% of 117(!) votes. Thanks to all the newbies who participated!

Now, here are this week's nominees:

1. Papua Goes After the Weasel: Indonesia to Freeport: Clean up mining operations or we'll sue
2. They Got Seoul But They're Not Eco-Soldiers: South Korean Supreme Court rules in favor of eco-damaging seawall
3. Do You CEO What I CEO?: American firms lag on addressing climate-change risks, study finds
4. Freeport Your Mine, and Unrest Will Follow: Mining companies dig up trouble in Indonesia
5. If At First You Don't Succeed, Tritium Again: Illinois nuke-plant operator sued for tritium spills it tried to hide

For those of you paying attention, you may have discovered that each Daily Grist of the previous week is represented. I bring this up as choosing one from Tuesday was particularly difficult as they were all good. Kudos to my colleagues. While you may be unreliable, you sure can be witty.

Okay, voting time!

Grist’s Poverty & the Environment on EcoTalk

Grist's own editor-at-large, Kathryn Schulz, appeared on EcoTalk to chat about our Poverty & the Environment series. Listen to the 12-minute interview.

More on the case of the lost oil-drilling royalties

Over on Daily Grist, we've given pretty extensive coverage to the story of how oil companies will manage to dodge some $7 billion worth of royalty payments over the next five years (up to $35 billion, depending on the outcome of a court challenge). What with Bush Scandal Fatigue, the story didn't get the attention it should have. Oh, another $7 billion out of taxpayer pockets to subsidize the world's wealthiest industry? Ho hum.

Anyway, there's a fantastic piece in today's New York Times that provides much-needed context.

Originally, the incentive program to persuade oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico was supposed to cost taxpayers nothing. Then, you know, one thing led to another. Now it's gonna run them $7 billion. How'd that happen?

Checking in with the Kossacks

I've known in a vague way that a person with the nom de blog "Jerome a Paris" does a lot of eco-blogging over on Daily Kos, but I must confess I don't have the fortitude to wade into that site very often.

However, via an Oil Drum open thread I stumbled on Jerome's "Countdown to $100 oil" series, which is very cool. Here's the latest entry, about the recent sharp rise in oil-futures prices -- it also has links to all 24 (!) previous entries in the series.

He's also involved in the dKos' community's "Energize America" plan -- of which you can read the fourth draft here.

Earth bites SUV

A water main break beneath 73rd Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood opened up a 12-foot-wide sinkhole that literally swallowed an SUV. You bite the earth, she bites back. (The driver was not seriously injured.) On the other hand, maybe bad eco-karma isn't at fault: the water also flooded into a subway tunnel, disrupting thousands of eco-friendly commutes on the R train.

Photos available from Newsday.

Stockholm syndrome II

A while back I mentioned that Stockholm, Sweden was starting a short-term trial of congestion pricing -- essentially, making drivers pay to enter downtown. London instituted a similar system in 2003, which has proven unexpectedly popular: It's reduced traffic levels by 15 percent, while boosting downtown driving speeds considerably. Stockholm's experiment seemed like it was off to a rockier start -- the city was far less congested than London, and the charges were, if anything, even less popular with commuters.

So it may come as something of a surprise that Stockholm's trial has been greeted with less opposition than predicted:

Jason Edens, rural solar advocate, InterActivates

Low-income households are often the most gravely affected by energy crises, says Jason Edens of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, yet they are the least able to afford renewable-energy alternatives. As InterActivist this week, Edens chats about installing solar-heating systems in rural areas of Minnesota and empowering families to warm themselves (but not the earth!). Send Edens a question of your own by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Oh Say, Can You, Seattle?

Seattle commission unveils recommendations for meeting Kyoto goals Ex-VP Al Gore and environmental journalist Elizabeth Kolbert were in Seattle last week (both gave PowerPoint presentations, the chic new environmental look for ’06) for a series of events Mayor Greg Nickels jokingly dubbed “climatepalooza.” Capping the ‘palooza was the unveiling of recommendations from the 18-member commission […]

Reporter Michael Grunwald gabs about his new book on the Everglades

For about 5,000 years, the waters of the peninsula we now call Florida flowed south into the Kissimmee River. The Kissimmee emptied into enormous Lake Okeechobee, which in turn spilled over into a vast, shallow sheet that slid slowly along the nearly flat expanse of south Florida to the ocean. This was the complex and […]