The environment thread

[Balta1701]

If you move a rock along the shoreline in Alaska, you can still strike oil.

[bmags]

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives...blic-policy.php

 

a great article along the lines of what i be talkinbout

[StrangeSox]

Rig Survivors Felt Coerced To Sign Waivers

 

Arnold and Gordon say the survivors were kept on the water, in boats and on another rig for 15 hours or more. The explosion on the rig happened at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. "They did not bring them in till 3 a.m. Thursday morning," Gordon says.

 

When they did get to shore, he says: "They were zipped into private buses, there was security there, there was no press, no lawyers allowed, nothing, no family members. They drove them to this hotel and they escorted them into the back of this hotel, once again under escort."

 

It would be many hours more, according to lawyers and survivors, before they could see family and, for many, even telephone loved ones to say they were safe.

 

Secluded at a hotel, they were questioned by company consultants and investigators. And given the form to sign.

[kapkomet]

Rig Survivors Felt Coerced To Sign Waivers

 

 

This is complete trash. Yea, they let them sit out there only to let them get good and f***ed up in the head, JUST to get lawyers assembled to assassinate these guy's character. Yep. I'm sure that's exactly why. That's just a weeeeeee bit cynical. Yet, I shouldn't be surprised by this.

[BigSqwert]

Concord, MA to be First U.S. Town to Ban Bottled Water

[Balta1701]

Ah, the old MMS. As corruptly run as FEMA for the last 8 years, just less well known.

Agency records show that from 2001 to 2007, there were 1,443 serious drilling accidents in offshore operations, leading to 41 deaths, 302 injuries and 356 oil spills. Yet the federal agency continues to allow the industry largely to police itself, saying that the best technical experts work for industry, not for the government.

 

Critics say that, then and now, the minerals service has been crippled by this dependence on industry and by a climate of regulatory indulgence.

[Texsox]

Using non polluting, renewable sources, my new electric price is 12.43/kw Texas has choice in electric providers.

[Balta1701]

The effort to put a large dome on top of the spilling oil has suffered a major, unforseen setback.

The effort to place a massive containment dome over a gushing underwater wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico was dealt a setback when a large volume of hydrates -- icelike crystals that form when gas combines with water -- accumulated inside the vessel, a BP official said Saturday.

 

The dome was moved off to the side of the wellhead and is resting on the seabed while crews work to overcome the challenge, a process expected to take at least two days, BP's chief operations officer Doug Suttles said.

 

Suttles declined to call it a failed operation but said "What we attempted to do last night didn't work."

 

Suttles said the gas hydrates are lighter than water and, as a result, made the dome buoyant. The crystals also blocked the top of the dome, which would prevent oil from being funneled up to a drill ship.

 

"We did anticipate hydrates being a problem, but not this significant [of one]," he said.

 

Two options officials are looking at to resolve the problem are heating the dome or adding methanol to dissolve the hydrates, Suttles said, adding that they are continuing to assess other methods to capturing the oil.

It's possible this is a total failure. BP seemed very confident yesterday that this was going to work.

[iamshack]

Concord, MA to be First U.S. Town to Ban Bottled Water

That's awesome.

[Balta1701]

Secretary of the Interior Salazar made some vague statements last week suggesting corporate malfeasance.

Companies involved in the sinking of the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon made "some very major mistakes," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday after meeting with executives from the oil company BP.

 

Salazar would not elaborate, telling reporters in Houston, Texas, that the cause remains under investigation. But he said the failure of the rig's blowout preventer -- a critical piece of equipment designed to shut off the flow of oil in an emergency -- was "a huge malfunction" that has left oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

"The investigation will lead to conclusions about what exactly happened, but it didn't work the way it was supposed to work," Salazar said. "And from my own preliminary observations, there were some very major mistakes that were made by the companies that were involved. But today is not really the day to deal with those issues."

 

And a prof from UC says he has a pretty good idea what that means.

Bubbles of methane gas burst through a cement seal that was probably faulty, leading to the fatal explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, said a California professor who reviewed transcripts of interviews with blast witnesses.

 

Workers, who did basic pressure testing on the seal, didn’t perform a second and more expensive test to ensure that BP Plc’s Macondo well was properly plugged, said Robert Bea, a University of California Berkeley engineering professor.

[Balta1701]

Tracking the spill animated graphic.

