Tuesday, July 13, 2010

NOAA & BP Keep Key Oil Data from Scientists & Public

by FishOutofWater

Scientists have been refused access to key data that NOAA has given to BP. Data access is necessary to plan research, investigate damage, and assess critical environmental effects. University researchers and other independent scientists have requested data from the government so that they can track the oil and its effects on the water chemistry and ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico, but NOAA has refused to release the data.

Independent scientists, and science bloggers including me, have been strongly questioning the use of dispersants in deep water because dispersed oil in deep water could potentially cause oil plumes dead zones that might last for years. The EPA allowed BP to use dispersants in 5000 ft. deep water despite the lack of data on the effects of dispersing oil in deep water.



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Weatherization Barnraising Results

by gmoke

On June 26, at the Cambridge, MA YWCA Emergency Family Shelter, about 30 people from Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET)

Reduced the leakiness of the building by 12% (reducing the air leakage by 1,500 cubic feet per minute as tested by a pre and post blower door test.  Each 100 cfm reduction = 7 therms of gas savings.  Thus saving $1,480 for them over the next decade in heating.)

Installed 20 cfls [compact fluorescent lights] (saving probably $11 per year on each one because of the high occupancy of the building)

Installed 3 incandescent exit signs with LED retrofit kits (saving 36 watts per bulb  24 hours a day all year long.  Since there were 2 bulbs in each of the 3 signs this will save over $388 in total per year)

Installed 7 low flow showerheads (each saving $42 each in heating the water and $26 in water and sewer charges) $476

Installed 2 programmable thermostats which can save up to 10% on heating if used to turn the temperature down during the winter when no one is home or everyone is sleeping.

We did other work too, but we should save the shelter at least $14,260 in total in energy bills over the next decade.  

Thanks for all your work.



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Animal NUZ: A Daily Kos Exclusive Comic Strip #2

by ericlewis0

strip 2 panel 1post



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Bobby's berms already washing away

by Jed Lewison

Via AMERICAblog, these images of Bobby Jindal's idiotic sand berm proposal getting washed away are proof beyond any shadow of doubt that Louisiana's governor is a volcano of hot air and stupid ideas.

According to Len Bahr, a former LSU faculty member who posted these photos, they were all taken from roughly the same location and altitude in the Chandeleur Islands. As most experts (including Bahr) predicted, the sand berms couldn't withstand stormy weather and have simply been blown away.

June 25
June 25
July 2
July2
July 7
July 7

That this would happen was obvious to anyone with half a brain who was paying even a small amount of attention to Jindal's proposal. There's nothing fun at all about watching such an obvious waste of effort go down the drain, but it is captivating to see right-wing talking points literally disintegrate before your very eyes.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that the contract to build Bobby's berms was awarded by Jindal to the number three contributor to his congressional campaigns.



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BP Oil Spill: Ongoing Disaster for Birds & Wildlife

by chesterdog

The BP Gulf oil spill is clearly a disaster for wildlife, but it's probably even worse than it seems.  The federal government is not getting an honest assessment of the wildlife toll, and the disaster's effects will be unfolding for many years into the future.



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Sustainability and the oceans.

by Cenobyte

Whether for the sake of the fish or for the sake of sustainability, we all need to make the right choices in our eating habits.

From food.change.org:

If you want to know who's responsible for decimating the world's oceans, look no farther than your local supermarket. Throughout the world, grocery stores and restaurants continue to sell threatened fish species like Chilean sea bass, shark, bluefin tuna, and orange roughy, just to name a few. The situation's gotten so bad that experts say 75 percent of the world's fisheries have been pushed beyond their sustainable limits, while nine out of ten of the seas' large fish species have disappeared. At the rate we're going, years from now there really won't be other fish in the sea.

http://food.change.org/...



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A Discussion with Cary Fowler about Crop Diversity

by BorderJumpers

In this regular series we profile advisors of the Nourishing the Planet project. This week, we feature Cary Fowler,  Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust.



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BP Oil Disaster v7.0: "Offshore Drilling Halted"

by vets74

Death in the Gulf.

Pics, videos and examples of bad media work are welcome. BP and Halliburton committed ecocide.

Mitigation efforts have had minimal effect. Use of "dispersant" chemicals have made things rather worse overall. This WineRev Model series focuses on biological impacts, the science underlying oil and its transport away from the Deepwater Horizon blow out site, and the human factors.

Echos of a Rightie propaganda distortion appeared all over the media landscape yesterday. Offshore drilling... halted -- the Lie of the Day:

The meme started HERE at Fox News

Only the deep water, mile-down, most dangerous handful of exploratory wells are affected by the clamp down.

Meanwhile, BP has not responded to NAACP allegations and documentation of discrimination related to the mitigation efforts (called "cleanup" and "recovery" in corporate media.)

GG

Greenpeace. If DHW happened off Jacksonville. Please post pics below the fold :::



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Stop Big Oil Bailouts

by thinkingblue

A friend posted this as a facebook entry:

I know - petitions are a pain -- but before you give up on them, sign this one. Please, pretty please -- for our future which hangs in the balance. Remember: Big Oil is not our friend. Ditto for banks, doctors, insurance companies, brokers, etc. ad nauseum. Maddi

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BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 49

by Gulf Watchers

Please rec the new Mothership #50 here. This one has expired.
The current ROV DIARY : Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #204 - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Gulf Watchers Overnight/peraspera
Rules of the Road
http://www.dailykos.com/...

  • We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
  • Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
  • Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier's diaries to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!



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