EcoFriendOnline.com Blog » oceans

Did You Know There’s a $75 Million Cap on Oil Company’s Liability in an Oil Spill?

EcoFriend Kim — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:11:33 +0000

Did you know that there’s a $75 million cap on an oil company’s liability in the event of an oil spill?

This is just one of the many aspects of our failed oil drilling policies that has come to light in the wake of the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. And while President Obama has worked to make sure BP pays 100% of the cleanup and restitution costs associated with the disaster, it’s critical we lift this cap so that future spills won’t have this protection.

The cap was put in place twenty years ago, right after the Exxon Valdez spill. And for two decades, the oil industry has been able to take risks knowing that at worst they’d have to pay off $75 million — small change for a multi billion dollar industry.

So we’re calling on the Senate to do away with the cap on damages — to join us, and call on your Senators to take this action — click the link below, or paste it into your browser: https://www.environmental-action.org/lift-the-cap2?id4=ES

Once you take action, please take the next step and ask your friends and family to take part by forwarding them this email. And thanks for your work.

Sincerely,

Dan Stafford
Environmental Action Organizer
action@environmental-action.org

http://www.environmental-action.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.

BP Oil Spill: Send Secretary of the Interior Salazar a Message

EcoFriend Kim — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:21:05 +0000

A few days ago, President Obama boldly called for a “commission report” to find out what went wrong in the Gulf, while yesterday Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) apologized to BP for their rough treatment.

Then, when pressed this week, the other leading oil companies gave their emergency plans for a disaster in the Gulf to Congress. The plans were nearly identical, and included efforts to save walruses and recommended calling on a marine biologist who is five years dead.

Meanwhile, this Saturday, while you and I are mowing our lawns or sipping on a mimosa at brunch, the BP well will be pumping out its 150,000,000th gallon of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

I set up a counter on our site so you can track how many gallons are being pumped into the gulf. On this page, you can also send Secretary of the Interior Salazar a message that you support a ban on new offshore drilling: http://www.environmental-action.org/gulf-spill-counter?id4=ES

Estimated Gallons of Oil Spilled into the Gulf Since April 20, 2010, as a Result of the BP Oil Rig Explosion

(JavaScript Error)

Dan Stafford
Environmental Action Organizer
action@environmental-action.org
http://www.environmental-action.org

The Top 9 Eco-Stories of 2009 (that have nothing to do with climate change)

EcoFriend Kim — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:49:00 +0000

by Ken Edelstein

Photos: BPA bottle by David McNew/Getty Images; Garbage patch courtesy NOAA; Bee courtesy Wikimedia Commons; Water drop by Emrank/Flickr; Michael Pollan by Zuma Press; Bat by Furryscaly/Flickr

Here, as the year draws to a close, is my list of the top 9 environmental stories in 2009 that had absolutely nothing to do with climate change.

1. The danger lurking inside your baby’s bottle: The Milwaukee Journal takes the cake this year for old-fashioned investigative reporting on an old-fashioned toxics story. Actually, the newspaper has been investigating bisphenol A (commonly referred to as BPA) — in food containers and other consumer plastic goods — for two years. But 2009 was the year that the investigation bore fruit: Other media began following the story about lax regulation and industry-funded studies, which skewed the science for years on a toxin that actually poses a risk for infants drinking out of baby bottles and people who microwave their food in containers. Finally, it appears the Food & Drug Administration may take action. At the very least, all that negative publicity has given consumer-product companies reason to switch to products that don’t contain BPA.

2. Carping about Asian carp: What is it about marine species from Asia that makes them such an exotic threat in North America waters? Zebra muscles. Walking snakehead. And, now, the Asian carp is about to take over the Great Lakes. Each invader deserves a science fiction movie. In the carp’s case, you’ve got the marine scientist/hero who discovered DNA from Asian carp in water samples taken from streams that flow into the Lake Michigan. You’ve got the government agency (Army Corps of Engineers) that reluctantly acknowledged the problem in November. And you’ve got posturing politicians raising the temperature for everyone by threatening lawsuits. “I am determined to take appropriate action to ensure that the integrity of Lake Michigan is not harmed by the introduction of these carp,” the attorney general of Wisconsin warned just the other day. Most of all, you’ve got the carp itself — a preferred food in East Asia that undermines the fish-eat-fish food chain from one end to the other. The story would only be better if Asian carp ate people; their main food source turns out to be plankton, which seems a lot less dramatic.

