by eKos
Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series. Beneath the fold you will find announcements, today's eco-diary roundup, news, and our environmental video of the day. You can also follow us on Twitter! Tonight's editor: ellinorianne
continued at Daily Kos....
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
EcoAdvocates: Obama's Climate Change Moment
by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse
We need to hold BP accountable with various legal sanctions -- such as debarment, civil fines, civil lawsuits, and criminal prosecutions for real criminal offenses. Sanctions are needed for recovery, justice and deterrence of such inhumane, negligent and risky conduct by corporations given that we cannot commence living on alternative energies tomorrow. This Gulf Oil Gusher has shown to those who did not realize before that we cannot continue with an extreme fossil fuel energy policy. Public outrage helped convince President Obama to extend the offshore drilling moratorium. Today's EcoAdvocates focuses on the next step: Convincing President Obama to strengthen the climate change bill to provide a real path forward. This is a message bloggers can send DC everyday. Tonight's EcoAdvocates edition includes posts by Bill McKibben on Now's the moment for President Obama, A Siegel on The Climate Mitigation Procrastination Storm and some take-action items.
continued at Daily Kos....
We need to hold BP accountable with various legal sanctions -- such as debarment, civil fines, civil lawsuits, and criminal prosecutions for real criminal offenses. Sanctions are needed for recovery, justice and deterrence of such inhumane, negligent and risky conduct by corporations given that we cannot commence living on alternative energies tomorrow. This Gulf Oil Gusher has shown to those who did not realize before that we cannot continue with an extreme fossil fuel energy policy. Public outrage helped convince President Obama to extend the offshore drilling moratorium. Today's EcoAdvocates focuses on the next step: Convincing President Obama to strengthen the climate change bill to provide a real path forward. This is a message bloggers can send DC everyday. Tonight's EcoAdvocates edition includes posts by Bill McKibben on Now's the moment for President Obama, A Siegel on The Climate Mitigation Procrastination Storm and some take-action items.
continued at Daily Kos....
You can't wipe that spill with a Kleenex®
by citisven
The disaster in the Gulf is many things. In fact, it is so many things that after seeing all that's been shown, reading all that's been written, and hearing all that's been said, perhaps one of the most fitting descriptions of it would be: It's very complicated. From BP's breathtaking incompetence/unpreparedness to our government's overwhelming helplessness, this is more than anyone can really chew. From epic efforts to plug the hole to gigabytes of advice, fault-finding and blame-assignments, this is so big it doesn't even fit in our big brains. From the vast and incomprehensible ecological damage to the yet unknown fates of the people depending on the health of the Gulf's ecosystem, words are too small to match the extent of the damage and heartbreak. And here we thought that all the fossil-fueled conveniences of our modern era were making life more simple...
continued at Daily Kos....
The disaster in the Gulf is many things. In fact, it is so many things that after seeing all that's been shown, reading all that's been written, and hearing all that's been said, perhaps one of the most fitting descriptions of it would be: It's very complicated. From BP's breathtaking incompetence/unpreparedness to our government's overwhelming helplessness, this is more than anyone can really chew. From epic efforts to plug the hole to gigabytes of advice, fault-finding and blame-assignments, this is so big it doesn't even fit in our big brains. From the vast and incomprehensible ecological damage to the yet unknown fates of the people depending on the health of the Gulf's ecosystem, words are too small to match the extent of the damage and heartbreak. And here we thought that all the fossil-fueled conveniences of our modern era were making life more simple...
continued at Daily Kos....
UPDATED: New Offshore Drilling Project Approved!
by slinkerwink
Sierra Club has this press news release alert below about the new offshore drilling project just approved by MMS: Today, the [MMS] approved a new drilling permit for an offshore well in the Gulf of Mexico. Last week, the president extended his ban on deepwater drilling for an additional 6 months, but lifted the ban on shallow water drilling, allowing this project to move forward. In fact, shallow water drilling is just as risky as deep water drilling. In 1979, we saw a disaster very similar to the BP catastrophe from Ixtoc 1, a shallow well in the Gulf. They used all the same techniques to try to stop that gusher, and it took them nine months to finally do it. By that time, an estimated 138 million gallons had spilled. The President's new moratorium on offshore drilling is supposed to be for six months, requires a thirty-day safety review by Interior Secretary Salazar, and but it doesn't extend to offshore drilling in shallow water.
continued at Daily Kos....
