by A Siegel
To quote from a comment: the implication has nothing to do with the cause. the implication is that we are faced with an unexpected crisis that reveals a much ignored problem, and which can, if responded to the way it should be, change the nation and the world- for the better. The explosion of Deepwater Horizon over a month ago and the devastating man-caused volcano of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico are a massive unfolding disaster that merit national and, well, even global mobilization. While British Petroleum and other involved players have mobilized armies of lawyers, the fleet of vessels in the Gulf seem about as effective in response to the sea of oil as using a thimble to bail water from a sinking ship. When it comes to a chance to change the nation for the better, this is Obama's 9/11 and Katrina rolled into one. 9/11 was an opportunity to mobilize Americans to end our addiction to oil. Katrina was an opportunity to turn the nation toward a sustainable path forward as a model for America and the Globe. Obama has the opportunity to take action where George W Bush didn't ...
continued at Daily Kos....
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Solar linear clothes dryer technology (Updated #4)
by dpwks
This is a technology banned by restrictive covenants in much of the U.S. Why? Because it's considered "unsightly." That's why I just hung my first clothes line in the front yard of my new house (as a recent divorcee). I figured the front yard was not only the most convenient place, but the most conspicuous place. I want all my neighbors to see what I'm up to.
continued at Daily Kos....
This is a technology banned by restrictive covenants in much of the U.S. Why? Because it's considered "unsightly." That's why I just hung my first clothes line in the front yard of my new house (as a recent divorcee). I figured the front yard was not only the most convenient place, but the most conspicuous place. I want all my neighbors to see what I'm up to.
continued at Daily Kos....
Cheney's BP Energy Extremes Must End
by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse
A government policy based on desperation to remain on fossil fuels combined with corporate greed and weak lawmakers means more disasters in our future. Extreme sports are known for activities that have a high level of inherent dangers. Cheney and Bush adopted this extreme philosophy into our energy policy in 2001 because the U.S. is "running out of conventional, easily tapped reservoirs of oil and natural gas located on land or in shallow coastal waters." Cheney's solution was to increase drilling in what BP has called the new "energy frontiers": The only solution, it claimed, would be to increase exploitation of unconventional energy reserves -- oil and gas found in deep offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico, the Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska, and the American Arctic, as well as in complex geological formations such as shale oil and gas.
continued at Daily Kos....
A government policy based on desperation to remain on fossil fuels combined with corporate greed and weak lawmakers means more disasters in our future. Extreme sports are known for activities that have a high level of inherent dangers. Cheney and Bush adopted this extreme philosophy into our energy policy in 2001 because the U.S. is "running out of conventional, easily tapped reservoirs of oil and natural gas located on land or in shallow coastal waters." Cheney's solution was to increase drilling in what BP has called the new "energy frontiers": The only solution, it claimed, would be to increase exploitation of unconventional energy reserves -- oil and gas found in deep offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico, the Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska, and the American Arctic, as well as in complex geological formations such as shale oil and gas.
continued at Daily Kos....
Vampire Blues
by Laurence Lewis
On November 10, 1995, Greenpeace released the following statement: The blood of Ken Saro-Wiwa will permanently stain the name of Shell, Greenpeace said today in response to the news that Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni were, according to widespread rumours, hanged this morning in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. "Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged today for speaking out against the environmental damage to the Niger Delta caused by Shell Oil through its 37 years of drilling in the region. Ken Saro Wiwa was campaigning for what Greenpeace considers the most basic of human rights: the right for clean air, land and water. His only crime was his success in bringing his cause to international attention," said Thilo Bode, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. Greenpeace warned that any protest in the Niger Delta today, non violent or otherwise, would likely be met with military force and further massacres. Bode appealed to General Sani Abacha to let the Ogoni people voice their grief without fear of violence and further deaths. Shell's call for "quiet diplomacy" in the 11th hour following the confirmation of the death sentence by the Nigerian Ruling Council has a hollow ring. Shell had ample opportunity to demonstrate concern over the 17 months of Ken's incarceration and trial. They chose to maintain their cosy relationship with the military dictatorship to secure oil profits rather than condemn, the brutal and unjust arrest and later sentencing of non-violent environmental campaigners. For many, it began their first full-scale boycott of an oil company. Not that the alternatives were ideal, but this was beyond