3. Awash in coal ash: Last December, a Tennessee Valley Authority coal-ash dump overflowed and sent 5.4 million cubic yards of the toxic substance into nearby rivers. The backwash from that disaster created a lasting story on into in 2009. The spill contained massive amounts of toxins, enough to make the Exxon Valdez oil spill sound like a little leak. Once it became clear that the Environmental Protection Agency had ignored an ecological and public health hazard that literally was mounting up in plain sight, a handful of activists and reporters jumped on the larger story: There are hundreds of such dumps all around the country, some of which could lead to similar spills under the right conditions. The EPA finally did announce its intention to regulate the dumps. But the problem is so large and has been neglected for so long that it’s doubtful that the agency will have the guts to produce a regulation far-reaching enough to get the problem under control. The long-range problem is that a lot of the coal ash is a byproduct of trying to reduce the pollution that coal sends into the atmosphere. And if the U.S. relies on so-called “clean coal” to keep carbon emissions down, the effort to combat climate change could create even more coal ash. Oops! There’s that darned climate change popping up again. I just can’t get away from it.

4. Fix my plumbing: When the New York Times takes on a big investigation, it tends to get noticed. That doesn’t mean that anything happens because it’s noticed, but at least public officials can’t say they didn’t know about it. For the last five months, reporter Charles Duhigg has been filing stories as part of a series called “Toxic Waters.” It’s about “the worsening pollution in American waters and regulators’ response.” In the shadow of climate change and economic calamity, I’m not sure that the stories have led to action. The bottom line is that regulators have seldom acted over the last two decades even when incidents and studies showed that pollution was violating the Clean Water Act. Duhigg identified a variety of problems that degrade natural systems and threaten drinking water. He also exposed a $400 billion infrastructure problem that we haven’t begun to deal with — not even with President Obama’s recent stimulus package.

5. The global water shortage: Nearly one billion people lack access to safe water, according to Water.org, a nonprofit group dedicated toward resolving the global water shortage. And the situation is only getting worse. In India, wells that were dug just a few short years ago to resolve water shortages are running dry. Multinational beverage companies argue that the key to ensuring supplies of the rapidly diminishing resource lies in unlocking the profit motive, so that prospecting for water and caring for water resources lies in the companies’ self-interest; environmentalists and non-profits counter that the large companies simply are trying to lock up water rights, which could exacerbate the shortage for people who can’t afford to buy water. What’s causing the problem? Unwise development. Overpopulation. A lack of infrastructure resources. And … um … wait a second … climate change? How’d that sneak in there? Rising temperatures are changing weather patterns, so that dependable supplies of water aren’t available where they once were, and are causing more evaporation so that less water is stored in natural or manmade reservoirs.

6. The mysterious deaths of bats: First it was frogs and other amphibians. Now, it’s bats. Soon we’re not going to have any animals to eat bugs for us. The cave-dwelling mammals live in huge colonies — nasty habitats that you’d think would make them immune to just about any disease. But those big colonies apparently make them vulnerable, too. Fewer and fewer habitats already has caused their numbers to shrink, before the mysterious “white-nose syndrome” was accompanied by massive die-offs. Bat populations are declining elsewhere, but so far the decline appears most dramatic in the Northeast, where wildlife officials are reporting only a one-in-10 survival rate.

7. The mysterious disappearance of bees: Honeybees are more important than most city folk realize. They pollinate an enormous variety of crops and wild plants. In 2006, beekeepers and then biologists started noticing an unexplained phenomenon — “colony collapse syndrome.” Previously healthy hives would suddenly lose almost their entire population; nobody was sure where the bees went. This is science fiction creepy, the kind of thing that happens before the aliens invade. But it’s no joke. The collapse of bee colonies could lead to global agricultural calamity. This year, at least, brought some good news: more understanding of what may be causing the colonies to collapse and of potential solutions.

8. The garbage vortex: This was the year that the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, which I should mention is twice the size of Texas, got a ring of its own in the media circus. Two expeditions headed to the whirling monument to humankind, both to research the phenomenon and to draw attention to it. Now, an Australian man is on his way to the garbage patch via swimming. Of course, anything that’s twice the size of Texas ought to be able to draw attention to itself. It turns out that the Garbage Patch draws a lot more to itself than attention — most of its refuse actually comes from sources on land rather than from ships: trash swept away by rivers and tides is carried to the giant vortex. There’s even talk now about cleaning it up. By the way did I mention that the spot is now twice the size of Texas?

