Gulf of Mexico oil spill
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The Climate Post: The empiricist strikes back
First things first: Let’s first pause for a moment to recognize where we are. Three U.S. Senators took the mantle for climate and climate leadership in this Congress, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). Over a series of many months, involving many colleagues, many industries, and many advocacy groups, they […]
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Gulf oil spill: angst edition
Photo: U.S. Coast GuardWell, BP has finally lowered the dome over its leaking pipes. It’ll probably be Sunday before crews know whether they can actually start pumping the spewing crude to the surface. While we wonder why the huge containment device wasn’t built, tested, and at the ready all along (doesn’t anybody make multiple backup […]
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With a climate bill still stalled in the Senate, leaders need to get leading
The Senate is delaying on climate and energy again. How can so much inaction feel so exhausting? The most frustrating part is the feeling that our political system is hurting us more than it is helping. We have solutions. We have some really smart ideas about how to wean ourselves off dirty energy and create […]
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Oil spill may fatally wound Gulf fishing industry
Among the more than 600 animal species at risk from the massive oil spill in the Gulf are their bipedal predators. May usually marks the start of the Gulf fishing season, Capt. Kip Marquize tells the Natural Resources Defense Council in this video, but he and other Louisiana fishers are cooling their heels on the […]
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Can the Gulf oil spill be environmentalists’ Arizona moment?
A May Day protest against Arizona’s immigration law.Photo courtesy th.omas via FlickrWithin a week of Arizona’s new racial-profiling bill becoming law, the “1 MILLION Strong AGAINST the Arizona Immigration Law SB1070” group on Facebook climbed to nearly 1.3 million people. Via Facebook and emails and phone calls, I’ve been asked to attend vigils and marches, […]
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Poorly timed Sodexo ad boasts ‘safer’ oil rigs [UPDATE]
UPDATE: Only a few hours after I posted this, Sodexo took down the video. Sorry if you weren’t able to have the same WTF?! moment I had, but Sodexo made the right decision. UPDATE: We tracked down a file of the original video for your viewing pleasure. Call it bad timing, tone deaf PR, or […]
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With Gulf-spill facts in short supply, spin takes center stage
You spin me right round …Photo: Pip WilsonFor all the fire-hose coverage of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, it’s a story with startlingly few known facts. We don’t know how much oil has actually spilled out. We don’t know where or when it will hit land. We don’t know exactly what’s in the chemical […]
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Chemical dispersants being used in Gulf clean-up are potentially toxic
Coast Guard workers spray Corexit in a 2007 Berkeley, California, cleanup. It is not yet being used on Gulf of Mexico beaches. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)We finally know the main two dispersants that BP and the U.S. government are using to treat the ongoing Gulf spill. Both, by their maker’s own admission, have the “potential […]
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Betting site sets odds on BP containment dome
From our sports department a press release, we learn that at least one online gambling site is taking bets on whether BP’s underwater mega-dome will be successful. BP is attempting an unprecedented engineering feat to deal with the Gulf oil spill: a 100-ton, 40-foot-tall, steel pollution-containment chamber. If all goes well, the dome will be […]
