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Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Gulf Coast is Dying
The crude oil has crept 50 miles into the marshes of Louisiana, covering 100 miles of coastline. This heavy crude oil is killing plant life, animal life and aquatic life. Meanwhile, residents of the coastal parishes in Louisiana are asking the Federal Government for permission to dredge the Gulf bottom so that they may form sand, shell and shale barrier islands to stop the oil from further incursion to the wetland areas. They wait . . .
Wetlands Photograph from oceanfutures.orgThe loss of wetlands in Louisiana affects not only Louisiana's fisheries, but also the fisheries of all of the Gulf of Mexico states, from Texas to Florida. The Clean Water Act, the state's Coastal Resources Management Act, and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act have proven to be effective in reducing wetland losses. The future of Louisiana's wetlands, the fisheries that depend on them, and the communities that depend on the fishing industry, all depend upon continuing wetland conservation and restoration efforts in Louisiana.
Jean-Michel Cousteau on the Gulf Oil Disaster
video from oceanfutures.org
High concentrations of oil are acutely toxic, but low concentrations have more subtle, widespread effects. As oil percolates through food webs, it retards plant and animal growth, leaving them vulnerable to predation and disease, and less fit to reproduce. With the Deepwater Horizon spill already too large and unpredictable to contain, the question is no longer whether it will cause damage, but what form damage will take.
References:
nmfs.noaa.gov/
gulfcoastfund.org/bp-oil-disaster/information.html
heraldtribune.com/article/20100504/BREAKING/100509918
pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/05/how-much-oil-has-spilled-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html
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Monday, May 24, 2010
Nuke the Gulf -- The Final Option
Nuking the Oil Well | KVUE News local|Austin, TX. - This headline would make me laugh, but these folk are actually considering Nuking the Oil Well.
BP has gone through most of their ideas. The latest idea of sending drilling mud and concrete to stop the flow while they get a grip and DO SOMETHING ELSE. If that does not work, it will be a sad day for the Gulf Coast. Specifically as people are talking about the nuclear option.
Direct Quote: "They could still use a chemical explosive, but if they can't, if they can't do that, then the only way is to use some sort of nuclear explosive to close the well in," said Dr. Chenevert, Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at University of Texas.
BP has gone through most of their ideas. The latest idea of sending drilling mud and concrete to stop the flow while they get a grip and DO SOMETHING ELSE. If that does not work, it will be a sad day for the Gulf Coast. Specifically as people are talking about the nuclear option.
Direct Quote: "They could still use a chemical explosive, but if they can't, if they can't do that, then the only way is to use some sort of nuclear explosive to close the well in," said Dr. Chenevert, Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at University of Texas.
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Friday, May 21, 2010
Code of Environmental Practice
Today marks the 31st day of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. We have watched as BP has desperately fumbled the cleanup, moved to limit their fiscal liability, used untested dispersant and costly but ineffective technologies, shared blame with Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton, destroyed the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico and adversely affected the economy of at least three states.
As the saga unfolds, we discover that there are no checks and balances on big oil and gas provided by the Minerals Management Services (MMS) in the Department of the Interior. Supposedly, MMS has the responsibility in the Gulf of Mexico for regulating . . .
We do not know the amount of oil that is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. The effects of the untested dispersant is breaking the oil down through the entire water column. While oil on the surface may be corralled by booms, absorbed by hair-filled buoys and skimmed by specially equipped ships, oil dispersed in the water can poison all life in the Gulf of Mexico.
Learn from Australia?
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has a Code of Environmental Practice that the US oil exploration industry would do well to copy. It is a real eye opener to view an environmentally cognizant and ecologically responsible code of ethics.
Excerpt, Code of Environmental Practice in the Petroleum Industry (PDF)
We must demand the same rigorous codes to protect oil and gas exploration, drilling, transporting and mitigating spills and leaks that other countries enjoy. It will make the oil and gas business strong and safe. When the TRUE costs of oil and gas exploration are revealed, then we may all decide that the cost is not worth the convenience.
Alternate Fuels for the Future?
Methods to make alternate fuels are readily available. Why not use biomass (home and agricultural waste), hydrogen (with byproduct of H2O), electricity (generated by solar or wind power).
There are processes that could be developed if the government invested in the technology like they subsidize the oil and gas industry, Did you know that for every 1 ton of tires processed, there is 120 gallons of oil, 5000 cubic ft. of combustible gases, 200 pounds of reusable steel and 750 pounds of carbon ash produced which are all marketable commodities. (Global Resource Corporation :: Tires)
The oil spill is the worst environmental disaster--ever. Maybe we should not just dream about clean energy. Perhaps it is time to embrace it.
As the saga unfolds, we discover that there are no checks and balances on big oil and gas provided by the Minerals Management Services (MMS) in the Department of the Interior. Supposedly, MMS has the responsibility in the Gulf of Mexico for regulating . . .
. . . exploration, development, and production activities on about 8,000 active leases including 4,000 production facilities to ensure that activities are conducted safely and in an environmentally sound manner (www.gomr.mms.gov).Guidelines Needed
We do not know the amount of oil that is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. The effects of the untested dispersant is breaking the oil down through the entire water column. While oil on the surface may be corralled by booms, absorbed by hair-filled buoys and skimmed by specially equipped ships, oil dispersed in the water can poison all life in the Gulf of Mexico.
Learn from Australia?
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has a Code of Environmental Practice that the US oil exploration industry would do well to copy. It is a real eye opener to view an environmentally cognizant and ecologically responsible code of ethics.