9. Food, the way nature intended: I know, I know. You’re going to try to count this one against me because vegetarians and locavores are all about reducing their carbon footprint. Fair enough. But I still say the rise of slow, local, organic food has a lot more to do with a reaction to industrial agriculture, for its own sake. The movement took off over the last couple of years with books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Fast Food Nation. But it really hit a high point in 2009, when the movie Food Inc. — starring the authors of those two books — hit theaters and surely got more than a handful of people to put down their Big Macs.

Written by Ken Edelstein; reprinted from Mother Nature Network

Jaws and Order

EcoFriend Kim — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:23:18 +0000

Hammerheads are among hundreds of species found in Palau's waters

The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau plans to create the world’s first “shark sanctuary” by banning all commercial shark fishing in its waters, President Johnson Toribiong will announce Friday at the U.N. General Assembly.

While Palau itself is small, with a total land area of about 190 square miles, its islands are spread out over roughly 240,000 square miles of ocean, meaning its ban will be a boon for more than 130 species of sharks facing extinction in the Pacific.

Conservationists are praising the move, citing the voracious demand for shark-fin soup and rapidly declining shark numbers as proof such protection is needed. Like wolves on land, sharks are seen as a “keystone predator” in many ocean ecosystems since they help control many other species’ population sizes. “Palau has basically raised the bar for the rest of the world for shark conservation,” says the director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group. Toribiong also plans to call for a global halt to shark “finning” (killing sharks just for their fins, the main ingredient in a popular Chinese soup), but his own country’s ban may already be hard enough to enforce – there will only be one boat to patrol the entire sanctuary.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC News, New York Times)

Catamaran Made Entirely of Recyclable Plastics

EcoFriend Kim — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:33:25 +0000

David de Rothschild discusses the building of the Plastiki, a catamaran made entirely of recyclable plastics, that he plans to sail across the Pacific Ocean.

From The New Yorker

No Drugs Down the Drain, SF Bay Area!

EcoFriend Kim — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:53:51 +0000

: Photo by Kim Hammar

Are your medicine cabinets and drawers holding expired or unneeded medications? Do you know what to do with unwanted medications in your home? There is a right way and a wrong way to dispose of these medicines. The wrong way is down the drain, where they get sent out into our vulnerable waterways in the Bay Area leaving harmful traces that cannot be filtered out. Even though wastewater is treated, many drugs contain persistent chemicals that cannot be removed before wastewater is discharged to our waterways. As a result, over 80% of our waterways show traces of medications, and the impacts on our human and environmental health are of great concern.

Please join the kickoff event for a permanent medicine collection bin at the Elihu Harris State Building Lobby, 1515 Clay Street, in Oakland. The event will be Thursday, September 24, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. You may also stop by anytime during business hours and drop your medications in the green collection bin.

Examples of the medicines that will be accepted at the collection bin include: antibiotics, birth control pills, anti-depressants, pain relievers, cold and flu treatments and veterinary medications. Please no controlled substances or narcotics. Place all pills and capsules in a plastic zipper bag, and recycle your pill bottles at home to protect privacy. Liquids should remain in sealed containers with personal information marked out.

Green Porno Returns

EcoFriend Kim — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:54:59 +0000

Isabella Rossellini returns with a menagerie of horny ocean creatures for a new season on the Sundance Channel.

It’s hard to look both beautiful and dignified when you’re having sex with a brine shrimp, but Isabella Rossellini will be repeating the unthinkable feat for a third season of Green Porno on the Sundance Channel.

Last season brought us a deep dive into the sex lives of ocean mammals. The show was a hit online and managed to draw in a younger demographic to a suite of green shows on the Sundance Channel. Part of that success came from allowing users to embed the code into their blogs and pages, spreading the kinky off-kilter brand far and wide.

According to the just issued press release, Season 2 garnered over 3 million page views, making it one of cable television’s most successful web shows.

In Season 3, Rossellini will be joined by renown biologists, focusing on sea creatures that we like to eat — shrimp, squid, anchovies, with an elephant seal thrown in for good measure.

The new series will be premiered at this month’s Toronto film festival and will be accompanied by the release of a Green Porno coffee table book.

Written by Karl Burkhart; reprinted from Mother Nature News

View excerpt from “Green Porno”

Volunteer Saturday, September 19, for California Coastal Cleanup Day

EcoFriend Kim — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:29:03 +0000

Saturday, September 19 marks the 25th Anniversary of the California Coastal Cleanup Day.