Sierra Club has this press news release alert below about the new offshore drilling project just approved by MMS: Today, the [MMS] approved a new drilling permit for an offshore well in the Gulf of Mexico. Last week, the president extended his ban on deepwater drilling for an additional 6 months, but lifted the ban on shallow water drilling, allowing this project to move forward. In fact, shallow water drilling is just as risky as deep water drilling. In 1979, we saw a disaster very similar to the BP catastrophe from Ixtoc 1, a shallow well in the Gulf. They used all the same techniques to try to stop that gusher, and it took them nine months to finally do it. By that time, an estimated 138 million gallons had spilled. The President's new moratorium on offshore drilling is supposed to be for six months, requires a thirty-day safety review by Interior Secretary Salazar, and but it doesn't extend to offshore drilling in shallow water.
continued at Daily Kos....
Globalization, A Pictorial History
by Richard Lyon
The term globalization came into use in academic circles during the 1950s. By the 1990s it had entered the mainstream vocabulary. Today it is thought of as something that is almost inseparable from the neoliberal economic and political policies that are dominating the process. People who are actively opposed to those policies speak in terms of stopping globalization. The basic purpose of this diary is to present the process of globalization in an historical context that separates it from today's realities. I plan to write other diaries on neoliberalism. This diary will be used as background for those. I wish to make it clear at the outset that I am no fan of neoliberalism. However we will see that there have been a number of points in history where a process of geographical integration has been controlled by one group of people to impose their interests on other people.
continued at Daily Kos....
The term globalization came into use in academic circles during the 1950s. By the 1990s it had entered the mainstream vocabulary. Today it is thought of as something that is almost inseparable from the neoliberal economic and political policies that are dominating the process. People who are actively opposed to those policies speak in terms of stopping globalization. The basic purpose of this diary is to present the process of globalization in an historical context that separates it from today's realities. I plan to write other diaries on neoliberalism. This diary will be used as background for those. I wish to make it clear at the outset that I am no fan of neoliberalism. However we will see that there have been a number of points in history where a process of geographical integration has been controlled by one group of people to impose their interests on other people.
continued at Daily Kos....
This Week in Climate Change: Murky Air, Murkier Politics
by RLMiller
Welcome to edition #8 of This week in climate change. All eyes are transfixed on a gaping wound to the planet inflicted by our thirst for fossil fuels. That same thirst is overheating the planet. But are our elected officials ready to pivot from condemning the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico to pushing for a clean energy future? Are they as willing to address the cause of the disaster as they are its symptoms? This Week in Climate Change is devoted to political action in the United States.
continued at Daily Kos....
Welcome to edition #8 of This week in climate change. All eyes are transfixed on a gaping wound to the planet inflicted by our thirst for fossil fuels. That same thirst is overheating the planet. But are our elected officials ready to pivot from condemning the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico to pushing for a clean energy future? Are they as willing to address the cause of the disaster as they are its symptoms? This Week in Climate Change is devoted to political action in the United States.
continued at Daily Kos....
Things You Can Do to Help the Coast
by Crashing Vor
Not much new today, though I wanted to pass this batch of links on. People have been asking what groups are assisting that aren't part of the BP structure. Here are a few my neighbor passed on to me:
continued at Daily Kos....
Not much new today, though I wanted to pass this batch of links on. People have been asking what groups are assisting that aren't part of the BP structure. Here are a few my neighbor passed on to me:
continued at Daily Kos....
BP's Disaster - Turtle Hurdles Edition - ROV #37
by khowell
You are in the current BP disaster ROV, number 37. If you'd like to go back to see what we've said in days past, visit the current mothership. This is where you want to be for discussion, worrying, tearing up, and caring for each other. It's also where you're welcome to be angry and scream and curse and cry and rant at the criminal negligence and greed that have brought us all together. Most importantly, though, it's where we can learn from those kossaks among us (I'll not name names for abject fear of leaving one of you out, but you know who you are.) who bring the light of knowledge - sometimes with heat, sometimes without it - and teach us about what's happening beneath our Gulf of Mexico.
continued at Daily Kos....
You are in the current BP disaster ROV, number 37. If you'd like to go back to see what we've said in days past, visit the current mothership. This is where you want to be for discussion, worrying, tearing up, and caring for each other. It's also where you're welcome to be angry and scream and curse and cry and rant at the criminal negligence and greed that have brought us all together. Most importantly, though, it's where we can learn from those kossaks among us (I'll not name names for abject fear of leaving one of you out, but you know who you are.) who bring the light of knowledge - sometimes with heat, sometimes without it - and teach us about what's happening beneath our Gulf of Mexico.
continued at Daily Kos....
