BP: Crime and Punishment
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It appears that justice may be catching up to BP in the wake of the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of at least 4.9 million barrels of oil are estimated to have been spilled making it the worst marine oil spill in U.S. history. The company is being accused of lying about the extent of the oil leak and knowing that their deepwater drilling methods were not sound.
In addition to lying about the amount of oil that was leaking into the Gulf, they tried to cover up the extent of the oil spill with dispersants. These chemical agents force the oil below the surface of the water and make the visible slicks disappear. To “cleanup” the spill, BP has admitted to having poured at least 1.9 million gallons of a toxic dispersant called Corexit, which is a known mutagenic.
The incident began when Transocean Ltd’s Deepwater Horizon exploded and caught fire while finishing a well for BP. The rig sank on Earth Day (April 22, 2010), two days after the initial explosion. In addition to killing eleven workers and injuring 17 others, the explosion and subsequent spill also shut down one of the most fertile fishing grounds in the U.S. The oil that spewed from the well decimated the local economy, killed wildlife, destroyed marine habitats, and continues to compromise livelihoods and health. Read More→
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Lowering your carbon footprint and reducing greenhouse gasses may become as simple as painting your home or office, thanks to breakthrough research from the University of Notre Dame. The researchers, led by Professor Prashant Kamat, have created a new solar paint dubbed “Sun-believable,” which is laced with power producing nanoparticles capable of producing electricity. With the ability to generate renewable energy from this new, less invasive method, bulky solar panels as we know them today may soon become relics destined for the museum.
A Bright Future for Renewable Energy
The sun is one of the most powerful forces humanity has ever encountered and we certainly would not exist without it. Throughout documented history our sun has been worshiped as a god or goddess by at least 19 different religions, stretching from one end of the planet to the other. Only recently, during the industrial revolution, did we begin to understand that harnessing this raw power is not only plausible but critical to creating a sustainable earth.
Typically heavily reliant on the cost of high and volatile diesel and fossil fuel imports, small island developing states are also on the front line when it comes to having to cope with climate change. Now they’re realizing there’s a lot in the way of cleaner, more efficient and less costly power and fuel resources right at home. They’re increasingly, if belatedly, establishing ambitious renewable energy programs and setting aggressive targets to employ local renewable energy resources to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, working with a range of international development agencies, public and private sector partners domestic and foreign, in doing so.
Tropical island nations are even turning back to one of their iconic trees, one that was in the past a driver of local economies and international trade– the coconut palm. The tall, flexible and strong swaying coconut palms that grace many a tropical island post card are a renewable, naturally recyclable source of a wide range of products, including transportation fuel, oil, food and fiber. Small, enterprising companies such as Kokonut Pacific, with little or no support from banks, other lenders or corporations, are having success getting locals living on island nation states to make use of simple, appropriate technology to make sustainable, low impact use of coconuts.
Small island developing states’ (SIDS) renewable energy drive has taken on international proportions. Representatives from island state around the world last week gathered in Bridgetown, Barbados for the UN Development Program’s “Achieving Sustainable Energy for All in Small Island Developing States“ conference.
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GlobalWarmingisReal contributor Anders Hellum-Alexander wraps-up and comments on the climate and environmental news headlines for the past week:
- Sea level rise may not be as immediately bad as some models suggest (but it will still be bad): a new study projects that sea level will not rise by 2 meters in the next 40 years, but it will most likely rise 2 meters by 2100.
- Oil prices are falling, but I still paid $4.25 for a gallon of gas last weekend and the weekend before that. That’s what we call sticky prices, or what I call elevated prices for no reason, which is what I call stealing.
- There is this little known thing call Net Energy Metering(NEM). It is a law that allows a certain amount of citizens in a state to have energy generation at their home and sell energy back on to the grid to the Utility (like PG&E) at retail rates ($0.08/-$0.60/kWh) instead of at commercial rates ($0.02-$0.05/kWh) or not at all. This is what makes small solar and wind projects financially viable. In California the NEM law restricts the number of people that can have NEM with a 5% rule (5% of generation). California is approaching that 5% but a rule is going through the process for approval at the CPUC to double the amount of people that can have NEM in California. Utilities are fighting like mad to kill the new rule, because then PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and LADWP can finally kill residential solar in California once and for all.
- Researchers are discovering that people’s political views change with such subtle things as voting in a church or school. This means that the facts are not just the facts, it is more important to hypnotize the voters than advocate for sound policies. We must use this to our advantage, I think the other side already knows about this. Read More→