rationalization or reconciliation. For others, it added Shell Oil to what was now becoming a list that had begun with Exxon. For some, the Autumn of 2007 added Chevron to the list. For some with longer memories, it might all have started in August, 1953, when the Eisenhower Administration did the British a favor by brutally overthrowing Iranian democracy. For the benefit of the Anglo-Iranian oil company. Which subsequently changed its name to British Petroleum. Last Sunday, McClatchy's Tom Knudson added a broader perspective to BP's latest contribution to global degradation: There's no denying that the rust-red plumes of oil and tar balls in the Gulf of Mexico are a potential ecological calamity for American Southern shores. More than half the petroleum consumed in this country, however, is imported from other countries, where damage from exploration and drilling is more common but goes largely unnoticed. No one's tallied the damage worldwide, but it includes at least 200 square miles of ruined wildlife habitat in Alberta, more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater spilled into the rainforests of Ecuador and a parade of purple-black oil slicks that skim across Africa's Niger Delta, where more than 2,000 polluted sites are estimated to need cleaning up. "The Gulf spill can be seen as a picture of what happens in the oil fields of Nigeria and other parts of Africa," Nnimmo Bassey, a human rights activist and the head of Environmental Rights Action, the Nigeria chapter of Friends of the Earth, said in an e-mail. "We see frantic efforts being made to stop the spill in the USA," Bassey added. "In Nigeria, oil companies largely ignore their spills, cover them up and destroy people's livelihood and environments." In Ecuador, an estimated 2,500,000 acres have been deforested by the ravening greed for oil. There are over 2000 official oil spill sites in Nigeria, alone. In northern Alberta, indigenous people are suffering and being ignored, as tar sands are mined and converted to crude, leaving behind environmental devastation. Worldwide, where oil is in the ground, democracy is not above it. Worldwide, the toxicity of the oil industry is everywhere. It is a crisis within a crisis. We can't simply boycott offending oil companies, because none have anything close to clean hands. Every step of the industry's process, from drilling to burning, damages the environment and hurts people. We can't look at oil industry offenses situationally. We can't compartmentalize. Climate change cannot be isolated or contained. But even if the climate were perfectly stable, the industry is responsible for countless other disasters and violations. We have to boycott the entire industry, but we can't realistically do that until we have alternatives. Certainly, we can do a far better job of conserving. But that has to become a national and international priority. But we also need to be developing clean, renewable alternatives, and more viable forms of infrastructure. We need to be doing it with a fierce urgency. It cannot be said often enough. Almost a year ago, and nearly 15 years after Ken Saro-Wiwa and his Ogoni colleagues were hanged, The Economist had this much-ignored news: ON JUNE 8th Royal Dutch Shell agreed to pay out $15.5m to the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta to settle a long-running court case brought against the oil giant in America by nine plaintiffs, including relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmentalist and writer. He was executed by the brutal government of General Sani Abacha after a charade of a trial in 1995. Mr Saro-Wiwa had led a successful campaign against Shell’s activities in his homeland, even forcing the company to quit Ogoniland in 1993. The plaintiffs accused Shell of complicity in the activist’s death. Shell denies any wrongdoing. It says the payout was a “humanitarian gesture”; some of the money will go to a new trust fund for the Ogoni. Shell now hopes that it might even resume oil production in the region. But things are unlikely to be that simple. There has been a mixed reaction to the settlement in Ogoniland. Some Ogonis are disinclined to forget years of mistrust and others are in talks to clean up the oil spills that have been left untended, still oozing into farmland and rivers after 15 years. Ogoniland is just a sliver of Shell’s onshore oil fields, and the out-of-court settlement is unlikely to end the company’s longstanding troubles in a volatile part of Nigeria that is even more violent now than it was back in the 1990s. A humanitarian gesture? These people are without shame or conscience. They are poisoning the world, and they just don't care. It cannot be said often enough. At his trial, Saro-Wiwa said: We all stand before history. I am a man of peace, of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my people who live on a richly endowed land, distressed by their political marginilization and economic strangulation, angered by the devastation of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to preserve their right to life and to a decent living, and determined to usher to this country as a whole a fair and just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I have devoted my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated. I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey. Nor imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory. It's about oil. It's about fossil fuels. It's about our future. It's about whether or not we have a future. The environment is not a sexy political issue. We take our collective survival for granted. We no longer can afford to take our collective survival for granted.
continued at Daily Kos....