Other Dispersants, Twice as Effective, Half as Toxic, and Not yet Used
by jamess
Dispersants add to Gulf spill’s toxic threats Susan Buchanan -- June 1, 2010 The EPA on May 10 authorized BP to use two dispersants-COREXIT 9500 and COREXIT EC9527A, distributed by the Tennessee and Texas units of Nalco Co. in Illinois. BP had already applied those products at the spill site for nearly two weeks. As concerns about COREXIT grew, however, the EPA asked BP on May 19 to find a less-toxic dispersant within 24 hours, and to start using its replacement in 72 hours. BP answered that it wanted to stick with COREXIT. Frustrated EPA and Coast Guard officials said the company's response was inadequate, and told BP to start reducing its use of surface dispersants. But in a decision questioned by some scientists, officials said BP's subsea or underwater dispersant use, authorized in mid-May, could continue. Last week, the EPA and the Coast Guard said that they would start calling the shots about BP's dispersant use and that COREXIT applications could be scaled back by as much as 50% to 80%. COREXIT should be scaled back to 0% -- Especially since BETTER options are available NOW.
continued at Daily Kos....
Dispersants add to Gulf spill’s toxic threats Susan Buchanan -- June 1, 2010 The EPA on May 10 authorized BP to use two dispersants-COREXIT 9500 and COREXIT EC9527A, distributed by the Tennessee and Texas units of Nalco Co. in Illinois. BP had already applied those products at the spill site for nearly two weeks. As concerns about COREXIT grew, however, the EPA asked BP on May 19 to find a less-toxic dispersant within 24 hours, and to start using its replacement in 72 hours. BP answered that it wanted to stick with COREXIT. Frustrated EPA and Coast Guard officials said the company's response was inadequate, and told BP to start reducing its use of surface dispersants. But in a decision questioned by some scientists, officials said BP's subsea or underwater dispersant use, authorized in mid-May, could continue. Last week, the EPA and the Coast Guard said that they would start calling the shots about BP's dispersant use and that COREXIT applications could be scaled back by as much as 50% to 80%. COREXIT should be scaled back to 0% -- Especially since BETTER options are available NOW.
continued at Daily Kos....
BP, US Government, Delay, Deny and Defend
by KJG52
The right of the people to know is being flagrantly dismissed by the management of BP. The list of attempts by BP to restrict the information flow to the public begins with the silencing of workers on the Deepwater Horizon and to assume Transocean did this without BP's complicity is unwarranted. The complete lack of information from BP about the velocity and volume of discharge of gas and raw petroleum followed closely behind the first instance. The delay in publishing data about the drilling permits, procedures, oversight, and planning for response closely followed the first two incidences. To assume that BP's underlying motives are beneficial to the people of the United States or its government, given BP's history of flagrant disregard for both government regulation and worker/public safety, is both naive and inherently unwarranted.
continued at Daily Kos....
The right of the people to know is being flagrantly dismissed by the management of BP. The list of attempts by BP to restrict the information flow to the public begins with the silencing of workers on the Deepwater Horizon and to assume Transocean did this without BP's complicity is unwarranted. The complete lack of information from BP about the velocity and volume of discharge of gas and raw petroleum followed closely behind the first instance. The delay in publishing data about the drilling permits, procedures, oversight, and planning for response closely followed the first two incidences. To assume that BP's underlying motives are beneficial to the people of the United States or its government, given BP's history of flagrant disregard for both government regulation and worker/public safety, is both naive and inherently unwarranted.
continued at Daily Kos....
The Poisoned Pennsylvania Town, Abandoned in 1984
by Muskegon Critic
In 1962 an exposed vein of coal in an abandoned strip mine caught on fire on the eastern side of Pennsylvania and it burned under ground for... ...what is it today? 2010? For 48 years. For 48 years the vein burned, getting its oxygen from an abandoned coal mine. And it burns today, still venting noxious, toxic gasses out of the earth, bleaching trees, killing the vegetation and wildlife, creating sink holes when the underground coal is turned to ash. And here we come to the fate of the once quaint town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, which stands right atop the burning vein. Settled in 1841, the city's population hovered near 2000 for much of its existence. Now just 9 people live there. In the year 2002 the US Post Office revoked its zip code.
continued at Daily Kos....
In 1962 an exposed vein of coal in an abandoned strip mine caught on fire on the eastern side of Pennsylvania and it burned under ground for... ...what is it today? 2010? For 48 years. For 48 years the vein burned, getting its oxygen from an abandoned coal mine. And it burns today, still venting noxious, toxic gasses out of the earth, bleaching trees, killing the vegetation and wildlife, creating sink holes when the underground coal is turned to ash. And here we come to the fate of the once quaint town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, which stands right atop the burning vein. Settled in 1841, the city's population hovered near 2000 for much of its existence. Now just 9 people live there. In the year 2002 the US Post Office revoked its zip code.
continued at Daily Kos....
President Obama? A Kanye Moment?
by icebergslim
Remember THIS from a telethon in 2005 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Kanye West rattled on but the man was angry. Mike Myers and his facial expressions will go down in infamy.
continued at Daily Kos....
Remember THIS from a telethon in 2005 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Kanye West rattled on but the man was angry. Mike Myers and his facial expressions will go down in infamy.
continued at Daily Kos....
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