Latest Articles
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Leadership lessons in the Gulf
BP’s Drilling Disaster is quickly unfolding to become one of the world’s worst ever environmental catastrophes. Credible sources already are saying that the volume of oil gushing into the Gulf exceeds the Exxon Valdez, and shockingly, there is no end in sight. As oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, as fisherman watch […]
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A teachable moment
The Cape Wind project just approved for the waters offshore of Massachusetts will pump $1 billion into the local economy and create clean, reliable wind energy for decades. The BP oil rig in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico is spewing millions of gallons of petroleum toward the coastlines of four states, incurring $6 […]
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Burning oil sends heavy vapor toward Gulf residents
The EPA is warning that Gulf Coast residents are at risk of headaches, nausea, and other ill health effects; the culprit is air pollution from the oil burns that response teams are conducting to try to keep the big slick away from coastlines. “The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf could cause an odor similar […]
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Why do peak oilers and climate changers not get along better?
I’m currently attending Ohio State University’s Moving Ahead 2010 conference, focused on transitioning to sustainable transportation. I’ll be moderating a panel tonight. I think it will be filmed — I’ll let you know, assuming it’s not a disaster. I had an interesting experience this morning at a presentation by Robert Hirsch (oil industry vet, now […]
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What are we dumping into the Gulf to ‘fix’ the oil spill?
A 2006 oil-dispersant-spraying test run by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing, currently deployed to the Gulf to support the oil spill recovery effort. (U.S. Air Force file photo) In addition to the indignity of oil oozing into its depths at a rate of at least 5,000 barrels per day, the Gulf of […]
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Looking at gorillas through crazy-colored glasses
Photo via GeekosystemObserving wildlife? Good. Inadvertently threatening the wildlife while observing it? Eh, not so good. But some bizarre-looking glasses may be the solution. According to Geekosystem, “Earlier this month at the Dutch Rotterdam Zoo, an 11-year-old male gorilla named Bokito escaped and ran rampant through the zoo’s food court, injuring a woman when he […]
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The Scene in Louisiana: Disaster Looming
I’m in Venice, LA today, near where the leading edge of the Gulf Coast oil spill has started to ooze ashore. Despite the sense of looming disaster you get from talking to people here, there are at least two groups seeing an uptick in business: The staff at the bar & restaurant at the Venice […]
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Bill McKibben talks about how to live and organize on a reshaped ‘Eaarth’
Bill McKibben’s new book Eaarth argues that our carbon pollution has already reshaped the planet enough that it deserves a new name. McKibben has been thinking hard about climate change for longer than almost anybody else, both as a writer and as an activist, and he doesn’t sugarcoat the situation. He stopped by Grist’s office […]
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Beyond Petroleum
My friend Dean was mostly drunk rowing his raft down the Grand Canyon. He was also naked most of the time, except for a piece of climbing webbing around his waist, ostensibly to help him if the raft flipped. As he headed into the huge rapids of the Inner Gorge, Dean used to cackle and […]
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Waterkeepers question use of dispersant chemicals at oil-spewing wellhead
The chief executive of BP says crews have been able to reduce the amount of oil reaching the Gulf’s surface from a massive underwater leak by using chemicals at the gusher’s source — but environmental advocates are raising questions about the plan’s safety. “We are adamantly opposed to dispersants being used at the well-head as […]