On November 10, 1995, Greenpeace released the following statement: The blood of Ken Saro-Wiwa will permanently stain the name of Shell, Greenpeace said today in response to the news that Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni were, according to widespread rumours, hanged this morning in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. "Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged today for speaking out against the environmental damage to the Niger Delta caused by Shell Oil through its 37 years of drilling in the region. Ken Saro Wiwa was campaigning for what Greenpeace considers the most basic of human rights: the right for clean air, land and water. His only crime was his success in bringing his cause to international attention," said Thilo Bode, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. Greenpeace warned that any protest in the Niger Delta today, non violent or otherwise, would likely be met with military force and further massacres. Bode appealed to General Sani Abacha to let the Ogoni people voice their grief without fear of violence and further deaths. Shell's call for "quiet diplomacy" in the 11th hour following the confirmation of the death sentence by the Nigerian Ruling Council has a hollow ring. Shell had ample opportunity to demonstrate concern over the 17 months of Ken's incarceration and trial. They chose to maintain their cosy relationship with the military dictatorship to secure oil profits rather than condemn, the brutal and unjust arrest and later sentencing of non-violent environmental campaigners. For many, it began their first full-scale boycott of an oil company. Not that the alternatives were ideal, but this was beyond rationalization or reconciliation. For others, it added Shell Oil to what was now becoming a list that had begun with Exxon. For some, the Autumn of 2007 added Chevron to the list. For some with longer memories, it might all have started in August, 1953, when the Eisenhower Administration did the British a favor by brutally overthrowing Iranian democracy. For the benefit of the Anglo-Iranian oil company. Which subsequently changed its name to British Petroleum. Last Sunday, McClatchy's Tom Knudson added a broader perspective to BP's latest contribution to global degradation: There's no denying that the rust-red plumes of oil and tar balls in the Gulf of Mexico are a potential ecological calamity for American Southern shores. More than half the petroleum consumed in this country, however, is imported from other countries, where damage from exploration and drilling is more common but goes largely unnoticed. No one's tallied the damage worldwide, but it includes at least 200 square miles of ruined wildlife habitat in Alberta, more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater spilled into the rainforests of Ecuador and a parade of purple-black oil slicks that skim across Africa's Niger Delta, where more than 2,000 polluted sites are estimated to need cleaning up. "The Gulf spill can be seen as a picture of what happens in the oil fields of Nigeria and other parts of Africa," Nnimmo Bassey, a human rights activist and the head of Environmental Rights Action, the Nigeria chapter of Friends of the Earth, said in an e-mail. "We see frantic efforts being made to stop the spill in the USA," Bassey added. "In Nigeria, oil companies largely ignore their spills, cover them up and destroy people's livelihood and environments." In Ecuador, an estimated 2,500,000 acres have been deforested by the ravening greed for oil. There are over 2000 official oil spill sites in Nigeria, alone. In northern Alberta, indigenous people are suffering and being ignored, as tar sands are mined and converted to crude, leaving behind environmental devastation. Worldwide, where oil is in the ground, democracy is not above it. Worldwide, the toxicity of the oil industry is everywhere. It is a crisis within a crisis. We can't simply boycott offending oil companies, because none have anything close to clean hands. Every step of the industry's process, from drilling to burning, damages the environment and hurts people. We can't look at oil industry offenses situationally. We can't compartmentalize. Climate change cannot be isolated or contained. But even if the climate were perfectly stable, the industry is responsible for countless other disasters and violations. We have to boycott the entire industry, but we can't realistically do that until we have alternatives. Certainly, we can do a far better job of conserving. But that has to become a national and international priority. But we also need to be developing clean, renewable alternatives, and more viable forms of infrastructure. We need to be doing it with a fierce urgency. It cannot be said often enough. Almost a year ago, and nearly 15 years after Ken Saro-Wiwa and his Ogoni colleagues were hanged, The Economist had this much-ignored news: ON JUNE 8th Royal Dutch Shell agreed to pay out $15.5m to the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta to settle a long-running court case brought against the oil giant in America by nine plaintiffs, including relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmentalist and writer. He was executed by the brutal government of General Sani Abacha after a charade of a trial in 1995. Mr Saro-Wiwa had led a successful campaign against Shell’s activities in his homeland, even forcing the company to quit Ogoniland in 1993. The plaintiffs accused Shell of complicity in the activist’s death. Shell denies any wrongdoing. It says the payout was a “humanitarian gesture”; some of the money will go to a new trust fund for the Ogoni. Shell now hopes that it might even resume oil production in the region. But things are unlikely to be that simple. There has been a mixed reaction to the settlement in Ogoniland. Some Ogonis are disinclined to forget years of mistrust and others are in talks to clean up the oil spills that have been left untended, still oozing into farmland and rivers after 15 years. Ogoniland is just a sliver of Shell’s onshore oil fields, and the out-of-court settlement is unlikely to end the company’s longstanding troubles in a volatile part of Nigeria that is even more violent now than it was back in the 1990s. A humanitarian gesture? These people are without shame or conscience. They are poisoning the world, and they just don't care. It cannot be said often enough. At his trial, Saro-Wiwa said: We all stand before history. I am a man of peace, of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my people who live on a richly endowed land, distressed by their political marginilization and economic strangulation, angered by the devastation of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to preserve their right to life and to a decent living, and determined to usher to this country as a whole a fair and just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I have devoted my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated. I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey. Nor imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory. It's about oil. It's about fossil fuels. It's about our future. It's about whether or not we have a future. The environment is not a sexy political issue. We take our collective survival for granted. We no longer can afford to take our collective survival for granted.