[Balta1701]

This could be an intelligent and effective reform. At least as long as professionals, and not industry cronies, are put in the regulatory positions, as was common the last 8 years.

The Obama administration is proposing to split up an Interior Department agency that oversees offshore drilling, as part of its response to the Gulf Coast oil spill, The Associated Press has learned.

 

An administration official who asked not to be identified because the plan is not yet public said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will urge that Congress approve splitting the Minerals Management Service in two. One agency would be charged with inspecting oil rigs, investigating oil companies and enforcing safety regulations, while the other would oversee leases for drilling and collection of billions of dollars in royalties.

 

Currently, the Minerals Management Service, an arm of the Interior Department, is responsible for collecting more than $10 billion a year from oil and gas drilling and with enforcing laws and regulations that apply to drilling operations.

 

Some critics have said the two roles are in conflict and are one reason the agency has long been accused of being too cozy with the oil and natural gas industry.

[NorthSideSox72]

So here's an interesting thing to discuss.

 

Apparently that cross that was on federal land in California, that SCOTUS said could stay, was stolen recently by unknown parties. VFW and other groups vow to find or put up a new one just like it, but they are consulting with DOJ on the matter. Pretty s***ty thing to do (taking the cross) no matter your feeling on the ruling.

 

Now here is an environmental parallel. Here we have a situation where an artifact of American culture was stolen by people who want to eradicate it. And people want to have a replacement put back. Will those same people who want it put back (which I'd agree with), also be OK with some of the species reintroductions that have gone on (also on federal land) to put species back in their original territories after being wiped out by unthinking hunters? If they are OK with putting up a replacement cross, how about we also reintroduce mexican wolves to that part of California?

 

I don't know, probably a stretch, but I thought it was an interesting parallel.

 

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

BP makes enough profit in four days to cover the costs of the spill cleanup thus far

 

On Monday, BP said it spent $350 million in the first 20 days of the spill response, about $17.5 million a day. It has paid 295 of the 4,700 claims received, for a total of $3.5 million. By contrast, in the first quarter of the year, the London-based oil giant’s profits averaged $93 million a day.

[southsider2k5]

BP makes enough profit in four days to cover the costs of the spill cleanup thus far

 

That isn't even close to how much this thing has cost so far.

[BigSqwert]

Jupiter's Liberals Worried About Their Ammonia Footprint

 

GREAT RED SPOT, JUPITER—Alarmed by the growing quantities of harmful nitrides in their planet's atmosphere, Jupiter's liberals are encouraging their fellow sentient ammonia-helium tornado beings to take measures to reduce their ammonia footprint. "There are little things all of us can do to minimize our negative impact on our climate," thought-pulsed a spokesman for the progressive advocacy group Jupiter Action Coalition. "Buy your gleemie at a local farmers market, unplug your zorksnax when you're not using them, and remember the three Rs of environmental conservation: ryzzengak, rokklegorkensplark, and recycle." Jovian conservatives, however, are reportedly decrying the ammonia reduction efforts as a waste of time, pointing to the fact that this past winter was a typical minus 135 degrees Celsius and that Jupiter's so-called "climate change" is just a myth.

via

[Balta1701]

That isn't even close to how much this thing has cost so far.

Well, if you count personal damages sure, but BP's liability on those is limited to $75 million total.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Senate climate bill emerges without key GOP support

 

Key Points (via Huffington Post):

Offshore Drilling

S

tate

s

would be allowed to opt out of off

s

hore drilling up to 75 mile

s

from their coa

s

t. Currently, drilling can occur three mile

s

off the

s

hore. It al

s

o allow

s

neighboring

s

tate

s

to veto off

s

hore drilling plan

s

if it could have potential negative impact

s

on them.

 

In a rever

s

al of current policy,

s

tate

s

that do allow off

s

hore drilling will receive 37.5 percent of revenue

s

"to help protect their coa

s

tline

s

and coa

s

tal eco

s

y

s

tem

s

." An additional 12.5 percent i

s

allocated for federal and

s

tate program

s

under the Land and Water Con

s

ervation Fund.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Emi

s

s

ion

s

would be cut by 17 percent below 2005 level

s

by 2020 and by more than 80 percent by 2050. It would al

s

o provide for a

s

eparate, more urgent limit-and-reduction

s

chedule for

s

uper-greenhou

s

e ga

s

e

s

and blac

k

carbon. Greenhou

s

e ga

s

e

s

that would be limited are: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrou

s

oxide,

s

ulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbon

s

emitted a

s

a byproduct, perfluorocarbon

s

, and nitrogen trifluoride. It require

s

the pha

s

e-down of HFC con

s

umption to 15 percent of the ba

s

eline by 2032.