Excerpt, Code of Environmental Practice in the Petroleum Industry (PDF)
The APPEA Code of Environmental Practice provides an outline of environmental objectives which represent guidance on key aspects of good environmental practice in the petroleum industry.Excerpt, Oil Operations in Protected Areas (PDF)
There are significant government regulatory controls that require the petroleum industry to conduct their activities in a manner that meets a high standard of environmental protection. In the majority of jurisdictions, petroleum activities are required to have environmental management plans approved by a government regulator, to ensure that the environmental impacts of the operation are reduced to as low as reasonably practicable.Excerpt, Oil Spill Prevention and Response (PDF)
Blow outs are virtually a thing of the past. During 40 years of exploration andTrue Cost of Oil and Gas
production in Australian waters there have been only six blow outs in over 2,400 wells drilled. Four of these were in the late 1960s and the last one occurred in 1984.
We must demand the same rigorous codes to protect oil and gas exploration, drilling, transporting and mitigating spills and leaks that other countries enjoy. It will make the oil and gas business strong and safe. When the TRUE costs of oil and gas exploration are revealed, then we may all decide that the cost is not worth the convenience.
Alternate Fuels for the Future?
Methods to make alternate fuels are readily available. Why not use biomass (home and agricultural waste), hydrogen (with byproduct of H2O), electricity (generated by solar or wind power).
There are processes that could be developed if the government invested in the technology like they subsidize the oil and gas industry, Did you know that for every 1 ton of tires processed, there is 120 gallons of oil, 5000 cubic ft. of combustible gases, 200 pounds of reusable steel and 750 pounds of carbon ash produced which are all marketable commodities. (Global Resource Corporation :: Tires)
The oil spill is the worst environmental disaster--ever. Maybe we should not just dream about clean energy. Perhaps it is time to embrace it.
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Friday, May 14, 2010
Alphabet (Oil) Soup in Gulf of Mexico
Jon Stewart sums up the irony and the agony of the Gulf oil spill.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| There Will Be Blame | ||||
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
Goodbye to the Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast oil spill is a rapidly evolving catastrophe and there are many unknowns regarding the full magnitude of the ecological devastation.
Here are three things you can do right now to provide assistance:
1. Volunteer: Register to provide on-the-ground volunteer assistance with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana or with National Audubon.
2. Engage Online: Check out our Oil Crisis Response page and follow it on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest news.
3. Donate Now: Support our coordinated oil spill emergency response efforts with a generous donation.
4. Pray: If the winds change, the oil slick could blow back out into the Gulf, where it might remain until clean up can take place. Given enough time, BP might be able to get it right.
Photograph by Eileen Trainor
We took an RV trip to Florida after Christmas, stopping in Louisiana on the way to and from the east coast. Although Louisiana was recovering from a series of hurricanes, I was amazed at the beauty of Louisiana and the resilience of the people who live there. In most cafes, parks and businesses, you could see pictures of the devastation visited upon the specific area by Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, to name just two catastrophes Louisiana has faced in the past decade. The people are heroic, rebuilding after their world has collapsed. Now, they are faced with a manmade disaster of unprecedented proportions.
An oil slick the size of Puerto Rico is lapping upon the shores of Louisiana's wetlands and estuaries, coating birds, poisoning the waters, destroying the fragile ecosystem and perhaps, tolling the death knell for Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast.
We have never seen a disaster like this. What is unfortunate, is that it is probably only the first of many. Drilling for oil off the coastline of our country is a big mistake. We are poisoning the food we eat and ruining the places where we go to recreate. We are wiping out species that we will never see again and encouraging the rapine of our wild places in the name of national security.
- The oil is spilling at a current rate of more than 200,000 gallons of oil per day.
- Recovery and restoration of the wetlands that harbor hundreds of species and provide a natural hurricane barrier will take years or even decades.
- Even before the spill, Louisiana had lost more wetlands since the 1930s -- 2,300 square miles -- than the size of the state of Delaware, leaving the region particularly vulnerable to this oil spill catastrophe.
Here are three things you can do right now to provide assistance:
1. Volunteer: Register to provide on-the-ground volunteer assistance with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana or with National Audubon.
2. Engage Online: Check out our Oil Crisis Response page and follow it on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest news.
3. Donate Now: Support our coordinated oil spill emergency response efforts with a generous donation.
4. Pray: If the winds change, the oil slick could blow back out into the Gulf, where it might remain until clean up can take place. Given enough time, BP might be able to get it right.
Photograph by Eileen TrainorWe took an RV trip to Florida after Christmas, stopping in Louisiana on the way to and from the east coast. Although Louisiana was recovering from a series of hurricanes, I was amazed at the beauty of Louisiana and the resilience of the people who live there. In most cafes, parks and businesses, you could see pictures of the devastation visited upon the specific area by Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, to name just two catastrophes Louisiana has faced in the past decade. The people are heroic, rebuilding after their world has collapsed. Now, they are faced with a manmade disaster of unprecedented proportions.
An oil slick the size of Puerto Rico is lapping upon the shores of Louisiana's wetlands and estuaries, coating birds, poisoning the waters, destroying the fragile ecosystem and perhaps, tolling the death knell for Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast.
We have never seen a disaster like this. What is unfortunate, is that it is probably only the first of many. Drilling for oil off the coastline of our country is a big mistake. We are poisoning the food we eat and ruining the places where we go to recreate. We are wiping out species that we will never see again and encouraging the rapine of our wild places in the name of national security.
CHILL THE DRILLS * CLEAN UP THE SPILLS
Use Clean Energy from the Sun
Wind ~ Water ~ Wave Power
Wind ~ Water ~ Wave Power
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