continued at Daily Kos....
EPA, British Petroleum and Debarment
by gchaucer2
One of the most intelligent investigative journalists I have read is Abrahm Lustgarten of ProPublica. His area of expertise is the oil and gas industry. I discovered him while researching the issue of NORM (naturally occuring radioactive materials) in the exploration of oil in shale. His articles and sources were more valuable than state and federal government sites. On May 21, 2010, Mr. Lustgarten examined the problem with debarment in the matter of British Petroleum's criminal record and recent catastrophic release of oil into the Gulf. In EPA Officials Weigh Sanctions Against BP's US Operations Lustgarten details not only the history of BPs gross negligence but also the legal and potentially lethal consequences of debarment by the EPA.
continued at Daily Kos....
One of the most intelligent investigative journalists I have read is Abrahm Lustgarten of ProPublica. His area of expertise is the oil and gas industry. I discovered him while researching the issue of NORM (naturally occuring radioactive materials) in the exploration of oil in shale. His articles and sources were more valuable than state and federal government sites. On May 21, 2010, Mr. Lustgarten examined the problem with debarment in the matter of British Petroleum's criminal record and recent catastrophic release of oil into the Gulf. In EPA Officials Weigh Sanctions Against BP's US Operations Lustgarten details not only the history of BPs gross negligence but also the legal and potentially lethal consequences of debarment by the EPA.
continued at Daily Kos....
BP Won't Change Dispersants In Oil Spill Despite EPA
by slinkerwink
That's the latest news after the EPA issued their directive to BP on Thursday in finding a less toxic dispersant. Here's more from here: BP has told the Environmental Protection Agency that it cannot find a safe, effective and available dispersant to use instead of Corexit, and will continue to use that chemical application to help break up the growing spill in the Gulf of Mexico. .... BP spokesman Scott Dean said Friday that BP had replied with a letter "that outlines our findings that none of the alternative products on the EPA's National Contingency Plan Product Schedule list meets all three criteria specified in yesterday's directive for availability, toxicity and effectiveness." Here's theNYT article about less toxic dispersants below the jump:
continued at Daily Kos....
That's the latest news after the EPA issued their directive to BP on Thursday in finding a less toxic dispersant. Here's more from here: BP has told the Environmental Protection Agency that it cannot find a safe, effective and available dispersant to use instead of Corexit, and will continue to use that chemical application to help break up the growing spill in the Gulf of Mexico. .... BP spokesman Scott Dean said Friday that BP had replied with a letter "that outlines our findings that none of the alternative products on the EPA's National Contingency Plan Product Schedule list meets all three criteria specified in yesterday's directive for availability, toxicity and effectiveness." Here's theNYT article about less toxic dispersants below the jump:
continued at Daily Kos....
Sunday Train: Getting Ohio's 3C Line Into Cincinnati
by BruceMcF
Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence While EnergyFreedom Transport is an issue that has been brought back onto the "front burner" (so to speak) ... ... there has been ongoing work on this front ever since the supply-drive oil price shocks of the 70's and 80's. Ohio won $400m in competitive HSR funding from Stimulus II, to do the first work toward a 110mph Triple-C corridor, supporting a starter Amtrak-speed service at first and then building toward a 110mph. But it aint 3 C's without Cincinnati, and getting into Cincinnati is tricky.
continued at Daily Kos....
Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence While EnergyFreedom Transport is an issue that has been brought back onto the "front burner" (so to speak) ... ... there has been ongoing work on this front ever since the supply-drive oil price shocks of the 70's and 80's. Ohio won $400m in competitive HSR funding from Stimulus II, to do the first work toward a 110mph Triple-C corridor, supporting a starter Amtrak-speed service at first and then building toward a 110mph. But it aint 3 C's without Cincinnati, and getting into Cincinnati is tricky.
continued at Daily Kos....
9 Scariest Words "I'm From BP and I'm Here to Help"
by FishOutofWater
Overlaid satellite imagery of BP oil slick better shows its true size. Watch the slick grow. Dead turtles, oiled birds, devastated fisheries and closed tourist beaches flowed Ronald Reagan's failed world view like oil from the blown Deep Horizon well. Big business is no more capable of regulating itself than BP is capable of controlling the gusher of oil once the well is blown.
continued at Daily Kos....
Overlaid satellite imagery of BP oil slick better shows its true size. Watch the slick grow. Dead turtles, oiled birds, devastated fisheries and closed tourist beaches flowed Ronald Reagan's failed world view like oil from the blown Deep Horizon well. Big business is no more capable of regulating itself than BP is capable of controlling the gusher of oil once the well is blown.
continued at Daily Kos....
Rumors of debarment for BP
by DWG
In what would be the most fitting punishment for BP's many crimes, there are rumors that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering debarment for the company. Debarment is somewhere between corporal and capital punishment for scofflaw companies. The most severe form is "discretionary debarment," which would cancel all government contracts and leases on federal lands, a move that would cost BP at least 16 billion dollars a year. An article in ProPublica by Abrahm Lustgarten discusses the prospects for debarment for BP and gives even a cynic like me reason to smile. Let me touch on the points that had me licking my canine teeth.
continued at Daily Kos....
In what would be the most fitting punishment for BP's many crimes, there are rumors that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering debarment for the company. Debarment is somewhere between corporal and capital punishment for scofflaw companies. The most severe form is "discretionary debarment," which would cancel all government contracts and leases on federal lands, a move that would cost BP at least 16 billion dollars a year. An article in ProPublica by Abrahm Lustgarten discusses the prospects for debarment for BP and gives even a cynic like me reason to smile. Let me touch on the points that had me licking my canine teeth.
continued at Daily Kos....
What Obama is doing about the BP oil spill
by Benintn
One easy way to see what the US government is doing to coordinate its response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is by looking at the Joint Information Center Twitter account. For those who are so busy complaining about the lack of responsiveness, it might be helpful to see what is actually being done and the number of coordinated federal, state, and local responses in coordination with businesses, media, and residents of the area. Looks like they're listening to Fishgrease not listening to Fishgrease about how to boom.
continued at Daily Kos....
One easy way to see what the US government is doing to coordinate its response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is by looking at the Joint Information Center Twitter account. For those who are so busy complaining about the lack of responsiveness, it might be helpful to see what is actually being done and the number of coordinated federal, state, and local responses in coordination with businesses, media, and residents of the area. Looks like they're listening to Fishgrease not listening to Fishgrease about how to boom.
continued at Daily Kos....
The Next Dem. Primary Senate Candidate You Should Know About (DK Greenroots)
by wade norris
Now that we have delivered victories for Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania and most likely a win for Bill Halter in Arkansas, you, the Netroots, need to know about the next important Primary Candidate. Just like the race between Lincoln and Halter, this is a choice between a Corporate powered candidate vs a People powered candidate. Andrew Romanoff has taken the same pledge that Barack Obama took to win his race - he has pledged to take no corporate PAC Contributions or Special Interest money. If you knew nothing else, that would be a good reason to support Andrew Romanoff. However, you need to know why his opponent does not deserve to be re-elected. Michael Bennet is a Bankster Senator and was a corporate raider before he was appointed a Senator. There is a clear difference in this race - supporting the Candidate who works for Wall Street or supporting Andrew Romanoff, the Candidate who works for us on Main Street. (crossposted at Firedoglake, Square State and Huffington post)
continued at Daily Kos....