Price On Carbon

The bill would

s

et a price on carbon,

s

etting floor and ceiling rate

s

that would range from $12 per ton of carbon emi

s

s

ion

s

to $25 per ton, which would increa

s

e depending on inflation. Re

s

triction

s

would ta

k

e effect in 2013 for power plant

s

and tran

s

portation fuel

s

and in 2016 for manufacturer

s

. The bill

s

tate

s

that thi

s

delay in the entry of manufacturer

s

into the pollution plan i

s

"to maximize the opportunity for new technologie

s

to be developed and deployed and for inve

s

tment

s

in energy efficiency to ta

k

e hold."

 

The bill

s

tipulate

s

that only the large

s

t

s

ource

s

of pollution

s

hould comply with reduction target

s

to bloc

k

mar

k

et manipulation. In other word

s

, tho

s

e who produce more than 25,000 ton

s

of carbon pollution annually, meaning the bill will focu

s

only on 7,500 factorie

s

and power plant

s

.

Consumer Protection

Two-third

s

of emi

s

s

ion

s

revenue

s

(that are not allocated to reducing the nation'

s

deficit) would be

s

ent bac

k

to con

s

umer

s

from day one. Thi

s

would come in the form of energy bill di

s

count

s

and rebate

s

-- from the moment the bill goe

s

into effect until 2030, American

s

s

hould

s

ee thi

s

reflected in reduction

s

in monthly bill

s

from electric and natural ga

s

utilitie

s

. By 2035, 100 percent will be given bac

k

to the American people, again after deficit reduction.

 

American

s

who "may be di

s

proportionately affected by potential increa

s

e

s

in energy price

s

," in other word

s

low- and middle-income familie

s

, would get a

s

s

i

s

tance in the form of tax cut

s

and an energy refund program that will come from fifteen percent of revenue rai

s

ed. Tho

s

e who

s

e income

s

are below 150 percent of the poverty level, which i

s

about $33,000 for a family of four, will be eligible for a monthly federal benefit through an Energy Refund Program. The program will wor

k

through the

s

ame debit card

s

that are now u

s

ed to admini

s

ter food

s

tamp

s

and other benefit

s

.

Nuclear Power

The bill'

s

s

ection on clean energy heavily empha

s

ize

s

the development of nuclear power, increa

s

ing funding for nuclear loan guarantee

s

to $54 billion. It provide

s

a ten percent tax credit for the con

s

truction of certain nuclear power facilitie

s

and allow

s

tax-exempt bond

s

to be u

s

ed for public-private partner

s

hip

s

for advanced nuclear power facilitie

s

. No later than a year after the bill'

s

enactment, a Center of Excellence would be de

s

ignated a

s

a nuclear wa

s

te reproce

s

s

ing center.

Transportation

Tran

s

portation ma

k

e

s

up a large part of the bill'

s

clean energy inve

s

tment

s

. While the tran

s

portation

s

ector will

s

till be held accountable for emi

s

s

ion

s

reduction

s

, it will not be included in a carbon mar

k

et. Thi

s

mean

s

they will no longer buy and trade emi

s

s

ion

s

allowance

s

with other companie

s

. In

s

tead, the price of carbon will be the

s

ame acro

s

s

the indu

s

try, and all refiner

s

and fuel provider

s

will

s

ee the

s

ame price each quarter.

 

More than $6 billion annually would be provided to improve the effectivene

s

s

of highway

s

and

s

y

s

tem

s

of ma

s

s

tran

s

it. Thi

s

include

s

money for the Highway Tru

s

t Fund, almo

s

t $2 billion for

s

tate and local project

s

that reduce oil con

s

umption and greenhou

s

e ga

s

emi

s

s

ion

s

, and almo

s

t $2 billion for TIGER (Tran

s

portation Inve

s

tment Generating Economic Recovery) grant

s

.

