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Oil rig workers missed ‘very large abnormality’ before explosion
The Deepwater Horizon after the explosion.Photo: U.S. Coast GuardHere’s something to fill you with confidence on the eve of BP’s risky “Top Kill” gambit: Workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig missed warnings that something was seriously wrong before the rig exploded. BP itself, in a memo to a House committee, reveals that crewmen failed to […]
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By the way, is anyone checking on nuclear-plant safety plans?
It gives me the willies to think about it, but it’s probably a good time for a hard look at our “backup” accident plans for nuclear power plants, now that we know how unbelievably unprepared the BP/Transocean/Halliburton Dream Team was for an accident on their Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. I mean, BP’s worthless response […]
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Biochar – probably not going to save the world after all
Biochar is being promoted as a way to save the world. (I admit to being optimistic about this myself for a very brief time.) It certainly sounds good. Take agricultural or forestry waste that is pretty much pure carbon, with almost none of the other nutrients plants need. Burn it without oxygen, producing a bit […]
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Is the Gulf oil spill spinning out of control?
Top Hat, Top Kill, Junk Shot, Hail Mary. I don’t know about you but it sure feels like nobody’s going to stop this leak. Even BP CEO and chief spinmeister Tony Hayward is lowering expectations. This mess is officially out of control. “Plug the damn hole” Presidents don’t do impotence — usually. But while BP […]
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Disaster in east Tennessee
The coal ash that spilled from a failed impoundment at TVA’s Kingston plant in eastern Tennessee filled the Emory River, creating huge mounds of toxic waste that locals called ashbergs.Photo: Sarah McCoinA special Facing South investigation. Shortly before 1 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2008, a dike holding back an 84-acre pond of wet coal ash […]
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Despite Pundit Claims, Offshore Drilling Support is Down Significantly
Seizing on a recent NBC/WSJ poll (PDF) showing 60% of Americans continue to support offshore drilling, several journalists and pundits have implied that support for offshore drilling has not declined sharply in recent weeks. As I’ll show below, this is absolutely false. Bill Schneider, National Journal: Nor has the oil spill caused public support for […]
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Conservation legend Russell Train to Senate: Protect the Clean Air Act
Russell E. TrainThe legendary Russell Train was, among many other things, the second administrator of the EPA, serving from 1973-1977 under Nixon and Ford. He was instrumental in making environmental protection a top-line item on the presidential agenda. Later he went on become president of the World Wildlife Fund and in 1991 was awarded the […]
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Matthews tells Obama to kill BP’s disaster capitalism
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. On Monday, May 17, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews erupted in anger at the oil disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. Matthews expressed his rage at the profits BP continues to reap as it fails to fix the growing environmental apocalypse. He also criticized the behavior of the Obama administration, which […]
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Palin critique latest twist in BP slop
Photo: WikipediaAlmost five weeks into the BP oil disaster and we’re way down the rabbit hole. None other than Sarah “Drill, baby, drill” Palin wondered aloud on Fox News Sunday whether oil company contributions to the Obama campaign are to blame for the president “taking so doggone long to get in there, dive in there, […]
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Coal’s dirty secret
The December 2008 impoundment failure at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston plant inundated a nearby community with toxic coal ash.Photo: United Mountain DefenseA special Facing South investigation. When a billion gallons of coal ash broke loose from a holding pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston power plant near Harriman, Tenn. in December 2008, registered […]