Now that we have delivered victories for Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania and most likely a win for Bill Halter in Arkansas, you, the Netroots, need to know about the next important Primary Candidate. Just like the race between Lincoln and Halter, this is a choice between a Corporate powered candidate vs a People powered candidate. Andrew Romanoff has taken the same pledge that Barack Obama took to win his race - he has pledged to take no corporate PAC Contributions or Special Interest money. If you knew nothing else, that would be a good reason to support Andrew Romanoff. However, you need to know why his opponent does not deserve to be re-elected. Michael Bennet is a Bankster Senator and was a corporate raider before he was appointed a Senator. There is a clear difference in this race - supporting the Candidate who works for Wall Street or supporting Andrew Romanoff, the Candidate who works for us on Main Street. (crossposted at Firedoglake, Square State and Huffington post)
continued at Daily Kos....
Deepwater Horizon: The first 30 days [minor updates#1]
by Hayate Yagami
Now that we've reached and passed the 1-month mark since the start of this disaster, maybe it's a good time to look back and try to account for when events occured. I'll be going more or less day-by-day since April 20, when the explosion crippled the Deepwater Horizon platform, and started this mess. I'm not going to get into "why" things happened, just saying that they happened. Also, since diarists have been writing about events pretty much in real time, I'll link to various diaries for these events. I'm basing much of this timeline off of a few sites, such as SkyTruth and here, using the Deepwater Horizon and eKos tags. If I missed something important, or got something wrong, feel free to correct me. Also, this might be a bit of a hit-and-run diary, because I'll be in and out of the house all day (e.g. two minutes after hitting "post"), so if I disappear for a while, that's why, but I'll try to cover all the comments when I'm around. Anyway, timeline over the fold.
continued at Daily Kos....
Now that we've reached and passed the 1-month mark since the start of this disaster, maybe it's a good time to look back and try to account for when events occured. I'll be going more or less day-by-day since April 20, when the explosion crippled the Deepwater Horizon platform, and started this mess. I'm not going to get into "why" things happened, just saying that they happened. Also, since diarists have been writing about events pretty much in real time, I'll link to various diaries for these events. I'm basing much of this timeline off of a few sites, such as SkyTruth and here, using the Deepwater Horizon and eKos tags. If I missed something important, or got something wrong, feel free to correct me. Also, this might be a bit of a hit-and-run diary, because I'll be in and out of the house all day (e.g. two minutes after hitting "post"), so if I disappear for a while, that's why, but I'll try to cover all the comments when I'm around. Anyway, timeline over the fold.
continued at Daily Kos....
Free Food: Foraging Sometimes Means Waiting
by wide eyed lib
One of the frustrating things about foraging is how dependent it is on timing. You might notice blackberry blossoms (Rubus fruticosus) in May but then find the berries bug-eaten in August. The shorter the harvest period, the more likely you are to miss the window. Black locust blossoms (Robinia pseudoacacia) are at their peak for just about a week; a heavy rainfall at the wrong time can shorten that window by half. Then there's the heartache of happening upon a huge crop of mushrooms just a little too late. (Left: Chicken Mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus) by wide eyed lib. They're more common in Fall, but I found this one yesterday.) Some foraging successes are dumb luck, but others are the product of months or even years of careful observation. Once you've identified a particular plant, the waiting begins. Every bit of color on an unripe fruit whets my appetite for the harvest to come. Join me for a peek at 10 fruits that will be ripening in the coming months. Pictured: redbud, mulberry, juneberry, raspberry, cherry, cornelian cherry, apple, peach, hackberry & mayapple
continued at Daily Kos....
One of the frustrating things about foraging is how dependent it is on timing. You might notice blackberry blossoms (Rubus fruticosus) in May but then find the berries bug-eaten in August. The shorter the harvest period, the more likely you are to miss the window. Black locust blossoms (Robinia pseudoacacia) are at their peak for just about a week; a heavy rainfall at the wrong time can shorten that window by half. Then there's the heartache of happening upon a huge crop of mushrooms just a little too late. (Left: Chicken Mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus) by wide eyed lib. They're more common in Fall, but I found this one yesterday.) Some foraging successes are dumb luck, but others are the product of months or even years of careful observation. Once you've identified a particular plant, the waiting begins. Every bit of color on an unripe fruit whets my appetite for the harvest to come. Join me for a peek at 10 fruits that will be ripening in the coming months. Pictured: redbud, mulberry, juneberry, raspberry, cherry, cornelian cherry, apple, peach, hackberry & mayapple
continued at Daily Kos....