California Coastal Cleanup Day is the annual volunteer event dedicated to removing the debris that has accumulated on our beaches, shorelines, and waterways over the past year. In 2008, more than 70,000 volunteers worked together to collect more than 1,600,000 pounds of trash and recyclables.

On Saturday, September 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., cleanup efforts will take place at more than 750 locations around the State. In Assembly District 14, your help is needed at the following locations:

• Albany: Meet at the foot of Buchanan Street next to Golden Gate Fields (510) 665-3597
• Berkeley: Meet at the corner of University and Frontage Road behind the Seabreeze Market (510) 981-6720
• El Cerrito: Cerrito Creek, meet at El Cerrito Plaza and Evelyn Avenue
(510) 665-3597
• Emeryville: Meet at the Emeryville Fire House, 2333 Powell Street
(510) 596-3795
• Martinez Regional Shoreline: Meet at the north end of Ferry Street
(510) 544-2515
• Oakland: Many locations, http://www.oaklandpw.com/page17.aspx (510) 238-7611
• Point Isabel Regional Shoreline: Meet at the parking lot at end of Rydin Road, off Central Avenue (510) 655-3597
• Richmond: Meet at Shimada Friendship Park located on Marina Bay Parkway (510) 665-3597

Tips: Wear old clothes, sturdy shoes, bring gloves, and wear sunscreen. Trash bags will be provided.

Let’s show our support for our shared natural resources!

Coal has Contaminated Every Fish in America with Mercury

EcoFriend Kim — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:32:35 +0000

: Photo: Bugeaters/Flickr

You read that right. Mercury has been found in every fish tested from almost 300 streams over a 7-year period. Where is it coming from? Coal.

Here’s a pretty terrifying statistic: 100 percent of the fish tested by the U.S. Geological Survey in nearly 300 streams were found to be contaminated with mercury.

Every single one.

Between 1998 and 2005 scientists tested over 1,000 fish from 291 streams across the country and found mercury in all of them. A quarter of the fish had more than the EPA thinks is safe for people to eat.

We can thank coal for this one. Mercury is found in coal and is released from power plant smoke stacks into the air. It eventually comes back down to earth in rain and other precipitation and travels through the food chain to collect in the fatty tissues of, apparently, every fish living in the United States (and any person eating those fish).

How do you like them apples?

Coal is the enemy of mankind and looks to be no good friend of fish either. We need to stop burning it post-haste.

Live near coal ash? 1 in 50 chance of cancer.

The Bush Administration buried a report showing a highly elevated risk of cancer for those living near coal ash. Why do we burn coal again?

Putting aside the argument over whether CO2 causes climate change, coal is a terribly destructive way to create energy and we need to stop burning it.

First you have to dig coal up. We either sink tunnels thousands of feet into the ground, putting the lives of millions of men around the world in constant risk or we rip down entire mountain ranges get at it, burying valleys and streams with the rubble.

Then we haul it all around the country to power plants where it’s burned, releasing toxins like mercury, arsenic, and lead into the air.

And then, just when you think the damage party is over, we’re left with an inordinate amount of coal ash after the burn. We create enough coal ash to fill a million railroad cars a year. Coal ash isn’t regulated by the federal government so the country is a patchwork of different regulations, some weaker than others, many completely ineffectual. Often the coal ash is left in unlined open air slurry ponds, ponds which can and have leaked and burst.

In December Tennessee was the epicenter for one of the worst environmental disasters in our nations history when over a billion gallons of coal ash burst from a TVA storage pond in the small town of Harriman. Dozens of houses were destroyed, the land was covered in up to six feet of toxic sludge, and water sources have been contaminated by mercury, lead, and other toxic heavy metals.

Even when coal ponds behave and don’t burst through their levees, the people living near them are way more likely to get cancer. The Bush Administration buried a report by the EPA that came out in 2002 that found that people living near coal ash ponds had a 1 in 50 risk of developing cancer.

Throw another outrageous criminal act by the Bush Administration onto their pile of shame.

We need to stop burning coal as fast as humanly possible. We put a guy on the moon, we created the Internet, and invented the Wii. We can certainly stop burning coal within the next decade or two.

Written by Shea Gunther, Reprinted from mnn.com

Now That’s a Green Commute!

EcoFriend Kim — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:11:05 +0000

Dolphins Commute En Masse