 

Tax incentive

s

would be provided for conver

s

ion to clean, natural ga

s

vehicle

s

. The bill al

s

o expand

s

the clean energy manufacturing tax credit by $5 billion, which will go toward producing advanced vehicle

s

and funding inve

s

tment

s

in energy efficiency innovation. By decrea

s

ing reliance on carbon-ba

s

ed fuel

s

, the bill note

s

that we al

s

o decrea

s

e our reliance on foreign oil.

"Clean" Coal Technology

"Clean" coal technologie

s

would be inve

s

ted in through annual incentive

s

of $2 billion for re

s

earching and developing carbon capture and

s

eque

s

tration method

s

.

Jobs

Clean energy job

s

in America that cannot be

s

hipped abroad are al

s

o addre

s

s

ed, though not explained yet in detail. The

S

ecretary of Education would have the authority to award grant

s

to develop program

s

of

s

tudy that focu

s

on on emerging job

s

in clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. Job training would be

s

upported with internet-ba

s

ed information and re

s

ource

s

that aid in career and technical education. A Green Con

s

truction Career

s

demon

s

tration project would be formed to promote career

s

in the green con

s

truction

s

ector.

International Market

The bill

s

tipulate

s

that, in the event that no global agreement on climate change i

s

reached, an international re

s

erve allowance program would be implemented. Thi

s

would require that import

s

from other countrie

s

that have not ta

k

en action on limiting emi

s

s

ion

s

pay a comparable amount at the border in order to avoid carbon lea

k

age.

Agriculture

Farm

s

, and mo

s

t

s

mall and medium-

s

ized bu

s

ine

s

s

e

s

, would be exempt from carbon limit

s

. In

s

tead, the bill would create a "multi-billion dollar revenue

s

tream for the agricultural

s

ector through a dome

s

tic off

s

et program that provide

s

incentive

s

for farmer

s

to reduce emi

s

s

ion

s

on their land." They could receive credit

s

if they made real reduction

s

in emi

s

s

ion

s

, which could then be

s

old to and u

s

ed by tho

s

e who mu

s

t comply with reduction requirement

s

.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Get rid of the "clean" coal technology investment and most of that sounds pretty good.

[Balta1701]

Get rid of the "clean" coal technology investment and most of that sounds pretty good.

Frankly, I don't think it'll ever work...but I'm willing to spend the money on making sure, because it would be an effective solution if it would work.

[NorthSideSox72]

I'd have liked to see more money for rail transit, and tax credits or deductions for R&D related to alt energy as well as usage of them by individuals, and less money on nuke energy. Further, a real need isn't being addressed - that alt energy will need nationwide infrastructure changes in order to share power and make them effective. But this bill does at least look like a good start.

[Balta1701]

First dead mammals to wash up on the LA shores are dolphins.

[Balta1701]

Welcome to shore, oil rig workers. What's that, you'd like to leave this hotel? Oh here, please just sign this form beforehand. Oh it's nothing. I promise.

[Balta1701]

[Balta1701]

Between Stupak's report yesterday, the report about how the MMS has since 2001 (convenient timing I know) been sitting on new regulations regarding blowout preventer quality, and this stuff, it sounds like BP is pretty clearly doing everything possible to cut costs on drilling. Shame they won't be held liable for much.

And new questions are being raised about the testing of the preventers. At today's hearing before a House subcommittee, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., revealed that the blowout preventer had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system and had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion. And at a hearing in Louisiana on Tuesday, the government engineer who gave oil giant BP the final approval to drill admitted that he never asked for proof that the preventer worked.

 

In addition, an oil industry whistleblower told Huffington Post that BP had been aware for years that tests of blowout prevention devices were being falsified in Alaska. The devices are different from the ones involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion but are also intended to prevent dangerous blowouts at drilling operations.

 

Mike Mason, who worked on oil rigs in Alaska for 18 years, says that he observed cheating on blowout preventer tests at least 100 times, including on many wells owned by BP.

 

As he describes it, the test involves a chart that shows whether the device will hold a certain amount of pressure for five minutes on each valve. (The test involves increasing the pressure from 250 pounds per square-inch (psi) to 5,000 psi.) "Sometimes, they would put their finger on the chart and slide it ahead -- so that it only recorded the pressure for 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes," he tells HuffPost.

 

Mason claims that a BP representative was usually present while subcontractors performed the tests.