Wildlife Wind and Oil
by Horace Boothroyd III
The main objection to the increase in windmill usage has been the numbers cited for birds killed when brought into contact with the devices. Granted there is a danger inherent with any form of machinery to cause harm to those unaware of the potential dangers. But there have been no studies about the true rates of deaths caused to birds through the oil industry. That may be because there are many areas in which wildlife can be harmed by petroleum products. Not only is there the issue of spillage of the raw product as we are seeing in the Gulf there are problems with the chemicals associated with shale production and the rates of deaths caused by the pollutants created when petroleum products are used. Even some of the products being powered by petroleum are the cause of death to birds. According to some statistics automobiles cause 60 to 80 million bird deaths a year. Compare that to the estimated 10,000 to 40,000 killed by turbines and the argument against the relative ecological safety of wind power is quite weak.
continued at Daily Kos....
The main objection to the increase in windmill usage has been the numbers cited for birds killed when brought into contact with the devices. Granted there is a danger inherent with any form of machinery to cause harm to those unaware of the potential dangers. But there have been no studies about the true rates of deaths caused to birds through the oil industry. That may be because there are many areas in which wildlife can be harmed by petroleum products. Not only is there the issue of spillage of the raw product as we are seeing in the Gulf there are problems with the chemicals associated with shale production and the rates of deaths caused by the pollutants created when petroleum products are used. Even some of the products being powered by petroleum are the cause of death to birds. According to some statistics automobiles cause 60 to 80 million bird deaths a year. Compare that to the estimated 10,000 to 40,000 killed by turbines and the argument against the relative ecological safety of wind power is quite weak.
continued at Daily Kos....
The End Of The Beginning?
by Edger
In the nineteen sixties and seventies the western world was in the throes of a cultural and psychological revolution of awareness that at times threatened to bring down the governments and destroy the societies of some of the most powerful countries on earth, and terrified many who were unable to step outside of the structure and limitations of the worldviews they had constructed for themselves in the course of their lives.
continued at Daily Kos....
In the nineteen sixties and seventies the western world was in the throes of a cultural and psychological revolution of awareness that at times threatened to bring down the governments and destroy the societies of some of the most powerful countries on earth, and terrified many who were unable to step outside of the structure and limitations of the worldviews they had constructed for themselves in the course of their lives.
continued at Daily Kos....
Betty Boop and John Prine help explain why Kerry-Lieberman won't and shouldn't pass
by lipowg
Kerry-Lieberman supporters often compare the climate bill to social security and the 1957 civil rights act - weak legislation that led to stronger reforms. In essence it is a camel's nose argument. I'm combining two posts I originally wrote for Grist's blog to explain why that view is wrong.
continued at Daily Kos....
Kerry-Lieberman supporters often compare the climate bill to social security and the 1957 civil rights act - weak legislation that led to stronger reforms. In essence it is a camel's nose argument. I'm combining two posts I originally wrote for Grist's blog to explain why that view is wrong.
continued at Daily Kos....
Sorry Sarah, money can't fix this. Updated: Sarah and WH trade jabs
by Kristina40
So I'm sitting here nursing another Mad Max Macondo (aka OilGusher) inspired hangover and I come across this gem from Sister Grifter. WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin says she remains a "big supporter of offshore drilling" despite the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But Palin also tells "Fox News Sunday" that oil companies need to be held accountable. Suddenly I am struck with an epiphany! Follow me across the crease for more...
continued at Daily Kos....
So I'm sitting here nursing another Mad Max Macondo (aka OilGusher) inspired hangover and I come across this gem from Sister Grifter. WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin says she remains a "big supporter of offshore drilling" despite the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But Palin also tells "Fox News Sunday" that oil companies need to be held accountable. Suddenly I am struck with an epiphany! Follow me across the crease for more...
continued at Daily Kos....
Avoiding Deforestation There Helps Farmers Here
by gravlax
This advertisement recently released by the Ohio Corn Growers Association and Avoided Deforestation Partners says it all. View the Adobe Flash version here. from the Avoided Deforestation Partners more below the fold...
continued at Daily Kos....
This advertisement recently released by the Ohio Corn Growers Association and Avoided Deforestation Partners says it all. View the Adobe Flash version here. from the Avoided Deforestation Partners more below the fold...
continued at Daily Kos....
The Difference
by Crashing Vor
No, I don't think it's Obama's Katrina. I don't think it's anybody's. You can talk about massive, preventable engineering failures, irreversible changes in culture, corporate greed, government impotence, whatever. There is one glaring difference between what happened 2005 and today: we could do something about it.
continued at Daily Kos....
No, I don't think it's Obama's Katrina. I don't think it's anybody's. You can talk about massive, preventable engineering failures, irreversible changes in culture, corporate greed, government impotence, whatever. There is one glaring difference between what happened 2005 and today: we could do something about it.
continued at Daily Kos....
Dawn Chorus Birdblog
by lineatus
Around this time last year, I took a month off from Dawn Chorus as my schedule got kinda full. The calendar is filling up for June again, especially weekends. Got a trip to Yosemite coming up, so I can warm up to the idea of turning 50. A bunch of weekends at our cabin, where we're on dialup only and it's even harder to deal with my fussy old computer. (Last weekend it was a power outage that kept me from posting, though.) If you wanna post, you gotta stay on top of it.
continued at Daily Kos....
Around this time last year, I took a month off from Dawn Chorus as my schedule got kinda full. The calendar is filling up for June again, especially weekends. Got a trip to Yosemite coming up, so I can warm up to the idea of turning 50. A bunch of weekends at our cabin, where we're on dialup only and it's even harder to deal with my fussy old computer. (Last weekend it was a power outage that kept me from posting, though.) If you wanna post, you gotta stay on top of it.
continued at Daily Kos....
It's Deja vu all over again, from the Timor Sea
by jamess
History is full of "flashbulb moments" -- when FLASH! the course of History, changes instantly, on a dime, as the result of some collective common experience. This is not one of those tales. Rather it's another kind of story entirely, when we all collectively sense something's wrong, but no one can really pin it down, to ... Exactly what the problem is. Deja vu Déjà vu [Deja vu] is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as though an event has already happened or has happened in the recent past), although the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain. [...] The experience of déjà vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity, and also a sense of "eeriness," "strangeness," "weirdness," or what Sigmund Freud and other psychologists call "the uncanny." The "previous" experience is most frequently attributed to a dream, although in some cases there is a firm sense that the experience has genuinely happened in the past.
continued at Daily Kos....
History is full of "flashbulb moments" -- when FLASH! the course of History, changes instantly, on a dime, as the result of some collective common experience. This is not one of those tales. Rather it's another kind of story entirely, when we all collectively sense something's wrong, but no one can really pin it down, to ... Exactly what the problem is. Deja vu Déjà vu [Deja vu] is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as though an event has already happened or has happened in the recent past), although the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain. [...] The experience of déjà vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity, and also a sense of "eeriness," "strangeness," "weirdness," or what Sigmund Freud and other psychologists call "the uncanny." The "previous" experience is most frequently attributed to a dream, although in some cases there is a firm sense that the experience has genuinely happened in the past.
continued at Daily Kos....
About Corexit and Warm Water Oil Spills--More Questions Than Answers
by akmk
While the U.S. government is waiting for BP to hand over information to them, perhaps it's time for us to do a little investigation on our own. What do we know about Corexit the toxic dispersant being used by BP? And why isn't the entire industrial/oil/political complex behind bars already?
continued at Daily Kos....
While the U.S. government is waiting for BP to hand over information to them, perhaps it's time for us to do a little investigation on our own. What do we know about Corexit the toxic dispersant being used by BP? And why isn't the entire industrial/oil/political complex behind bars already?
continued at Daily Kos....
Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Synthetic Life edition)
by Neon Vincent
Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment. This week's featured story comes from Reuters. Artificial life? Synthetic genes 'boot up' cell Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Researchers trying to make synthetic life in the lab have "booted up" a hollowed-out bacterium using a human-made genome in a major step toward making synthetic life. They hope to use their stripped-down version of a bacterium to eventually engineer custom-made microbes. "This is the first synthetic cell that's been made, and we call it synthetic because the cell is totally derived from a synthetic chromosome, made with four bottles of chemicals on a chemical synthesizer, starting with information in a computer," said genome pioneer Craig Venter, who led the research. More science, space, and environment stories after the jump.
continued at Daily Kos....
Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment. This week's featured story comes from Reuters. Artificial life? Synthetic genes 'boot up' cell Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Researchers trying to make synthetic life in the lab have "booted up" a hollowed-out bacterium using a human-made genome in a major step toward making synthetic life. They hope to use their stripped-down version of a bacterium to eventually engineer custom-made microbes. "This is the first synthetic cell that's been made, and we call it synthetic because the cell is totally derived from a synthetic chromosome, made with four bottles of chemicals on a chemical synthesizer, starting with information in a computer," said genome pioneer Craig Venter, who led the research. More science, space, and environment stories after the jump.
continued at Daily Kos....
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